Various - Alligator Records--50 Years Of Genuine Houserockin' Music- Alligator Records
Alligator Records is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year and, as it has in past years, compiled, 40th Anniversary Collection, a three-CD compilation of 58 recordings from the label since it released Genuine Houserockin' Music by Hound Dog Taylor, which label founder Bruce Iglauer says is the mantra that still governs the label. However, he notes the label no longer just records blues, even if the artists are deeply rooted in the blues tradition. There is also a double LP vinyl edition with twenty-four selections.
Given the diversity of contents and the purpose of this collection, it is not my intent to review the contents here. I suspect folks will find selections they don't like and others they think are timeless. Besides celebrating Alligator Records history, this compilation hopefully will introduce some of the artists and recordings that some may be unfamiliar with. There are vintage selections from Koko Taylor, Hound Dog Taylor, Son Seals, Fenton Robinson, and Albert Collins. Also, there are contemporary acts like Michael Burks, Tommy Castro, Shemekia Copeland, and Selwyn Birchwood.
There is a selection from the Grammy Award-winning collaboration between Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, and Robert Cray, a track from Professor Longhair, a live Luther Allison track, a selection from Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women, and a duet between Corey Harris and Henry Butler. Other performers represented here include Guitar Shorty, Billy Branch, Joe Louis Walker, Janiva Magness, JJ Grey & Mofro, Tinsley Ellis, and Coco Montoya. Also, many of the recent albums on Alligator are represented, including tracks from Chris Cain, The Cash Box Kings, Curtis Salgado, The Nick Moss Band featuring Dennis Gruenling, Toronto Cannon, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite, and Roomful of Blues.
In addition to his overview of Alligator's history, label head Bruce Iglauer provides short bios of the various acts. I believe his concluding comments to the liner notes states things very well,
"Today, after 50 years, Alligator remains proudly independent and still 100% dedicated to Genuine Houserockin' Music. With a roster that includes beloved veterans like Marcia Ball, Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials, Elvin Bishop and Roomful Of Blues, rising stars like Selwyn Birchwood and Toronzo Cannon, and the 22-year-old sensation Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, we are committed to the past, present and future of the tradition. Now that illegal downloading has been replaced by digital streaming services reaching around the globe, Alligator's music can be heard in China, India, and across Africa, and in other countries where it was never available in physical form. Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers would be amazed to see what happened to the tiny record label, now with over 350 releases, that was created to bring their music to the world. They'd be thrilled to know that billions of people can now discover the joyous houserockin' blues that they played every Sunday at Florence's Lounge."
"Alligator Records-- 50 Years Of Genuine Houserockin' Music" is a vibrant celebration of the impressive (and still growing) body of music produced by Alligator Records and Bruce Iglauer.
It is amazing to see how it has only been 22 years since Shemekia Copeland's first album came out. Indeed, the promise of that album has been fulfilled many times as she is generally regarded as today's Queen of the Blues. But as she has matured, she has shown that being viewed as a blues artist is no longer a confining description as she readily and convincingly crosses over to musical genres. It can be suggested that her latest album "Uncivil War" is as much a roots and soul recording as a blues recording. This sentiment is a descriptive comment and not a comment on this recording's quality. "Uncivil War" is a superb recording.
"Uncivil War" was recorded in Nashville with award-winning producer and musician Will Kimbrough at the helm. There is quite a crew of musicians on this recording. In addition to Kimbrough, the core band consists of Lex Price on bass and Pete Abbott on drums. Guest musicians on "Uncivil War" include guitarists Jason Isbell, Steve Cropper, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Webb Wilder, and Duane Eddy. Also present are mandolin wizard Sam Bush, dobro master Jerry Douglas, and Phil Madeira on organ and guitar.
The material is striking, starting with the opening "Clotilda's On Fire," written by Kimbrough and Shemekia's manager John Hahn. It is the story of the very last slave trade ship to arrive in America (in Mobile Bay, Alabama) in 1859, 50 years after the slave trade was banned. The ship was burned and sunk by the captain to destroy the evidence. The wreckage was finally discovered in 2019. Shemekia's passionate singing is matched by the backing than includes a scorching solo from Jason Isbell. Then follows a terrific Staple Singers-esque message song, "Walk Until I Ride," with Shemekia in total command. I do feel there is a certain naivety to the lyric of the title track. However, Copeland authoritatively delivers the message of cooling down hostilities with folks having differing views. Jerry Douglas and Sam Bush lend an American feel to this track.
"Money Makes You Ugly" is a hard rock performance where she wails about those with money who abuse folks and the environment with a searing guitar solo by Christone "Kingfish" Ingram. There is an affectionate tribute to Dr. John, "Dirty Saint," with a second line beat and some nifty slide guitar from Kimbrough. After an atmospheric cover The Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb," there is the hard rock "Apple Pie And A .45" that addresses gun violence with lyrics about a child getting killed and blood running in the streets.
Other musical delights include "She Don't Wear Pink" that Webb Wilder co-wrote. Wilder and Duane Eddy add to the alternative country feel of a song with a definite pro-feminist slant. Shemekia is superb in her interpretation of a lesser-known Junior Parker recording, "In the Dark." Steve Cropper adds his guitar to a superlative blues performance. A terrific country-soul flavored rendition of her father's "Love Song" is the final track on an outstanding recording by one of our musical treasures.
I received a download to review from Alligator Records. Here is "Clotilda's On Fire" from this album.
