The inspiration for this article came to me a couple of years ago as I was removing foot from mouth. Fighting insomnia while channel surfing, I found blues and soul artist Irma Thomas as the musical guest on the Conan O'Brien show. Knowing this woman had a tremendous voice I eagerly anticipated her performance. My wait through all the talk show banter was justified when she took to the stage and launched into an absolutely killer version of "Time Is On My Side."

What a performance! She was mopping the floor with the Stones! I wonder if Mick and the boys have seen this? Ha! Ha! Still enthused, the following day I went out to Sports Cards & Blues Headquarters to see if Irma had recorded it on a CD. "Hey Don, I saw Irma Thomas cover that Rolling Stones tune "Time Is On My Side" last night, she was great!" A moment of dead silence and a chagrined look told me I had just fully stepped in it. "That is Irma's song, and she was little sore about all the glory the Stones got from it." I should have known better. The original is usually better than the copy. Blues artists don't normally cover rock or pop songs, just the opposite is true. Blues permeates all aspects of rock & roll, and is a foundation to jazz and country. Despite that fact it comes as a complete surprise to a large number of people. Sadly the blues greats who were acknowledged, paid royalties, and rose to stardom in their own time are small in number. Many died penniless. The reasons for this aren't always clear, although racism and the stereotype of blues being downhearted music for bummed out people (nothing could be further from the truth) are definitely factors. Even though you may already be aware of blues songs that are covered by rock bands the numbers may be an eye opener. Here they are in no particular order.

Wille Mae "Big Mama" Thornton
12/11/1926 - 7/25/1984
photo credit: The Tony Russell Collection

"You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog"-- You thought it was Elvis. Nope, one of the great women of the blues, Big Mama Thornton, performed and recorded that song first. Simply known then as "Hound Dog" Elvis reworked it somewhat.
"Ball 'n' Chain"--Janis Joplin? Noooo. Janis made this song into her own anthem. It was written, performed and recorded, once again, by Big Mama Thornton.
"Boom, Boom Out go the Lights"-- Canadian rocker Pat Travers? Wrong-o. Blues harmonica master Little Walter did this way ahead of Pat.
"Love In Vain"-- You thought it was the Rolling Stones? Negatory. Blues legend Robert Johnson penned this one, inspired by fellow bluesman Leroy Carr's "When the Sun Goes Down." The Rolling Stones, their name taken from a Muddy Waters tune, are upfront about where they got some of their material and have promoted blues music and musicians. Also I'd like to note that the song "Time Is On My Side" which prompted this article became the Rolling Stones first Top 10 hit.

Canned Heat

"Goin' up the Country"-- Was one of my favorites as a teenager. Until I got deeper into blues I thought it was Canned Heat. A blues band in their own right, they played a boogie style of blues and performed at Woodstock as well as other rock festivals. A rarity for a blues band, Canned Heat actually got commercial airplay. Because of these associations many people may think of them as a rock band. Originally done in 1928 by bluesman Henry Thomas and called "Bulldoze Blues" the opening notes done on a Quill (basically a pan flute) would be instantly recognizable to any rock fan who grew up in the late sixties and early seventies. Along with "On The Road Again" and "Let's Work Together" also based on earlier blues songs, they became Top 40 pop hits.
"Madison Blues"-- Slide guitar legend Elmore James not only wrote this one but also his guitar work inspired many other players such as Duane Allman. This song was covered by Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, Fleetwood Mac, and George Thorogood.

Blind Willie McTell
5/5/1901 - 1959
photo credit: The Tony Russell Collection

"Statesboro Blues"-- All right, this tune and the one listed just before it won't sneak up on anyone with the word blues in the title. Covered by many bands this song became became a hit for the Allman Brothers and was written and performed by 12 string guitar master Blind Willie McTell many decades ago.
"Lost Woman"-- Could it be the Yardbirds? Nada. It was really Snooky Pryor's "Someone To Love Me." The Birds merely rewrote the lyrics.
I'm going to tee off a little on this one. You thought it was Led Zeppelin's "I Can't Quit You Baby." Covered note for note from Otis Rush right down to his guitar solo. "Bring It On Home" recorded by harmonica master Sonny Boy Williamson in 1963. "You Need Love" alias the "Lemon Song" originally performed by Muddy Waters. All three of these tunes were written by the great blues song writer, producer, and musician, Willie Dixon. The latter two songs were on the Led Zeppelin II album. If you saw the original singles you would notice that the credits don't match up with the way they read on the second Led Zeppelin album. Mr. Dixon didn't have to fight for his money on this one, his lawyer did. In exchange for their "liberal adaptations" his wallet was fattened in an out of court settlement with Led Zeppelin in 1986.

