Nolan Struck - I Got Bills To Pay +

"Nolan Struck was born in the heart of Creole Country near Lafayette, Louisiana. At a young age, Nolan left home and was drawn to the exciting music and dance clubs in Port Arthur, Texas. One night Nolan's performance caught the attention of the talented guitarist/vocalist, Lonnie Brooks. A few weeks later, Lonnie called Nolan to Chicago to join his band.

In 1967, Nolan formed his own band called "The Soul Brothers" where he played bass and sang along with his guitarist/vocalist brother King Edward. Reflecting the influences of B.B. King and Little Walter, (and maybe Joe Tex?) Noland released his first original recording titled, "The Fire Don't Burn All The Time," which received a great deal of attention both Overseas and in the United States.

Nolan had several successful releases in the 70's and 80's on Retta Records including the single, "My Nerves Gone Bad", "I'm Falling In Love", and the album "I Got Bills To Pay". He and his American blues legends toured extensively in France, England, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and throughout the Southern and Midwestern United States. During his tours, Nolan Struck has appeared with artists such as John Lee Hooker, Albert King, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Koko Taylor, Tyrone Davis, Artie "Blues Boy" White, and the late Johnny Taylor."

The links contain the album and the mentioned singles in a separate package.

Sherman Robertson - Going Back Home (1998) & Guitar Man Live (2006)

Sherman Robertson is an American blues guitarist, songwriter and singer, who has been described as "one part zydeco, one part swamp blues, one part electric blues and one part classic rhythm and blues." (Wikipedia)

Sherman  Robertson  is  a  blues singer/guitarist born in Louisiana in 1948 and raised in Houston, Texas . He started playing professionally in his teens in the local bar scene and spent some time, during his formative years, on the road as Bobby Bland’s  guitarist. Clifton Chenier heard Robertson at a Blues Festival in 1982 and invited him to join his band – He appeared on a couple of his albums and stayed with him for 5 years up until Chenier's illness and subsequent death in 1987.
Robertson went on to join the bands of Rockin’ Dopsie and Terrance Simien & the Mallet Playboys. He also made an appearance on Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland’ album (on the track Crazy Love Vol II).

After going  solo  Robertson released his first album ‘I’m The Man’ in 1993 on the UK Indigo label produced by Mike Vernon , famous for his productions of  John Mayall’s Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton , Peter Green/ Fleetwood Mac’s early recordings and many others. The album received numerous positive reviews, and was nominated  for a W C Handy Award  He has since toured internationally and released further albums, Here & Now (1996) Going Back Home (1998) Guitar Man - Live (2006) all receiving critical acclaim .
Bruce Iglauer , President of Alligator Records, had this to say about him :
“When I saw him...he was on fire .He ruled the stage. had the audience in the palm of his hand, and his just plain physical showmanship reminded  me of Albert Collins... He’s got that Texas energy, great guitar chops, and is a wonderful, soulful singer.”
It was reported back in 2012 that Robertson had suffered a Stroke but I have still been unable to find any up-to-date reports on his recovery – Here’s hoping  he’s doing well. Anyone know his current situation ? - Gus (back in 2012 with update)
This guy is a beaut ! Just get these gems in your collection...listen and tell me he's not essential to modern Blues history ! ..He's got classic Blues Soul Gospel in his vocals and a modern exciting edge in his guitar style...I first heard him on a Rockin' Dopsie album...and he caught my ear then as a sideman...And still does,,, Louisiana born but Texas is the main influence here ( Albert Collins et al)...What better roots can you have ?...Gus

Larry Garner - You Need To Live A Little

Larry Garner (born July 8, 1952, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States) is an American Louisiana blues musician best known for his 1994 
album Too Blues.
Garner grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with his first inspiration being the guitar-playing preacher Reverend Utah Smith. Garner made 
acquaintance with local musicians such as Lonesome Sundown, Silas Hogan, Guitar Kelley and Tabby Thomas. His musical influences include 
Hogan, Clarence Edwards, Jimi Hendrix, and Henry Gray. He was taught to play guitar by his uncle and two other elders. Garner completed 
military service in Korea and returned to Baton Rouge, working part-time in music and full-time at a Dow Chemical plant.