Shemekia Copeland has a new album, "Uncivil Wars," coming out soon. She has been performing for over two decades, at first with her father, the Late Johnny Copeland. After his passing, she has become perhaps the most prominent woman blues singer. For this Take 5, I have selected some videos of her performing live.
We start with her singing "Turn the Heat Up," which I believe was on her first album. Her band included Barry Harrison (who was drummer in her father's band) on drums, pianist Doña Oxford on piano, Eric King on bass and Arthur Neilson on guitar.
Next up is another tune from her first album, "Married With the Blues" from a 2017 performance in Poland a few years ago.
Here is a duet with Robert Cray singing the Bobby Bland classic "I Pity the Fool."
During her live perfomances and recordings she usually includes one of her father's songs. Here she performs, "It's My Own Tears."
Another of her father's songs she usually sings is "Ghetto Child." We close out this Take 5 with this powerful performance.
Various Artists 2020 Blues—New Music From Alligator Records Alligator Records
This is a digital-only sampler from 5 albums that Alligator was going to release this year. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic intervened and eliminated nearly all live performances and the like. In Bruce Iglaur's words, "It's now clear that the pandemic and its results are going to continue for some time to come. We can't wait any longer to begin to share this great new music with the media and the public. … These albums are scheduled for later this year and early next year. 2020 Blues and each individual track will be available on all the popular download and streaming sites."
This compilation is a welcome teaser for the five upcoming albums. The first selection up is from Chris Cain, whose "I Believe I Got Off Cheap" is from an album to be released early next year. I have been quite a fan of Cain for years, and it is great that he will have a new album. This song is a terrific track on which he channels Albert King's guitar style paired with his soulful vocals. Following you is a selection from Selwyn Birchwood, "Living In A Burning House." From a release schedule for January, it is a typical first-rate performance from one of the real young blue bloods. Also scheduled for release next year is a new Curtis Salgado album. The track "The Longer That I Live" is a stunning Memphis soul performance. If the rest of this album is this good, it is another most purchase.
Both Shemekia Copeland and Elvin Bishop-Charlie Musselwhite will have new albums out this year, Shemekia, in October and Elvin-Charlie in September. Both of their songs deal with the deep divide in our country now. Shemekia sings "Uncivil War," a plea for us to get along, although her plea "to listen to one another and, ultimately, come together" may strike some as naive. The striking performance is more Americana than blues, and it is good to see her showing how expressive she can be no matter the musical setting. The raucous "What The Hell?" is a rowdy duet with Bishop singing about things ailing our country and talking about what he likes about the President, which is nothing, Musselwhite wails throughout this track. It certainly makes one quite interested in their collaboration.
The new recording by the Chicago based Cash Box Kings is a terrific CD of traditionally rooted Chicago blues. Take the excellent rhythm section of bassist John Lauter and drummer Kenny 'Beedy Eyes' Smith with Queen Lee Kanehira guesting on keyboards and Little Frank Krakowski on rhythm guitar; have a real, real, real good singer in Oscar Wilson; and add superb guitar and harmonica from Billy Flynn and Joe Nosek respectfully, and one has one fabulous band. Shemekia Copeland guests on one song, Xavier Lynn adds lead guitar to two, Derek Hendrickson takes over the drum chair on two, and Alex Hill adds percussion to two. Nosek and Wilson collaborated on nine of the 13 tracks (with John Hahn on one), Nosek wrote two by himself, and there are two novel covers.
One has to be impressed by how tight, and in the pocket, Lauter and Smith are throughout the shifting tempos and material. Flynn is superb whether channeling B.B. King on the opening shuffle "Ain't No Fun (When the Rabbit Has the Gun)," the Freddy King of King's Federal recordings on "'Take Anything I Can" with its boogaloo groove (think King's instrumental "Texas Oil"); and Jimmy Rogers crossed with Blue Smitty on "Smoked Jowl Blues." With Nosek full-bodied harp backing and solos, they provide first-rate support for Wilson's robust and nuanced singing. Wilson sounds comfortable handling a hot shuffle like the opening "Ain't No Fun," a Jimmy Rogers' styled performance on "Smoked Jowl," and the Muddy Waters' styled "Poison in My Whiskey." With Flynn's slide guitar evoking Earl Hooker, the Cash Box Kings recast Mercy Dee's "Sugar Daddy" into a terrific Chicago blues. The closing "The Wrong Number" is ebullient Bluebeat Beat styled performance in the manner of Washboard Sam and Jazz Gillum.
The songs are marvelous, idiomatic blues laced with irony and humor, including the highly amusing duet between Wilson and Shemekia Copeland, "The Wine Talkin'." Nosek handles a couple vocals including "Back Off," and is an adequate vocal but lacks Wilson's authority. Nosek and Wilson team up for the humorous duet "Joe, You Ain't From Chicago," where Joe starts off naming a place to get Italian Beef but it is in Elmwood Park, and Wilson states that isn't in Chicago. Against a Bo Diddley groove, Nosek sings about going to Maxwell Street, riding the redline after dark and seeing Smokey Smothers, while Wilson sings Joe doesn't know the Loop from Cabrini Green.
The highpoint may be "Bluesman Next Door," about people who say they like the blues, but don't want Wilson living next door. He sings about folks saying he is the top singing up on stage, but if they see him in the neighborhood, they would probably call a cop. Besides Wilson's terrific singing, Xavier Lynn plays the first-rate solo. This song stands out among the consistently excellent music heard on this superb CD.
I received my review copy from Alligator. Here is Alligator's promotional video for "Ain't No Fun (When the Rabbit Has the Gun)."