Willie Dixon
7/1/1915 - 1992
photo credit: The Pete Welding Collection

"Back Door Man"- no, it wasn't the Doors, once again Willie Dixon.
"I Ain't Superstitious"-- Jeff Beck? Hubert Sumlin and Howlin' Wolf performed and recorded this one and again it was written by Willie Dixon. Jeff gave them credit in his liner notes.
" I Put A Spell On You" wasn't Creedence Clearwater Revival; it was written and performed by Voo Doo R&B and roots rocker Screamin' Jay Hawkins.
Rock guitar god Jimi Hendrix had deep roots in blues and R&B. His early foundation was work with such artists as Ike & Tina Turner, Sam Cooke, Little Richard, and the Isley Brothers. Jimi recorded many blues songs, although I believe most if not all were released on various albums after his untimely death. Some of them were "Killing Floor" by Howlin' Wolf, "Catfish Blues" by Muddy Waters and "Hoochie Koochie Man" by Willie Dixon. As was his nature Hendrix hit 'em right out of the park! Jimi Hendrix was not only renowned for his guitar work but his stage pyrotechnics also. Guess what? T-Bone Walker, the father of electric blues, used to play his guitar in unusual positions, behind his head, picking strings with his teeth, etcetera, way back in the forties and fifties. Musically other blues artists who influenced Jimi were Buddy Guy, Freddie King, Robert Johnson, and Howlin' Wolf.
Blues and R&B artists not only had an impact on the song list of rock. I've mentioned the influence blues artists such as T-Bone Walker had on the stage presentation of rock artists. Blues also influenced the names chosen for some bands. The Rolling Stones, named from a Muddy Waters tune. The Lovin' Spoonful of '60s and '70s fame, took their name from a Mississippi John Hurt song called "Coffee Blues." The British rock band Pretty Things took their name from a Bo Dudley tune. Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, R&B artist Bo Diddley's signature beat had a great impact on the '60s British rock explosion and U.S. based bands as well. Some of the bands in this country who tapped Bo's song book were the Doors, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Quicksilver Messenger Service and later from an entirely different culture, The New York Dolls. Bo Diddley also influenced bands such as The Rolling Stones, Eric Burdon, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley and U2. Some of the blues artists who influenced Bo Diddley were Louis Jordan, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker.
"Got My Mojo Working." It seems like every self respecting rock band of the sixties did this one. "The Blues Had A Baby and They Named It Rock and Roll." McKinley Morganfield (Muddy Waters) was one of the fathers.

Skip James
The Tony Russell Collection

"I'm So Glad"- Was it 60's rock super group Cream? Not even. Try bluesman Skip James.
" I Just Want To Make Love To You"- Could it be Foghat? Zip. Prolific songwriter Willie Dixon penned this one.
" One Bourbon, Once Scotch, One Beer"- I like the way George Thorogood did this tune. Mr. Endless Boogie himself, the recently passed legendary bluesman John Lee Hooker gave us this gem.