Garner won the International Blues Challenge in 1988, and his first two albums, Double Dues and Too Blues, were released by the British JSP 
label. The latter album's title was in reply to a label executive who judged Garner's original demo to be "too blues". Thomas' nightclub, Tabby's Blues Box, provided Garner with a playing base in the 1980s and gave him the subject matter for the strongest song on Double Dues, "No Free Rides".

You Need to Live a Little (1994) was followed by Standing Room Only (1998), Baton Rouge (1999) and 2000's Once Upon the Blues. Baton Rouge''s 1999 track, "Go To Baton Rouge," offered a tourist's guide to Louisiana music spots.

In 2008, Garner was treated for a serious illness that was the inspiration for his 2008 album, Here Today Gone Tomorrow.(Wiki)

Back in the mid 90's Larry spent some time in the UK and we got to hang out occassionally ...I've bought him a few pints of Guinness !
It was enjoyable because I had peviously purchased some of his CD's and liked his original compositions, based on his own life experiences .
He came to the Earl Green 'Feel The Fire' CD launch party at the 100 Club, London, in 1996, where we both played, and he borrowed my Strat (which was nice!). OK... there's nothing outstandingly original about him, but he has a unique personality and style, he's a nice player and doesn't rely on covering old standards. He's added to the Blues Canon.
This album was his first on a major label and I really enjoyed it...Give it a listen and judge for yourself...

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - Gate Walks To Board

 Another new one from Cliff; once again if you are already a Gate collector then you likely have these tracks, but this set benefits from being a more modern remastering.

Southern Funkin'-- Louisiana Funk and Soul 1967-1970

By now it should be clear that I'm clearing the re-post cue so if you've requested something. be patient, it's coming.

It's funny how much difference that fewer than 100 miles North can make, but this shares very little with the New Orleans Funk of the same time period. That surely doesn't make it bad by any means, just different.

Andrew 'Big Voice' Odom - Feel So Good

 Andrew Odom - One Bad-Ass Singin' Dude!


Andrew Odom was a BAAAAD MAN!  I don't care if it is BB Odum, Voice Odom, Big Voice Odom....call the man what you will, he is a Baaad Man, ain't no lie! Here is a guy who could fake you out into thinking you were hearing a Bobby Bland cut you'd missed, and at other times you'd swear it was some obscure BB King track, or most of the time you'd just wonder how anyone can sound like both guys at the same time and still have a quality all his own.

Biographical information on this dude is remarkably scarce, he doesn't even have a rudimentary  Wikipedia page! Livin' Blues, however, came to my rescue with some info:
   "ANDREW 'B.B.' ODOM - Andrew 'BB' Odom was born in Denham Springs, Louisiana in 1936, he moved to St. Louis in the 50’s. While in St. Louis he toured with Albert King and others, finally moving to Chicago in the early 60’s. He spent the next ten years traveling and recording as the featured vocalist with the Earl Hooker Band, an auspicious beginning as Earl Hooker was considered to be one of the greatest guitar players of his generation. After Hooker’s untimely death in 1970, Jimmy Dawkins hired Odom to tour Europe. It was Dawkins who gave him the name 'Big Voice'. BB King, along with Bobby Bland, were an early influence on Odom.
  

He traveled and recorded with Dawkins throughout the seventies while continuing to build a local reputation in Chicago’s south and west side Blues clubs. The realities of the music business and the need to support a wife and seven children prevented him from hiring a band to pursue his career on a full-time basis. Things seemed to be changing for Odom in the 90’s. In early 90s Odom was approached by Canadians Steve and Doran Katz to front their band, The Gold Tops. BB Odom worked with the band on a few dates in Ontario, which went extremely well.  A year later they were headlining the Toronto Blues Festival, and playing other summer festivals throughout Ontario. Flying Fish signed the band in December of ‘91 on the strength of their demo tape. Sadly, Odom did not live to see the release of this recording. In the early morning, on December 23, he died of a heart attack the wheel of his car. He was on his way to the Checkerboard Lounge from Buddy Guy’s Legends, where he had sat in earlier that evening which he often did in Sunday evenings after church. BB Odom’s death is a tragic loss to the Blues community. Throughout his career he had been in demand as a featured vocalist by top bandleaders like Buddy Guy, Little Milton, Magic Slim, and Jimmy Dawkins, who themselves were singers. His resonant voice, replete with Gospel fervor, lent another dimension to his Blues. He gave his all during a performance, whether he was paid for it or not. B.B. brought the healing quality of Gospel music to the Blues. He reached deep down into your soul and made you feel." Amen!

