Great to see this recent write-up about Buddy Guy’s impressive headline show at the Aurora IL blues festival held earlier this year…not only is he making his 74-years look like a 40-year old, one could argue that Buddy’s brand of Chicago blues gets better with age.
3 Things You Are Guaranteed At Any Buddy Guy show:
1. You’ll never hear a song done the same. I remember 2-years ago here at the Ottawa Blues Festival when he launched into a rendition of “Damn Write I Got The Blues” that he kept so low down and dirty and then rocked out in the last few lines…completely different than I had heard him done at other shows and on his same titled CD. That’s what keeps us going to see Guy again and again is that we know when his genius and passion for the guitar meld with his creativity and fearlessness we get to witness greatness…you never know what to expect and that is amazing after 50+ years at it
2. His sense of humor – Guy is serious about his music, serious as a heart-attack about his guitar, but doesn’t take himself too serious. I remember running in to him nearly a dozen years ago at his Legends Club in Chicago, nicest, most down to earth guy you will ever want to meet. That comes through on stage too, he has fun up there – that must account for at least part of his longevity
3. Spirit of the blues…every Buddy Guy I’ve ever seen he pays tribute to his mentors (Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, BB King to name a few) as well as those that have clearly learned a ton from Buddy including Eric Clapton and the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan. It was the special relationship between Stevie and Buddy that provided the link for me to becoming a huge Buddy Guy fan.
Thankful we still have him sharing his roots and continuing to bridge Blues and Rock together at the same time progressing the future of Blues music all the while continuing to provide an essential link for today’s youth back to the greats where it all started.
Have you ever attended a Buddy Guy concert? If so, what did you think?
Filed under blues guitar, Blues Legends by on Jun 20th, 2011. Comment. 
We’ve lost many first tradition (and next tradition) blues musicians and guitar greats over the last years (John Lee Hooker, Albert King, Muddy, Freddie King, Pinetop Perkins, and many others) which makes it even more important to pay special attention to the greats that are left.
Came across a very well written article in the Ottawa Citizen this morning called “How Blue Can You Get” where reporter Sheldon Alberts ventured into the deep South looking for some delta blues guitar history.
He came across 3 greats:
1. Dave “Honeyboy” Edwards – the current grandfather of delta blues with links back to the now infamous Robert Johnson…one of the few people who credibly can talk about the icon that has so enticed blues traditionalists for decades. Born the son of a Mississippi sharecropper, hitting the road at 17 defying the odds with a passion and dream to break the cycle of poverty and repression in depression era South. I love this quote about how today’s white musicians have turned what they learned from the originals like Honeyboy into money-making careers – “Let me tell you about that, now, we got a lot of white boys who can play the blues. But they play the blues too fast,” Edwards says. “The blues is not made to be played fast. The blues is played to put something on your mind. Them white boys got some good fingers, but you got to let the music settle and soak, then come out.”
Here’s a great “Honeyboy” clip from Lightning In A Bottle
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2. Ellis “CeDell” Davis – born in 1927 (on June 9th – he shares my own birthday, how cool is that!) was an innovative slide guitar player that played with a butter knife (until his recent stroke that left his voice the only remaining instrument) His is the story of persistence – overcoming polio at age 10, massive leg injuries in a club accident in 1957 – he continues to be a force in delta blues, an important link back to the originals.
Watch the amazing power that comes from his playing in this video:
As musicians or lovers of blues guitar music, we need to re-visit the past fequently to stay in touch with the REAL DEAL…how blues started and what was so great about it when innovation was at its peak
A big shout out to Sheldon for bringing these guys back to our attention…great piece.
Filed under Blues Legends, delta blues by on May 28th, 2011. 1 Comment.
The former Muddy Waters blue piano man Pinetop Perkins passed on Monday in Austin TX at the ripe old age of 97 – still playing in Austin clubs and blues festivals right up until last month.
I had the great priviledge of seeing Pinetop a few times live – mostly at our terrific Blues Festival here in Ottawa.
There was no mistaking his passion for blues, his incredible energy and charisma for music and his fans.
I remember back in the early 2000’s saying Hello to him as he was shuttled to and from the stage for his performance (he joined the Allman Brother Band on stage that year) in a golf cart. Dressed to kill in a sharp suit and bowler hat, this guy was the Blues with a capital B
He never went to school, his education came from the road, playing 1-night stands with some of the greatest musicians ever including Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Robert Nighthawk, BB King…and the list continues on and on.
The oldest musician EVER to win a Grammy, Perkins had some 20 dates booked already this year and was apparently considering another album…in many ways he was a late bloomer that received more attention and glory long after the prime of his life had passed.