Shemekia Copeland Outskirts of Love Alligator Records
Returning to Alligator Records, Shemekia Copeland has just issued "Outskirts of Love," an album of blues, roots rock, and R&B that certainly will appeal to her many fans. Produced in Nashville by Oliver Wood, who plays guitar and adds backing vocals, the recording also includes Jano Rix on drums, percussion and keyboards and Lex Price on bass, with guest appearances by Billy Gibbons, Alvin Youngblood Hart and Robert Randolph. Also heard are guitarist Will Kimbrough and Arthur Neilson (from Shemekia's touring band), and steel guitarist Pete Finney. Wood and Executive Producer John Hahn (and Shemekia's manager) collaborated for a number of three songs and Hahn also collaborated with Ian Siegel on another. There are also renditions of songs from Shemekia's late father, Johnny Copeland, along with Albert King, John Fogerty, Jessie Mae Hemphill amongst others.
The title track is a rocking number that would not be out of place on an album rock station which Shemekia quickly lends her vocal authority to the Hahn-Wood lyrics. A highlight is the reworking of her father's "Devil's Hand" with a smoldering backing that builds in intensity along with her assured, blues shouting. Alvin Hart lends some down-home blues flavor with his guitar and vocal to the Hahn-Siegel "Cardboard Box," where she has no pillow, "mine is made out of rocks," and the "blues come calling, no it never knocks, life is so simple, in a cardboard box." "Drivin' Out of Nashville," is a country rocker although the tagline "country music ain't nothing but blues with a twang," may be memorable, if not true.
Shemekia's take on Orville Couch and Eddie McDuff's "I Feel a Sin Coming On" transforms this country classic into an intense slice of deep southern soul that sounds like it was recorded in Muscle Shoals. Jesse Winchester's "Isn't That So" is a tough shuffle with a New Orleans groove, while Billy Gibbons adds guitar to the remake of Z.Z. Top's hard rock "Jesus Left Chicago." John Fogerty's songs have recently been inspiration to various blues women (Vaneese Thomas) and Shemekia's maturity as a singer is evident on her interpretation of "Long As I Can See The Light."
After a fresh take on Albert King's "Wrapped Up In Love Again," the album closes with her rendition of Jessie Mae Hemphill's plea "Lord, Help the Poor and Needy," in this land. Its a pretty straightforward vocal enhanced by swampy feel of the backing. Shemekia's phrasing and use of dynamics elevate her beyond simply being a shouter. The performances on "Outskirts of Love" may span musical genres, but throughout, Shemekia Copeland is compelling throughout them.
I received my review copy from Alligator Records. Here is Shemekia Copeland performing " Drivin' Out of Nashville."
“Bluzin’ in the Catskills” brings the blues to the Villa
Roma Resort in Calicoon, NY, the weekend of March 24–26,
2017. This will be an all-inclusive weekend of great blues
Shemekia Copeland and
Bobby Rush Headline Blues-Filled
Catskill Weekend
Shemekia Copeland (photo by Ron Weinstock)
performers including Shemekia Copeland, The Bobby Rush
Revue, John Primer, Johnny Rawls, Teeny Tucker, Slam Allen,
Alexis Suter & the Ministers of sound and much more.
This blues land cruise is being produced by Michael Cloeren
who has produced Blues Festivals in the Poconos for 25
years and produced other events including the Philadelphia
Folk Festival for four years.
(John Primer)
When Bluzin’ attendees arrive Friday, March 24, they
will be greeted by keyboard wizard Dave Keyes. That night
they will feature the music of The Slam Allen Band (Slam
fronted as vocalist with James Cotton for many years and
now exciting crowds everywhere with his music); The Teeny
Tucker Band (the daughter of Tommy Tucker evokes blues
women greats like Big Mama Thornton and Etta James);
and The Bobby Rush Revue, with the Blues Hall of Famer
who has been singing and performing for over 50 years.
That Night concludes a blues jam hosted by Bobby Kyle
and the Administers with Vanessa Collier, Mikey Junior
and others.
(Teeny Tucker)
There is a full day of music on Saturday, March 25 starting
with a Centennial Celebration with Bobby Kyle and the
Administers with Teeny Tucker, Mikey Junior and Vanessa
Collier. It will be followed by John Primer & Steve Bell (Primer
is one of the great straight Chicago Blues Guitarists and
vocalists and Steve Bell is Carey Bell’s son); Johnny Rawls
& Dave Keller (the great soul-blues singer and guitarist as
well former member of OV Wright’s band is joined by strong
Vermont-based soul-blues singer-guitarist) and followed by
pianist Dave Keyes and Friends. Also happening Saturday
Afternoon, Guy Davis will perform his one-man show, “The
Adventures of Fishy Waters: In Bed With the Blues,” an acclaimed
mix of storytelling and musical performance.
(Johnny Rawls)
Saturday evening opens with Johnny Rawls & the Dave
Keller Band, followed by a Tribute to Johnny Clyde Copeland
with Bobby Kyle, Randy Lippincott, Joel Perry and Barry
Harrison, all former members of the late Blues Legend’s
Band. John Primer follows and Shemekia Copeland, a
consistent Blues Award nominee and winner finishes up
the main show. The late night jam that evening will feature
the Dave Keyes Band with guests including Vanessa Collier
and Mikey Junior. The Festival winds down on Sunday, March 26 with
Shemekia Copeland talking about her music and career during
the brunch. Dave Keyes will be playing solo piano later
and the powerhouse vocalist Alexis Suter & The Ministers
of Sound will be performing in the afternoon. Those still at
the resort that evening can see the Chris Bergson Band
with special guest Ellis Hooks.