Andrew B.B. Odum - Goin' to California

 A repost by request:


"Not long before he died, Odom made the album of his life with a combo called the Gold Tops, who provided precisely the right backing to properly spotlight his booming voice. A few overdone standards -- "Rock Me Baby," "Woke Up This Morning," "Next Time You See Me" -- intrude a bit, but Odom's own "Bad Feelin'," "Why Did You Leave Me," and "Come to Me" make impassioned amends. Steve Freund, best-known for his long stint with Sunnyland Slim, contributes stellar lead guitar." Bill Dahl

Little Bob and the Lollipops - I Got Loaded

Re-posting this got me to listen to it again - Wow these guys were good and Bob was a really good singer! Can you imagine what it was like in Lafayette when these guys played 6 nights a week!

"Little Bob and the Lollipops
It Was Beautiful
By Gene Tomko

"Ask any musician from the 1960s Southwest Louisiana blues and R&B scene to name the best band that has ever come out of the area and one name gets repeated over and over—Little Bob & the Lollipops. In a land where so many extremely talented musicians emerged, to be remembered so enthusiastically by so many is quite an amazing feat.
At the height of his popularity in the mid-1960s, singer, songwriter, drummer and bandleader Little Bob was Lafayette’s reigning superstar, performing six nights a week and even hosting his own local television show. With a top-notch nine-piece band consisting of some of the area’s finest musicians such as ace saxophonist John Hart and former Excello guitarist Guitar Gable, Little Bob absolutely dominated the area music scene for more than a decade. He also happened to record some of the finest soul music to ever come out of Louisiana, most notably for La Louisianne and Jin Records.

Camille Bob was born on November 7, 1937 in Arnaudville, Louisiana, and was raised just southeast of Opelousas in rural Prairie Laurent. Bob grew up working on the farm but took an early interest in music and started singing in talent shows at school, inspired by Guitar Slim, B.B. King and Count Basie. He acquired his first set of drums by trading a horse for a drum kit and by 1955 was performing with Good Rockin’ Bob [Ed Thomas]. Music provided a good excuse to avoid working in the fields, as childhood friend Roscoe Chenier explains, “He was playing with Good Rockin’ Bob and if the dance was at three, he would tell his mom that it would start at eleven so he wouldn’t have to pick cotton!”

While working with Good Rockin’ Bob at the Moonlight Inn in Opelousas, he left his drums on the bandstand one night and returned to find the bass drum professionally hand-lettered with the words ‘Good Rockin’ Bob featuring Little Bob on drums.’ It was from then on he would be known as Little Bob.

In 1958, Little Bob formed his own group and made his recording debut for Goldband Records. Throughout the next several years he and his top-notch band the Lollipops developed a following that was unrivaled. Singer Bobby Allen recalls, “[Little Bob] came down to the Peppermint Club every Monday night and would play there. It was awesome. [He had] a big band. You had to be there early—I mean early like five or six o’clock in the evening in order to get a seat!”

Lafayette record label La Louisianne signed Little Bob in 1964 and he recorded a string of soul and R&B classics for the label throughout the next several years including Nobody But You, Look Out Mr. Heartache and the b-side party anthem, I Got Loaded, which still remains one of the most requested songs on Southwest Louisiana bandstands to this day.

Little Bob and the Lollipops were continuously hailed as the region’s top band, crisscrossing from New Orleans to Houston, but at the very heart of their success was Little Bob’s magnificent voice. Allen remembers one of the best compliments he’s ever received, which also reveals Little Bob’s confidence in his own talents. “[Bob and I] were talking and he said, ’Well, you know, you can get any musician you want.’ I said, ‘You think so?’ He said, ‘Oh, yeah, you can. You can and I can. As far as I’m concerned, there’s only three singers in Southwest Louisiana.’ I said, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘Oh, yeah. And I’m one of them.’ I said, ‘Well, who are the other two?’ He said, “Why, you of course—and Johnny Truitt.’”

Little Bob retained his unprecedented popularity through the 1970s but the huge zydeco resurgence of the 1980s made work as an R&B artist increasingly difficult. He made a brief comeback in the 1990s with Back Again for Vidrine Records, reuniting with Gable, Hart and drummer Jockey Etienne, and performed sporadically through the early 2000s.

