ffusa gtwg - geneseoboger/saturdayam/saturday... · play guitar by playing with everly brothers and...

General Comments for all Naweedna CDs

Will Moyle’s Jazz Alive, a locally produced master collection of classic jazz. The Will Moyle stuff is the best

collection of jazz I‘ve ever heard. I taped it in the 80s from WXXI broadcasts.

FFUSA: Folk Festival USA, a nationally distributed collection of excerpts recorded live at various folk

festivals around the country – varying from traditional country to purely ethnic, to socio-political (one lesbian

festival, in fact). FFUSA is eclectic, and the live recordings often catch a lot of crowd noise as well as bad

microphone placement. Originally taped from WXXI in the 80s.

GTWG: The Glory That Was Grease, another locally produced broadcast that featured the formative years of

Rock and Roll from the 50s and 60s – my youth. The ―Grease‖ may have been ―Greece‖, the Rochester suburb

where the program originated. The GTWG is marginal but good for reminding my generation of their teenage

years – if that can be considered a good thing. Originally taped from WXXI in the 80s.

BBGR: Big Band Go Round, yet another local program featuring … Big Band, but also including most anything

recorded from the 20s to 50s. The BBGR is so broad that it is unlikely to be duplicated anywhere. However,

you have to have a fondness for the crackle of scratchy old 78‘s and an appetite for schmaltz to fully

appreciate it. Originally taped in the 80s.

PHC & PHC-D: Prairie Home Companion – the middle years. I didn‘t get started with PHC until the 80s, so I

missed the early period, and I stopped taping when Garrison retired – for the first time. Remember the

unfortunate guy who took over the time slot from Garrison? Me, neither. AS IF anyone could do that – a

classic no-win situation. When Garrison un-retired (like Michael Jordan), the second version of the show was

based in NYC, and I didn‘t care for it that much, so I didn‘t tape it. A few years later I discovered that he

had gone back to the old format and was broadcasting from St Paul MN again. I‘ve been digitizing those

programs in real time ever since, and they are designated as PHC-D. The PHC stuff contains the essence of

American music – in my not-so-humble opinion. The only nationally broadcast show that ever came close to

matching PHC for quality and variety was the TV show, Northern Exposure – go figure. I have two Northern

CDs; if there are more, I would like to know about them ASAP.

Recording & Release Dates: The parenthetical numbers appended at the end of track titles represent the

release date of the album or CD source. These dates are as accurate as I can obtain. The dates for some

tracks from compilations reflect the release date of the compilation. Format: (xx, yy) where xx = last two

digits of recording date; yy = last two digits of release date.

As usual, my comments are in blue. The other information comes from www.allmusic.com. Additions and corrections

are welcome … encouraged, in fact.

In Memoriam … 2008:

Alton Ellis

Bo Diddley

Connie Haines

Jo Stafford

Levi Stubbs (Four Tops)

Merl Saunders

Miriam Makeba

Oscar Peterson

Utah Bruce Phillips

The Playlist and Notes for Naweedna 2007

01 King Of Love - Dave Edmunds

Anthology (90, 93)

Almost used this one last year but it got bumped by Corn Bread and Butter Beans-Carolina Chocolate

Drops-PHC(07). This year I opted to use it for the lead track, although the words are a little troubling.

Whatever, I like the upbeat aspect – hope you like it too.

http://www.allmusic.com/

Let's go, king of love

Ooh, it's ugly, falling into lovely

Everyone does it, everyone knows it

Ay-ay-ay-o (ay-ay-ay-o)

Sound off (sound off)

The king of love is but a fool

The power overcomes his rule

Within himself there is a duel


Sound off (enough, sound off)

All through the big city

Ex-marines are looking gritty

Looking for a little pretty


Sound off (enough, sound off)

I think I hear the king falling down-down-down


The king of love (sound off)

High school cherry top

Working in a soda shop

That's not good enough

She wants to meet the king of love








Schools out 2:45

Five tricks before six

Dope comes real soon

King of love is on the moon







King of love (sound off)





Ay-ay-ay-ay (ay-ay-ay-o)


The king of love is falling down-down

The king of love is falling down-down

The king of love (ay-ay-ay-o)



Ay-ay-ay-o (sound off)



The king of love is falling down-down (ay-ay-ay-o)

The king of love is falling down-down (sound off)

The king of love is falling down-down (ay-ay-ay-o)


The king of love (ay-ay-ay-o)

Ay-ay-ay-ay (sound off)




Roots-rockers are seldom as purist as Dave Edmunds. Throughout his career, he stayed true to '50s and

'60s rock & roll — for Edmunds, rock & roll history stopped somewhere in 1963, after the Beach Boys'

first singles but before the Beatles' hits. After establishing himself as a hotshot lead guitarist in the

blues-rockers Love Sculpture, he launched his solo career by painstakingly re-creating oldies in his own

studio, usually recording every track by himself. Through all of his efforts, he learned how to uncannily

replicate the sound of Sun, Chess, and Phil Spector records, which not only helped him garner several U.K.

hits in the early '70s, but also led to successful production work with artists like the Flamin' Groovies

and Brinsley Schwarz. In the late '70s, he hit the peak of his career when he teamed up with former

Schwarz bassist Nick Lowe to form Rockpile. For several years, Edmunds recorded albums with Rockpile

and toured relentlessly with the band, which resulted in a string of hit U.K. singles. After the group

imploded in the early '80s, he slowly disappeared from the mainstream, even as he made his most

commercial music with producer Jeff Lynne; Edmunds eventually retreated to cult status in the '90s.

Dave Edmunds never abandoned the music he discovered as a teenager in Cardiff, Wales. He learned to

play guitar by playing with Everly Brothers and Elvis Presley records, picking out leads by James Burton,

Chet Atkins and Scotty Moore. He was also fascinated by Phil Spector's records, as well as American

blues and country. Edmunds began playing in various British blues bands in the early '60s, eventually

forming Love Sculpture with bassist John Williams and drummer Bob Jones, who was later replaced by

Terry Williams. Love Sculpture's gimmick was playing bluesy, psychedelicized version of classical songs,

and their interpretation of Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" became a British Top Five hit in 1968. Within a

year, the group rode out their success and broke up.

Edmunds returned to his home in Wales and constructed the eight-track studio Rockfield in

Monmouthshire, where he holed up and taught himself how to meticulously recreate the sounds of his

favorite records. Many of these recordings were made entirely by Edmunds, usually with Williams

assisting on bass. One of the first records released from the Rockfield sessions was actually one of the

least indicative of his style, since it interpreted the source material instead of replicating it. Featuring

his vocal piped in through a telephone line, Edmunds' revamped version of Smiley Lewis' "I Hear You

Knockin'" became a fluke hit, reaching the Top Ten in both America and England, and he quickly followed

it with the Rockpile LP, a collection of straightforward oldies covers that became a modest success. Over

the next few years, he recorded the material that became his second album, Subtle As A Flying Mallet,

as well as producing records by similar-minded rockers like Ducks Deluxe, the Flamin' Groovies and

Brinsley Schwarz.

During 1974, Edmunds made a brief appearance in the film Stardust and helped assemble the soundtrack.

Also that year, he produced the Brinsleys' last record, New Favourites. During the recording, he struck

up a friendship with bassist Nick Lowe, who over the next few years became his key collaborator. Lowe

helped Edmunds move away from covers and into performing new songs, largely written by Lowe, that

recreated the spirit of old rock & roll. Following the 1975 release of Subtle as A Flying Mallet — it

produced two Top Ten U.K. hits with "Baby I Love You" and "Born To Be With You" — Edmunds began to

rely on Lowe's original material and sought out newer songs in the same vein, as well as more obscure

oldies. In return, Lowe joined Edmunds' touring band Rockpile, which also featured drummer Terry

Williams and guitarist Billy Bremner. The first record the pair worked on heavily together was 1977's Get

It, which also was Edmunds' first record for Led Zeppelin's label, Swan Song.

Get It was well received, as was 1978's Tracks on Wax 4, the first album Edmunds recorded with

Rockpile as his backing band. By that point, Rockpile was touring constantly, earning terrific reviews in

the U.K. press, who grouped the band in with the burgeoning new wave movement largely because of their

drunken, reckless energy. In 1979, the band entered the studio to simultaneously cut Edmunds' Repeat

When Necessary and Lowe's Labour of Lust, and the sessions were captured on the BBC documentary

Born Fighter. Both records were hits, with Repeat When Necessary generating the major British hit

"Girls Talk," as well as the Top 20 "Queen of Hearts," which Juice Newton later replicated for her

breakthrough success. Rockpile entered the studio in 1980 to record the group's first full-fledged album,

Seconds of Pleasure. During the recording, tensions between Edmunds and Lowe began to surface,

resulting in an album that failed to capture the band's live sound. Seconds of Pleasure was a moderate

success, but the group disbanded following its supporting tour.

Twangin', Edmunds' first post-Rockpile album, appeared in 1981 and featured contributions from Williams

and Bremner. The album was a minor hit, generating a hit cover of John Fogerty's "Almost Saturday

Night." Edmunds signed with Columbia the following year, releasing D.E. 7th., another moderately

successful record. With 1983's Information, Edmunds began working with producer Jeff Lynne, a former

member of Electric Light Orchestra. Not surprisingly for a prog-rock veteran, Lynne brought Edmunds a

more measured sound, encouraging him to work with synthesizers and drum machines. While greeted with

mixed reviews, Information was successful in the U.S., resulting in the hit "Slipping Away." The pair

followed the same formula for 1984's Riff Raff, which was an unqualified bomb.

During the early '80s, Edmunds had produced records for rockabilly revivalists the Stray Cats, and in

1984, he produced the Everly Brothers' comeback record, EB84. As his solo career stalled in the wake of

Riff Raff, Edmunds concentrated on production, working on several acclaimed records, including k.d.

lang's debut Angel with a Lariat and the Fabulous Thunderbirds' breakthrough Tuff Enuff. He returned

to his own career in 1987 with the live I Hear You Rockin', which went ignored. Three years later, he

released Closer to the Flame, his first studio record in six years, to mixed reviews. That same year, he

reunited with Nick Lowe to produce Lowe's Party of One. Rhino Records released the double-disc

compilation Anthology in 1993, and the following year, Edmunds returned with Plugged In, his first set of

one-man-band material since Subtle As a Flying Mallet. Plugged In was received with good reviews, and

Edmunds supported the album with his first tour in several years.

The Anthology (1968-1990)

Artist Dave Edmunds

Album Title Anthology (1968-1990)

Date of Release Apr 20, 1993

AMG Rating 4.5 * checked

Genre Rock

A double-disc set covering Dave Edmunds' entire career, the 41-song Anthology (1968-1990) does a fine

job of capturing his musical evolution, even if it is not without its faults. To a certain extent, Anthology is

a definitive compilation, since it begins with Love Sculpture's infamous "Sabre Dance" and runs through

his early solo recordings ("I Hear You Knocking"), before hitting Rockpile ("Trouble Boys," "Deborah,"

"Girls Talk," "Crawling From the Wreckage," "Queen of Hearts") and Edmunds' overly synthesized

recordings with Jeff Lynne, adding a couple of rarities like the excellent Carlene Carter duet "Baby Ride

Easy" along the way. However, the track selection is uneven, including far too many Love Sculpture songs

and Lynne collaborations, which tends to dilute the spirit of Edmunds' best music. Still, Anthology is the

best overview of Edmunds' entire career, even if the single-disc The Best of Dave Edmunds may be

better, more consistent introduction for many listeners. — Stephen Thomas Erlewine

1. River to Another Day (Ward/Ward)

2. The Stumble (King/Thompson)

3. Sabre Dance (Khachaturian)

4. Summertime (Gershwin/Gershwin/Heyward)

5. In the Land of the Few (Edmunds/Finesilver/Kershaw)

6. Farandole (Bizet)

7. I Hear You Knockin' (Bartholomew/King)

8. The Promised Land (Berry)

9. Down Down Down (Burton)

10. Born to Be With You (Robertson)

11. Leave My Woman Alone (Charles)

12. Here Comes the Weekend (Edmunds/Lowe)

13. I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock &... (Lowe)

14. Juju Man (Ford/Vegas)

15. Little Darlin' (Edmunds/Lowe)

16. Let's Talk About Us (Blackwell)

17. As Lovers Do (Edmunds/Lowe)

18. Trouble Boys (Murray)

19. Deborah (Edmunds/Lowe)

20. Never Been in Love (Bremner/Edmunds/Lowe/Williams)

21. Girls Talk (Costello)

22. Crawling from the Wreckage (Parker)

23. The Creature from the Black Lagoon (Murray)

24. Queen of Hearts (DeVito)

25. Singing the Blues (Endsley)

26. Baby Ride Easy performed by Edmunds / Carlene Carter

27. Crying in the Rain performed by Edmunds / Nick Lowe

28. If Sugar Was as Sweet as You (Tex)

29. Almost Saturday Night (Fogerty)

30. (I'm Gonna Start) Living Again If It Kills (Carter/Edmunds/Lowe)

31. The Race Is On performed by Edmunds / Stray Cats

32. From Small Things (Big Things One Day... (Springsteen)

33. Me and the Boys (Adams)

34. Warmed over Kisses (Left over Love) [Leftover Love] (Geld/Udell)

35. One More Night (Grundy)

36. Slipping Away (Lynne)

37. Information (Edmunds/Radice)

38. Something About You (Dozier/Holland/Holland)

39. High School Nights (David/Edmunds/Gould)

40. King of Love (Johnson)

41. Closer to the Flame (Brown/Mathews/Nagle)

02 Emabhaceni - Miriam Makeba

Sangoma (88)

Miriam died while (or just after) performing Pata Pata. That particular track has become the national

anthem for South America – maybe Africa in general – and it is my all-time Makeba favorite. I put Pata

Pata on NWN02A, track 23. This time I included my second favorite Makeba piece. It‘s a little slow in

the beginning, but the end part is strong.

Following a three decade long exile, Miriam Makeba's return to South Africa was celebrated as though a

queen was restoring her monarchy. The response was fitting as Makeba remains the most important

female vocalist to emerge out of South Africa. Hailed as The Empress Of African Song and Mama Africa,

Makeba helped bring African music to a global audience in the 1960s. Nearly five decades after her

debut with the Manhattan Brothers, she continues to play an important role in the growth of African

music.

Makeba's life has been consistently marked by struggle. As the daughter of a sangoma, a mystical

traditional healer of the Xhosa tribe, she spent six months of her birth year in jail with her mother.

Gifted with a dynamic vocal tone, Makeba recorded her debut single, "Lakutshona Llange," as a member of

the Manhattan Brothers in 1953. Although she left to form an all-female group named the Skylarks in

1958, she reunited with members of the Manhattan Brothers when she accepted the lead female role in a

musical version of King Kong, which told the tragic tale of Black African boxer, Ezekiel "King Kong"

Dlamani, in 1959. The same year, she began an 18 month tour of South Africa with Alf Herbert's musical

extravaganza, African Jazz And Variety, and made an appearance in a documentary film, Come Back

Africa. These successes led to invitations to perform in Europe and the United States.

Makeba was embraced by the African-American community. "Pata Pata," Makeba's signature tune was

written by Dorothy Masuka and recorded in South Africa in 1956 before eventually becoming a major hit

in the U.S. in 1967. In late-1959, she performed for four weeks at the Village Vanguard in New York. She

later made a guest appearance during Harry Belafonte's ground-breaking concerts at Carnegie Hall. A

double-album of the event, released in 1960, received a Grammy award. Makeba has continued to

periodically renew her collaboration with Belafonte, releasing an album in 1972 titled Miriam Makeba and

Harry Belafonte. Makeba then made a special guest appearance at the Harry Belafonte Tribute at

Madison Square Garden in 1997.