(Alexis Suter)
The all-inclusive packages include Friday dinner, three
meals on Saturday and Sunday Brunch, on-site lodging,
meet and greet, a movie screening and more. The Villa
Roma has an indoor pool, fitness center, Bowling Alley and
more. The package does not include adult beverages. Deposits
to get the lowest rate must be received by December 5
with the balance due by January 23, 2017. For more information,
visit http://www.michaelcloerenproductions.com/, click
on the Festivals pull down menu and click on the Bluzin’ in
the Catskills button.
It has been 5 years since Alligator Records produced its last label retrospective/sampler, so now it has issued the two-disc "Alligator Records 45th Anniversary Collection," that allows Bruce Iglauer to mix some of the recordings from the label's history with tracks from more recent recordings. So a typical driving rocker from a 2008 Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials release is followed by some searing Son Seals from his 1973 debut recording.
Rather than go through every artist and track, let me say that there is plenty of fine music here, even if some of the performances are not to my taste. Listening to Shemekia Copeland's rendition of her father's "Devil's Hand," one is impressed by the freshness of her rendition, and roots artist JJ Grey and Mofro is one of the more compelling artists Alligator has promoted over the past decade or so. It certainly is a teat to hear fresh new (not necessarily young) voices such as Toronzo Cannon, Jarekus Singleton and Selwyn Birchwood, along with the bluesy roots of Moreland & Arbuckle. Then one has vintage Koko Taylor doing "Voodoo Woman" from her first Alligator album along with Jimmy Johnson's "Your Turn to Cry" from the "Living Chicago Blues" series.
The rockabilly of Lee Rocker is mixed in with the roadhouse blues-country of Delbert McClinton and the rollicking Gulf Coast boogie of Marcia Ball. And it certainly is a treat to listen to A.C. Reed with Bonnie Raitt guesting, along with some sizzling live Luther Allison and the gospel of Mavis Staples and the Holmes Brothers. Both Guitar Shorty and Joe Louis Walker have been prominent relatively recent additions to Alligator's catalog although I would suggest that these are not the best recordings of their career. Of course, lets not forget selections by Billy Boy Arnold, Lazy Lester and Charlie Musselwhite.
Bruce Iglauer provides both an overview on the label and all the performances included. With about two and half hours of music among the 37 performances on these two-discs, it is priced as if it was a single disc so it represents good value along with the good music.
I reeeived my review copy from Alligator. This review appeared in the July-August 2016 issue of Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 367).
The Pennsylvania Blues Festival approaches quickly. The following has appeared in the May-June Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 360) that can be downloaded at jazz-blues.com.
Celebrating 24 years of Blues in the Poconos, the Pennsylvania Blues Festival takes place at Split Rock Resort, Friday July 24 through Sunday July 26. It moves to Split Rock in Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania after 4 years at the Blue Mountain Resort. The new location is close to the original Festival location on Big Boulder Mountain. "The Blues Lovers Blues Festival," as it calls itself will be headlined by Shemekia Copeland on Saturday the 25th and Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials. There will be zydeco from Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hell-raisers as well as gospel from the Highway QCs,and such notable performers as Walter 'Wolfman' Washington; John Nemeth and Alvin 'Youngblood' Hart.
Friday night, June 24, the Festival opens with an Indoor Showcase with Mikey Junior's Blues Review, featuring the fine harmonica player and vocalist. It takes place inside the Galleria at Split Rock.
Monster Mike Welch and Sugar Ray
Saturday June 25, the Festival Main Stage opens with Dwayne Dopsie and
the Zydeco Hell-raisers. One of the sons of zydeco legend Rockin'
Dopsie. Dwayne Dopsie's hard-driving and rocking music is also heavily
influenced by Clifton Chenier and similarly he is marvelous blues singer
and player as well as traditional zydeco artist who will also do a
Hendrix-influenced rendition of "Hey Joe." Besides opening the main
stage he will close the Tent Stage that night. Alligator Recording
Artist Selwyn Birchwood, winner of the International Blues Challenge a
couple years back, brings his exuberant blues with his tight band, solid
vocals and guitar, including lap steel (he was mentored by Sonny
Rhodes). Severn Records artist Sugar Ray & The BlueTones follows and
the group led by Ray Norcia has been laying down Chicago styled blues
for nearly 40 years (This writer saw them in 1978 in New York backing
J.B. Hutto. Norcia a marvelous singer (reminiscent of Junior Parker and
he had a stint fronting Roomful of Blues) and fine harpist is backed by
Monster Mike Welch on guitar; Anthony Geraci on keyboards, Michael
'Mudcat' Ward on bass, and Neil Gouvin on drums. New Orleans Icon,
Walter 'Wolfman' Washington and the Roadmasters is up next on the Main
Stage bring there mix of blues, soul and funk. Closing the Main stage
will be Shemekia Copeland who recently resigned with Alligator Records
bring her tight band and her powerful vocals on a mix of blues and
blues-rooted material that underscores why she has been named Koko
taylor's successor as "Queen of The Blues."