But due to increasing health issues, Bob retired from performing in 2005 and is currently residing in a nursing home in Opelousas, where he still receives visits from old friends like Jude Taylor and Guitar Gable. Although he recorded many soul and R&B classics during his prime, one in particular remains extra special, as Bob fondly recalls the good old days, “It was beautiful, man. It was beautiful. [We had] three or four [records] you couldn’t beat. But I Got Loaded did it all and we got movin’. We got movin’!” [smiles]
From Living Blues

Jabo & Lil Jabo - Southern Choice

"Donald Glenn, better known to Zydeco fans as Jabo The Texas Prince of Zydeco , started singing and playing music in churches at the age of 6. Jabo began his Blues career at 18 and started playing Zydeco at 25. His talented has been received international recognition and critical acclaim. His many accomplishments include:
Headlined in Texas largest magazine, “Texas Monthly” June 1992
The Houston Chronicle featured Jabo in the “Zest” magazine in 1992 & 1993 for Most Popular among the Texas Zydeco players.
Awarded Best Blues & Zydeco singer by “Houston Press” 1994
Featured in “Jam Source” magazine as highlighted artist of the month 2008
Jabo has performed along side such legendary performers as Bobby Blue Bland, Tyrone Davis, Rue Davis, Johnnie Taylor, Marvin Sease
As founding member of Southern Choice Productions, Jabo is committed to mentoring the next generation of Zydeco and Blues artists. His latest albums is a “Musical Zydeco Gumbo” of talent featuring Lil Jabo Prince Jr., Keyun, J. Paul, Carl Marshall, Donna Nash, Roger Valentine, and Zac Shaw just to name a few."

Terrance Simien - There is Room for Us All

This album has to stand as a landmark in Modern Zydeco. Until folks like Terrance, Beau Jacques, and Rosey Ledet came along, Zydeco was a music frozen in time. Of the older guard, only Buckwheat seemed to have any spirit of musical adventure, the rest played much the same as their fathers and grandfathers. That is wonderful for preserving traditional and regional styles but does little to maintain a living music.

When this album came out in 1993, it was a giant breath of fresh air, a traditional Zydeco man with his ears wide open to Reggae, Gospel, New Orleans Funk and even an occasional dash of Hip Hop. All these things go into his pot with his own fine band, a liberal sprinkling of guest musicians like The Funky Meters, and Simiens' glorious voice (a blend of Sam Cooke and Aaron Neville)  and what emerges is a savory gumbo indeed. HEY LA BAS!

 

"Terrance Simien (born September 3, 1965 in Mallet, Louisiana) is an American zydeco musician, vocalist and songwriter. He and his band won the Grammy Award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album for 2008.

Simien is an eighth generation Creole from one of the earliest Creole families documented to have settled in the Mallet area of St. Landry Parish. He was introduced to music via the piano at home, the Catholic Church choir, and in school band programs where he played trumpet.

While in his teens, he taught himself to play accordion and formed his first band Terrance Simien & The Mallet Playboys, and began to play the regional zydeco club and church hall circuit. In the early 1980s, Simien was a youth in his early 20's and one of only two (Sam Brothers was the other) emerging zydeco artists leading a band and performing their indigenous zydeco roots music. This was a pivotal time in zydeco music history since the pioneers of the genre were aging and the music was in jeopardy of dying off without the critical presence of emerging artists perpetuating the traditions.

Simien and his band have toured internationally, presenting over 7000 live performances in more than 40 countries, and released dozens of solo recordings and collaborations. He has shared studio and stage with the likes of Paul Simon, Dr. John, The Meters, Marcia Ball, Dave Matthews, Stevie Wonder, Robert Palmer and the roots rockers Los Lobos.

Simien has appeared on screen and contributed to the soundtracks of multiple movies, television films and commercials. He appears on the soundtrack of the Disney film, The Princess and the Frog set in the French Quarter of New Orleans, featuring authentic Louisiana music scored by Randy Newman. He has also contributed to the soundtracks of movies, such as, The Big Easy, Exit To Eden and A Murder Of Crows.