John Lee Hooker, The Showbox, January 2001
photo by: Phil Chesnut

"Crawling Kingsnake." You heard the Doors do this one on the L.A. Woman album, but once again it was the legendary bluesman John Lee Hooker.
"Merry Christmas Baby"- Covered by many bands, Bruce Springsteen made the biggest splash with this tune. Written by blues pianist Charles Brown. Brown's style and song writing were a big influence on another heavy weight piano player and songwriter by the name of Ray Charles.
"Trying To Live My Life Without You"- Was it the J. Giles Band or perhaps Bob Seger? Neither one, folks. It was R&B and soul artist Otis Clay. Otis Clay delivered an outstanding performance at the Ritzville Blues Festival in '97 by the way!
"When the Levee Breaks" - Led Zeppelin in the cookie jar. Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie originally did this song.
"That's All Right" - Elvis? Try Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup.
"It's a Man Down There" - The Allman Brothers instantly come to mind on this one but it was really G.L. Crockett.
"Pack Fair And Square" - If you thought it was the J. Giles Band you'd be incorrect. Texas piano man Big Walter Price of Big Walter & The Thunderbirds originally did this tune.
Songs written by blues artists turn up in the strangest places. Here's one that will probably surprise at least two generations.
"They're Red Hot"- The Red Hot Chili Peppers close their CD "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" with a roughed up version of this little rag tune. Written by one of the most interesting and storied bluesmen of all time, Robert Johnson.
More another time.

Are You Touched By "The Blues"?
(A compilation by Len Volpe - Replay Music, 107 E. 3rd Ave.)

The word 'blue' has been associated with the idea of melancholia or depression since the Elizabethan era. The American writer Washington Irving is credited with coining the term 'The Blues,' as it is now defined, in 1807. The earlier (almost entirely Negro) history of the blues musical tradition is traced through oral tradition as far back as the 1860s.
When African and European music first began to merge to create what eventually became the blues, slaves sang songs filled with words telling of their extreme suffering and privation. One of the many responses to their oppressive environment resulted in the field holler. The field holler, a technique that slaves practiced as a means of disassociating themselves from the physically and mentally draining work required of them, gave rise to The Blues. Through the field holler, the black slaves of the south gave voice to the mood of alienation and anomie that prevailed in their world. It was in the Mississippi Delta that blacks were often forcibly enrolled into service to work on the levee and land-clearing crews, where they were often abused and then tossed aside or worked literally to death.

Photo: Bessie Smith, 1924 (the Tony Russell Collection)
Click on photo for Larger View

Alan Lomax states that the blues tradition was considered to be a masculine discipline (although some of the first blues songs heard by whites were sung by 'lady' blues singers like Mamie Smith and Bessie Smith) and not many black women were to be found singing the blues in the juke joints. The Southern prisons also contributed considerably to the blues tradition through work songs and the songs of death row and murder, prostitutes, the warden, the hot sun, and a hundred other privations. The prison road crews and work gangs were where many bluesmen found their songs, and where many other blacks simply became familiar with those same songs.
Following the Civil War, the blues arose as "a distillate of the African music brought over by slaves. Field hollers, ballads, church music and rhythmic dance tunes called jump-ups evolved into a music for a singer who would engage in call-and-response with his guitar. He would sing a line, and the guitar would answer it." (Note: It's been said that the guitar did not enjoy widespread popularity with blues musicians until about the turn of the century. Until then, the banjo was the primary blues instrument.) By the 1890s the blues were sung in many of the rural areas of the South. And by 1910, the word 'blues' as applied to the musical tradition was in fairly common use. Some 'bluesologists' claim (rather dubiously), that the first blues song that was ever written down was 'Dallas Blues,' published in 1912 by Hart Wand, a white violinist from Oklahoma City. The blues form was first popularized about 1911-14 by the black composer W.C. Handy (1873-1958). However, the poetic and musical form of the blues first crystallized around 1910 and gained popularity through the publication of Handy's "Memphis Blues" (1912) and "St. Louis Blues" (1914). Instrumental blues had been recorded as early as 1913. Mamie Smith recorded the first vocal blues song, 'Crazy Blues' in 1920. While the widespread popularity of the blues had a vital influence on subsequent jazz, it was the "initial popularity of jazz which had made possible the recording of blues in the first place, and thus made possible the absorption of blues into both jazz as well as the mainstream of pop music."
American troops brought the blues home with them following the First World War. They did not, of course, learn them from Europeans, but from Southern whites who had been exposed to the blues. At this time, the U.S. Army was still segregated. During the twenties, the blues became a national craze. Records by leading blues singers like Bessie Smith and later, in the thirties, Billie Holiday, sold in the millions.