Walter 'Wolfman' Washington
In
addition to the Main Stage, others acts will be presented in the Tent
Stage. Electro-Fi Recording Artist Harmonica Shah & Carlton
Washington will open the tent stage and play a second set later. Also in
the tent performing two sets is John Mooney. Mooney mixes Delta Blues
with the New orleans second-line. Growing up in Rochester NY, Mooney was
mentored by legendary Son House and his most recent recording is a
tribute to the Delta Blues Icon. Dwayne Dopsie closes out the tent Stage
after Mooney's second set. Later Saturday evening, Bobby Kyle will lead
a Tribute to Johnny Copeland in the Galleria Governor's Ballroom.
Blues
on Sunday July 26 starts with a Blues Brunch in the Governor's Ballroom
featuring Slam Allen, a dynamic singer and guitarist who spent several
years fronting James Cotton's Band. Sunday on the Main Stage opens with
the legendary gospel group, The Highway QCs. This Gospel Quartet was
sort of the junior Soul Stirrers and members years ago included Sam
Cooke, Johnny Taylor and Low Rawls. Up next on the main stage is Vanesse
Thomas, who is the terrific blues and rhythm singing daughter of Rufus
Thomas. Victor Wainright and the Wild Roots brings this rocking keyboard
wizard to the main stage and he is followed by the terrific soul-blues
Blues Music Award winning vocalist John Nemeth. Closing the Main stage
will be Alligator recording artists, Lil Ed & the Blues Imperials,
who will bring their exuberant house rocking slide-guitar blues.
Lil Ed Williams
Sunday,
the Tent Stage will have performances from Alvin 'Youngblood' Hart, The
Peterson Brothers and Mikey Junior. Alvin 'Youngblood' Hart emerged
over two decades ago laying down traditional Delta and Texas blues which
has expanded to include a wide range of material, making him a 21st
Century songster in the manner of a Leadbelly. He has been called a
musical love child of Howlin' Wolf and Link Wray. The Peterson Brothers
are youthful blues prodigies that show that blues can still inspire
youth and have shared stages with Pinetop Perkins, Willie Smith, Michael
Burks and Marcia Ball. their website notes they are recording a debut
album. Hart and they will play two sets before Mikey Junior closes the
Tent Stage.
The first time I saw Shemekia Copeland sing the blues, she was with her father, the late Johnny Copeland. Even as a teenager opening for her very proud father, Shemekia had a presence, poise and maturity as a singer and as Bill Wax commented that evening at Tornado Alley in Wheaton, MD, that Shemekia
reminded him of a young Irma Thomas. After her father’s untimely passing, Shemekia emerged on her own
as a major blues talent. She is among the most prominent women blues performers of today and the late
Koko Taylor’s family were among those who anointed her as successor to Koko, a Queen of the Blues. Being a woman and solely a vocalist, Shemekia perhaps benefited from not being in her father’s musical
shadow. Yet, her father was an important part of her personal and music development, and Johnny
Copeland’s Ghetto Child remains a signature part of her live performances. Shemekia (who will be at the
Tinner Hill Blues Festival on Friday, June 13 at the State Theatre) now records for Telarc. However, her first
four recordings were for Alligator, and the compilation Deluxe Edition is a fine retrospective of the music
Shemekia Copeland recorded for Alligator and serves as a welcome starting point to her powerful blues.
Two sons of the legendary Muddy Waters, Big Bill Morganfield and Mud Morganfield, have established
themselves as blues artists. In contrast to Shemekia, their musical performances reflect the music of their
father, Muddy Waters. Also in contrast to Shemekia’s father, Muddy played a less significant role as they
were growing up. In an interview with Ben Lazarus of the British newspaper The Telegraph (May 7, 2014
issue), Waters’ oldest son, Larry ‘Mud’ Morganfield noted that Muddy Waters was on the road often when
he was growing up, and after his parents split up, his mother’s brothers played a great role in Mud’s upbringing. As Lazarus observed, Mud initially ran from the blues “go[ing] to business school and driv[ing]
trucks to make a living, but he realized he wanted to leave his own legacy and not just live in the shadow of
his father.” He has established himself as a strong performer of blues in the manner of his famous dad.
The relationship was reflected in the title of his 2011 Severn Records release, Son of the Seventh Son.
About Son of the Seventh Son, I wrote (in my review), “Mud does a strong job of
conjuring up his late father’s blues and the backing band certainly contributes to the overall feel of this
band. Certainly if there can be “Blues Brothers” tribute bands, the eldest son of one of the greatest blues
artists can do his part in keeping his father’s sound alive, especially when he contributes a number of
strong originals that he ably performs. While he may not be an original performer, Mud Morganfield certain-
ly is keeping his legendary father’s sound alive, supported by an excellent band.”
Eddie Taylor Jr at 2006 Pocono Blues Fest
Shemekia Copeland and Mud Morganfield provide two different examples of children of blues artiststoday playing the blues. Not all children front bands. Kenny ‘Beedy Eyes’ Smith is the son of the late Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith, who anchored the
drum chair for Muddy Waters for a couple decades and then anchored the Legendary Blues Band. In his later years, Willie took up harmonica,
with his son Kenny taking up his father’s drum chair. Kenny is among the most in demand drummers for straight Chicago blues recordings,
having recorded with his father, Lurrie Bell, the Heritage Blues Orchestra (scheduled for the Pennsylvania Blues Festival), bassist Bob Stroger, Chris Harper, and Mississippi Heat (with whom he
regularly plays and who will be at the Tinner Hill Blues Festival).