Simien and his business partner/wife, Cynthia, are active in Creole music education and advocacy. They created the "Creole for Kidz & The History of Zydeco" performing arts program, which provides informational performances to K-12 students, teachers and parents. Since it was created in 2001, Creole for Kidz has reached nearly 500,000 students, parents and teachers in more than 20 states, Mali, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Paraguay, Canada and Australia. The Simiens understand the importance of mentoring emerging artists and created MusicMatters, Inc., a non-profit for education and advocacy.

In 2007, the Simiens helped establish a new Grammy voting category, Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album. His group, Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience, were the first ensemble to win a Grammy in that same category in 2008. He is considered to be one of the most gifted vocalists, engaging performers and innovative recording artists in American roots music."

Rosie Ledet - Sweet Brown Sugar & Zesty Zydeco

"Rosie Ledet (born October 25, 1971, Mary Roszela Bellard in Church Point, Louisiana, USA) is an American Creole Zydeco accordion player and singer.

Raised in rural Louisiana, she listened to rock music in her youth. Although she was in an environment where zydeco was heard, she took little interest in the music at the time. It was when she was sixteen that she first got fascinated with zydeco music. She attended a zydeco dance at Richard's, a famous zydeco club in Lawtell, Louisiana, and saw Boozoo Chavis play which got her started to learning the music. At this dance, she also met Morris Ledet, her husband to be.

She learned the accordion watching Morris play. When he heard her, he stepped aside allowing her the spotlight, and became her accompanist on the bass guitar. Morris, then brought Rosie to his producer, Mike Lachney,a/k/a DJ BAD WEATHER (veteran zydeco producer). Mike was so impressed, that he quickly set up a recording session. Mike then took Rosie to Floyd Soileau, of Maison De Soul label. Floyd also was impressed and gave Mike a contract to produce five albums on Rosie. She started playing around Louisiana and Texas in 1994. The same year, she released her debut album Sweet Brown Sugar on Maison De Soul label.

She is a young female zydeco accordion player famous in the genre for her sultry and suggestive lyrics. She continues to tour and record with her band the Zydeco Playboys.

She resides in Iota, Louisiana."

Henry Butler - Orleans Inspiration

Hello.  My name is poppachubby.  You may remember me from such blogs as The Crypt and The Cult.  I also brought you classic like those found at Chitlins.

Found this CD a while back at a local thrift for a couple bucks... score!!!  Just a really feel good album y'know?  Ripped it with EAC for 16/44.1 FLAC files.  All scans are hi-res and included.  Enjoy!!!

Henry Butler, who had recorded a pair of post-bop sets for MCA/Impulse, switches to New Orleans R&B on this spirited program, cut live at Tipitina's in New Orleans. Assisted by guitarist Leo Nocentelli, bassist Chris Severin, drummer Herman Jackson, and the synthesizer of Michael Goods, Butler puts on a fine show. He plays and sings (in a gospel-ish baritone voice) a variety of originals, plus Leonard Bernstein's "Somewhere," "Goin' Down Slow," and Professor Longhair's "Tipitina's" and "Mardi Gras in New Orleans." - Scott Yanow / AMG

Joe Simon - Lookin' Back

Hmmm....did somebody ask about a set of Joe Simon's Sound Stage 7 / Monument tracks? I believe you can also find some links to a couple of the actual albums in the Shares and Requests, but here is a compilation of Simon's work with John Richbourg. (btw Sound Stage 7 was a subsidiary label of Monument.)

It looks like a little bit of Spring material is included in the 1970 material the rest is SS7.

Cookie and the Cupcakes - Kings Of Swamp Pop

"Cookie & the Cupcakes were among the first to blend Cajun music with rock & roll to create the musical hybrid known as swamp pop. The eight-piece band reached its peak in 1959 when their lively dance tune "Mathilda" reached number 47 on the Billboard charts. Although they subsequently toured as the opening act for Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino, Cookie & the Cupcakes mostly played in the Texas/Louisiana region, with many performances in New Orleans hotel clubs.

Launching their career as the house band at the Moulin Rouge Club in Lake Charles, LA, in 1953, Cookie & the Cupcakes began performing "Mathilda" in 1957. Although they approached numerous record labels, they failed to spark interest until radio station KAOK agreed to let the band use their studios to record the song. Initially released by George Khoury, who sold thousands of copies on his Khoury label, the song was leased for national distribution to Judd Phillips, the brother of Sun Records owner Sam Phillips. Cookie & the Cupcakes were also the supporting band for Phil Phillips' hit "Sea of Love." In January 1995, the group was inducted into the Music Hall of Fame at the Musical Heritage Exhibit of the Museum of the Gulf Coast." AMG

Little Walter - Walter's Blues

This recently released remastered version sounds better than anything that I've heard previously. The disc has 25 cream of the crop Chess tracks; the best you will get in a single disc.