Makeba's successes as a vocalist were also balanced by her outspoken views about apartheid. In 1960, the

government of South Africa revoked her citizenship. For the next thirty years, she was forced to be a

'citizen of the world.' Makeba received the Dag Hammerskjold Peace Prize in 1968. After marrying

radical Black activist Stokely Carmichael, many of her concerts were cancelled, and her recording

contract with RCA was dropped, resulting in even more problems for the artist. She eventually relocated

to Guinea at the invitation of president Sekou Toure and agreed to serve as Guinea's delegate to the

United Nations. In 1964 and 1975, she addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations on the

horrors of apartheid.

Makeba remained active as a musician over the years. In 1975, she recorded an album, A Promise, with

Joe Sample, Stix Hooper, Arthur Adams, and David T. Walker of the Crusaders. Makeba joined Paul

Simon and South Africa 's Ladysmith Black Mambazo during their world-wide Graceland tour in 1987 and

1988. Two years later, she joined Odetta and Nina Simone for the One Nation tour.

Makeba published her autobiography, Miriam: My Story, in English in 1988 and had it subsequently

translated and published in German, French, Dutch, Italian, Spanish and Japanese. Following Nelson

Mandela's release from prison, Makeba returned to South Africa in December 1990. She performed her

first concert in her homeland in thirty years in April 1991. Makeba appeared in South African award-

winning musical, Sarafina, in the role of Sarafina's mother in 1992. Two years later, she reunited with her

first husband, trumpeter Hugh Masekela, for the Tour Of Hope tour. In 1995, Makeba formed a charity

organization to raise funds to help protect the women of South Africa. The same year, she performed at

the Vatican's Nevi Hall during a world-wide broadcasted show, Christmas In The Vatican. Makeba's first

studio album in a decade, Homeland, was released in 2000.

Sangoma

Rating 4.5 *

1988

41:31

Makeba's comeback album, her first U.S. release in almost a decade, is a beautiful collection of

traditional South African songs with spare production values that highlight the power of Makeba's vocals.

This is an excellent set of Xhosa folk songs she learned as a child.

1 Emabhaceni Makeba 2:38

2 Baxabene Oxamu Traditional 2:12

3 Ngalala Phantsi 2:29

4 Ihoyiya 1:27

5 Kulo Nyaka 2:17

6 Baya Jabula 2:22

7 Mabhongo 1:22

8 Ingwemabala 1:54

9 Mosadi Ku Rima 3:10

10 Angilalanga 2:16

11 Ungakanani 1:25

12 Ngiya Khuyeka 1:36

13 Nyankwabe 1:56

14 Sabumoya 1:47

15 Congo Traditional 2:22

16 Nginani Na 2:36

17 Umam' Uyajabula 2:02

18 Nyamuthla 2:29

19 Icala 3:11

03 Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show

OCMC (04)

I have several versions of this tune from OCMS‘s appearances on PHC. A while back, Mahoney gave me an

actual OCMS CD and I was reminded of how much I like this song. It‘s a ‗mind worm‘ as Jason calls such

things: it gets in your head and you find yourself repeating the chorus while doing mundane things like

brushing your teeth. Hope you find it equally endearing.

Headed down south to the land of the pines

And I'm thumbin' my way into North Caroline

Starin' up the road

Pray to God I see headlights

I made it down the coast in seventeen hours

Pickin' me a bouquet of dogwood flowers

And I'm a hopin' for Raleigh

I can see my baby tonight

So rock me mama like a wagon wheel

Rock me mama anyway you feel

Hey mama rock me

Rock me mama like the wind and the rain

Rock me mama like a south-bound train

Hey mama rock me

Runnin' from the cold up in New England

I was born to be a fiddler in an old-time stringband

My baby plays the guitar

I pick a banjo now

Oh, the North country winters keep a gettin' me now

Lost my money playin' poker so I had to up and leave

But I ain't a turnin' back

To livin' that old life no more



Hey mama rock me



Hey mama rock me

Walkin' to the south out of Roanoke

I caught a trucker out of Philly

Had a nice long toke

But he's a headed west from the Cumberland Gap

To Johnson City, Tennessee

And I gotta get a move on before the sun

I hear my baby callin' my name

And I know that she's the only one

And if I die in Raleigh

At least I will die free



Hey mama rock me



Hey mama rock me

Mountain music revivalists Old Crow Medicine Show spin traditional folk and bluegrass yarns with a rock &

roll attitude. Critter Fuqua (vocals/banjo/resonator guitar), Kevin Hayes (guitjo), Morgan Jahnig (upright

bass), Ketch Secor (vocals/fiddle/harmonica/banjo), and Willie Watson (vocals/guitar/banjo) may

specialize in rags, hollers, and pre-World War II blues but they were weaned on Nirvana and Public

Enemy. The quintet -- who are all from different states -- met in New York, hit the road, played before

an impressed Doc Watson in front of a North Carolina pharmacy, and were promptly scheduled to play the

folk icon's Merlefest. The group relocated to Nashville, found themselves gracing the stage at the Grand

Ole Opry, opened for the likes of Dolly Parton and the Del McCoury Band, toured with Merle Haggard and

Marty Stuart, and appeared on NPR's Prairie Home Companion. They signed to Nettwerk America in 2003,

began crafting their own compositions among the jug band standards and reels that had become the

backbone of the group, and went into the studio to make a record with Gillian Welch's other half,

guitarist David Rawlings, at the helm. The self-titled debut, which was recorded in RCA's legendary

Studio B (Elvis Presley, Waylon Jennings), as well as Woodland Sound Studios (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band),

arrived the following year. The group's second album, Big Iron World was produced by Rawlings and

appeared in August of 2006.

04 Snootie Little Cutie - Frank Sinatra & Connie Haines

BGR (40)

This has been a favorite of mine for decades. It is early Frank but I didn‘t know the identity of the

female singer until I read the obit for Connie Haines. Now I know. I wanted to include this track for some

time, and the loss of Connie gave me the reason to do so. How many of you have heard such vintage

Frankie? I think his early work was his best. But then I‘m old ;-)

[PP = The Pied Pipers

FS = Frank Sinatra

CH = Connie Haines]

[PP:] She's a snooty little cutie

She's a pert little skirt

She's a knockout and a beauty and a flirt.

Such a dapper little flapper

She's just as cute as a trick

She's a kissy little missy, a vain little jane,

She's slick. (doo doo doo roo doo),

She's a classy little lassie

A keen little queen

And although sometimes she's sassy and mean

Just a fiend for romance is she

Squirly little girly, see,

She's a knockout, a beauty, snooty little cutie

Snooty little cutie, she.

[CH:] You're a mellow little fellow

You're a coy little boy,

[FS:] You're a knockout and a beauty, you're a joy,

[CH:] You're a ready little steady

You've swept this girl off her feet,

[FS:] You're a kissy little missy, a vain little jane

But you're sweet.

[CH:] You're a handy little dandy

[FS:] You're a keen little queen,

[CH:] And although sometimes I'm bossy

[FS:] You're never mean.

I'm a fiend for romance with you

[CH:] Mellow little fellow you're mine

[FS:] Youre a knockout and a beauty

[CH:] And a snooty little cutie

[both:] Snooty little cutie mine.

[PP:] Yes she's a classy little lassie

A keen little queen

And though sometimes she's sassy

She's never mean.

[CH:] I'm a fool for romance it's true, moonlight and kisses and you,

[PP:] She's a beauty, that snooty little cutie, snooty little cutie she.

Connie Haines

Often appearing next to Frank Sinatra while with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra during the early '40s,

Connie Haines delivered a few of Dorsey's chart hits and recorded on her own during the '50s and '60s.

Born Yvonne Marie Antoinette Ja Mais in Savannah in 1922, she learned the art of vocals quite early; her

mother was both a voice and dance teacher. Living in Jacksonville after her parents divorced, she began

airing over the radio before the age of ten. In 1931, she appeared over NBC radio as Baby Yvonne Marie,

the Little Princess of the Air, sang with Paul Whiteman's Orchestra one year later, and in 1934 won a

vocal contest on The Fred Allen Show.

Haines' first big band contract was with Howard Lally, though by the age of 16 she was singing with

Harry James' band (her first professional gig with Frank Sinatra). Financial problems forced James to

fire both Sinatra and (later) Haines, though both found work with the same leader: Tommy Dorsey.

Beginning in 1940, Haines, Sinatra, and the later addition of the Pied Pipers made Dorsey's one of the

strongest bands from a pop standpoint, and Haines appeared on several hits: "Two Dreams Met," "Oh,

Look at Me Now," "Kiss the Boys Goodbye," and "What Is This Thing Called Love?"

After leaving Dorsey's band, Connie Haines sang with the Bob Crosby Orchestra during 1941. As a solo

singer, she recorded singles and LPs for a variety of labels (Coral, Capitol, Mercury, Columbia, and Dot)

during the next few decades. She continued performing into the '90s, but passed away in 2008 of the

neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis .

On Wednesday Miss Haines‘s voice — still strong and swinging — could be heard on her answering

machine. ―I‘ve got the world on a string,‖ she sang.

05 Corazón - Los Lobos

his Time (99)

I‘ve been wanting to include another Los Lobos since using Kiko And The Lavender Moon on NWN06, and

when this one popped up on our daily play-list, it was immediately put into the ‗Possibles‘ list for the next

NWN CD – and here it is. I just love the sax work on their stuff … and the Tex-Mex flavor … and the

occasional clang of the cow bell.

Los Lobos was one of America's most distinctive and original bands of the '80s. They may have had a hit

with "La Bamba" in 1987, yet that cover barely scratches the surface of their talents. Los Lobos is

eclectic in the best sense of the word. While they draw equally from rock, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B,

blues, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music, their music never sounds forced or self-conscious.

Instead, all of their influences become one graceful, gritty sound. From their very first recordings their

rich musicality was apparent; on nearly every subsequent record they have found ways to redefine and

expand their sound, without ever straying from the musical traditions that form the heart and soul of the

band.

After releasing an independent EP in the late '70s and an EP in 1983, Los Lobos delivered their first

major-label album, How Will the Wolf Survive?, in 1984; it received an enormous amount of critical

acclaim, as well as a dedicated following of fans. In the next four years, they released a marginally

successful attempt to make their wildly eclectic sound palatable for a pop audience (By the Light of the

Moon), a soundtrack of old Ritchie Valens songs that was a hit (La Bamba), and an album of traditional

Mexican music (La Pistola y el Corazón). The band took two years off and returned with The

Neighborhood in 1990; the album was a varied and powerful rock & roll record that was better than

anything they had released in six years. Kiko, released in 1992, brought the band into more experimental

territory, without ever abandoning their graceful songwriting.

The band celebrated their 20-year anniversary with Just Another Band From East L.A., a modestly titled

two-CD set that featured most of their biggest singles and recognized songs. It also had rare tracks

from their first album, outtakes, and live tracks that fans had been waiting for. They didn't appear

together on record again until 1995, when they released the children's record Papa's Dream on Music for

Little People Records. They also scored the film Desperado and contributed tracks to several other

soundtracks and tribute albums.

Their last release for Warner Bros. came in the form of 1996's Colossal Head, another critically

acclaimed album that still failed to excite the label enough to keep them on the roster. Feeling dejected,

they left one another to concentrate on side projects, like Soul Disguise, Houndog, and the Latin

Playboys. The latter was the most dedicated project of the bunch, eventually becoming another regular

group for David Hidalgo and Louie Pérez, on top of their duties for Los Lobos, after previously releasing

an album in the early 90s.

Los Lobos came back together in 1999, when they recorded and released their debut for Hollywood

Records, This Time. Another Los Angeles-themed gem from the group, it didn't perform up to the label's

liking and they only managed to deliver one more record for the company, the re-release of 1977's Del

Este de Los Angeles. Rhino/Warner Archives released the Cancionero: Mas y Mas box set the following

year, but despite the career retrospective, they were still together and came back on Mammoth Records

for the Good Morning Aztlan release in 2002. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

06 Hush Little Baby - Inga Swearingen

PHC (08)

Okay, this is a weird version of a familiar standard. The words are Garrison‘s – he wrote it when the show

visited NYC a few years ago. Inga is an award-winning jazz vocalist, and she took the words (and tune) and

put her imprint on it – all over it actually. I‘ve seen her on stage when we went to PHC with Jason & Jenn a

couple years ago. When she isn‘t performing, she stands in the wings bouncing and smiling along with

whoever is performing. The girl is just overflowing with the joy of music and it shows in this track. I

especially like the way she gets the audience to do the ‗ha, ha, ha, ha‘ part while she scats over it … and

then they end together with a final ‗ha, ha, ha, ha‘. Yep, like this vocalist, like this tune.

Inga Swearingen

Inga Swearingen always loved singing, whether it was with her elementary school choir in San Luis Obispo,

California, or writing her own songs and accompanying herself on the guitar, or during her years of voice

lessons. But it may have been joining a jazz choir while pursuing her education at Cuesta College that

sealed her decision to be a jazz singer. In 2003, she traveled to Switzerland to study under Swiss artist

Susanne Abbuehl, and later that year she won the Shure Jazz Voice competition at the world-renowned

Montreux Jazz Festival. After earning a master's degree in choral conducting from Florida State

University, Inga went back to San Luis Obispo, where she now performs and works on recording projects.

She has also returned to Cuesta College - her old alma mater - this time as a teacher. Her debut CD,

Learning How To Fly, was released in 2003. Her latest, Reverie, is on the Rhythome label.

07 I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) - Four Tops

Forest Gump (61, 94)

I didn‘t know Levi Stubbs was a featured singer in the Four Tops. When I read the obit and saw the list

of classics he‘s featured on … well, I just had to pick one for this year‘s CD. I auditioned my Four Tops

collection and this was the clear winner. I remember it when it was a top-twenty hit the year I graduated

from HS. Yep, I like this track and decided to include it even though I‘m sure you all are very familiar

with it.

Sugarpie honeybunch

You know that I love you

I can't help myself

I love you and nobody else

In and out my life

You come and you go

Leaving just your picture behind

And I kissed it a thousand times

When you snap your fingers

Or wink your eye

I come a running to you

I'm tied to you, baby

And there's nothing I can do

Ooh, sugar

Sugarpie honeybunch

I'm weaker than a man should be

I can't help myself

I'm a fool in love you see

Wanna tell you I don't love you

Tell you that we're through

And I've tried

But everytime I see your face

I get up all choked up inside

When I call your name, girl

It starts the flame burning in my heart

Tearin' it all apart

No matter how I try

My love I cannot hide

Sugarpie honeybunch

You now that I'm weak for you

I can't help myself

I love you and nobody else

Sugarpie honeybunch

I'll do anything you ask me to

I can't help myself

I want you and nobody else

Sugarpie honeybunch

You know that I love you

I can't help myself

Levi Stubbs

Born in Detroit, MI in 1936, deep-voiced singer Levi Stubbs began his professional singing career in his

hometown when he and friends Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, and Lawrence Payton formed

the Four Aims vocal group in 1954 (some accounts put the date a year earlier). The group worked as a

supper club act for a couple of years, changing their name to the Four Tops and, following unsuccessful

recording stints with Chess and Columbia, signed to Berry Gordy's then-fledgling Motown Records in

1963. They completed a debut LP for Motown in their polished and jazzy supper club style but it wasn't

really what Gordy was looking for and he switched their style to a harder, more pop-flavored R&B sound,

wisely placing them in the hands of the in-house Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team. Pure magic

happened. With Stubbs singing lead, his natural baritone pitched at the top of his range to create a sense

of vibrant urgency, the Four Tops delivered an impressive run of hits for Motown, beginning with "Baby I

Need Your Loving" in 1964 and following it with "Ask the Lonely," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey

Bunch)" and "It's the Same Old Song" in 1965, and "Something About You," "Shake Me, Wake Me (When

It's Over)," "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever," and the soul symphony "Reach Out, I'll Be There" in

1966. "Standing in the Shadows of Love" and "Bernadette" followed in 1967. Holland-Dozier-Holland left

Motown over a financial dispute at the end of the year, though, and the Four Tops suffered for it,

eventually leaving the label themselves in 1972 and signing with ABC-Dunhill, where they were teamed

with producers/songwriters Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, who did their best to re-create the

group's trademark Motown sound. The first single, "Keeper of the Castle," was a hit, as was "Ain't No

Woman (Like the One I've Got)" early in 1973, but the creative well was running dry for the group, at

least as a chart-topping act. They continued to tour and perform shows, occasionally notching a song in

the lower reaches of the charts. Benson died in 1995 and Payton passed away in 1997. Theo Peoples joined

the group and took over the lead vocal work when Stubbs was diagnosed with cancer and was unable to

continue touring. Aside from his work as a singer, Stubbs also did some acting, appearing in several

television shows (usually as himself) and provided the voice for the carnivorous plant in the movie musical

version of Little Shop of Horrors (1986) and the voice of Mother Brain in the animated TV series Captain

N: The Game Master (1989). Levi Stubbs passed away at his home in Detroit on October 17, 2008.