Kenny Smith is not the only blues drummer son of a famous blues artist. Tim Taylor is another drummer who has made his mark in the blues
world. Tim is the son of legendary blues singer and guitarist Eddie Taylor (best known for playing with Jimmy Reed) and along with his brother
Eddie Jr, half-brother Larry, and sister Demetria, Tim has carried on the tradition of the Chicago blues. Tim has recorded with brother Eddie Jr.,
who plays the Delta-rooted Chicago blues style for which his father was known. Of one of Eddie Taylor, Jr.’s albums I opined, “This is a solid, traditionally oriented blues recording. He sings from the heart and plays the old school style of Chicago blues guitar that fewer and fewer still play.”
Eddie Jr. brings his solid approach while playing behind Demetria on her Delmark album Bad Girl, which has a nice mix of blues songs that indicates a bit of the influence of the unrelated Koko Taylor.
Teeny Tucker at 2009 DC Blues Festival
Like Shemekia Copeland, Teeny Tucker is the daughter of a blues legend. Her father was Tommy Tucker of Hi-Heel Sneakers fame,
although he passed away in 1982, long before Teeny started singing professionally. While growing up singing in church choirs, in the past two
decades she has become one of the finest vocalists in the blues world, possessing a forceful and expressive voice that exhibits not simply her
power as a singer, but her phrasing, vocal dynamics and controlled pitch. Listening to her, one hears a wide range of influences including such
legendary figures as Koko Taylor, Christine Kittrell, Lavern Baker and Big Maybelle, but like them she has developed into her own compelling sound. Her most recent album, Voodoo to Do You, is a strong collection of performances that
includes her renditions of songs associated with Koko Taylor - Voodoo Woman, Howlin’ Wolf - Commit a Crime, and Christine Kittrell -a marvelous rendition of Lieber & Stoller’s I’m a
Woman (many know this from Peggy Lee, but Kittrell first recorded this). In addition to Voodoo
Woman, several songs (but not all) have a voodoo theme, including Love Spell, and Is Your
Voodoo Workin’. The album also includes strong acoustic performances of Skip James’ Hard Time
Killing Floor Blues and Rev. Gary Davis’ Death Have No Mercy. Both are wonderfully sung and
enhanced by the playing of guitarist Robert Hughes. Teeny headlines the Saturday afternoon
performances at the Tinner Hill Blues Festival in Falls Church.
Billy Branch and Lurrie Bell at 2012 Pennsylvania Blues Festival
Lurrie Bell, son of harmonica legend Carey Bell, first emerged in a group, Sons of the Blues, that
also included Willie Dixon’s son Freddie Dixon and harmonica wizard Billy Branch. Playing a different
instrument from his father enabled Lurrie to develop his own musical persona, which has been
exhibited on a number of excellent blues albums that included collaborations with his late father.
Bernard Allison also had some collaborations with his father, Luther. Since Luther passed away,
Bernard plays and sings in the same high energy, rocking style of his father and has incorporated
several of his father’s songs in his performances. Ronnie Baker Brooks and Wayne Baker Brooks
both spent time playing with their father, Lonnie Brooks (Baker is Lonnie’s real last name).
While they continue to perform with their father (who has limited his performances in recent years), they both have started their own careers with their own approaches rooted in their father’s music. One also cannot forget Eddie ‘Vaan’ Shaw, son of saxophonist Eddie Shaw.
Magic Sam and Hubert Sumlin, Vaan’s guitar became a mainstay of his father’s band and has been for many years. Vaan has recorded two albums on hisown for the Austrian Wolf label and can be heard on the recordings of his Blues
Hall of Fame father.
Vann and Eddie Shaw at 2013 Pennsylvania Blues Festival
There are, of course, more sons and daughters of the blues. In Chicago,
Elmore James, Jr., plays a mix of straight Chicago blues and some of his father’s
slide guitar blues, although his slide playing and vocals owes a bit to Elmore's
cousin, Homesick James. In New Orleans, one can hear, Guitar Slim Jr. who also
brings a personal approach to his legendary father’s songs as well as other blues
tunes. Shawn Holt, son of the late Magic Slim, recently won the Blues Music
Award for Best Debut album, Daddy Told Me. This is a strong recording, very
much in the vein of his father, with driving medium tempo shuffles and slow-drag, bump and grind blues. On this CD, Shawn is perpetuating Magic Slim’s
legacy and also shows he is, himself, a significant voice for today’s blues. In the
Northern Mississippi hill country, Shardé Turner leads the fife and drum band her
grandfather Otha Turner led for many years, while the children and grandchildren
of Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside continue playing music extending this
deep blues tradition.
One other blues child to mention is harmonica player Rip Lee Pryor. Rip Lee is the son of Snooky Pryor, who was amongst the first post-war Chicago blues artists to record. Rip played guitar with his father, but has become
a harmonica player whose style is similar to his father’s. Oddly, Rip Lee’s interest in blues started in a period when Snooky had withdrawn from
the music business. Rip Lee’s recent debut recording Nobody But Me, on Electro-Fi, displays a pretty straight-forward approach to the blues as he
plays harmonica on a rack and lays down simple guitar backing. Significant influences on his music include his father and John Lee “Sonny Boy”
Williamson. As Scott Bock observes in his liner notes to the release, Rip Lee has a pretty stripped down sound resulting in a straight dose of
classic Chicago blues. (Rip Lee Pryor and Shawn Holt will be appearing at the Pennsylvania Blues Festival at Pennsylvania’s Blue Mountain Ski
Resort in late July.)
This post has appeared in the June 2014 Capital Blues Messenger, the DC Blues Society's newsletter.
Teeny Tucker and Robert Hughes at 2009 DC Blues Festival.