"Marion "Little Walter" Jacobs is widely considered the greatest blues harmonica player ever. A Creole who could speak French, he was born in Marksville, Louisiana in 1930. He took up the harmonica as a child, at first playing polkas and waltzes, and by the time he was 12 he was on his own, working the sidewalks and bars of New Orleans with his instrument. He had also discovered the music of John Lee Williamson, and modeled his early blues style on that of Williamson’s.

When he was fourteen he drifted to Helena, Arkansas, and came under the influence of Rice Miller, who along with Walter Horton, gave him pointers on the harp. The following year, Little Walter’s evolution beyond traditional folk-blues began when he started to listen to the records of jump saxophonist Louis Jordan and learn his solos note for note on harmonica.

In 1947 he arrived in Chicago with Honeyboy Edwards, and became a part of the fabled Maxwell Street scene that at one time or another included almost every postwar Chicago blues luminary. He first recorded that year behind singer Othum Brown on the Ora Nelle label, and also began playing in a trio with Jimmy Rogers and Muddy Waters, whom he had met on Maxwell Street. It was the core of what was to be the world’s most celebrated blues band.

Little Walter began recording in 1950 with Muddy, first on the Parkway label, and then for Chess, the label he was to stay with for the rest of his short life. With Waters’s "Long Distance Call," Walter became the first to record amplified harmonica. Muddy’s records did well, but despite his musical success, Jacobs had serious problems. He was prone to heavy drinking, and got into fights. "He was hellacious when he drank," Lazy Lester Johnson once told me, "and he liked the bottle." The only one who could control him, it seemed, was Muddy.

On May 12, 1952, Little Walter recorded an instrumental under his own name that the Muddy Waters band had been using to close sets with. "Juke," with its fat, amplified tone and sax-like phrases, was released under Little Walter’s own name and became a huge hit. Following its success, he left Waters’ band to form his own group, but continued to record with Muddy. From then on, either under his own name or Muddy’s, he recorded a string of sides that has been the envy of every blues harp player since. But all that changed when rock ‘n roll came along in the mid-1950s. Sales of blues records dropped and Little Walter was bitter about it.

In 1964 he toured Europe with the Rolling Stones, but substance abuse and his hot temper still plagued him. "Little Walter was dead ten years before he died," Muddy Waters told Patrick Day, gesturing to indicate drinking and then shooting dope. At gigs, as well as offstage, he would sometimes wave a pistol or two around, and had trouble keeping a band together. Photos taken towards the end of his life show a scarred, haggard man looking closer to 55 than 35.
On February 14th, 1968, Walter Jacobs died of injuries sustained in a Chicago street fight. He was only 37 years old." Glenn Weiser

Clarence Gatemouth Brown - Allright Again!

I just HAD to put this up because I was watching an interview with Gate in which he discussed the 3 months that he spent on tour with Eric Clapton. He got me at first giggling and finally belly laughing out loud. Apparently at some point in the tour Gate was moved to ask Senor Guitar God "What the f__k do you need 20 guitars on stage with you fo' ? One for every guy you tryin' to copy?"

Whew!!! Has anyone ever more succinctly described all there is to know about Clapton? My belief is that all the genuinely important and original things Clapton has EVER played could easily be contained in 2 discs. That said, 2 discs is quite a bit more than most can claim.

Okay, Clapton slam done....umm by the way, this is an absolutely killer Gate album - enjoy my friends.

Bobby Rush

It's about time we deal with the present for a second or two ehh?

Now I would NOT be stunned to find that a bunch of y'all are actually unaware of Bobby Rush --- OOoooo your loss! 

Your first experience of  Bobby should be live because....well...you've most likely never seen anything quite like it. Da man sings with dancers on stage who are generally around 200 pounds and who dance without EVER facing the crowd --- that's right, they shake them big round butts in your face for the whole show!