08 You've Made Me So Very Happy - Alton Ellis

Down (70)

Mahoney alerted me to Alton Ellis‘ obit (link). I didn‘t know his work and only had one track by him on a

Jamaican compilation. I went to the web link Mahoney sent and learned about Mr Ellis. The site had some

tracks to play – one of which was his signature song: Get Ready, Rock Steady. I digitized the tracks and

auditioned them that very morning. Although the Rock Steady may be most representative, I found

myself preferring You‘ve Made Me So Very Happy. I picked that to represent Mr Ellis; RIP, sir and thank

you for all your good work.

Whoa whoah woooooo

Whoa whoah woooooo

I had lost that love, that love, that love before

Dark mind (?) and I close, and I close, and I close the door

And you say, Try just once more

And you came and you took control

You touch my very soul

You always show me that

Lovin' you is where it's at

You've made me so very happy

I'm so glad you came into my life

The others were untrue

But when it came to loving you now

I'd spend my whole life with you, girl

Coz you came and you took control






Whoa whoah woooooo

http://www.strangerdance.com/rip-alton-ellis-godfather-of-rocksteady-dead-at-70/

Whoa whoah woooooo

I had lost that love, that love, that love before

Dark mind (?) and I close, and I close, and I close the door

And you say, Try just once more

And you came and you took control






Whoa whoah woooooo

Whoa whoah woooooo...

Alton Ellis

One of the first vocalists to enter the Jamaican music business, Alton Ellis was generally revered as the

greatest and most soulful singer the country ever produced -- that is, until Bob Marley came along. Ellis

had his first hit during the ska craze, but made his true lasting mark as the definitive solo singer of the

rocksteady era. Sweet, smooth, and deeply emotive, Ellis was equally at home on Jamaican originals or

reggae-fied covers of American R&B hits. He cut a series of ska singles for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's

Studio One label, but reached his prime during the mid- to late '60s, when he recorded some of

rocksteady's signature tunes for Duke Reid's Treasure Isle imprint.Ellis was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in

1944, and grew up in the Trenchtown area as part of a musically inclined family. As a youngster, he

learned to sing and play piano, the latter often by breaking into a local youth center to practice by night.

In his early teens, he teamed up with another singer, Eddie Perkins, to form the duo Alton & Eddie. In

1959, after winning a prominent talent show, they recorded the single "Muriel," which became a

substantial hit in Jamaica. Not long after cutting the follow-up "My Heaven," Perkins left to try a solo

career in the United States, leaving Ellis a solo act.Ellis recorded for Dodd's Studio One label during the

early '60s, but made little money. Dissatisfied, he moved over to Reid's Treasure Isle in 1965, and

formed a backup vocal trio called the Flames (the first incarnation featured his brother Leslie, and

membership would fluctuate). Ellis quickly scored a major hit with the antiviolence plea "Dance Crasher,"

and the following year, he released what was arguably the first rocksteady single, "Get Ready - Rock

Steady." Its innovative beat grew out of a session where the scheduled bassist didn't show up, forcing

keyboardist Jackie Mittoo to play the bass part himself; Mittoo's left hand couldn't keep up with the

frantic ska beat, so he elected to slow down the tempo. The result was a choppier rhythm that wound up

allowing the vocalist to stretch out more, and soon the rocksteady sound had taken over Jamaican music,

with Ellis leading the charge. He had several other major successes in 1966, including "Cry Tough" and the

smash "Girl I've Got a Date," the latter of which became his biggest hit and signature song. He also cut

several duets with Phyllis Dillon (making them Jamaica's answer to Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell), as

well as his sister Hortense Ellis (including a hit cover of Neil Sedaka's "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"). The

classic LP Mr. Soul of Jamaica (later reissued on CD as Cry Tough) gathered many of his best Treasure

Isle tracks.By 1968, Ellis had resumed working for Studio One in addition to his output for Treasure Isle,

making him one of the few singers to bridge the gap between the two archrivals. Most of his biggest hits

of the late '60s came on Studio One, including the American soul cover "Willow Tree," "I'm Just a Guy,"

and "Sitting in the Park." In 1970, he released the album Sunday Coming, one of his strongest Studio One

sets. Ellis later teamed with producer Lloyd Daley for a brief period, which resulted in the more

Rastafarian-tinged hits "Lord Deliver Us" and "Back to Africa"; he also worked with Keith Hudson.

However, he was still not receiving proper financial compensation for all his success. Disillusioned, he

spent some time in the U.S. and Canada, then relocated to England on a mostly permanent basis in 1973.In

England, Ellis established his own Alltone label, which he devoted to both new recordings and compilations

of his early classics. The international popularity of Bob Marley and the rise of roots reggae meant that

Ellis' considerable legacy was soon overshadowed, but over time, he remained a fondly remembered

pioneer of Jamaican music. He made triumphant returns to Jamaica with well-received sets at the Reggae

Sunsplash Festival in both 1983 and 1985, and recorded a new single, "Man From Studio One," for Dodd in

1991. Numerous compilations of his work appeared during the CD era, illustrating his stunning consistency.

YouTube Obit …

Pour out a little Red Stripe. Alton Nehemiah Ellis, the Jamaican musical legend known as the ―Godfather

of Rocksteady,‖ died last Friday (October 10) at Hammersmith Hospital in London. He was 70 years old.

Ellis came to prominence as a ska singer on the Studio One label in the 1950s. But it was in rock steady

that Ellis made his true impact on Jamaican music. His song ―Get Ready - Rock Steady‖ (below) is arguably

the first rocksteady song ever. A precursor to reggae, rocksteady was driven by a slower tempo than ska,

featured elements (and a good deal of songs) from American R&B and a heavy bass backbeat.

Fellow Jamaican singer Delroy Williams, a friend for decades, described Ellis‘ voice as ―the sweetest in

the reggae world. … His music is the reason for a lot of babies — that‘s how sweet and warm and loving it

is.‖

According to an obituary on the Trojan Records site, Ellis was diagnosed with cancer in 2007 and was

recently admitted to the hospital after collapsing on stage on August 10th. After initially improving, Ellis

was re-admitted for further treatment two weeks later.

Ellis is survived by his wife and more than 20 children.

09 Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars - Oscar Peterson

We Get Requests (65)

We lost a great one here; a truly noble and gifted person. How do you pick a representative OP track? My

very favorite OP of all time was included on the first NWN CD: NWN01, Gravy Waltz, track #13. I

sorted through the 100 or so remaining OP tracks and came up with this one. It‘s from a CD that replaced

the original vinyl I bought in … 1965. That explains the Bossa Nova aspect, but I think you‘ll still hear

Oscar‘s genius tinkling through – especially near the end of the track.

Oscar Peterson is one of the greatest piano players of all time. A pianist with phenomenal technique on

the level of his idol, Art Tatum, Peterson's speed, dexterity and ability to swing at any tempo have long

been amazing. Very effective in small groups, jam sessions and in accompanying singers, O.P. is at his

absolute best when performing unaccompanied solos. His original style does not fall into any specific

idiom. Like Erroll Garner and George Shearing, Peterson's distinctive playing formed during the mid- to

late '40s and fell somewhere between swing and bop.

Peterson has been criticized through the years because he uses so many notes, has not evolved much

since the 1950s, and has recorded a remarkable number of albums. Perhaps it is because critics ran out of

favorable adjectives to use early in his career; certainly it can be said that Peterson plays 100 notes

when other pianists might use ten, but all 100 usually fit, and there is nothing wrong with showing off

technique when it serves the music. As with Johnny Hodges and Thelonious Monk, to name two, Peterson

spent his career growing within his style rather than making any major changes once his approach was set,

certainly an acceptable way to handle one's career. Because he was Norman Granz's favorite pianist

(along with Tatum) and the producer tended to record some of his artists excessively, Peterson has made

an incredible number of albums. Not all are essential, and a few are routine, but the great majority are

quite excellent, and there are dozens of classics.

Oscar Peterson started classical piano lessons when he was six and developed quickly. After winning a

talent show at 14, he began starring on a weekly radio show in Montreal. Peterson picked up early

experience as a teenager playing with Johnny Holmes' Orchestra. From 1945-49, he recorded 32

selections for Victor in Montreal. Those trio performances find Peterson displaying a love for boogie-

woogie, which he would soon discard, and the swing style of Teddy Wilson and Nat King Cole. His

technique was quite brilliant even at that early stage, and although he had not yet been touched by the

influence of bop, he was already a very impressive player.

Norman Granz discovered Peterson in 1949 and soon presented him as a surprise guest at a Jazz at the

Philharmonic concert. Peterson was recorded in 1950 on a series of duets with either Ray Brown or Major

Holley on bass; his version of "Tenderly" became a hit. Peterson's talents were quite obvious, and he

became a household name in 1952 when he formed a trio with guitarist Barney Kessel and Brown. Kessel

tired of the road and was replaced by Herb Ellis the following year. The Peterson-Ellis-Brown Trio, which

often toured with JATP, was one of jazz's great combos from 1953-58. Their complex yet swinging

arrangements were competitive - Ellis and Brown were always trying to outwit and push the pianist - and

consistently exciting. In 1958, when Ellis left the band, it was decided that no other guitarist could fill in

so well, and he was replaced (after a brief stint by Gene Gammage) by drummer Ed Thigpen. In contrast

to the earlier group, the Peterson-Brown-Thigpen Trio (which lasted until 1965) found the pianist easily

the dominant soloist. Later versions of the group featured drummers Louis Hayes (1965-66), Bobby

Durham (1967-70), Ray Price (1970) and bassists Sam Jones (1966-70) and George Mraz (1970).

In 1960, Oscar Peterson established the Advanced School of Contemporary Music in Toronto, which

lasted for three years. He made his first recorded set of unaccompanied piano solos in 1968 (strange

that Norman Granz had not thought of it) during his highly rated series of MPS recordings. With the

formation of the Pablo label by Granz in 1972, Peterson was often teamed with guitarist Joe Pass and

bassist Niels Pedersen. He appeared on dozens of all-star records, made five duet albums with top

trumpeters (Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Clark Terry and Jon Faddis) and

teamed up with Count Basie on several two-piano dates. An underrated composer, Peterson wrote and

recorded the impressive "Canadiana Suite" in 1964 and has occasionally performed originals in the years

since. Although always thought of as a masterful acoustic pianist, Peterson has also recorded on electric

piano (particularly some of his own works), organ on rare occasions, and even clavichord for an odd duet

date with Joe Pass. One of his rare vocal sessions in 1965, With Respect to Nat, reveals that Peterson's

singing voice was nearly identical to Nat King Cole's.

A two-day reunion with Herb Ellis and Ray Brown in 1990 (which also included Bobby Durham) resulted in

four CDs. Peterson was felled by a serious stroke in 1993 that knocked him out of action for two years.

Since then, he has gradually returned to the scene, although his left hand has been weakened. But even

when he is not 100%, Oscar Peterson remains a classic improviser, one of the finest musicians that jazz

has ever produced.

The pianist has appeared on an enormous number of records through the years. As a leader, he has

recorded for Victor, Granz's Clef and Verve labels (1950-64), MPS, Mercury, Limelight, Pablo and Telarc.

- Scott Yanow

10 Endicott - Kid Creole & The Coconuts

Kid Creole Redux (86, 92)

This is another track that narrowly missed last year‘s CD. Well, this year it goes on. I was a little

concerned about the words, but they seem okay. I‘m not a word person, so I have to check to see what

I‘m promoting. I like the jumpy melody and that‘s the primary reason it‘s included here. It‘s the closest to

a rap song I‘m likely to ever include.

Endicott - Kid Creole & The Coconuts Lyrics

Endicott's up by 5 o'clock

Endicott's givin' it all he got

Endicott's job is six to nine but

Endicott's home by nine O five

Endicott helps to cook the steak

Endicott helps to wash the plates

Endicott puts the kids to bed

Endicott reads a book to them

(Why cant you be like Endicott?)

Endicott loves Tribena so

Endicott puts her on a pedestal

Endicott's wish is her command but

Endicott don't make no demands

Endicott's always back in time

Endicott's not the cheatin' kind

Endicott's full of compliment

Endicott's such a gentleman


Cause I'm free

Free of any made-to-order liabilities

Thank God I'm free

Cos it's hard enough for me

to take care of me, oh-oh

Endicott's carryin' a heavy load but

Endicott never really ever moans

Endicott's not a wealthy guy but

Endicott pays the bills on time

Endicott's got ideas and plans

Endicott's what you call a real man

Endicott always will provide 'cause

Endicott is the family type


Cause I'm free

Freer than a pirate on a frigate out at sea

Thank God I'm free

Driftin' all around just like a tumbleweed, oh-oh

Maybe I need someone

Someone who isn't undone

Maybe an older woman

Will tolerate me

Maybe that certain someone

Older and wiser woman

Maybe the perfect someone

To satisfy me

Endicott keeps his body clean

Endicott don't use nicotine

Endicott don't drink alcohol

Endicott use no drugs at all

Endicott don't eat any sweet

Endicott don't eat pig feet

Endicott's frame is mighty strong

Endicott make love hard and long


Endicott loves Tribena so

Endicott walks her to the sto'

Endicott likes to hold her hand

Endicott's proud to be her man

Endicott stands for decency

Endicott means formality

Endicott's the epitome

Endicott stands for quality

Endicott

Endicott

Endicott

Endicott

Our love will be...

Thomas August Darnell Browder (aka August Darnell) was born in Montreal on August 12, 1950, the son of

a French Canadian mother and a Dominican father, but was raised in the New York City borough of the

Bronx. In 1965, he formed the In-Laws with his half-brother, Stony Browder, Jr. He earned a master's

degree in English and became an English teacher, but in 1974 again joined his half-brother as bass

guitarist, singer, and lyricist in Dr. Buzzard's Original "Savannah" Band, a group that mixed disco with big

band and Latin styles. In 1976, Dr. Buzzard achieved a gold-selling album with its self-titled debut

release, which featured the Top 40 hit "Whispering/Cherchez La Femme/Se Si Bon," but its subsequent

recordings were less successful. Darnell began to write and produce for other acts, co-composing

Machine's 1979 chart entry "There But for the Grace of God Go I" and working with James Chance

among others. In 1980, he became a staff producer at Ze Records and created the persona of Kid Creole

(the name adapted from the Elvis Presley film King Creole) with a backup group, the Coconuts, consisting

of three female singers led by his wife Adriana ("Addy") Kaegi, and a band containing vibraphone player

"Sugar-Coated" Andy Hernandez (a/k/a Coati Mundi), also from Dr. Buzzard. Kid Creole was a deliberately

comic figure, a Latinized Cab Calloway type in a zoot suit and broad-brimmed hat who sang songs like

"Mister Softee" that found him decrying his impotence while being berated by the Coconuts. Off the

Coast of Me, the first Kid Creole & the Coconuts album, was released in August 1980 by Island Records

subsidiary Antilles through a distribution deal with Ze. It earned good reviews for its clever lyrics and

mixture of musical styles, but did not sell.

Ze made a deal with Sire Records (in turn part of Warner Bros. Records), and Sire released the second

Kid Creole & the Coconuts album, Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places, in June 1981. It reached the charts

briefly, and Coati Mundi's dance single, "Me No Pop I," was a Top 40 hit in the U.K. Fresh Fruit was a

concept album that found the Kid Creole character embarking on an Odyssey-like search for a character

named Mimi, and it was given a stage production at the New York Public Theater. Darnell continued the

story with his third album, which was released in the U.K. under the title Tropical Gangsters in May 1982.