Willa Mae "Big Mama" Thornton w/T-Bone Walker  Click on photo for Larger View

During the decades of the thirties and forties, the blues spread northward with the migration of many blacks from the South and entered into the repertoire of big-band jazz. The blues also became "electrified" with the introduction of the amplified guitar. In some Northern cities like Chicago and Detroit, during the later forties and early fifties, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, and Elmore James among others, played what was basically Mississippi Delta blues, backed by bass, drums, piano and occasionally harmonica, and began scoring national hits with blues songs. At about the same time, T-Bone Walker in Houston and B.B. King in Memphis were pioneering a style of guitar playing that combined jazz technique with the blues tonality and repertoire.

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Click on photo for Larger View

In the early nineteen-sixties, the urban bluesmen were "discovered" by young white American and European musicians. Many of these blues-based bands like the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream, and Canned Heat brought the blues to young white audiences. Since the sixties, some rock guitarists, such as Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, and Eddie Van Halen have used the blues as a foundation for offshoot styles. While the originators like John Lee Hooker, Albert Collins and B.B. King--and their heirs Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, and later Eric Clapton and the late Roy Buchanan, among many others, continued to make fantastic music in the blues tradition. The latest generation of blues players like Robert Cray and the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, among others, as well as gracing the blues tradition with their incredible technicality, have drawn a new generation of listeners to the blues.
"The Blues", although a relatively new expression of music has captivated many who seem to share the same sense of a sometimes unexplainable melancholia mood. This music we call "The Blues" seems to soothe the soul and soften the heart. It has been said that we owe "The Blues" to those who bore the pain of enslavement behind the frightful shadows of our collective soul. Could it be that "the frightful shadows of our collective soul" may be just the thing that we are all touched by when we listen to "The Blues"?

This nightclub - not your typical juke joint - has a mission: to keep an American art form alive for generations to come.

Where Everyone Sings The Blues
By Tom Callahan
From the January 13, 2002 issue of Parade Magazine

It's early on a Saturday evening, and inside the dimly lit, red brick music hall on Chicago's Near North side, the joint is already jumping. Jumping to the blues.
But this is not your typical juke joint. No alcohol is served here. And there is no stage - only a carpeted area where the musicians perform to an otherwise nodding and bopping crowd seated in simple folding chairs.
But what really sets this nightclub apart from all others is its audience: Most of the patrons are still in school - grade school. That's because the Blue Chicago Store Down in the Basement - commonly known as "The Basement" - is a nightclub designed for kids. Children, some as young as 3, are brought here by parents and grandparents to learn about the blues, that most American of art forms, which grew out of the African-American experience in the rural South at the beginning of the 20th century.

"To really experience the music, you can't go to a museum," says The Basement's founder. "Blues has to be heard live."

A NIGHTCLUB WITH A MISSION

The Basement is the brainchild of Gino and Bernadette Battaglia, the husband-and-wife owners of two other blues clubs in Chicago. Gino says he "fell in love with the depth of emotion in the blues" shortly after he and his family moved here from Italy in 1955. He was just 9. "As soon as I was tall enough," Gino confesses, "I was sneaking into Chicago nightclubs to listen to artists like Howlin' Wolf and Junior Wells." In 1985, Gino opened the first Blue Chicago: six years later, he opened a second.
Anyone who knows music knows that Chicago is to the blues what New Orleans is to jazz. On any weekend, live blues can be heard in more than 40 bars and clubs in the Windy City. Generally speaking, however, blues artists rarely are broadcast over commercial radio or featured on MTV, so young people have few opportunities to hear the music. Gino recognized the negative impact this could have on the music he loved. So did his wife. "I feared that today's kids would have no firsthand experience of the blues," says Bernadette. "I also worried where the next generation of blues musicians would come from."
Taking their cue from Preservation Hall in New Orleans, where people of all ages listen to jazz in an alcohol-free setting, the Battaglias open The Basement in May 1998.

Why a blues nightclub for kids? Because two avid fans worried where the next generation of blues musicians was going to come from.