"Bobby Rush (born November 10, 1940,)
Born Emmit Ellis, Jr. in Homer, Louisiana, Rush was the son of Ellis Sr. and Mattie Ellis. His father was a pastor whose guitar and harmonica playing provided early musical influences. As a young child he began experimenting with music using a sugar-cane syrup-bucket and a broom-wire diddley bow. Around 1946, he and the family moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas where his father took on the pastorate of a church. It was here that Rush would become friends with Elmore James, slide-player Boyd Gilmore (Elmore's cousin), and piano-player Moose John Walker; eventually forming a band to support his singing, as well as harp and guitar playing.

Still a teen, Rush donned a fake moustache to play in local juke joints with the band fascinated by enthusiasm of the crowds. His family relocated to Chicago in 1953 where he became part of the local blues scene in the following decade.

It was in the early 1970s that his self-penned "Chicken Heads" cracked the Billboard R&B chart on Galaxy, after being picked up from a small label started by former Vee Jay Records producer, Calvin Carter (#34, 1971). He later recorded with leading black music label, Philadelphia International, releasing his first album, Rush Hour produced by Leon Huff, with one track, I Wanna Do The Do also charting in 1979 (#75).

In the early 1980s, he moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where he recorded a series of records for the LaJam label, Malaco's Waldoxy imprint, and in 2003, his own Deep Rush label with partner Greg Preston, a former Malaco Records executive. 2004's FolkFunk was a return to a more rootsier sound, featuring guitarist Alvin Youngblood Hart. He appeared in the film, The Road to Memphis which is part of the series The Blues, produced by Martin Scorsese. Rush was also a judge for the second annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.

Rush received recognition for his music after the release of his 22nd album Rush, when he was awarded "Best Male Soul Blues Artist" at the Blues Music Awards. He also received "best acoustic artist" and "best acoustic album" for his album Raw. His album, Hoochie Mama was nominated for a Grammy award in the blues music section in 2000. His most recent albums are Show You A Good Time (2011) on Deep Rush and Down In Louisiana (2013) on Thirty Tigers. In 2013, Rush was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the 'Soul Blues Male Artist' category."

Dalton Reed - Louisiana Soul Man 1991

When Scott Billington of Rounder Records began looking outside of New Orleans for Louisiana talent, one of the real gems he found was this master welder by day who was also a choir director in his church, and a fine blues/soul singer in the Lafayette, Louisiana music clubs scene at night. The story is that Dalton had a couple low budget 45's on a restaurant jukebox and Billington came in to eat and heard them. I think of him as the Johnny Adams of Lafayette. He has the same kind of rich, buttery sound and draws material from similar sources. This was his first ever album and first work with a real production team. I think you will find that he rose to the occaision. If you don't like his opening version of 'Baby Read Me My Rights' then I just don't know what to do with ya!

"  Dalton Reed attempted to keep the sweet sound of deep soul alive in the '90s. The Lafayette, LA, singer comes from a gospel background -- a prerequisite for success in the genre -- and cut his first single for his own little label in 1986.
  When he was child, Reed sang gospel in church and played trumpet in his high-school marching band. Reed fell in love with R&B and soul as a teenager, prompting him to join a few local bands. Soon, he formed his own group, Dalton Reed and the Musical Journey Band. In a short while, the band was playing bars and clubs throughout Louisiana, Alabama, and Texas.
  Reed founded his own record label, Sweet Daddy Records, in 1986, releasing his debut single, "Givin' On in to Love," that same year. Within a few years after the formation of Sweet Daddy, Reed and his brother Johnny formed another independent label, Reed Brothers Records." AMG

Louisiana Soul Man
  In 1990, Bullseye Blues signed Reed and the label released his debut album, Louisiana Soul Man, the following year. Three years later, his second album, Willing & Able, appeared. When he wasn't recording, Reed toured, playing concerts throughout America.  
Addendum While on tour in support of the second Rounder album Dalton was found dead in his hotel room prior to a gig in Minneapolis, he died of heart failure at only 40 years old.

Al King - Blues Master

"Telling these guys named Al King apart is like looking for a specific dune in the desert," a research assistant griped to his boss, vintage R&B blaring on a jukebox in the background. "That's a good image," the clever musicologist snapped, "because the guy you are looking for used to record for a label called Sahara!"

