Bob Dylan, in his autobiographical Chronicles , tells this story of Sonny Boy Williamson: The only comment that I ever got [on my harmonica playing] was a few years later in John Lee Hooker's hotel room in Lower Broadway in New York City. Sonny Boy Williamson was there and he heard me playing, said, "Boy, you play too fast." [p. 257] An interesting parallel is found in Blues with a Feeling:...
He was in Otis Rush's band for several years in the 1960s, and played on Magic Sam's albums, West Side Soul and Black Magic.He recorded his own solo album, Blues with a Touch of Soul, for Delmark Records in 1971.Young also worked alongside Willie Dixon, Billy Boy Arnold and Jimmy Rogers
So here I am on my annual sojourn in France - the Lot to be more specific, close to Cahors. Handy for the annual Cahors Blues Festival. Running since 1982 this is a great 'boutique' festival. Set up by local blues fans, it runs over the course of a week, during which the main stage (capacity 3,000 I would guess) hosts three or four acts. The ticket price is 22Euro, but alternate nights are free. Some...
Recorded live in 1983 on European tour. The live version of this album and 3 of the bonus tracks can also be found on Bo's the Man [LIVE] http://www.amazon.com/Bos-Man-Bo-Diddley/dp/B000HT1WT2 Bo Diddley, inventor of the Bo Diddley beat, a bedrock rhythm of Rock and Roll, is a key figure in the transition of Blues into Rock & Roll, by introducing more driving rhythms and a hard-edged guitar sound...
HENRY GRAY BIOGRAPHY (born January 19, 1925, Kenner, LA.) A blues pianist, HENRY GRAY was a much-in-demand session player in Chicago in the 1950s and 1960s, recording behind such stalwarts as JIMMY REED, LITTLE WALTER, BILLY BOY ARNOLD , and BO DIDDLEY . But Gray is best known as HOWLIN' WOLF 's pianist. He performed and recorded with Wolf from 1956 to 1968 and, more recently, as a solo artist. Gray...
Johnny Paycheck - I'm The Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised Bill Haley & The Comets - Real Rock Drive Tani Allen - Tennesse Jive Little Junior Parker - Barefoot Rock The Rockin' R's - Crazy Baby Bob Wills &...
Co-led by bluesmen Billy Boy Arnold, John Primer, Billy Branch and Lurrie Bell, this audacious two disc set attempts nothing less than charting the history of and paying tribute to fifty years of post-war Chicago blues. For the most part this collection succeeds very well with spirited renditions of well known blues classics, and the different men take turns leading and singing. Arnold has been a presence...
This CD is a real gem. Blues Drive is probably the best new blues CD I’ve heard this year. Even longer, actually, this self-titled album is possibly the best I've heard in the past year. This is one of those albums that come along far too rarely: it’s just perfect. From the choice of musicians, instruments, placement, who sings what, and down to the...
Reaffirms the blues don't belong in a museum, and are every bit as vital as they ever were. Those who have more than a casual acquaintance with the blues know the music comes in many flavours and variants. Like regional cuisine, the basic ingredients might stay the same, but the spicing changes dependent on which area of the world you taste it in. From Mail to the Mississippi Delta and India to Indiana...
Arnold has moved from Alligator to Canada for this new release. An important figure from the early Chicago blues scene , the 'Gator crowd released a couple of powerful recordings, with some strong performers behind him. Stony Plain have another ace up there sleeve, and have the Duke Robillard band backing Arnold. With Duke's talents as an arranger and his chameleon-like ability to find the right sound...
A fine tribute to one of the harmonica's true innovators... The story goes that, as a boy growing up in Chicago, Billy Boy Arnold once knocked on the door of his idol, Sonny Boy Williamson, to ask the master for harmonica lessons. Whether Mr. Williamson recognized raw talent right from the start, or simply admired Arnold’s chutzpah, he graciously took the youngster in, teaching young Billy Boy...
Recording opportunities were scarce for Arnold stateside in 1984. But over in France, Black & Blue welcomed the harpist into their studios to cut this set, backed by guitarist Jimmy Johnson's professional outfit. Only a handful of originals here; the set is predominated by hoary standards such as "My Babe," "Just a Little Bit," "Last Night," and "I Done Got Over...
Great blues guitarists are about tone, mood, and style. Being nimble helps, but intensity and passion more often exist between the notes. Rick Holmstrom revels in this abundance on his first album in five years. A West Coast veteran who backed harp greats William Clarke, Billy Boy Arnold, and Rod Piazza, Holmstrom can swing with the best of them. But 2002's controversial drum-loop-powered Hydraulic...
Uneven but intriguing 1966 collection, most of it previously unreleased. The first half-dozen sides are the best, full of ringing West Side-styled guitar licks by Mighty Joe Young and Jody Williams and Arnold's insinuating vocals (he rocks "Baby Jane" with a Chuck Berry-inspired fury). An odd drumless trio backs Arnold on the next seven selections, which get a little sloppy at times but retain...
This is a nice Vee-Jay collection with representative cuts from Pee Wee Crayton, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed, Lightnin' Hopkins, Billy Boy Arnold, Memphis Slim and a stray track from Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry. The big ticket for collectors on this one, however, is the inexplicable bonus of a previously unissued Eddie Taylor number, "Leave This Neighborhood," reason enough for hardcore...
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