AN AMERICAN ART FORM

The blues was born some 100 years ago in the "work shouts" of African-Americans in the Mississippi Delta. Over time, itinerant guitarists and harmonica players traveled from one community to another, singing about freedom, love and sorrow. As African-Americans migrated to Memphis, New Orleans, Chicago and other big cities, the music spread, contributing significantly to the development of jazz, rock 'n' roll and country and western music.
"The blues is a major part of American culture," says Gino Battaglia. "But to really experience the music, you can't go to a museum. Blues has to be heard live. This is a club where the entire family can come to hear authentic blues played by real blues artists."
Like its nickname implies, The Basement is located below street level in a century-old building next door to the second Blue Chicago. It's open only on Saturdays, from 8 p.m. to midnight. Kids under 12 get in free; everyone else pays $5. The Gloria Shannon Blues Band - a basic four-piece Chicago blues combo of guitar, bass, drums and the singer, Gloria Shannon - is the featured act. The band performs four sets a night. Before each, Shannon tells a brief history of the blues. Then she performs blues songs recorded by artists ranging from Bessie Smith to Elvis Presley, Ray Charles and Otis Redding.

"It's music born out of hardship and struggle. People - especially children - should know this, no matter what color they are."

After the second set, she invites aspiring musicians to jam with the band. If the youngsters haven't brought along their own instruments, band members lend theirs.
"The highlight of my week is to play for kids," says Shannon, 65. "First, they are curious. Then we get them to clap their hands. Before you know it, they are having a ball."
Gino Battaglia's efforts at educating young people about the blues are clearly making an impact: He now receives requests from schools - some as far away as Wisconsin - that want to bring their students to The Basement.
"The blues is part of our collective heritage," says Koko Taylor, a Grammy Award-winning singer, who calls herself Queen of the Blues. "It's music born out of hardship and struggle. People - especially children - should know this, no matter where they come from or what color they are."

New & to me
Updated 2/03

by Ted

If you have any questions about these releases, you can contact me at: .

nr ~ new release (within the last 6 months)

n2me ~ new to me (over 6 months old)

rr ~ re-release (a re-released compact disc)