What is perhaps most incredible to me is how much one man would influence an entire generation of piano and blues music…from Greg Allman through Jerry Lee Lewis, very few great blues, rock and boogie woogie bands in the past 3-4 decades have been untouched by Perkins electrifying playing.
Here is a sampling of his great blues piano playing and distinctive singing…
Listen to the Boogie Woogie on this one, remember he is a young 91-years old here
And here he is playing and signing his classic – “They Call Me PineTop Perkins”
I feel blessed that I was able to see the magic produced by Mr Perkins…now he can jam with the Alberts, Freddy, Muddy and SRV and we’ll close our eyes imagining what that will sound like! Sweeeet!
Filed under Blues Legends by on Mar 23rd, 2011. Comment.
Born in 1937 blues guitar man Phillip Walker was one of the rich collection of contemporary American bluesmen that helped blues music spread like wildfire…especially electric blues guitar.
Having played with greats Lonnie Brooks and even R&B acts like Little Richard as well as Etta James and Zydeco legend Clifton Chenier…unfortunately we got word that Phillip Walker passed on Thursday July 22 – apparently due to heart failure in Palm Springs at the too young age of 73.
Not a household name, but well known by blues enthusiasts, especially in California where he migrated and made a great career, Phillip was, by all accounts, a virtuoso blues guitar player that could be equally good across a broad spectrum of blues and R&B styles.
Here are a couple of videos – the first one I love, there is just something about setting up for a gig before all of the excitement starts:
And listen to him at his best with “Trouble In My Home” –
We would like to pass our condolences along to his family, friends and legions of fans…another blues stringer gone home!
Filed under blues guitar, Blues Legends by on Jul 23rd, 2010. Comment.
Buddy Guy is about to turn 74 years young this July 30th, yet he is still as vibrant, creative and influential as he has ever been.
Looking at his latest tour schedule over at his Buddy Guy’s website, it shows a very active tour schedule with Europe through the month of July (taking a queue from BB King’s summer tours in Europe) coming back to North America for what will be some really cool shows with Tom Petty in the Northeast, BB King in California, and then the central states, linking up with Johnny Lang for some more North East shows – -taking him all the way through November!
Folks, kids of 20 would have trouble keeping up with this demanding schedule, so get out and see him when he comes into your town…Buddy ALWAYS puts on a terrific show.
I personally am hoping he adds a few more Ontario Canada dates, we love him up here…but I know I’ll get to see him sometime during the summer.
One of the killer shows of the year would be those summer dates with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers who have a sizzling hot blues CD out…I haven’t been able to stop listening to “Mojo” since it came out. We posted some videos of his Tom Petty’s “Mojo” material here.
Have you been to a Buddy Guy show? How about his club in Chicago? Post your comments if you have a great memory of seeing a Buddy Guy show.
Filed under blues guitar, Blues Legends by on Jun 29th, 2010. Comment.
Dawg FM - All Blues Radio
It has been years since I have really listened to the radio, fed up with the softies, alternative crap that all sounds pretty much the same – even country music has become so watered down it’s tough to even recognize it as country anymore.
That all changed last week when Canada’s first all-blues radio station hit the airwaves, DawgFM 101.9 in Ottawa – with global simulcast around the world from their internet site – DawgFM
Already I’m hearing Stevie Ray, Stevie Wonder, Allman Brothers, Buddy Guy and BB King songs that I had either forgotten or never heard…yesterday I even found myself sitting in my car at the local coffee shop because I wanted to hear the next song coming up — I haven’t done that for a radio station for well over 10-years!
At the helm of the announcers is long-time veteran and the coolest guy on radio Jeff Winter…having come back to Ottawa just for this opportunity.
Here’s hoping that we all support these guys and that the station prospers – bringing blues to an entirely new generation.
They are running a cool guitar a day giveaway right now that makes listening even more fun.
Long live the Dawg…as long as they are on the air I’ll be listening.
What about you…do you have an all-blues radio station in your town? Let us know by leaving a comment.
Filed under blues guitar, Blues Legends by on Jun 16th, 2010. Comment.
I’ve always been a Tom Petty fan but have to admit I don’t own any of his CD’s and could take or leave his music on any given day…but I have seen him live and certainly would see him again.
But now there is something to get excited about, after crossing that fine line between guitar rock and blues, Petty has made something that really got me excited for the first time ever…
What else would you call an album where you tackle the blues head-on – but “Mojo!“
And…how could it not be great when you combine the soul and experience of Tom Petty with the influence of great blues guitar players and musicians like Albert King and Muddy Waters along with the intelligence to go with a live recording setting keeping overdubs to a minimum
That seems to hold great potential for a kick-ass blues album.