The band toured Britain for the first time to promote the album, and they broke big: The LP hit #3 and

three singles, "I'm a Wonderful Thing, Baby," "Stool Pigeon," and "Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy," made the

Top Ten, with "Dear Addy" reaching the Top 40. In the U.S., where the album was retitled Wise Guy, the

band remained cult favorites, though the album charted and "I'm a Wonderful Thing, Baby" made the

R&B singles charts. In 1983, Darnell produced side projects for the Coconuts (Don't Steal My Coconuts)

and Coati Mundi (The Former Twelve Year Old Genius) before releasing the fourth Kid Creole album

Doppelganger, which completed the Mimi cycle. The album got into the charts in the U.K., where the

single "There's Something Wrong in Paradise" made the Top 40, but it did not chart at home and was a

commercial disappointment after the breakthrough represented by Tropical Gangsters/Wise Guy.

Nevertheless, Kid Creole & the Coconuts remained a compelling live act with an imaginative visual style,

which led to film and television opportunities. They appeared in the film Against All Odds in 1984 and

continued to be tapped for movie projects in subsequent years, either for appearances or music: New

York Stories (1989), The Forbidden Dance (1990), Identity Crisis (1990), Only You (1992), Car 54, Where

Are You? (1994). They also made a TV film, Something Wrong in Paradise, based on the Mimi cycle and

broadcast on Granada TV in the U.K. in December 1984.

Darnell broke up with his wife in 1985, and the original band split, with the Coconuts forming a group

called Boomerang, while Andy Hernandez appeared in the Madonna film Who's That Girl? (1987). Darnell

pressed on, appearing at the Montreux Jazz Festival and releasing the fifth Kid Creole and the Coconuts

album, In Praise of Older Women and Other Crimes, which did not chart. Neither did the sixth album, I,

Too, Have Seen the Woods (1987). The group joined Barry Manilow on "Hey Mambo," a song on his Swing

Street album that made the singles charts. Darnell then took time off to write In a Pig's Valise, an Off-

Broadway show that ran for 12 weeks. Kid Creole & the Coconuts, now featuring former Dr. Buzzard

singer Cory Daye, resurfaced in 1990 on Columbia Records, issuing a seventh album, Private Waters in the

Great Divide, which featured "The Sex of It," a song written by Prince that made the British Top 40 and

the American R&B charts. It was followed a year later by You Shoulda Told Me You Were ....

Kid Creole & the Coconuts spent the 1990s touring internationally and releasing albums primarily outside

the U.S. To Travel Sideways and Kiss Me Before the Light Changes both appeared initially in Japan,

though they found stateside release on a small label in 1995. The Conquest of You was released in

Germany in 1997. (An American release on Fuel 2000 was scheduled for 1999, but did not occur.) In the

U.S., the group appeared in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. Kid Creole starred in the British musical Oh!

What a Night, which ran in the West End from August to October 1999.

Kid Creole Redux

Rating 4 * checked

Release Date Mar 17, 1992

Time 56:24

This 1992 compilation released on Sire stands as the best introduction to Kid Creole & the Coconuts, a

thrilling group that exemplified New York City's diverse cultural mix during the '80s. Kid Creole Redux

reaches back to early Ze and Island singles like 1980's "He's Not Such a Bad Boy," 1981's "Going Places,"

and 1982's "I'm a Wonderful Thing, Baby," and it also includes cuts from the mid-'80s that saw the group

reach its highest level of popularity ("My Male Curiosity," "Endicott"). Nobody knew exactly what Kid

Creole & the Coconuts were — that was part of the their charm. If there's one thing this group wasn't, it

was a novelty. Whatever they were, they cranked out some humorous, rhythmic, vibrant pop music that

has had no problem translating to the present.

1 I'm a Wonderful Thing, Baby Darnell, Schott 5:15

2 Endicott Darnell 4:26

3 There's Something Wrong in Paradise Darnell, Mazur 3:20

4 If You Wanna Be Happy Guida, Royster 2:23

5 Stool Pigeon Darnell 4:59

6 Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy Darnell 6:13

7 Yolanda Darnell 4:23

8 It's a Wonderful Life Hernandez 3:17

9 Dancin' at the Bains Douches Darnell 5:25

10 In the Jungle Darnell 3:09

11 Animal Crackers Darnell, Favero 3:33

12 Part of My Design Darnell 3:28

13 Call It a Day Darnell 4:00

14 The Lifeboat Party Darnell, Rodgers 2:33

11 Utah Bruce Phillips Medley - Utah Bruce Phillips,Peter Ostroushko,Stony Lonesome

PHC (80s)

I first heard Utah Bruce back in the 80s when he appeared on PHC. He performed several of what I think

are his best tracks on those shows. Stony Lonesome, the PHC house band at the time, did a Utah Bruce

medley on one of his last appearances and that‘s the track I picked. I‘d actually wanted to include a Utah

Bruce for years, but it just never seemed to fit. This year, it just had to be. Some of you may know about

Utah Bruce from his collaboration with Ani DeFranco. I downloaded a bunch of their stuff and almost

immediately deleted it. It just wasn‘t what I remember about Utah Bruce‘s work. After reading his obit,

I went to the Smithsonian site and found some samples of his work they had posted for his remembrance.

They weren‘t even close to the PHC stuff I have. Apparently I lucked out and got the very best of Utah

Bruce. Yay, me.

This medley was originally over 12 minutes long. I did some editing and got it down to just under 9

minutes. I opted to leave Utah‘s monologues because I think they are important for the story. I get chills

every time I listen to this track. I especially like the loneliness and sense of history: taking the last ride

on a well known RR line; starlight reflecting on the rails; going out where the states are square; being the

best ant you can be. The hair on my arms rises as I type these words. Hope the track has the same

effect for you.

The artists performing the three Utah Bruce songs on this medley are: Utah Bruce himself, Peter

Ostroushko, and Kate McKenzie. The backup group is Stony Lonesome featuring Kate McKenzie (guitar,

vocals), Chris Kaiser (mandolin, lead guitar, vocals), Kevin Barnes (banjo, dobro, vocals), Brian Wicklund

(fiddle, vocals) and Patty Shove (bass). Peter is one of the original performers on PHC … and one of my

favorites.

"The golden voice of the great American Southwest", Bruce "U. Utah" Phillips is not one to take

retirement sitting down. "Officially" retired from touring since 1996, the politically-conscious, Nevada

City, California-based, singer and storyteller has maintained a constant flow of new recordings and

reissues. An album of his stories and between-song patter set to music by Ani DiFranco, The Past Didn't

Go Anywhere, introduced his anarchistic persona to a young audience, while Loafer's Glory, a collection of

stories, poems and songs set to the accompaniment of Woody Guthrie-influenced guitarist Mark Ross,

showed his long-time audience that he still had something of importance to say. In addition to two of his

earlier albums -- El Capitan and All Used Up -- being released as The Telling Takes Me Home, Phillips'

songs were honored with an album-length celebration of his songs by bluegrass duo, Jody Stecher and

Kate Brislin, Heart Songs: The Old Time Country Songs of Utah Phillips, that receive a Grammy

nomination as "best traditional folk album of 1997".

Phillips and Ross initially worked together in the late-1980s when problems with Phillips contracted focal

distonia in his right hand which prevented him from fingerpicking and dupytren in his left hand which

made it difficult for him to make a chord. His collaboration with DiFranco was instigated by a letter that

he received from the hard-edged acoustic performer. The stories that DiFranco set to music were culled

from over a hundred hours of his live performances. Phillips' political awareness was inherited from his

parents who were union organizers in the 1930s. His mother worked for the C.I.O. before it merged with

the A.F.L.. As a youngster, Phillips was influenced by his exposure to the theater after his parents were

divorced and his mother was re-married to the manager of the Hippodrome in Cleveland, one of the last

of the old vaudeville houses. His involvement with the theater continued after moving with his mother and

step-father to Utah in 1947. Although his step-father founded Film Service International and his step-

brother went on to become a producer for Universal Studios, Phillips found his creativity pulled in

another direction, running away from so much that his mother started wrapping his lunch in a road map.

After cutting his early musical teeth on a baritone ukelele on which he learned to play from Ukelele Ike

songbooks, Phillips' musical direction was altered after he left home and traveled to Yellowstone Park to

work on a road crew. The older work rs on the crew, who played guitars and sang old Jimmie Rodgers and

Gene Autry songs, taught Phillips how to turn ukelele chords into guitar chords by adding a couple of

fingers.

As a soldier during the Korean conflict, Phillips continued to find refuge in music and helped to form a

band, the Rice Paddy Ramblers. A turning point in his growing political awareness came when he attended

a concert in a Korean theater by black vocalist Marion Anderson. The experience caused Phillips to recall

the anger that he felt when Anderson had come to Utah to perform at his step-father's theater and she

had ben refused entry into the town's hotel.

Phillips' political awakening continued after he returned to the United States. Befriended by Ammon

Hennessey at the Joe Hill House for Transients and Migrants, he was convinced to become a pacifist.

Phillips' use of music as a political weapon was strongly influenced by Hennessey. On the way to a

demonstration at a Hiroshima Peace Memorial, Phillips was encouraged to write his first song, "The Enola

Gay." Writing the song stirred a new understanding of the power of music as Phillips realized that a song,

besides being entertaining, could be inspirational. Phillips has been a card-carrying member of the

Industrial Workers of the World (The Wobblies) for more than forty years. Although he misplaced his

membership card in Korea, he had it reinstated after returning to the United States.

Although he sang in taverns where money would be thrown into his guitar case, Phillips had little

understanding of folk music. The situation changed when Phillips was approached by folklorist and

professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Kenneth S. Goldstein, who had traveled to Utah to attend a

folklore conference in 1960. Overheard by Goldstein, as he sat on his front porch singing, Phillips was

invited to record his first album, No One Knows Me, on a rented tape recorder at the local university.

Phillips continued to balance his love of music with his political involvement. In the early-1960s, he was

involved with Fair Play for Cuba and the struggle for open housing laws in Utah. In 1968, he was nominated

and campaigned for the U.S. Senate on the Peace and Freedom ticket. Although he received 6,000 votes,

the experience led to Phillips being dismissed from his job with the Utah State Archives.

Following the election, Phillips remained in Utah for a year, working for the Migrant Council and living on a

cot in the back of a big warehouse called "The Cosmic Airplane". Encouraged by friends, including

folksinger Rosalie Sorrels, to try his hand at performing, Phillips moved to the East Coast in 1969.

Temporarily stopping in New York's Greenwich Village, Phillips settled, for several years, in Sarasota

Springs, New York, where he became a regular performer at Cafe Lena.

In 1991, Phillips toured with Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Spider John Koerner. Their performance at the

World Theater in Minneapolis was taped and released as Legends Of Folk the following year.

Although he's slowed down his touring to one performance a month, Phillips, has found other mediums in

which to express his music and political concerns. Phillips, who has run for president in every election

since 1969, hosts a weekly, one-hour, radio show, Loafer's Glory: The Hobo Jungle of the Mind, broadcast

by KPSA in Berkeley, California over the Pacifica network. In addition to being aired on the five stations

owned by Pacifica, the show is available to any community radio station at no charge. 1999's The Moscow

Hold featured more of his stories and poems.

U. Utah Phillips has passed away in his sleep at 11:30PM PDT on May 23, 2008. Utah has caught the

westbound, and I am at a great loss. For myself and my wife Pam, to Joanna and to all Utah's family and

friends we express our deepest sympathy. We have lost a truly caring man.

Stony Lonesome

Stoney Lonesome consists of Kate MacKenzie (guitar, vocals), Chris Kaiser (mandolin, lead guitar, vocals),

Kevin Barnes (banjo, dobro, vocals), Brian Wicklund (fiddle, vocals) and Patty Shove (bass). The group

first gained attention by appearing frequently on Prairie Home Companion during the '80s. In the early

'90s, the quintet began releasing albums on Red House Records, starting with Lonesome Tonight in 1991

and followed by Blue Heartache the next year.

Peter Ostroushko

Mandolinist Peter Ostroushko grew up listening to mandolin, balalaika, and bandura tunes played at family

get-togethers in the Ukrainian community of northeast Minneapolis. It's the music that provides the

basis for many of his compositions. His first recording session was an uncredited mandolin set on Bob

Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. Since then, his works have been performed by the Saint Paul Chamber

Orchestra and the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra, among others. Ken Burns used Ostroushko's music for his

PBS documentary Lewis & Clark, and Twin Cities Public Television commissioned Peter to provide music for

The Dakota Conflict. Among Peter's recent CDs are Postcards: Travels with a Great American Radio Show

(Red House Records) and The Mando Boys Live - Holstein Lust, the Midwestern Tours 1987-1995

(Borderland Productions).

The musical traditions of the Ukraine are fused with an aural reflection of America's Midwest by

mandolin and fiddle player Peter Ostroushko. Best known for his regular appearances on National Public

Radio show, A Prairie Home Companion, Ostroushko (pronounced: Oh-STREW-shko) has consistently

achieved high standards with his solo recordings and duo albums with Minnesota-based acoustic guitarist

Dean Magraw. Equally skillful on fiddle and mandolin, Ostroushko is, according to flatpicking guitar wiz

Norman Blake, "the next Jethro Burns and Johnny Gimble rolled into one."

Ostroushko has been playing music most of his life. As the son of Ukrainian immigrants, Wasyl and

Katerina Ostroushko, Ostroushko grew up listening to his father, a shoemaker, playing traditional songs

of his homeland on guitar and mandolin.

Although he appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, in 1974, the first year that the show was broadcast

on Minnesota Public Radio, Ostroushko didn't become a full-time cast member until the show went

national in 1980. During the six years in between, Ostroushko worked as a session musician in Nashville. In

addition to working on albums by Jethro Burns, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Chet Atkins and Johnny

Gimble, Ostroushko played mandolin, though uncredited, on the tune, "If You See Her, Say Hello," from

Bob Dylan's album, Blood On The Tracks. Ostroushko also toured with Robin & Linda Williams and Norman

& Nancy Blake.

Sluz Duz Music, Ostroushko's debut solo album, was released in 1982. The title referred to Ostroushko's

description of his music, based on the Ukrainian words meaning, "over the edge" or "off his rocker".

Ostroushko's second effort, Down The Streets Of My Neighborhood, released in 1986, included a medley

of Ukrainian songs and an interpretation of Hank Williams' "Hey, Good Lookin'", sung in Ukrainian.

Ostroushko's albums have featured an illustrious list of supportive musicians. The Mando Boys,

Ostroushko's third album, released in late 1986, featured a fez-wearing group that began when

Ostroushko formed The Lake Woebegone Municipal Mandolin Orchestra for a tour with Garrison Keillor

and the cast of A Prairie Home Companion. The same year, Ostroushko recorded First Generation with

anglo concertina player Bertram Levy. Ostroushko's next album, Buddies Of Swing, released in 1987, was

a jazz-tinged collaboration with Jethro Burns (mandolin), Johnny Gimble (fiddle), Butch Thompson (piano),

Dean Magraw (guitar) and Prudence Johnson (vocals). After recording a solo album, Blue Mesa, released in

1989, with guest appearances by Norman and Nancy Blake, Daithi Sproule and Magraw, Ostroushko and

Magraw collaborated on an album, Duo, released in 1991. Ostroushko's most successful recording, Heart

Of The Heartland, released in 1995, was an all-instrumental exploration of the Midwest. In addition to

rec iving a NAIRD award as "best independently released folk instrumental album", the album was

featured on Ken Burns' PBS documentary, Lewis And Clark. The following year, Ostroushko released,

Pilgrims On The Heart Road, which he described in the liner notes as "a collection of songs that are a

companion piece to Heart Of The Heartland." Sacred Heart followed in 2000.