Falls Church, Virginia hosts a weekend of Blues, Brew and BBQ with the 21st Tinner Hill Blues Festival which runs Friday June 13th through Sunday June 15. The Festival, which is a tribute to the late Northern Virginia Blues Legend John Jackson, will feature the blues talents of Shemekia Copeland, Teeny Tucker, Mississippi Heat and Ursula Ricks as well as area favorites Tom Principato and Cathy Ponton King. The Tinner Hill Blues Festival is produced by The Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation which celebrates the legacy of the first rural Virginia NAACP chapter that was founded in 1915, which they will be celebrating the centennial in January 2015.
Friday, June 13th the Festival opens with Shemekia Copeland at The State Theatre, 222 N. 33 1/3” on Telarc which Howard Reich of The Chicago Tribune called “a gripping, stripped-to-basics release that reaffirms her position as one of the great hopes for the art form.”
Shemekia Copeland at 2009 Pocono Blues Festival
Washington Street in Falls Church. Shemekia Copeland is the daughter of Texas legend Johnny Clyde Copeland and began singing with her father while a teenager. After her father passed away, she started performing on her own and signed with the Alligator label with whom she had several award winning recordings before signing with her current label Telarc. Shemekia is a two-time Grammy nominee, multiple Handy Award-Blues Music Award honoree, winner of several Living Blues Critics and Readers Awards for Outstanding Female Blues Vocalist as well as DownBeat Award Winner for Rising Star Blues Artist. At the 2011 Chicago Blues Festival, In addition, the city of Chicago, state of Illinois, and Joyce “Cookie” Threatt, daughter of Koko Taylor, surprised Shemekia onstage with her mother’s tiara, and crowned her “The new Queen of the Blues” at the Chicago Blues Festival. Her most recent album is “
Opening for Shemekia will be Sol Roots. Sol Roots is a fine guitarist (actually multi-instrumentalist and singer that creates a blend of energetic rock, raw blues, reggae, and funk, all delivered with deep soul. Sol, who regularly plays at such venues as The Hamilton Live and JVs, has toured with many roots, funk, and blues legends around the world as a part of Music Maker Revue (and accompanied Beverly Watkins and Albert White at the 2013 Tinner Hill Blues Festival).
Saturday, June 13, the Festival moves to Cherry Hill Park on Park Avenue in Falls Church. In the morning, there will be acoustic blues played at the weekly Farmer’s Market held in the Falls Church City Hall Parking lot. There will be other events held including a panel discussion TBA before the main program begins at Cherry Hill Park.
This year’s Saturday line-up is headlined by Teeny Tucker. Teeny is the daughter of Tommy Tucker, best known for one of the great blues standards, High Heel Sneakers. Teeny has developed into a singer of great power and nuance whose performances include her salutes to some of the great blues women of the past and choice originals. Her powerful singing will conjure up memories of such legends as Lavern Baker, Big Mama Thornton and Koko Taylor. In fact, her rendition of Koko’s Voodoo Woman opens her new album Voodoo To Do You. Teeny’s band is led by an outstanding guitarist Robert Hughes, who in addition to being a terrific musician and collaborator with teeny, is an outstanding photographer who was recently named Ohio Professional Photographer of the Year. About her album Keep The Blues Alive, I wrote that the album “will certainly build Teeny’s audience. There is some exceptional material on this and Teeny is fabulous.”
Mississippi Heat is a band that is led by harmonica player Pierre Lacocque who also contributes most of the new material. Mississippi Heat has always been a band that has focused on an ensemble sound and supporting its singers and for over two decades been playing strong Chicago blues. Lacocque himself plays in the Little Walter tradition. The band has a marvelous vocalist, Inetta Visor who has been with the group since 2001. Her powerful, Etta James-like voice on Footprints On The Ceiling, Glad You're Mine, and One Eye Open are always highlights of the performances. Other members of the band include guitarist Michael Dotson, bassist Brian Quinn and crummy Kenny “Beedy Eyes’ Smith. Kenny Smith, like Shemekia Copeland and Teeny Tucker, is a child of a legendary blues artist, in this car the long-time drummer with Muddy Waters, Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith. Of the Mississippi Heat’s last Delmark recording Delta Bound, I wrote “One continues to get impressed by Mississippi Heat. Pierre Lacocque continues to write interesting and varied new blues songs which are rooted in the blues and not blues-rock. Match the material with the tight backing, strong solos and excellent vocals and he continues to bring us after 20 years first-rate and fresh-sounding, new blues.”
Baltimore’s Ursula Ricks has been a presence on the Baltimore and Washington blues scenes for a couple decades, Ursula Ricks certainly sounds poised to break out to the National music scene and her recent recording My Street (Severn Records) displays another singer of considerable maturity. She is a powerful singer, whose smoky and husky vocals are outstanding. Her controlled, unforced delivery stands out in a manner akin to Nina Simone. She never bellows, screams or sounds constipated. Rather she evokes classic sixties soul recordings by the like of Carol Fran or Betty Everett. About My Street, I wrote “The songs and her vocals ring with conviction and the backing is excellent on a superb recording that will hopefully enable Ms. Ricks to receive the recognition and rewards her talent and music deserves.” I am not the only person to notice this as she will be appearing at the Pennsylvania Blues Festival as well.