A

B

n2me; Backbone Slip ~ Avenue Breakdown (Blue Wave, CD122) Some fine work on this! 1/03
n2me; Badd Dog Blues Society ~ Howlin’ (Peregrine, CD BD 1169) Well done covers from Bellingham, Wa. band. 4/02
nr; Steve Bailey & the Blue Flames ~ Bailey’s Blues (Bluestown, BRCD 102) Nasty harp, wicked slide, and a solid groove! 6/02
nr; Robin Barrett ~ Blue Movie (Twin Lion Records) Great release from Robin. Blues/rock with a theme! 2/03
n2me; Carey Bell ~ Harpmaster (JSP, CD 250) Excellent, with son Lurrie on guitar! 10/02
n2me; Lurrie Bell ~ Everybody Wants To Win (JSP, CD 227) Rock solid blues, with dad Carey helpin’ on the harp! 11/02
n2me; Lurrie Bell ~ Mercurial Son (Delmark, DE-679) Lurrie got the blues from Carey! 12/02
n2me; Lurrie Bell ~ Blues Had A Baby (Delmark, DE-736) Excellent Lurrie Bell! 6/02
nr; Tab Benoit ~ Wetlands (Telarc, CD 83530) Superb release from this fine artist! 1/03
nr; Best of British Blues Vol. 1 (Fuel 2000 Records, 302 061 148 2) Animals, Yardbirds, Savoy Brown, T.S. McPhee, Van Morrison & more, this is great! 12/01
nr; Big Bad Love (Nonesuch, 79637-2) Soundtrack, excellent, with R.L. Burnside, Tom Waits, T-Model Ford and more! 4/02
nr; Big Daddy & the Blue Notes ~ Club Shots (The Truth) (self release) Cool live stuff from great Montana band! 6/02
n2me; Big Time Sarah & the BTS Express ~ Blues In The Year One-D-One (Delmark, DE-692) Big Time Voice! 10/02
n2me; Big Time Sarah ~ Crying (CMA Music, CM 10010) Her first, big voice! 1/03
n2me; Bobby “Blue” Bland ~ Two Steps from the Blues (MCA, MCAD27036) What a voice! 2/03
nr; Blind Pig Records 25^th Anniversary Collection (Blind Pig, BPCD 2002) Two cds & 1 cd-rom, the finest from Blind Pig, the oldest to the newest. This is awesome! 12/01
nr; Rory Block ~ I’m Every Woman (Rounder, 11661-3174-2) Excellent Rory Block! 4/02
n2me; Mike Bloomfield ~ The Gospel of Blues (Laserlight, 12 356) I didn’t care for this. 1/03
n2me; The Blues Brothers ~ Original Soundtrack (Atlantic, 82787-2) replacing my LP, this is still a fun cd. 3/03
n2me; Blues Coctail Party (Black Top, BT-1066) Great compilation from BT with Snooks Eaglin, Anson Funderburgh, Mike Morgan, Jimmy Don Smith, many more! 11/02
n2me; Blues Collection Volume Two (Spot-Lite, CD 15104) Memphis Slim, John Lee Hooker & Roy Gaines. 1/03
n2me; Blues Costume Party (Black Top, BT-1116) Great compilation from BT with Bobby Parker, Lynn August, Alex Schultz, Grady Gaines, many more! 11/02
nr; Blues Cousins ~ Moscow Boogie (Dialog Music, DM-80085)  see review 2/03
n2me; Blues For A Rotten Afternoon (Telarc, CD-83508) Compilation, too cool with Lady Bianca, Kenny Neal, John Primer, Terry Evans, Sugar Ray Norcia! 4/02
nr; Blues Orbiters ~ Blast Off (Blues Orbiter Music, BOM-001) Killer release from Woodinville WA band! 8/02
n2me; Blues Pajama Party (Black Top,  BT-1075) Great compilation from BT with Carol Fran, Robert Ward, Rod Piazza, many more! 11/02
nr; Blues Revue Blues Music Sampler (Blues Revue, BR 002) Get it free with subscription; W.C. Clark, Charlie Musselwhite, Jerry Portnoy and many more! 6/02
nr; Blues Revue Blues Music Sampler Oct. – Nov. 2002 (Blues Revue, BR 003) Only with your subscription to Blues Revue, 16 songs from some of the best! 12/02
nr; Blues Revue Blues Music Sampler Dec. – Jan. 2003 (Blues Revue, BR 004) Only with your subscription to Blues Revue, 15 songs from some of the best! 1/03
n2me; Blues Union ~ Extra Blue (Burnt Skillet, BSR 001) Tasty fun, jazz, & blues from the Pacific Northwest. 4/02
n2me; Blue Wave 10^th Anniversary Sampler (Blue Wave, CD 128) Cool sampler, great bands throughout! ½
nr; Blue Xmas ~ Christmas Blues Instrumentals (Evidence, ECD 26118-2) Jake Andrews, Tommy Castro, Roy Rogers, Otis Rush, Rusty Zinn, Kim Wilson, many many more. 12/01
nr; Joe Bonamassa ~ A New Day Yesterday (Medalist, 60027) 24 year old SMOKIN’ blues/rock guitarist! 4/02
nr; Joe Bonamassa ~ So, It’s Like That (Medalist Entertainment, 60101) Stinging guitar! 3/03
n2me; Jude Bowerman Band ~ Live (Firesoul, 6573000702) Stingin’ guitar, live! 10/02
nr; Jude Bowerman ~ Life Goes On (Yellow Tone, YT001CD) Jazzy to Bluesy, Jude is a player! 12/02
n2me; Marc Bristol & the Clarence Blisswater Revival ~ Sweet Misery Moan (King Noodle Records, KN1011CD) Acoustic bliss from File Gumbo guitar player! 6/02
n2me; Lonnie Brooks Blues Band ~ Bayou Lightning (Alligator, ALCD 4714) Smokin’ guitar from Lonnie! 5/02
n2me; Lonnie Brooks ~ Wound Up Tight (Alligator, ALCD 4751) With a little help from Johnny Winter, a great release! 5/02
n2me; Lonnie Brooks Band ~ Turn On The Night (Alligator, ALCD 4721) More great stuff from Lonnie. 5/02
n2me; Lonnie Brooks ~ Deluxe Edition (Alligator, ALCD 5602) Some of Lonnie’s best. 3/03
n2me; Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown ~ Standing My Ground (Alligator, ALCD 4779) An excellent cd! 5/02
nr; Mel Brown ~ Homewreckin’ Done Live (Electro-Fi, 3370) Excellent live album! 4/02
n2me; Nappy Brown and the Electric City Band ~ Who’s Been Foolin’ You (New Moon, NMC 9714) Excellent voice, cool band! 10/02
n2me; Nappy Brown w/the Heartfixers ~ Tore Up (Alligator, ALCD 4792) Tinsley Ellis backing up this superb vocalist! 11/02
n2me; Roy Buchanan ~ When A Guitar Plays the Blues (Alligator, ALCD 4741) Some fine stinging guitar on this one! 5/02
n2me; Roy Buchanan ~ Hot Wires (Alligator, ALCD 4756) Not his best, but not bad. 5/02
n2me; Mojo Buford ~ Champagne & Refer (Fedora, FCD 5015) Very strong release for Mojo. 12/02
nr; Bump Kitchen ~ Big Ol’ Bones (Bump Records) These guys invented tight!, Funk, and some killer blues! 9/02
n2me; Michael Burks ~ From the Inside Out (Vent Records, VR 30014) Excellent first release! 12/01
nr; R.L. Burnside & the Sound Machine ~ Ray Electric 1979-1980 (Inside Sounds/Inside Memphis, ISC-0513) Burnside with a band, some tuff country blues. 4/02
n2me; Butterfield Blues Band ~ East West (Elektra, 7315-2) Classic Butterfield, this is great! 5/02
n2me; The Butterfield Blues Band ~ In My Own Dream (Wounded Bird, WOU 4025) Replacing my LP, this is still great! 2/03

