Πέμπτη 17 Δεκεμβρίου 2020

Bo Diddley - before you accuse me

Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known as Bo Diddley, was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter and music producer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, and the Clash.
His use of African rhythms and a signature beat, a simple five-accent hambone rhythm, is a cornerstone of hip hop, rock, and pop music. In recognition of his achievements, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2003, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2017. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Diddley is also recognized for his technical innovations, including his distinctive rectangular guitar, with its unique booming, resonant, shimmering tones.
Born in McComb, Mississippi, as Ellas Otha Bates.
Bo Diddley died on June 2, 2008, of heart failure at his home in Archer, Florida at the age of 79. Garry Mitchell, his grandson and one of more than thirty-five family members at the musician's home when he died at 1:45 am. EDT, said his death was not unexpected. "There was a gospel song that was sung (at his bedside) and (when it was done) he said 'wow' with a thumbs up," Mitchell told Reuters, when asked to describe the scene at the deathbed. "The song was 'Walk Around Heaven' and in his last words he said 'I'm going to heaven.'"

Τετάρτη 16 Δεκεμβρίου 2020

Becky Barksdale - Muddy Water

While, like Joplin, Barksdale was born in Port Arthur, Texas, she is currently based out of Los Angeles where she is a favorite on the West Coast blues and R&B circuit.

It was Barksdale's grandfather who gave her a guitar when she was twelve. A professional at sixteen, she learned to play and was introduced to the blues gigging with local musicians and performing in a number of regional bands. After nailing down guitar and vocal duties with boogie-blues masters Canned Heat, Barksdale landed the lead guitar spot with Michael Jackson adding some fiery punch to the King of Pops 1993 Dangerous World Tour.
The first artist to be signed by the House of Blues Music Company, Barksdale appeared on two compilations on the label before releasing Real Live (1999), a gripping mélange of electric blues and steamy rock that easily justified the growing hype crowning the Red Hot Queen of the Blues. Cowgirl Blues (2002), an EP of five original songs unearthed her country roots (two great uncles were members of the Sons of the Pioneers), while Blues Revue Magazine declared that there was more emotion packed into the dozen real-deal blues tracks on Out of the Blue (2003) than racks of others.

Σάββατο 12 Δεκεμβρίου 2020

Kirk Fletcher - Blues for Antone

Kirk Fletcher (born December 23, 1975) is an American electric blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. To date, Fletcher has released four studio albums and one live album. In addition, he has variously been a member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and the Mannish Boys, plus supplied backing for Joe Bonamassa and Eros Ramazzotti. Fletcher has been nominated for four Blues Music Awards and was a 2015 British Blues Awards nominee.

His latest album, Hold On, was released in October 2018. It reached number 12 in the Living Blues radio chart, and entered at number 15 in the US Billboard Blues Albums chart. It was nominated in 2019 for a Blues Music Award in the 'Contemporary Blues Album' category.

Lightnin' Hopkins - Bring Me My Shotgun

Hopkins was born in Centerville, Texas, and as a child was immersed in the sounds of the blues. He developed a deep appreciation for this music at the age of 8, when he met Blind Lemon Jefferson at a church picnic in Buffalo, Texas] That day, Hopkins felt the blues was "in him". He went on to learn from his older (distant) cousin, the country blues singer Alger "Texas" Alexander. (Hopkins had another cousin, the Texas electric blues guitarist Frankie Lee Sims, with whom he later recorded.) Hopkins began accompanying Jefferson on guitar at informal church gatherings. Jefferson reputedly never let anyone play with him except young Hopkins, and Hopkins learned much from Jefferson at these gatherings.
Hopkins was Houston's poet-in-residence for 35 years. He recorded more albums than any other bluesman.

Hopkins died of esophageal cancer in Houston on January 30, 1982, at the age of 69. His obituary in the New York Times described him as "one of the great country blues singers and perhaps the greatest single influence on rock guitar players." Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 71 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

Σάββατο 5 Δεκεμβρίου 2020

Chris Youlden and The Slammers - I Wanna Stay Alive

Christopher Thomas "Chris" Youlden (born 1 January 1943, Dagenham, England) is an English blues singer. He worked with the British blues band Savoy Brown from 1967 until 1970. He has since released several solo albums.