Ostroushko has worked closely with the Children's Theater in Minnesota and the ACT Theater. One of

his most ambitious projects was an appearance, as lead ukelele player, with the Minnesota Symphony

Orchestra.

12 Via Con Me - Paolo Conte

Live Arena di Verona (05)

This track was featured in a movie we watched – can‘t remember the movie, but do remember the music. I

looked it up the next morning and bought the download at Amazon. As you might expect, none of the

other tracks are quite as good – we call it Northerning a CD (from our experience with the two Northern

Exposure CDs). Anyway, I like the juxtaposition of the bouncy little song delivered by the craggy, old-man

voice. I also like the mix of Italian and English nonsensical lyrics.

The craggy-voiced Italian singer, pianist and composer Paolo Conte was born in the northern city of Asti

in 1937; a poet and painter as well as a musician, he first earned attention during the late '60s and early

'70s as the creative force behind hits from Adriano Celentano and Patty Pravo. Conte began his solo

career with a 1974 self-titled LP, with subsequent efforts like 1987's Aguaplano and 1990's Parole

Scritte a Macchina enjoying considerable success throughout Europe. 1998's Paolo Conte -- a greatest-

hits collection -- was his first U.S. release.

Paolo Conte

Live in Arena Di Verona

Release Date Dec 13, 2005

Recording Date Jul 26, 2005

13 Hands Off - Priscilla Bowman & Jay McShann

Confessin' The Blues (69)

Okay, this is another Jay McShann piece – deal with it. I‘ve included Hold ‗Em Hootie (NWN02A, #3) and

last year I commemorated his passing with Confessin‘ The Blues (NWN07, #6). Now I‘m including a track

that he wrote with Priscilla Bowman. I had it in the queue for last year, but opted for one that more

prominently featured Hootie, his own bad self. I‘ve got yet another Hootie track in the ‗Highly Probable‘

list for future NWN CDs. It will complete the Hootie set that demonstrates his full range.

The great veteran pianist Jay McShann (also known as Hootie) enjoyed a long career and it is unfair to

primarily think of him as merely the leader of an orchestra that featured a young Charlie Parker. He was

mostly self-taught as a pianist, worked with Don Byas as early as 1931 and played throughout the Midwest

before settling in Kansas City in 1936. McShann formed his own sextet the following year and by 1939

had his own big band. In 1940 at a radio station in Wichita, KS, McShann and an octet out of his

orchestra recorded eight songs that were not released commercially until the 1970s; those rank among

the earliest of all Charlie Parker records (he is brilliant on "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Lady Be Good") and

also feature the strong rhythm section team McShann had with bassist Gene Ramey and drummer Gus

Johnson. The full orchestra recorded for Decca on two occasions during 1941-1942 but they were

typecast as a blues band and did not get to record many of their more challenging charts (although very

rare broadcasts have since surfaced and been released on CD by Vintage Jazz Classics). In addition to

Bird (who had a few short solos), the main stars were trumpeter Bernard Anderson, the rhythm section,

and singer Walter Brown. McShann and his band arrived in New York in February 1942 and made a strong

impression, but World War II made it difficult for any new orchestras to catch on. There was a final

session in December 1943 without Parker, but McShann was soon drafted and the band broke up. After

being discharged later in 1944, McShann briefly re-formed his group but soon moved to Los Angeles,

where he led combos for the next few years; his main attraction was the young singer Jimmy

Witherspoon.

McShann was in obscurity for the next two decades, making few records and mostly playing in Kansas

City. In 1969 he was rediscovered and McShann (who had first sung on records in 1966) was soon a

popular pianist/vocalist. Sometimes featuring violinist Claude Williams, he toured constantly, recorded

frequently, and appeared at many jazz festivals, being active into the mid-'90s. Jay McShann, who

recorded through the years for Onyx (the 1940 radio transcriptions), Decca, Capitol, Aladdin, Mercury,

Black Lion, EmArcy, Vee Jay, Black & Blue, Master Jazz, Sackville, Sonet, Storyville, Atlantic, Swingtime,

and Music Masters among others, was a vital pianist and an effective blues vocalist who keept a classic

style alive. A live album, Hootie Blues, recorded in 2001 in Toronto and released in 2006 by Stony Plain,

showed that McShann could still bring it at the age of 85. He died at the age of 90 on December 7, 2006.

Confessin' the Blues

Rating 3 Stars

Release Date Mar 28, 1969

Recording Date 1969

Pianist Jay McShann sticks to the blues on this enjoyable release, not only welcoming bassist Roland

Lobligeois and drummer Paul Gunther but, in a rare (and purely instrumental role) as a sideman, guitarist

T-Bone Walker. McShann takes vocals on several of the selections and contributes his accessible brand

of blues piano. The results are enjoyable if not essential.A bit more imagination could have gone into

picking out a more inventive repertoire.

1 Kansas City Littlefield 3:48

2 Roll 'Em McShann 3:31

3 Our Kinda Blues McShann 3:42

4 Rollin' With Roland McShann 4:16

5 Stompin' in K.C. McShann 5:23

6 After Hours Hawkins, Parrish 4:27

7 Hootie Blues Brown, McShann, Parker 3:30

8 'Fore Day Rider Brown, McShann 3:25

9 Hands Off Bowman, McShann 3:22

10 Hootie's Ignorant Oil Anderson, McShann 3:35

11 Confessin' the Blues Brown, McShann 3:56

14 None Of Us Are Free - Solomon Burke & Blind Boys of Alabama

Don't Give Up On Me (02)

I had this one in, then took it out, put it back, removed it … and, when I found myself hearing it while

wandering around the house, I put it back in. The more I hear it, the better I like it. When I discovered

it was backed by the Blind Boys, well, that really cemented the deal. Hope it has the same effect on you.

I originally got the track from Mahoney – The Music Man strikes again. I think the words are particularly

appropriate this year.

Well you better listen my sister's and brothers,

'cause if you do you can hear

there are voices still calling across the years.

And they're all crying across the ocean,

and they're cryin across the land,

and they will till we all come to understand.

None of us are free.


None of us are free, one of us are chained.


And there are people still in darkness,

and they just can't see the light.

If you don't say it's wrong then that says it right.

We got try to feel for each other, let our brother's know that

we care.

Got to get the message, send it out loud and clear.

(Chorus)

It's a simple truth we all need, just to hear and to see.

None of us are free, one of us is chained.


now I swear your salvation isn't too hard too find,

None of us can find it on our own.

We've got to join together in sprit, heart and mind.

So that every soul who's suffering will know they're not alone.

(Chorus)

If you just look around you,

your gonna see what I say.

Cause the world is getting smaller each passing day.

Now it's time to start making changes,

and it's time for us all to realize,

that the truth is shining real bright right before our eyes.

(Chorus and Fade)

While Solomon Burke never made a major impact upon the pop audience — he never, in fact, had a Top 20

hit — he was an important early soul pioneer. On his '60s singles for Atlantic, he brought a country

influence into R&B with emotional phrasing and intricately constructed, melodic ballads and mid-tempo

songs. At the same time, he was surrounded with sophisticated "uptown" arrangements and provided with

much of his material by his producers, particularly Bert Berns. The combination of gospel, pop, country,

and production polish was basic to the recipe of early soul. While Burke wasn't the only one pursuing this

path, not many others did so as successfully. And he, like Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett, was an

important influence upon the Rolling Stones, who covered Burke's "Cry to Me" and "Everybody Needs

Somebody to Love" on their early albums.

Burke came by his gospel roots even more deeply than most soul stars. He was preaching at his family's

Philadelphia church, and hosting his own gospel radio show, even before he'd reached his teens. He began

recording gospel and R&B sides for Apollo in the mid- to late '50s. Like several former gospel singers

(Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett), he was molded into a more secular direction when he signed with

Atlantic in the 1960s.

Burke had a wealth of high-charting R&B hits in the early half of the '60s, which crossed over to the pop

listings in a mild fashion as well. "Just Out of Reach," "Cry to Me," "If You Need Me," "Got to Get You

Off My Mind," "Tonight's the Night," and "Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye)" were the most successful of

these, although unlike Franklin or Pickett, he wasn't able to expand his R&B base into a huge pop following

as well. He left Atlantic in the late '60s, and spent the next decade hopping between various labels,

getting his biggest hit with a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary" in 1969, and

recording an album in the late '70s with cult soulster Swamp Dogg as producer.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Burke became one of the most visible living exponents of classic soul music,

continuing to tour and record albums in a rootsy, at times gospelish style. Although these were critically

well received, their stylistic purity also ensured that their market was primarily confined to roots music

enthusiasts, rather than a pop audience. His live and later recorded work, however, is a favorite of those

who want to experience a soul legend with his talents and stylistic purity relatively intact. Burke's 2002

release Don't Give Up on Me was hailed as a major comeback for the legendary soulman. Great

songwriters like Elvis Costello, Dan Penn, Nick Lowe, and Tom Waits contributed songs and Joe Henry

produced the album. which has been compared to Johnny Cash's landmark album American Recordings.

Don't Give Up on Me

Artist Solomon Burke

Album Title Don't Give Up on Me

Date of Release Jul 23, 2002

AMG Rating 4.5 *

It's a sad irony that in the 1980s and '90s, many of the great artists of soul and R&B suffered musically

at the hands of those who professed to love them the most. After soul had dropped off the major-label

radar in favor of hip-hop and new jack sounds, a number of smaller companies stepped forward to record

veteran artists who were still giving their all on the road, but for every truly inspired release from labels

such as Malaco, Bullseye, or Alligator, there were a dozen others which featured rote, generic production

and arrangements which attempted to recapture the thrilling sound of soul's glory days without coming

within driving distance of conjuring their ineffable magic. Solomon Burke was one of the greatest talents

of '60s soul, whose strong, burnished voice resonated with a churchy fervor that could speak volumes

about either triumph or hurt, but while he continued to record regularly through the '70s, '80s and '90s

and always sounded splendid, the records themselves often weren't much to write home about, with

Burke using his gifts to prop up second-rate material or re-record tunes he'd performed definitively in

the past. So it's good news indeed to report that Burke's new album, Don't Give Up on Me, is nothing

short of revelatory, a superb set which presents "the King of Rock and Soul" at the very top of his form.

Singer and songwriter Joe Henry produced the set, and rather than trying to replicate the sound of a

vintage Jerry Wexler session, he's taken a very different approach, going for a spare and open sound,

with nothing but a subdued rhythm section, a guitar, and an organ (the latter played by Rudy Copeland,

who performs the same honors at the church where Burke preaches) accompanying Burke on most of

these 11 songs. Henry also put out a call for material worthy of Burke's gifts, and a number of his better-

known fans responded, including Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Brian Wilson, and

Nick Lowe, all of whom contributed songs to the project. But for all the songwriting starpower on deck,

the focus is squarely on Solomon Burke throughout, and he proves he's lost none of the power, force, or

dramatic intensity of his glory days. Henry's low-key production captures the nooks and crannies of

Burke's voice, and he delivers a performance worthy of a great actor on each cut, from the deep soul of

"Don't Give Up on Me" and the blues-based swagger of "Stepchild" to the inspired tall tales of "Diamond

in Your Mind" and the near-operatic passion of "The Judgement." His voice is in superb shape, too,

sounding no less powerful at age 66 than he did in his glory days, and with a depth of emotion and gift for

phrasing that's only grown with the passage of time. In many ways, Don't Give Up on Me most closely

resembles Johnny Cash's superb American Recordings, in that the spare simplicity of the album's

presentation reveals the rich complexities of the singer's gifts as they've rarely been allowed in the

past; while it's a very different kettle of fish from his classic sides for Atlantic in the 1960s, Don't Give

up on Me leaves no doubt that Solomon Burke is still one of the finest voices of his time, and anyone who

has ever been moved by the power of soul music needs to hear this album. — Mark Deming

1. Don't Give Up on Me (Lindsey/Penn/Whitsett) - 3:45

2. Fast Train (Morrison) - 5:43

3. Diamond in Your Mind (Brennan/Waits) - 4:24

4. Flesh and Blood (Henry) - 6:07

5. Soul Searchin' (Paley/Wilson) - 3:59

6. Only a Dream (Morrison) - 5:09

7. The Judgement (Costello/ORiordan) - 3:30

8. Stepchild (Dylan) - 5:10

9. The Other Side of the Coin (Lowe) - 3:46

10. None of Us Are Free performed by Burke / Blind Boys of Alabama - 5:29

11. Sit This One Out (Purnell) - 4:33

15 The Best Things In Life Are Free - Jo Stafford

Spotlight On Jo Stafford (43-50)

I really like Jo Stafford and have since I first heard her back in 1957. I don‘t have a lot of her work … I

may be getting more in the near future … but this track from my BBGR tapes caught my attention. I like

the up-tempo aspect and her wonderful voice. I couldn‘t find the exact recording date, but judging from

the sound quality, it‘s most likely from the early part of the 1943-50 range.

One of the most technically gifted and popular vocalists of the immediate post-war period, Jo Stafford

effortlessly walked the line between breezy pop and the more serious art of post-big-band jazz singing.

With the help of her husband, top-flight arranger and Capitol A&R director Paul Weston, Stafford

recorded throughout the '40s and '50s for Capitol and Columbia. She also contributed (with Weston) to

one of the best pop novelty acts of the period, a hilariously inept and off-key satire that saw the couple

billed as Jonathan and Darlene Edwards.

Born near Fresno, California, Stafford sang from an early age and was classically trained, though she

later joined her sisters in a country-tinged act (associated for a time with Joe "Country" Washburne). At

the age of just 17, she became the first female voice in the seven-man vocal act known as the Pied Pipers.

Soon after the group joined Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra in 1939 however, it was pruned to a quartet (that

also included Stafford's first husband, co-founder John Huddleston). The group appeared on several of

the Dorsey band's hits of the early '40s, a few of which paired them with Frank Sinatra. Stafford gained

her first solo spots on a pair of Dorsey band hits, "Yes, Indeed!" and "Manhattan Serenade." She finally

left the Pied Pipers for a solo contract in 1944 (she was replaced by June Hutton), though the group

provided back-up for many of her initial solo hits.

Not only signed to Capitol but able to preview hit songs as the co-host of label-founder Johnny Mercer's

radio program, Stafford hit the charts with the mid-'40s songs "Long Ago (And Far Away)," "I Love You"

and "Candy." The latter, a duet with Mercer and the Pied Pipers, became her first number one. In 1948,

her duet with Gordon MacRae on "My Darling, My Darling" became her second. She later moved to

Columbia and recorded the two biggest hits of her career, 1952's "You Belong to Me" and 1954's "Make

Love to Me." Stafford gained her own television program during the mid-'50s, and also recorded the first

LP by Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, American Popular Songs. (It wasn't the first time Stafford had

used a pseudonym, however; in 1947, she billed herself as Cinderella G. Stump to record a cover of the

cornpone single "Temptation [Tim-Tay-Shun].") Though she slipped from the charts in the late '50s and

retired from performance, Stafford continued to record for many years and issued the LP Getting

Sentimental over Tommy Dorsey on Reprise in 1963. She also founded Corinthian Records, with Weston,

to reissue the couple's various recordings.

16 I'm A King Bee - Slim Harpo

TL Blues Legends (48)

This is another track that‘s been in the queue for a long time. When it got bumped by Robert Lockwood‘s

commemorative Love in Vain (NWN07, #19), I promised myself that it would go in this year– and here it

is. I liked this piece on first hearing and hope you enjoy it too ;-)

Well, I'm a King Bee

Buzzing around your hive

Yes, I'm a King Bee, child

Buzzing around your hive

I can make good honey

Let me come inside

I'm young and able

To buzz all night long

You know I'm young and able

To buzz all night long

When you hear me buzz, little girl

You know some stinging's going on

(Well, buzz some) I'll sting (yeah)

Well, I'm a King Bee

Can buzz all night long

Yes I'm a King Bee

Can buzz all night long

Well, I buzz better baby,

When your man is gone.