C

D

n2me; Lester Davenport ~ When The Blues Hit You (Earwig, 4923CD) Superb harp, with Sunnyland Slim! 1/03
nr; Gary Davis Style (Inside Sounds, ISC-0508) 20 1^st & 2^nd generation students of Gary Davis pay tribute to the Grand Master of American Blues. 2/03
nr; Guy Davis ~ Give In Kind (Red House Records, RHRCD 161) Another exceptional release from this fine young artist. 4/02
n2me; Jimmy Dawkins w/Gatemouth Brown & Otis Rush ~ Tribute to Orange (Evidence, ECD26031-2) A tribute to the blues! 1/03
n2me; Richard Day-Reynolds & Blue Light Special ~ Live @ the Deluxe (self release) These guys kick butt! 10/02
n2me; Richard Day-Reynolds Band ~ It’s Not Easy (self release) Cool covers and great originals by this Portland area band! 10/02
n2me; Delgado Brothers (Hightone Records, HCD 8009) So-Cal band plays great blues! 5/02
n2me; Sugar Pie DeSanto ~ Classic Sugar Pie (Jasman, 10004) Great voice, performer, and storyteller! 8/02
n2me; Sugar Pie DeSanto ~ A Slice of Pie (Jasman, 10005) Superb! 8/02
nr; Dimestore Blues Band ~ Loose Change (self release) Local band, stinging guitar, good blues! 10/02
n2me; The Detonators ~ Sneakin’ Around (Indigo Records, IGOCD 2056) I didn’t care for this. 1/03
n2me; Dr. Hector & the Groove Injectors ~ Bad Connection (King Snake, KS 025) You will find the groove here! 12/02
n2me; Mark DuFresne Band ~ Have Another Round (Jeromed Records) 4 octave voice, unbelievable! 12/01
nr; Mary Dukes & the 32-20 Band ~ The Divine Ms. Mary (South Side Records, SSR006) Super vocals & guitar. 4/02