Tom Principato
Other performers on Saturday include Baatin, Tom Principato and Cathy Ponton King. Tom Principato is one of the most celebrated, blues and roots performers in the Washington DC area. An able singer, he is a fabulous guitarist rooted in blues but who incorporates rockabilly, swing jazz and country boogie into an irresistible sound. One of the few guitarists who could spar with the late Danny Gatton, Principato always puts on some energetic performances. watching him perform, one will understand why he is in demand in Europe. Of a recent recording A Part of Me, I wrote that it “is a typically strong album by Tom Principato with a varied collection of material, superbly and imaginatively performed and sung straight from Tom’s heart.” Cathy Ponton King is another local favorite who brings plenty of warmth with her heartfelt vocals and guitar playing. She always has a terrific band and you never know whether saxophonist Ron Holloway or pianist Daryl Davis might show up to play with her this day.
I will be updating this blog post with more information as it becomes available on the Festival including the Sunday, June 15th, Blues Brunch. For more information on this year’s festival, check out http://tinnerhill.org/blues-festival.
Kenny Neal, one of the featured performers at the Pennsylvania Blues Festival
Shemekia Copeland
It was a shock when the word came out that the Big Boulder Ski Resort would no longer be holding the annual Pocono Blues Festival after 19 years. The Pocono Blues Festival had established itself as the signature blues festival in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic with a commitment to bring the finest real deal blues, mixing in major names like Luther Allison, Shemekia Copeland, Mavis Staples, Ruth Brown, Taj Mahal with legends who rarely toured like Jimmy McCracklin, Jimmy Johnson and Jody Williams. A change in policy at the resort ended what was an annual tradition that attracted blues fans from all over the United States and countries around the world.
Michael Cloeren, and the others involved in the Pocono Blues Festival have found a new location to carry out the tradition of bringing the best blues to the Poconos with the 1st Pennsylvania Blues Festival at the Blue Mountain Ski Area in Palmerton, Pennsylvania, not far from Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, Pennsylvania. The Festival is Saturday and Sunday, July 30 and 31 and the line-up is as strong as any blues festival anywhere on an outdoor stage and a tent stage. This first Pennsylvania Blues Festival celebrates 20 Years of Blues in the Poconos.
Performers that have been announced for the festival include Shemekia Copeland, Magic Slim and the Teardrops, Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials, Bettye Lavette, Kenny Neal, Cyril Neville, Shakura S’Alda, John Nemeth, The Lee Boys, Big Daddy Charles Stallings, Samuel James, Otis Clay, Linsey Alexander and Steve Guyger & Billy Flynn. Its quite a line-up of some of the best known blues performers and some lesser known ones. There is a mix from traditional Chicago styled blues of Magic Slim, Lil’ Ed and Steve Guyger & Billy Flynn, the deep soul of Bettye Lavette & Otis Clay, the sacred steel of The Lee Boys, the swamp blues of Kenny Neal, and the personal blues interpretations of Samuel James and Charles Neville. Shemekia Copeland is always a favorite but this writer is also looking forward to seeing Shakura S’Alda, another formidable female blues talent. Then a chance to see at another festival Baltimore’s Bog Daddy Stallings get exposure leading a jam after hours on Saturday night as well as two sets on Sunday with his down home back porch blues that is mixed with Louis Jordan, Albert King and James Brown.
For more information on the festival, check out the Festival website, http://www.skibluemt.com/SkiBlue/activities/pa-blues-fest.aspx, for the line-up and more information including directions. I have my hotel reservations already and I know folks from as far away as San Francisco and the Pacific Northwest that have there plans for this as well. Incidentally, Mike has produced the Vermont Blues Festival at Mount Snow, usually in later August, but apparently this will now be the Vermont Blues and Roots Festival and will take place on July 22-24, the weekend before the Pennsylvania Blues Festival. I will have more on this festival when more information is available.
Shemekia Copeland impressed me the first time I saw her perform as she was with her father, Johnny Copeland. I had heard amazing things about this teenager and on the night in 1995 or 1996 at Tornado Alley in Wheaton, Maryland, she sang a few numbers backed by Johnny’s band exhibiting a poise as well as power that belied her age. I believe it was Bill Wax (now of XM-Sirius Bluesville) who said she reminded him of a young Irma Thomas. And her dad was beaming on stage listening to his baby perform. Her late father undoubtedly would not be surprised by how far his daughter as come, being one of the biggest attractions in the blues today.
Alligator, for whom Shemekia recorded her first four albums, has just issued the latest in its “Deluxe Edition” series of reissues with 16 selections (over an hour of music) compiled from these four releases as well as an Alligator Christmas release. Along with her live performances, these recordings have established her reputation and these do provide a good sampling of these recordings. She really shouts out these out against solid bands. What is striking is how good she is, how solid the bands are but the songs stand out more from what she invests in them as many of these songs are solid, if somewhat idiomatic. One song that stands out is her father’s “Ghetto Child,” which has become a cornerstone of her performances, but her lament on the state of current radio, “Who Stole My Radio?” is better sung than the lyrics perhaps deserve. Other songs like a toast to a lady’s salon in ”Sholanda’s,” are a bit more original. That song along with the fine late night lament “Don’t Whisper,” are songs Shemekia collaborated with others in writing. This latter number has a fine vocal where Shemekia has turned the heat down, but it still smolders. Other songs include here include the burning “Turn the Heat Up,” and the acidic “Salt In My Wounds.”
This “Deluxe Edition” includes a booklet with all the session information of the performances and a poster whose the back containing Bruce Iglauer’s reflections on her as well as rare photos of Shemekia. It is a fine retrospective of the music Shemekia Copeland recorded for Alligator and especially for those lacking a CD by her, serves as a welcome starting point to her powerful blues.
The review copy was provided by Alligator Records.
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