In the large stable of blues talent that Crowley, LA, producer Jay Miller recorded for the Nashville-

based Excello label, no one enjoyed more mainstream success than Slim Harpo. Just a shade behind

Lightnin' Slim in local popularity, Harpo played both guitar and neck-rack harmonica in a more down-home

approximation of Jimmy Reed, with a few discernible, and distinctive, differences. Harpo's music was

certainly more laid-back than Reed's, if such a notion was possible. But the rhythm was insistent and,

overall, Harpo was more adaptable than Reed or most other bluesmen. His material not only made the

national charts, but also proved to be quite adaptable for white artists on both sides of the Atlantic,

including the Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, Kinks, Dave Edmunds with Love Sculpture, Van Morrison with

Them, Sun rockabilly singer Warren Smith, Hank Williams, Jr., and the Fabulous Thunderbirds.

A people-pleasing club entertainer, he certainly wasn't above working rock & roll rhythms into his music,

along with hard-stressed, country & western vocal inflections. Several of his best tunes were co-written

with his wife Lovelle and show a fine hand for song construction, appearing to have arrived at the studio

pretty well formed. His harmonica playing was driving and straightforward, full of surprising melody,

while his vocals were perhaps best described by writer Peter Guralnick as "if a black country & western

singer or a white rhythm & blues singer were attempting to impersonate a member of the opposite genre."

And here perhaps was Harpo's true genius, and what has allowed his music to have a wider currency. By

the time his first single became a Southern jukebox favorite, his songs were being adapted and played by

white musicians left and right. Here was good-time Saturday-night blues that could be sung by elements

of the Caucasian persuasion with a straight face. Nothing resembling the emotional investment of a

Howlin' Wolf or a Muddy Waters was required; it all came natural and easy, and its influence has stood

the test of time.

He was born James Moore just outside of Baton Rouge, LA. After his parents died, he dropped out of

school to work every juke joint, street corner, picnic, and house rent party that came his way. By this

time he had acquired the alias of Harmonica Slim, which he used until his first record was released. It

was fellow bluesman Lightnin' Slim who first steered him to local recordman J.D. Miller. The producer

used him as an accompanist to Hopkins on a half-dozen sides before recording him on his own. When it

came time to release his first single ("I'm a King Bee"), Miller informed him that there was another

Harmonica Slim recording on the West Coast, and a new name was needed before the record could come

out. Moore's wife took the slang word for harmonica, added an "o" to the end of it, and a new stage name

was the result, one that would stay with Slim Harpo the rest of his career.

Harpo's first record became a double-sided R&B hit, spawning numerous follow-ups on the "King Bee"

theme, but even bigger was "Rainin' in My Heart," which made the Billboard Top 40 pop charts in the

summer of 1961. It was another perfect distillation of Harpo's across-the-board appeal, and was

immediately adapted by country, Cajun, and rock & roll musicians; anybody could play it and sound good

doing it. In the wake of the Rolling Stones covering "I'm a King Bee" on their first album, Slim had the

biggest hit of his career in 1966 with "Baby, Scratch My Back." Harpo described it "as an attempt at rock

& roll for me," and its appearance in Billboard's Top 20 pop charts prompted the dance-oriented follow-

ups "Tip on In" and "Tee-Ni-Nee-Ni-Nu," both R&B charters. For the first time in his career, Harpo

appeared in such far-flung locales as Los Angeles and New York City. Flush with success, he contacted

Lightnin' Slim, who was now residing outside of Detroit, MI. The two reunited and formed a band, touring

together as a sort of blues mini-package to appreciative white rock audiences until the end of the decade.

The new year beckoned with a tour of Europe (his first ever) all firmed up, and a recording session

scheduled when he arrived in London. Unexplainably, Harpo -- who had never been plagued with any

ailments stronger than a common cold -- suddenly succumbed to a heart attack on January 31, 1970.

17 Samba Saravah - Stacey Kent

Breakfast On The Morning Tram (07)

Jason introduced me to Stacey Kent. I‘ve liked everything I‘ve heard her do. She has that little-girl voice

with big, grown-up jazz talent. She allows the sidemen to have their say and it all fits together to make a

nice musical package. Stacey appeared on NWN06: Comes Love, #17. She generally concentrates on

standards but her latest CD is much more varied (tracks/composers below). I bought the Amazon

download and found this track refreshingly pleasant. Hey, it‘s French. Get a chunk of cheese, hunk of

bread, glass of wine, and enjoy.

Être heureux, c‘est plus ou moins ce qu‘on cherche

J‘aime rire, chanter et je n‘empêche

Pas les gens qui sont bien d‘être joyeux

Pourtant s‘il est une samba sans tristesse

C‘est un vin qui ne donne pas l‘ivresse

Un vin qui ne donne pas l‘ivresse, non

Ce n‘est pas la samba que je veux

J‘en connais que la chanson incommode

D‘autres pour qui ce n‘est rien qu‘une mode

D‘autres qui en profitent sans l‘aimer

Moi je l‘aime et j‘ai parcouru le monde

En cherchant ses racines vagabondes

Aujourd‘hui pour trouver les plus profondes

C‘est la samba-chanson qu‘il faut chanter

On m‘a dit qu‘elle venait de Bahia

Qu‘elle doit son rythme et sa poésie à

Des siècles de danse et de douleur

Mais quels que soient les sentiments qu‘elle exprime

Elle est blanche de formes et de rimes

Blanche de formes et de rimes

Elle est nègre, bien nègre, dans son cœur

Mais quelque soit le sentiment qu‘elle exprime

Elle est blanche de formes et de rimes

Blanche de formes et de rimes

Elle est nègre, bien nègre, dans son cœur

New York native Stacey Kent never anticipated a career in jazz music, for she was a Sarah Lawrence

graduate with a degree in comparative literature. But her childhood days spent listening to the traditional

beauty of Frank Sinatra and Nat "King" Cole undoubtedly influenced her. While on holiday in Europe after

graduating from college, she took up singing without much formal training and never looked back.

Kent became acquainted with several musicians at Oxford in 1991 and through them she found herself

participating in a jazz course at the famed Guildhall School of Music and Drama. There she also met her

future husband, tenor saxophonist Jim Tomlinson, and also landed a spot in the class. Her next spot was

singing with the Vile Bodies Swing Orchestra at the Ritz Hotel in London, quickly landing a role in Ian

McKellen's Richard III film, playing the big-band singer. The mid-'90s were more focused on recording

and in 1996, Kent inked a deal with Candid Records. A year later, the critically acclaimed Close Your Eyes

was issued; Tender Trap followed in 1999. Her third LP Let Yourself Go: Celebrating Fred Astaire, which

showcased popular standards, appeared in spring 2000. The ballad-oriented Dreamsville appeared the

next spring. - MacKenzie Wilson

Breakfast on the Morning Tram

Rating 4 Stars

Release Date Oct 2, 2007

Recording Date Mar 2007-Apr 2007

Kent is what men used to call a classy broad. Her elegant fashion sense and understated vocal style make

her sound like a woman from another time, a unflappable, sophisticate with a warm, slightly world-weary

persona. She was born in the United Sates, but after a trip to France decided to become a jazz singer. In

the early 90s she landed in Oxford where she met her husband and musical director sax player Jim

Tomlinson. Tomlinson also produces Kent's albums, and this time, composed several charming tunes that

sound like potential standards, collaborations with lyricist Kazuo Ishiguro, author of Remains of the Day.

Original tunes like "The Ice Hotel" and "I Wish I Could Go Traveling Again" are full of wry humor and

Kent delivers them with her usual effortless grace. "The Ice Hotel" is a samba that talks of forsaking

the tropics for a room that keeps the temperature at a "steady five degrees." The ambivalent lyric is

perfectly suited for Kent's unassuming style. Is she chiding a lover for his detached demeanor or

promising a passionate night that will raise the temperature and put a sizzle in the air? It's hard to tell,

and with the music is as warm as the lyric is cool, the tune has a delicious tension. "I Wish I Could Go

Traveling Again" sounds like the kind of tune Noel Coward used to write, full of urbane humor and

references to "overpriced hotels devoid of charm". Its melancholy meditation on lost love is enhanced by

John Parricelli's rippling guitar and Graham Harvey's subtle bluesy piano. Kent slows down "What a

Wonderful World" making it sound more blue than celebratory. Her wistful phrasing imbues the song with

a painful melancholy. On "Hard Hearted Hanna" TOMLINSON|SUPPLIES|A|•Tomlinson supplies a brief,

breezy solo while |SOUNDS|SLY|A•Kent sounds sly and impudent, playing up the lyric's over the top

humor. "Ces Petits Reins", a |•Serge Gainsbourg tune, benefits from a percussive arrangement featuring

bongos, muted guitar notes and drummer MATT|SKELTON'S|BRUSH|•Matt Skelton's brush work; $Kent

drops in brief faux trumpet accents. $Kent's band provides subtle support throughout. Each player steps

out for brief impressive solos, but mainly they lay back and support their boss's unobtrusive style.

1. The Ice Hotel (Jim Tomlinson/Kazuo Ishiguro) 5.28

2. Landslide (Stevie Nicks) 3.48

3. Ces Petits Riens (Serge Gainsbourg) 3.21

4. I Wish I Could Go Travelling Again (Jim Tomlinson/Kazuo Ishiguro) 4.07

5. So Many Stars (Sergio Mendes/M & A Bergman) 4.00

6. Samba Saravah (B Powell/P Barouh / V deMoraes) 3.50

7. Breakfast on the Morning Tram (Jim Tomlinson/Kazuo Ishiguro) 5.54

8. Never Let Me Go (Jay Livingston/Ray Evans) 4.39

9. So Romantic (Jim Tomlinson/Kazuo Ishiguro) 5.00

10. Hard Hearted Hannah (Bob Bigelow/Charles Bates/Jack Yellen/Milton Ager) 4.49

11. La Saison des Pluies (Elek Bacsik/Serge Gainsbourg) 2.48

12. What a Wonderful World (G Douglas/G D Weiss/B Thiele) 4.26

18 Soul Roach - Merl Saunders

Fire Up Plus (92)

Thanks to Steve Phillips, I have two Merl Saunders CDs – especially the Fire Up Plus, which contains

nearly all of the legendary Fire Up featuring none other than Jerry Garcia. I paid careful attention to all

the tracks and settled in on Soul Roach as a memorial to Merl.

* Jazz

* World Fusion

* Folk-Rock

* Country-Rock

Hammond B-3 player Merl Saunders has recorded with numerous renowned artists since the early '70s

and has led many of his own dates in a variety of genres from jazz to blues to new age to rock. Born on

Valentine's Day, 1934 in San Mateo, CA, Saunders began learning to play the piano at the age of 10. He

was a classmate and bandmate of Johnny Mathis through junior high school. Saunders decided on music as

a profession after seeing how much fun was had by audience and performers alike at concerts by such

musicians as Cab Calloway. He apprenticed early on with Jimmy Smith for a time, and attended various

music schools. Starting in the 1960s, Saunders collaborated on and off with Jerry Garcia, and the

Grateful Dead. He also began working as a jazz keyboardist in the early '70s, and since has performed

and recorded with Harry Belafonte, Frank Sinatra, Lionel Hampton, Miles Davis, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt

and Paul Butterfield. One of his several albums with Jerry Garcia, Blues From the Rainforest, hit the Top

5 of the U.S. Billboard New Age charts in the early '90s. Saunders runs his own label, Sumertone, which

includes much of his catalogue, as does the Fantasy label. In 1998, Saunders released his 20th album as a

leader, Merl Saunders With His Funky Friends: Live! (Sumertone), which includes guests Garcia, John

Popper (of Blues Travelers) and Trey Anastasio (of Phish). In addition to his active touring schedule, the

San Franciscan has also written scores for TV and movies, including Tales From The Crypt, Twilight Zone,

Heavy Traffic and Fritz The Cat. In early 2000, Merl Saunders became the first recipient of the

lifetime activist award from a Florida environmentalist group for his environmental activism that goes

beyond just the titles of albums like Save the Planet So We'll Have Someplace to Boogie and Blues from

the Rainforest. Later that fall, Saunders released Struggling Man in November.

Fire Up Plus

Rating 3 Stars

Release Date Jul 9, 1992

This reissue set combines the two early Merl Saunders albums on Fantasy, Fire Up and Heavy Turbulence.

The content of these original albums is almost there in its entirety and nothing new and previously

unreleased is added to the stash. "Chock-Lite Puddin'" is the single missing pearl, representing quite a

severe mistake in editing, as this was not a marble for playing with. A better tune to experience the fall

of the axe would have been one of several covers with a faded '70s presence that is a bit like day-old

cigarette smoke. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" could have been left out, please, that or "After

Midnight," although the latter number was an FM airplay hit at the time of its initial release. To be fair,

the vocal work of Saunders on the former number is actually formidable, as are his interesting organ

variations on the theme. Listeners may associate the collective jams of Saunders in various ensembles

with Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia as friendly but loose-knit music created casually, the tempo

sometimes the most casual aspect of all. Yet these early albums were much more like a real band than the

efforts of some ensembles who actually call themselves bands -- it is a lot tighter than a Grateful Dead

record, for example. The players involved actually represented a coming together of musical forces that

was every bit as significant as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. In fact, the merging of the Grateful Dead

and Creedence Clearwater Revival with a seasoned jazz and rhythm & blues organist had great musical

implications that are fulfilled, from time to time, on the best moments of these sessions, such as the

truly thrilling extended jam "Manchild." For Garcia, simply playing alongside a rhythm guitarist who could

keep time must have been something of a revelation. Much of the time the players don't try to change

the world while keeping the beat, settling into enjoyably funky music designed by Saunders and clearly

expressing his gestalt: "My Problems Got Problems" is the opening complaint, "Soul Roach" the eventual

cure. Garcia fans can be proud of their man here, as his playing is sharp and detailed, obviously inspired

by the input from his keyboard buddy.

1 My Problems Got Problems Saunders 4:27

2 The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down Robertson 4:11

3 Save Mother Earth Saunders 7:35

4 Imagine Lennon 2:40

5 Welcome to the Basement Moore, Saunders 6:18

6 Man-Child 12:36

7 After Midnight Cale 5:03

8 Expressway to Your Heart 5:16

9 Soul Roach Saunders, Shanklin 4:28

10 Benedict Rides Carrier, Saunders 3:07

11 System Carrier, Saunders 3:56

12 Lonely Avenue Pomus 9:10

19 You Can't Judge A Book By Looking At The Cover - Bo Diddley

TL RnR Era (64)

Bo Diddley, what can you say? I already used Bo‘s Who Do You Love (NWN06, #13), but Bo is worthy of

another entry. What to use? How about the eponymous Bo Diddley? Ah, but wait, there‘s You Can‘t Judge

A Book By Its Cover. I almost used that when I did Who Do You Love. And … I have two versions – one

live; one from a Time-Life RnR compilation. The original 1964 version is the best, in my opinion, but the

live track has Bo laughing and asking ―Why don‘t you all go over there in the dark?‖ Apparently an amorous

couple in the audience caught Bo‘s attention. How many times have you heard Bo Diddley laugh? Not

enough, in my case. Sooooo, I did some editing and pasted the laughing part to the old, classical version of

the track. I think it works.

You can't judge an apple by looking at a tree

You can't judge honey by looking at the bee

You can't judge a daughter by looking at the mother

You can't judge a book by looking at the cover

Oh can't you see, oh you misjudge me

I look like a farmer, but I'm a lover


Oh come on in closer baby,

hear what else I gotta say!

You got your radio turned down too low

Turn it up!