E

F

G

H

n2me; Steve Hackett ~ Blues With A Feeling (Herald Records, HER 013-2) Speed demon guitar player. 1/03
n2me; John Hammond ~ Frogs For Snakes (Rounder, CD 3060) The most excellent John Hammond! 10/02
nr; W.C. Handy’s Beale Street ~ Where The Blues Began (Inside Sounds, ISC-0516) A musical reenactment of Handy’s Memphis Blues Band, circa 1909! 2/03
n2me; Jessie Mae Hemphill ~ Feelin’ Good (HMG/Hightone, HMG 6502) I didn’t care for this. 1/03
nr; Hey Bo Diddley ~ A Tribute! (Evidence, ECD 26124-2) Otis Rush, Taj Mahal, Walter Trout, Tommy Castro, Son Seals and many more pay tribute, this is cool! 10/02
nr; Chris Hiatt ~ The Ballad of Texas Floyd (no label) Numerous original tunes, Chris has put together a great blues release! 2/03
n2me; Catfish Hodge Band ~ Eyewitness Blues (Gene’s CDs, GCD 4113/26) Raucous blues! 11/02
rr; Hollywood Fats Band (Crosscut Records, CCD 21069) Previously unreleased alternate versions, and one never before issued song, Hollywood Fats was the man! 4/02
nr; The Holmes Brothers ~ Righteous! The Essential Collection (Rounder, 1166-11588-2) Some of their finest! 9/02
nr; Rick Holmstrom ~ Hydraulic Groove (Tone Cool, 751 134-2) Monster guitar from ex-Mighty Flyer. 9/02
n2me; John Lee Hooker ~ The Real Folk Blues (Chess/MCA, CHD-9271) Excellent Hooker! 5/02
n2me; John Lee Hooker ~ 20 Greatest Hits (Blue City, 2652212) His finest cuts! 5/02
n2me; Zakiya Hooker ~ Flavors of the Blues (Pointblank, 7243 8 41588 2 8) John Lee’s daughter has a superb voice! 9/02
n2me; Hoopsnakes ~ Jump In and Hang On (Mouthpiece Records, MPD 6002) Energetic keyboard driven blues. 1/03
nr; The Howlers ~ Into Something (Rogue Eight, RE 0201) see review 5/02
n2me; Howlin’ Wolf ~ 20 Blues Classics (Blue City, CD 2652292) The best from the Wolf! 5/02
n2me; Howlin’ Wolf ~ Déjà vu (Modern Times, DVBC 902-2) Live Wolf, absolute perfection! 1/03
nr; The Hudson Rocket Band ~ Caught Live! (self release) Promo release, cool stuff from this Portland band! 6/02
nr; Mark Hummel ~ Golden State Blues (Electro-Fi, EFI 3375) One of the finest in the world showcases his talent, this is great! 2/03
nr; Mississippi John Hurt ~ Revisited (Fuel 2000 Records, 302 061 149 2) Fuel continues to release the best work of the best artists! 12/01

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n2me; Roy Roberts ~ Deeper Shade of Blue (Rock House Records, RH 0001) Great voice! 1/03
nr; Duke Robillard ~ Living With The Blues (Stony Plain, SPCD 1277) Duke doin’ what he does best, the blues! 7/02
nr; Iceman Robinson ~ I’ve Never Been Loved (Fedora, FCD 5026) Fine guitar & vocals, with help from Willie Kent on bass. 1/02
n2me; Jimmy Rogers, Big Bill Hickey, Hubert Sumlin & Friends ~ Bill’s Blues (Atomic Theory, ATD 1112) Legends, playin’ the blues! 1/03
nr; Roy Rogers ~ Slideways (Singular, 2001-2) Instrumental Roy, sonic slide guitar! 4/02
nr; Roy Rogers & Norton Buffalo ~ Roots Of Our Nature (Blind Pig, BPCD 5077) Dazzling guitar and harmonica, it’s great! 9/02
n2me; Rooster Blues ~ 1980 – 2000 (Rooster Blues, R9825) Cool cuts from 19 Rooster artists! 10/02
n2me; Don Latarski & Rue de Blues ~ Eden Hall Sessions (Eden Hall, EHP 2001) Top quality guitar work from Latarski, great vocals from Marilyn Keller! 10/02
n2me; The Ruffnecks ~ Burnt Again (Woodshed Productions) A rockin’ little record! 9/02
n2me; Otis Rush ~ So Many Roads, Live In Concert (Delmark, DE-643) Possibly the finest ever from Otis! 11/02

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nr; Mighty Joe Young (Blind Pig, BPCD 5073) Fine guitar and vocals, can’t wait to see him! 6/02

Attention Record Companies and Artists: If you’d like your blues releases listed here, please send them to: Ted Todd c/o Inland Empire Blues Society, PO Box 9126, Spokane WA 99209-9126 or email:

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© 2003 Inland Empire Blues Society
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