Ready to come out June 15th, preview tracks – the Zepplin, Jack White influenced version of “I Should Have Known It” and the up-tempo traditional blues “Jefferson Jericho Blues” both serve to illustrate the raw guitar power of Mike Campbell, the cool blues swagger of Petty and the tightness of a band that has played an eternity together on the road.
Take a listen to Jefferson Jericho Blues —
And now the rougher, tougher rocking blues number “I Should Have Known”
In that first number, it is clear that he and his band are having a blast — freed up to play some of the most natural music straight from the heart.
There is even a slower blues number called “Taking My Time” that shows Petty has thought through the full scope of blues styles for Mojo – his latest blues CD
Quite a departure for Petty and his Heartbreaker’s Band who set aside the cool California rock sound for a rougher, more spontaneous and raw blues record…my only comment is…where has this been for the last few decades?
What do you think of the new Tom Petty sound?
Filed under blues guitar, Blues Legends by on Jun 12th, 2010. Comment.
Standing immediately in the middle of the incredible evolution of blues from the front porches and fields of America is Big Bill Broonzy, the often cited, but rarely seen blues guitar player who influenced generations of modern musicians.
Big Bill really had 3 careers wrapped up in one, starting with more traditional country blues evolving to a more refined (and popular with white audience) blues sound more reminiscent of the Chicago blues sound ending his career by delving deeply into folk, perhaps merging his earlier country traditional blues roots with his more popularized urban blues guitar sound.
I live listening to his stuff because every time I listen to one of his songs I here pure innovation in the guitar, something that even shines through some 70-80 years later.
Born in June of 1898 playing guitar well into the 1950’s before his death in 1958, Big Bill Broonzy is definitely someone a new or experienced blues guitar player can learn from.
For instance, watch this brilliant version of Hey, Hey – a very early guitar shuffle with both hands extremely active while he keeps such an infectious rhythm…no wonder he became one of the earliest blues guitar artists that crossed over into popularity across colors…watch this carefully:
Filed under blues guitar, Blues Legends by on May 8th, 2010. Comment.
Being from Canada and a big blues guitar fan Colin James is one Canadian artist I have followed consistently over the last 22-years, since his first self-titled debut “Colin James” was released. Though now with him living out in Western Canada, we don’t get to see him as much as I would like.
Colin was rooted in the blues at an extremely early age, was touched by the magic of fellow blues guitar slinger Stevie Ray Vaughan as a teen and has since gone on to be one of the most diverse, entertaining and creative artists in Canadian music history.
While Colin always stays rooted in the blues, he hasn’t been afraid to mix it with equal parts jazz, jump jazz, country and pop – we never know what we are getting from Colin next, but rest assured it will be worth listening to.
Here is a cool clip from a recent Canadian tour where Colin does some mean acoustic blues guitar with a rhythm that just won’t quit. Sounds like his is mixing parts from a few blues classics in here – definitely Rock Me Baby is mixed in, but it is the acoustic guitar work that really makes this clip interesting – take a watch.
How’s that for some nifty finger-picking and with the old I-IV-V chord progression?
Filed under blues guitar, Blues Legends, New Blues by on Jan 30th, 2010. Comment.
It seems that BB King continues to thrill audiences with his blues guitar playing and singing, but what most impresses me is that he still (as he has always done) puts his fans first.
In this terrific concert review we find King can still electrify and endear himself to audiences as he did in San Bernadino just a few nights ago. Even confined to a chair on stage and spending time in a wheelchair offstage for mobility, the King’s personality and love for his fans transcends any genre of music.
Can you imagine the Stones, Clapton, or any other major artist for that matter taking time to talk with their fans, really connecting with their audience and staying around well after the show to sign autographs and speak with his fans?
Blues music, more than others (though Country and Bluegrass could also be sited here) relies on its connection with the audience – too bad Rock, Rap, R&B and other forms of music have never quite been able to understand this fundamental emotional characteristic of music – and for that I am so happy to be a Blues music fan and part-time player.
So BB King – thank you for being the shining light, for being a living example of what music (ALL MUSIC) is to our spirit and may god be with you as you continue to spread the word through your 15,000 + performances…
What about you – have you ever had the chance to see Mr. King in concert? What did you think? Leave us a comment by clicking on the “Comment” bubble at the top right of this post.
Filed under bb king, Blues Legends by on Nov 26th, 2009. Comment.