You can't judge sugar by looking at the cane

You can't judge a woman by looking at her man

You can't judge a sister by looking at her brother



I look like a farmer, but I'm a Lover


You can't judge a fish by lookin' in the pond

You can't judge right from looking at the wrong

You can't judge one by looking at the other



I look like a farmer, but I'm a lover


He only had a few hits in the 1950s and early '60s, but as Bo Diddley sang, "You Can't Judge a Book by

Its Cover." You can't judge an artist by his chart success, either, and Diddley produced greater and more

influential music than all but a handful of the best early rockers. The Bo Diddley beat - bomp, ba-bomp-

bomp, bomp-bomp - is one of rock & roll's bedrock rhythms, showing up in the work of Buddy Holly, the

Rolling Stones, and even pop-garage knock-offs like the Strangeloves' 1965 hit "I Want Candy." Diddley's

hypnotic rhythmic attack and declamatory, boasting vocals stretched back as far as Africa for their

roots, and looked as far into the future as rap. His trademark otherworldly vibrating, fuzzy guitar style

did much to expand the instrument's power and range. But even more important, Bo's bounce was fun and

irresistibly rocking, with a wisecracking, jiving tone that epitomized rock & roll at its most humorously

outlandish and freewheeling.

Before taking up blues and R&B, Diddley had actually studied classical violin, but shifted gears after

hearing John Lee Hooker. In the early '50s, he began playing with his longtime partner, maraca player

Jerome Green, to get what Bo's called "that freight train sound." Billy Boy Arnold, a fine blues harmonica

player and singer in his own right, was also playing with Diddley when the guitarist got a deal with Chess in

the mid-'50s (after being turned down by rival Chicago label Vee-Jay). His very first single, "Bo

Diddley"/"I'm a Man" (1955), was a double-sided monster. The A-side was soaked with futuristic waves of

tremolo guitar, set to an ageless nursery rhyme; the flip was a bump-and-grind, harmonica-driven shuffle,

based around a devastating blues riff. But the result was not exactly blues, or even straight R&B, but a

new kind of guitar-based rock & roll, soaked in the blues and R&B, but owing allegiance to neither.

Diddley was never a top seller on the order of his Chess rival Chuck Berry, but over the next half-dozen

or so years, he'd produce a catalog of classics that rival Berry's in quality. "You Don't Love Me," "Diddley

Daddy," "Pretty Thing," "Diddy Wah Diddy," "Who Do You Love?," "Mona," "Road Runner," "You Can't

Judge a Book by Its Cover" - all are stone-cold standards of early, riff-driven rock & roll at its funkiest.

Oddly enough, his only Top 20 pop hit was an atypical, absurd back-and-forth rap between him and

Jerome Green, "Say Man," that came about almost by accident as the pair were fooling around in the

studio.

As a live performer, Diddley was galvanizing, using his trademark square guitars and distorted

amplification to produce new sounds that anticipated the innovations of '60s guitarists like Jimi Hendrix.

In Great Britain, he was revered as a giant on the order of Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters. The Rolling

Stones in particular borrowed a lot from Bo's rhythms and attitude in their early days, although they only

officially covered a couple of his tunes, "Mona" and "I'm Alright." Other British R&B groups like the

Yardbirds, Animals, and Pretty Things also covered Diddley standards in their early days. Buddy Holly

covered "Bo Diddley" and used a modified Bo Diddley beat on "Not Fade Away"; when the Stones gave the

song the full-on Bo treatment (complete with shaking maracas), the result was their first big British hit.

The British Invasion helped increase the public's awareness of Diddley's importance, and ever since then

he's been a popular live act. Sadly, though, his career as a recording artist - in commercial and artistic

terms - was over by the time the Beatles and Stones hit America. He'd record with ongoing and declining

frequency, but after 1963, he'd never write or record any original material on par with his early classics.

Whether he'd spent his muse, or just felt he could coast on his laurels, is hard to say. But he remains a

vital part of the collective rock & roll consciousness, occasionally reaching wider visibility via a 1979 tour

with the Clash, a cameo role in the film Trading Places, a late-'80s tour with Ronnie Wood, and a 1989

television commercial for sports shoes with star athlete Bo Jackson.

20 San Antonio Rose - The Drifting Cowboys

Western Swing (85)

Once upon a time, I got Don Helms confused with Levon Helm. You see, I‘ve known about Don Helms for,

oh, something like thirty years. I only recently learned about Levon Helm. I first discovered Don Helms

when I was recording a great little FM program called Folk Festival USA (FFUSA), a nationally

distributed collection of excerpts recorded live at various folk festivals around the country – varying

from traditional country to purely ethnic, to socio-political, originally taped from WXXI in the 80s.This

particular broadcast featured Western Swing. I didn‘t know anything about Western Swing before, but I

knew the music – I‘d grown up with the Sons Of The Pioneers, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and the like. Also,

Kilbury had introduced me to Asleep At The Wheel back in the mid 70s. As I sat and listened to the

FFUSA Western Swing program, I was amazed to learn that the music of my formative years was in fact

of this genre pioneered by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. This Don Helms track comes from that

program. It may not be the best I have in my library, but it is one in which Don is named specifically. I

like it and all the others to be sure.

Don Helms

The steel guitar of Don Helms is an essential element of more than 100 recordings by Hank Williams,

including the country landmarks "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Cold, Cold Heart," and "I Can't Help It (If I'm

Still in Love with You)." Following Williams' death, the guitarist also lent his signature sound to myriad

Nashville classics including Patsy Cline's "Walking After Midnight," Ernest Tubb's "Letters Have No

Arms," Loretta Lynn's "Success," and Stonewall Jackson's "Waterloo." Born in New Brockton, AB on

February 28, 1927, Helms acquired his first Silvertone lap steel and amplifier at age 15 in emulation of

his boyhood idol Leon McAuliffe, of Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys fame. At 17 he joined fledgling

singer/songwriter Williams and his band the Drifting Cowboys, touring clubs and private parties across

central and southern Alabama. In 1945, Helms joined the military, but upon returning to civilian life two

years later he rejoined Williams, who in the interim signed on with publishing firm Acuff-Rose and landed

a record deal with MGM. This incarnation of the Drifting Cowboys -- also featuring guitarist Bob McNett,

bassist Hillous Butrum and fiddler Jerry Rivers -- proved its definitive lineup, backing Williams on radio's

Louisiana Hayride as well as early hits like "Lovesick Blues" and "Wedding Bells." At the time Helms joined

Williams, he was playing a Fender eight-string, double-neck steel guitar, but in 1950 he acquired a Gibson

Console Grande (also an eight-string double neck), which he connected to a 1949 Fender Pro amp to forge

the rich, resonant sound so essential to Williams' genre-defining honky tonk approach.

Despite their creative and commercial success, Williams' alcoholism and substance abuse careened out of

control, and in October 1952 he was fired from radio's Grand Ole Opry. Weeks later, after the star's

wedding to Billie Jean Jones Eshlimar at the New Orleans Municipal Auditorium, the Drifting Cowboys

parted ways, citing Williams' penchant for ringing up bar tabs that exceeded what the band earned per

performance. Following Williams' January 1, 1953 death, Helms toured in support of acts including Ray

Price, Ferlin Husky, the Wilburn Brothers and Cal Smith while emerging as a first-call Nashville session

player behind singers including Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, and Brenda Lee; in 1963, he also signed to the

Smash label to cut a pair of instrumental LPs, The Steel Guitar Sounds of Hank Williams and Don Helms'

Steel Guitar. In addition Helms was a composer of some distinction, penning such oft-covered tunes as

"Somebody's Back in Town," "Sweet Little Miss Blue Eyes," "Smoke Along the Track," and "That's What I

Get for Loving You." For a time Helms toured behind Hank Williams Jr., and in 1977 joined a reincarnated

Drifting Cowboys band. In late 1989, he also began an extended collaboration with Williams' daughter

Jett. Inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1984, Helms continued recording and touring even in

the wake of a 1997 lawn mower mishap that cost him the tip of his picking pointer finger. He also found

time to publish a memoir, Settin' the Woods on Fire: Confessions of Hank's Steel Guitar Player. The last

surviving member of the classic Drifting Cowboys lineup, Helms died of a heart attack on August 11, 2008

at the age of 81.

21 Treat Me Right - Grace Potter & The Nocternals

Nothing But The Water (05)

Jason gave me this CD. This is a young woman, folks – just 22 at the time of the recording. I have a little

problem with the disjointed nature of the track, but it really sticks with me, so I decided to share it with

you all. Check out the bio below; it turns out Grace is from nearby VT.

Treat me right and don't you let me down

You brush me off and you run around

I have tried to get through to you

But love and leave is all you do

Treat me right every single day

Stick around and don't you run away

You say you love me but you don't say it right

I'm at the end of a tunnel but there ain't no light

Oh but like so many done before you always leave me wanting more and as you walk right out the door my

heart falls to the floor and I say

C'mon, C'mon, C'mon you've got to treat me right

All the time, squeeze me like a key lime

C'mon, C'mon, C'mon you've got to quit the fight and fall into the night

Treat me right and don't you do me wrong

Play for keeps don't just play along

O will give you all the love I got

If you'd just entertain the thought

Oh but like so many done before you always leave me wanting more and as you walk right out the door my

heart falls to the floor and I say




Please love, don't you do me like you've done before,

Please love can we stop this keeping score,

Please love let me in don't lock the door,

Give me all the love that I know you can afford




C'mon, C'mon, C'mon, C'mon, C'mon, C'mon, C'mon, C'mon, C'mon...

Born in Waitsfield, VT, Grace Potter grew up in a family that encouraged her artistic pursuits in areas

from music to theater, the latter of which she was studying at St. Lawrence University when drummer

Matt Burr heard her singing at an open-mike night in 2002 and asked if she would form a band with him.

She declined, but when her high-school friend and bass player Courtright Beard enrolled in their college,

she reconsidered the invitation, and the three of them began to write and perform jazz-influenced songs,

Potter also taking duties on the Hammond B-3. Soon, guitarist Scott Tournet joined, and the

bandmembers, calling themselves Grace Potter & the Nocturnals -- thanks to their late-night practice

habits -- began to think seriously about making music their careers. When Burr graduated in 2003, they

decided to move back to Vermont to some land that Potter's parents owned and dedicate themselves

more fully to their craft, replacing Beard (who chose to stay at school) with Bryan Dondero in the

process. In 2004 they self-released their debut, Original Soul, receiving positive response and

comparisons to artists like Norah Jones and early Bonnie Raitt. This in turn garnered major-label offers,

but the band preferred to build its fan base by constant touring and festival appearances. Word of their

electric performance spread, and shortly after their second album, Nothing But the Water -- also self-

released -- came out in 2005, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals signed to Hollywood Records, with their

third full-length, This Is Somewhere, hitting shelves nationwide in August 2007.

Grace Potter & the Nocturnals

Nothing but the Water

Rating 4 Stars

Release Date Sep 20, 2005

Roots Rock

While the 22-year-old Grace Potter's vocal influences are obvious -- Bonnies Raitt and Bramlett, Susan

Tedeschi, and Lucinda Williams -- it's what she does with her voice that is most impressive. This

sophomore indie album gets all the parts right. Even though the band is from Vermont, there is no denying

the Southern blues, gospel and swamp rock that course through its veins. Potter's songs, all co-written

with her group, grind through a combination of the Band, J.J. Cale (who she namechecks on the opening

"Toothbrush and My Table"), Taj Mahal, and Tift Merritt. Although it is self-recorded, Nothing but the

Water exudes a professional sound and the band knows when to play and when to lay back. Lyrically,

Potter is stuck on the lost love track, but she makes the most of that overworked concept with smart,

savvy words that retain an air of mystery. She's got a terrific, grainy voice, but it's her piano and

Hammond B-3 playing that really set her apart from the pack. The organ adds a gospel flavor -- part

Gregg Allman, part Booker T., part Steve Winwood -- that pushes this material from good to great.

"Treat Me Right" throbs with a sexuality perfectly echoed in the band's skeletal swamp funk backing. In

particular, Scott Tournet's slide guitar pushes the rollicking "Sweet Hands" down Highway 61 as Potter

charges through lyrics such as "it's like touch and go without the touch" with a mix of sassy fire and

feisty intensity. "Joey" tells the story of spousal abuse with images that are powerful and scary ("He

looks me in the eye, he'll hit me 'til I cry"). She goes full Delta blues/Bonnie Raitt mode on the acoustic

"2:22," accompanied only by acoustic guitar and subtle standup bass. It's an impressive track and shows

she could be a fine traditional blues singer if she wanted to pursue that avenue. The final trilogy of

tracks is the album's highlight. Shifting from the spooky instrumental "Below the Beams" to the a

cappella gospel of "Nothing but the Water Pt.1" and into the song's rollicking "Pt. 2," the band fires on all

cylinders as Potter spits out the gospel words powered by her own keyboards and the band's surging

storm of blues-rock. It caps an impressive release that only scratches the surface of what this band can

generate live. [A CD/DVD version of the album is available with an accompanying 40-minute, five-song

DVD reprises three of the album's tracks, adds a few new ones, and shows how powerful a presence

Potter and her band can be onstage.

1 Toothbrush and My Table Burr, Potter 4:29

2 Some Kind of Ride Potter 3:44

3 Ragged Company Potter 4:54

4 Left Behind Burr, Dondero, Potter, Tournet 3:40

5 Treat Me Right Burr, Dondero, Potter, Tournet 4:25

6 Sweet Hands Potter 3:36

7 Joey Burr, Dondero, Potter, Tournet 5:16

8 2:22 Potter, Tournet 4:36

9 All But One Potter 4:48

10 Below the Beams Burr, Dondero, Potter, Tournet 1:33

11 Nothing But the Water (I) Potter 2:4

22 A Swim In The Ocean - The Call

Red Moon (90)

This track really gets me going. I almost left it out because it sorta competes with King of Love. That‘s

why I opted to put it near the end of the CD, so if you play in ‗Repeat‘, you may have them way too close

together.

Despite great critical acclaim due to their literate, passionate rock; praise from some well-respected

contemporaries; and a string of strong releases, the San Francisco band the Call never quite escaped cult

status. The predicted breakthrough to a wider audience never quite materialized. Formed in the San

Francisco area in 1980, the quartet, led by vocalist/guitarist Michael Been, released their self-titled

debut in 1982 and earned positive reviews. The following year, the band issued Modern Romans and

managed to broaden their fan base when "The Walls Came Down" became a minor hit single. In 1984,

keyboardist Jim Goodwin replaced bass player Scott Freeman to round out the lineup for the release of

Scene Beyond Dreams, which despite receiving more critical acclaim, failed to build on their commercial

momentum. Reconciled followed in 1985 and featured guest appearances by Peter Gabriel (who had once

referred to the band as "the future of American music") and Robbie Robertson. Both "I Still Believe" and

"Everywhere I Go" achieved significant airplay on college rock and AOR stations, giving a boost to the

band's profile.

The Call scaled back a bit from the anthemic feel of Reconciled for Into the Woods, but managed to

score again at college rock outlets with the somber "In the River." Been took time out from the band in

1988 to appear as the apostle John in Martin Scorcese's Last Temptation of Christ. The band switched

labels from Elektra to MCA in 1989, edging back into more radio-friendly territory with Let the Day

Begin. The rousing title track became their biggest hit to date; topping the AOR charts and reaching

number 51 on the pop charts, propelling the album to become their highest-charting release as well.

Despite the success, when they returned with Red Moon, the Call had scaled back their sound, embracing

an organic, more roots-oriented sound that recalled the Band (not surprising, as that act's Garth Hudson

and Robbie Robertson had both guested on earlier albums).

Perhaps their most mature and fully-realized album, Red Moon made little impact beyond the Call's core

audience (despite Bono lending vocals to "What's Happened to You?"). Been tested the waters as a solo

artist and released the harder-edged On the Verge of a Nervous Breakthrough in 1994, managing to gain

a bit of airplay with "Us." The Call was given the compilation treatment on a couple releases in the '90s,

and reunited for Heaven & Back in 1997 and a tour. They subsequently issued a live record, Live Under

the Red Moon, three years later.

Red Moon

Rating 4 *

Release Date Aug 1990

After the big sounding (even by their standards) Let the Day Begin, The Call returned three years later

with Red Moon, an intimate-sounding, organic record, particularly the use of rich organ passages in many

songs. Admirer Bono makes a guest appearance on the warm, gospel-tinged "What's Happened to You,"

which edges the group toward Band territory. The gentle, dreamy title song is one of the loveliest songs

the band has ever done. As usual, songs like "You Were There" (driven by keyboardist Jim Goodwin's

saxophone playing) and the chugging "What a Day" features Michael Been's always literate, socially

conscious lyrics. Other standout tracks include the twangy, shuffling "A Swim in the Ocean" and the

punchy "Like You've Never Been Loved" (with T-Bone Burnett on backing vocals). With its lovely textures

and melodic songs, Red Moon is start to finish the most fully realized and finest work. The group would

disband following this album and not work together again for nearly a decade.