Al King was born Alvin Smith, August 8, 1926 in Monroe, LA. He was singing in the church choir by age ten and had the requisite god-fearing/blues-hating grandmother who whipped his butt each time he was caught showing interest in the blues which only caused him to get better at not getting caught. He recalled taking a whipping for sneaking out to see Billie Holiday, I know that personally I'd cheerfully take a whuppin' to see Billie even today!

He went into the service straight out of high school and was cut loose by Uncle Sam in California in 1947. King first tried San Francisco but soon went south to L.A. where work and music opportunities were more plentiful. He did a single for John Dolphin and a few more with a vocal group, but his career gained little traction until he hooked up with Johnny Otis for a time. The exposure with Otis lead to a pair of recording sessions up in Oakland where his bandleader turned out to be a 17 year old Johnny Heartsman. A friendship was formed that later lead to the music here on this disc.

Al Smith (not yet using King) had no success in making a name for himself in those sessions, but he did develop contacts and friendships with the like of Jimmy McCracklin and Bob Geddins and soon moved back to the Bay Area, this time on the Oakland side. He did some touring as a backup singer for McCracklin, and some unsuccessful singles for Geddins, but still he worked a day job to eat.

Finally in 1964 Al met Ron Badger who owned the Shirley imprint and Badger believed in him enough that a session ensued with Heartsman and his band backing. Smith had used the middle initial K for some time as a personal tribute to B.B. King, but on these sessions and thereafter he used King as a surname. The results are your first four tracks here. The first pair of tracks were released on Shirley to some modest jukebox success.

Whatever arrangements that had financed the Shirley session were clearly short-term because his next trip to the studio was self financed on his own label, Flag. The single (On My Way/Reconsider Baby) with Heartsman's band backing, turned out to be more successful than King's tiny label could manage and when Shahara Records of Buffalo, NY sent a telegram ordering 2,000 copies, there was no way King could afford to fill the order. Fortunately Sahara could afford the pressing and was willing to strike a deal that included the additional 8 tracks here.

King signed with Modern in 1968 resulting in the material on the earlier post here. His recording career ends in 1970, but he continued to be active in Bay Area blues clubs and festivals. I've realized through the course of these two posts that I actually saw him at least twice -- Preslives may well have seen him too.

Al King & Arthur K. Adams - Together

  Cliff found this Ace cd which pairs Al King, a West Coast blues guy whom he had been investigating, with Arthur K. Adams, a West Coast blues guy whom I had developed an interest in. Both these guys, like a Ray Agee or Jessie Belvin, are illustrative of the development of West Coast soul out of the uptown blues pioneered by T-Bone Walker, Lowell Fulson and Charles Brown.

Al King was born Alvin K. Smith in Monroe, Louisiana in 1926. Like many WWII vets he was cut loose in 1947 in the Southern California area. He first began working in the Los Angeles R&B scene, first with John Dolphin and later with Johnny Otis, but he eventually migrated north to Oakland where he hooked up with guitarist Johnny Heartsman and producer Bob Geddins.

These recordings find King back in L.A. singing in front of Maxwell Davis' band and recording for the Biharis at a time roughly concurrent with Albert King's run at Stax. I don't think there is much doubt that the first track, 'My Name Is Misery', shows some influences from Albert's 'Born Under A Bad Sign'.

You couldn't tell from this cover here, but while King is in his early 40's at the time of these tracks, Arthur K. Adams is nearly 20 years his junior. Adams was born in Medon, Tennessee in 1943, but by 1959 he was touring as a backup singer for Gene Allison who abandoned the teenager in Dallas, Tx. Adams worked his way up in the Dallas/Ft. Worth scene, gaining a good reputation both as a singer and guitarist; he was a mere 21 when he moved to Los Angeles in 1964. Within a couple years Adams found his way to Kent/Modern and the Biharis where his first project was as a rhythm filler on B.B. King's 'The Jungle'. That cover picture with the fellah in the hammock and the red guitar?...not B.B. at all, it's Adams!

While at Modern Adams was used to fill out some of their unfinished B.B. King tracks as well as contributing some killer guitar to sessions by Larry Davis and the above Al King tracks. Adams eventually became a first call session guy in the L.A. studios, contributing to hits by the Jackson Five, Quincy Jones and countless others. He also worked extensively in T.V. and movies (he is the guitarist behind Bonnie & Clyde) and as a frequent contributor to the Jazz Crusaders.