23 Bye Bye Blues - Memphis Slim

American Folk Blues Festival (62)

I think this is an appropriate ending piece. It comes from a fantastic CD box that Joe Spollen turned me

onto and that I highly recommend. Nearly everyone who played on those CDs is in on this last track, but

Memphis Slim is the feature artist, so he gets the credit - The Coat And Pants Do All The Work (And

The Vest Gets All The Gravy) – thanks to the Hoosier Hot Shots. Have a gander at the notes about the

CDs. What a line up of artists and tracks. I really like this collection.

I edited the track to fit the last little bit of space left on the CD.

An amazingly prolific artist who brought a brisk air of urban sophistication to his frequently stunning

presentation, John "Peter" Chatman -- better known as Memphis Slim -- assuredly ranks with the

greatest blues pianists of all time. He was smart enough to take Big Bill Broonzy's early advice about

developing a style to call his own to heart, instead of imitating that of his idol, Roosevelt Sykes. Soon

enough, other 88s pounders were copying Slim rather than the other way around; his thundering ivories

attack set him apart from most of his contemporaries, while his deeply burnished voice possessed a

commanding authority.

As befits his stage name, John "Peter" Chatman was born and raised in Memphis; a great place to commit

to a career as a bluesman. Sometime in the late '30s, he resettled in Chicago and began recording as a

leader in 1939 for OKeh, then switched over to Bluebird the next year. Around the same time, Slim

joined forces with Broonzy, then the dominant force on the local blues scene. After serving as Broonzy's

invaluable accompanist for a few years, Slim emerged as his own man in 1944.

After the close of World War II, Slim joined Hy-Tone Records, cutting eight tracks that were later

picked up by King. Lee Egalnick's Miracle label reeled in the pianist in 1947; backed by his jumping band,

the House Rockers (its members usually included saxists Alex Atkins and Ernest Cotton), Slim recorded

his classic "Lend Me Your Love" and "Rockin' the House." The next year brought the landmark "Nobody

Loves Me" (better known via subsequent covers by Lowell Fulson, Joe Williams, and B.B. King as "Everyday

I Have the Blues") and the heartbroken "Messin' Around (With the Blues)."

The pianist kept on label-hopping, moving from Miracle to Peacock to Premium (where he waxed the first

version of his uncommonly wise down-tempo blues "Mother Earth") to Chess to Mercury before staying

put at Chicago's United Records from 1952 to 1954. This was a particularly fertile period for the pianist;

he recruited his first permanent guitarist, the estimable Matt Murphy, who added some serious fret fire

to "The Come Back," "Sassy Mae," and "Memphis Slim U.S.A."

Before the decade was through, the pianist landed at Vee-Jay Records, where he cut definitive versions

of his best-known songs with Murphy and a stellar combo in gorgeously sympathetic support (Murphy was

nothing short of spectacular throughout).

Slim exhibited his perpetually independent mindset by leaving the country for good in 1962. A tour of

Europe in partnership with bassist Willie Dixon a couple of years earlier had so intrigued the pianist that

he permanently moved to Paris, where recording and touring possibilities seemed limitless and the veteran

pianist was treated with the respect too often denied even African-American blues stars at home back

then. He remained there until his 1988 death, enjoying his stature as expatriate blues royalty.

American Folk Blues Festival: 1962-1965

Rating 4 *

Release Date Dec 1995

Recording Date Oct 18, 1962-Oct 7, 1965

Time 303:30

From 1962 until 1971, the American Folk Blues Festival was responsible for bringing dozens of the most

celebrated American blues artists to audiences from England to Poland. For many of the musicians, these

were the largest audiences they'd ever played to, and the first (and often only) decent money they ever

made. This five-CD set captures the vital early years of the festival more fully than any prior issues, with

previously unreleased bonus tracks (some of which overlaps). The 1962 volume was recorded live in

Hamburg, and has no extra tracks, but the material is so vital and robust that this volume, featuring

Memphis Slim, John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, never needed it. The

1963 disc, recorded live in Bremen, opens with three previously unreleased live Memphis Slim cuts, and

follows these with a previously unissued Muddy Waters solo acoustic guitar piece and three more never-

issued numbers featuring Muddy backed by Dixon, Otis Spann, and Matt "Guitar" Murphy. The three

Sonny Boy Williamson bonus tracks were very late in the day and constitute some of the very last songs

left behind by the increasingly ailing harp legend. The 1964 volume is a little less enhanced, with two

songs by Willie Dixon and one song each by Sonny Boy Williamson, Sleepy John Estes and Hammie Nixon,

and Sugar Pie DeSanto. The 1965 volume was always the odd one in this series; as a studio recording

rather than a concert document, it lacks the vibrancy of the earlier volumes, but its eight bonus tracks

do include some interesting moments by Buddy Guy, Big Mama Thornton, John Lee Hooker, and Big Walter

Horton. The sound quality is good, but given the time that's passed, a full set of notes might have been

nice.

AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL ‗62

1. Rockin‘ The House (Peter Charman)

Memphis Slim (v,p), T-Bone Walker (g), Willie Dixon (b), Jump Jackson (d)

2. I Wanna See My Baby (Aaron Walker)

T-Bone Walker (v,g), Memphis Slim (p), Willie Dixon (b), Jump Jackson (d)

3. I‘m In Love (Aaron Walker)

T-Bone Walker (v,g), Memphis Slim (p), Willie Dixon (b), Jump Jackson (d)

4. I‘m Crazy ‗Bout You Baby (Sonny Terry)

Sonny Terry (v,h), Brownie McGhee (g), T-Bone Walker (p), Willie Dixon (b)

5. Stewball (Willie Dixon)

Memphis Slim (v,p), Willie Dixon (v,b), Jump Jackson (d)

6. Let‘s Make It (John Lee Hooker)

John Lee Hooker (v,g), T-Bone Walker (p), Willie Dixon (b), Jump Jackson (d)

7. Shake It Baby (John Lee Hooker)

John Lee Hooker (v,g), T-Bone Walker (p), Willie Dixon (b), Jump Jackson (d)

8. Night Time Is The Right Time (Leroy Carr)

John Lee Hooker (v,g), T-Bone Walker (p), Willie Dixon (b) Jump Jackson (d)

9. Hey Baby (Ah‘w Baby) (Walter Jacobs)

Shakey Jake Horton (v,h), Memphis Slim (p), T-Bone Walker (g), Willie Dixon (b), Jump Jackson (d)

10. Love My Baby (J. J. Harris)

Shakey Jake Horton (v,h), Memphis Slim (p), T-Bone Walker (g), Willie Dixon (b), Jump Jackson (d)

11. Crying At The Station (Brownie McGhee)

Brownie McGhee (v,g), T-Bone Walker (p), Willie Dixon (b), Jump Jackson (d)

12. Wee Baby Blues (Joe Turner-Pete Johnson)

Memphis Slim (v,p), T-Bone Walker (g), Willie Dixon (v,b), Jump Jackson (d)

Recorded live in Hamburg, Germany on October 18, 1962

AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL ‗63 Part 1

1. The Blues Is Everywhere (Peter Chatman)

Memphis Slim (v,p)

2. John Henry (traditional)

Memphis Slim (v,p), Willie Dixon (v,b), Matt ―Guitar‘‘ Murphy (guitar), Billie Stepney (d)

3. Wish Me Well (Peter Chatman)

Memphis Slim (v,p), Willie Dixon (b), Matt ―Guitar‖ Murphy (g), Billie Stepney (d)

4. Memphis Boogie (Peter Chatman)

Memphis Slim (p), Willie Dixon (b), Matt ‗Guitar‖ Murphy (g), Billie Stepney (d)

5. Captain Captain (My Captain) (Willie Dixon)

Muddy Waters (v,g)

6. Catfish Blues (McKinley Morganfield)

Muddy Waters (v,g)

7. Blow Wind Blow (McKinley Morganfield)

Muddy Waters (v,g), Otis Spann (p), Willie Dixon (b), Matt ―Guitar‖ Murphy (g), Billie Stepney (d)

8. My Home Is In The Delta (McKinley Morganfield)


9. Five Long Years (Eddie Boyd)


10. That‘s All I Want, Baby (Willie Dixon)

Sonny Boy Williamson (v,h), Otis Spann (p), Willie Dixon (b), Matt ―Guitar‖ Murphy (g), Billie Stepney

(d)

11. Don‘t Misuse Me (Alex ―Rice‖ Miller)


(d)

12. 1 Don‘t Know (Alex ―Rice‖ Miller)


(d)

13. I‘m Gettin‘ Tired (Alex ―Rice‖ Miller)

Sonny Boy Williamson (v,h)

14. Goin‘ Down Slow (James Oden)

Otis Spann (v,p), Willie Dixon (b), Mart ―Guitar‖ Murphy (g), Billie Stepney (d) Sonny Boy Williamson (h)

15. Sonny Boy‘s Harmonica Blues (Alex ―Rice‖ Miller)

Sonny Boy Williamson (h)

Recorded live in Bremen, Germany on October 13, 1963

AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL ‗63 Part 2

1. Goin‘ Down Slow (alt) (James Oden)

Otis Spann (v,p), Willie Dixon (b), Matt ―Guitar‖ Murphy (g), Billie Stepney (d)

2. Sitin‘ And Cryin‘ The Blues (Willie Dixon)

Willie Dixon (v,b), Memphis Slim (p), Matt ―Guitar‖ Murphy (g), Billie Stepney (d)

3. Crazy For My Baby (Willie Dixon)

Willie Dixon (v,b), Memphis Slim (p), Matt ―Guitar‖ Murphy (g), Billie Stepney (d)

4. Grant Spivey (Victoria Spivey)

Victoria Spivey (v,u), Willie Dixon (b), Matt ―Guitar‖ Murphy (g), Billie Stepney (d)

5. TB Blues (Victoria Spivey)

Victoria Spivey (v,p), Willie Dixon (b), Billie Stepney (d)

6. Big Roll Blues (Big Joe Williams)

Big Joe Williams (v,g)

7. Back In The Bottom Blues (Big Joe Williams)


8. I Have No Friends (Big Joe Williams)


9. Baby Please Don‘t Go ((Big Joe Williams)


10. Careless Love (W.C. Handy, Spencer Williams, Martha E. Koenig)

Lonnie Johnson (v,g)

11. CC Rider (traditional)


12. It‘s Too Late To Cry (Lonnie Johnson)


13. Matt‘s Guitar Boogie (Matthew Murphy)

Matt ―Guitar‖ Murphy (g), Memphis Slim (p), Willie Dixon (b), Billie Stepney (d)

14. Bye Bye Blues (Peter Chatman)

Memphis Slim & All Artists

Recorded live in Bremen, Germany on October 13, 1963


1. I‘m Trying To Make London My Home (Alex ―Rice‖ Miller)

Sonny Boy Williamson (v,h), Hubert Sumlin (g)

2. Dissatisfied (Alex ―Rice‖ Miller)

Sonny Boy Williamson (v,h), Hubert Sumlin (g), Sunnyland Slim (p), Willie Dixon (b), Clifton James (d)

3. Every Time I Get To Drinkin‘ (Albert Luandrew)

Sunnyland Slim (v,p), ), Hubert Sumlin (g), Willie Dixon (b), Clifton James (d)

4. Ain‘t It A Pity (Sam Hopkins)

Lightnin‘ Hopkins (v,g)

5. Baby Please Don‘t Go (Big Joe Williams)

Lightnin‘ Hopkins (v,g)

6. I‘m A Tearing Little Daddy (John Estes)

Sleepy John Estes (v,g), Hammie Nixon (j)

7. I Ain‘t Gonna Pick No More Cotton (John Henry Barbee)

John Henry Barbee (v,g)

8. No Title Blues (Hubert Sumlin)

Hubert Sumlin (g), Sunnyland Slim (p), Willie Dixon (b), Clifton James (d)

9. Slip-In Mules (Billy Davis, Robert Higginbotham)

Sugar Pie DeSanto (v), Sunnyland Slim (p), Hubert Sumlin (g), Willie Dixon (b), Clifton James (d)

10. Dust My Broom (Robert Johnson, Elmore James)

Howlin‘ Wolf (v,g), Sunnyland Slim (p), Hubert Sumlin (g), Willie Dixon (b), Clifton James

11. I Got To Cut Out (Alex ―Rice‖ Miller)

Sonny Boy Williamson (v,h), Hubert Sumlin (g)

12. Weak Brain And Narrow Mind (Willie Dixon)

Willie Dixon (v, b)

13. Big Legged Woman (Willie Dixon)

Willie Dixon (v, b)

14. Your Best Friend‘s Gone (John Estes)

Sleepy John Estes (v,g), Hammie Nixon (j)

15. Baby What You Want Me To Do (Jimmy Reed)

Sugar Pie DeSanto (v), Sunnyland Slim (p), Huber Sumlin (g), Willie Dixon (d), Clifton James (d)

Recorded live in Hamburg Germany on October 9, 1964


1. Highway 61 (Fred McDowell)

Mississippi Fred McDowell (v,g)

2. Slow Down Woman (J.B. Lenoir)

JB Lenoir (v,g), Big Walter ―Shakey‖ Horton (h)

3. Blues Harp Shuffle (Walter Horton)

Big Walter ‗Shakey‖ Horton (h), Buddy Guy (g), Jimmie Lee Robinson (b), Fred Below (d)

4. Christine (Walter Horton)

Big Walter ―Shakey‖ Horton (v,h), Buddy Guy (g), Jimmie Lee Robinson (b), Fred Below (d)

5. Come On Back Home (Roosevelt Sykes)

Roosevelt Sykes (v,p), Buddy Guy (g), Jimmie Lee Robinson (b), Fred Below (d)

6. Five Long Years (Eddie Boyd)

Eddie Boyd (v,o), Buddy Guy (g), Jimmie Lee Robinson (b), Fred Below (d)

7. The Big Question (Eddie Boyd)

Eddie Boyd (v,o), Buddy Guy (g), Jimmie Lee Robinson (b), Fred Below (d)

8. Rosa Lee (Jimmie Let Robinson)

Jimmie Lee Robinson (v,g), Eddie Boyd (o), Buddy Guy (b), Fred Below (d)

9. King Of The World (John Lee Hooker)

John Lee Hooker (v,g), Buddy Guy (b), Fred Below (d)

10. Delta Mae (John Lee Hooker)


11. First Time I Met The Blues (Buddy Guy)

Buddy Guy (v,g), Jimmie Lee Robinson (b), Fred Below (d)

12. Hound Dog (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller)

Big Mama Thornton (v), Eddie Boyd (p), Buddy Guy (g), Jimmie Lee Robinson (b), Fred Below (d)

13. My Black Name Is Ringing (Isaiah Ross)

Doctor Ross (v, g, d)

14. Della Mse (alt) (John Lee Hooker)


15. Hound Dog (alt) (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller)

Big Mama Thornton (v), Eddie Boyd (p), Buddy Guy (g), Jimmie Lee Robinson (b), Fred Below (d)

16. South Side Jump (Buddy Guy)

Buddy Guy (g), Jimmie Lee Robinson (b), Fred Below (d)

17. If I Get Lucky (J.B. Lenoir)

JB Lenoir (v,g)

18. Got A Letter This Morning (Fred McDowell)

Mississippi Fred McDowell (v,g)

19. Sail On (Roosevelt Sykes)

Roosevelt Sykes (v,p), Buddy Guy (g), Jimmie Lee Robinson (b), Fred Below (d)

20. Farewell Baby (Isaiah Ross)

Doctor Ross (v, g, d)

Recorded in a studio in Hamburg, Germany on October 7, 1965

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