Tag Archives: blues music

Who really was the last of the red-hot blues mamas?

February 11, 2013 | Susan Sliwicki | 0

Sure, Sophie Tucker tried to parlay a song title into a nickname, but if you ask most blues fans, Mother Of The Blues Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey wins the title. ►

Manzarek and Rogers update the blues for the 21st century

October 19, 2011 | Susan Sliwicki | 0

The blues are very much a part of the respective musical DNA of keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Roy Rogers. The duo shares its take on the genre and behind-the-scenes details about ‘Translucent Blues.’
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Anvil Tour Diary: Anvil rocks the House Of Blues

April 29, 2010 | Zach Sorscher@fwmedia.com | 0

Dear Diary: It’s good to be Anvil these days. Those days of playing dingy little clubs in front of just a smattering of people are gone … at least for now. ►

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion lives

April 28, 2010 | Zach Sorscher@fwmedia.com | 0

“Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood” — the famous line from the song “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.”

For the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, that plea has often fallen on deaf ears. ►

Dahl’s Digs: Sink your teeth into meaty new releases

April 21, 2010 | Zach Sorscher@fwmedia.com | 0

One of the first successful African-American-owned diskeries, Vee-Jay was strong in every style during its 1953-66 existence — doo-wop (the Spaniels, El Dorados, Magnificents, Dells); blues (Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, Eddie Taylor, Billy Boy Arnold); R&B (Gene Allison, Rosco Gordon, Harold Burrage); Windy City soul (Dee Clark, Jerry Butler, Gene Chandler, Betty Everett); jazz (Eddie Harris) and gospel (Staple Singers, Swan Silvertones).
Vee-Jay eventually even dabbled in surf with Aki Aleong and folk-rock via Hoyt Axton. Licensing hits by the 4 Seasons, Jimmy Hughes and Joe Simon no longer controlled by current owners was a nice touch. ►

Blues Lounge: Calendar plumbs art from early blues era

April 21, 2010 | Zach Sorscher@fwmedia.com | 0

The blues comes in plenty of hues. Devotees of early blues should check Blues Images’ (www.bluesimages.com) 2008 calendar. Each month features a 12” x 12” reproduction of the original illustrated ad for a 1927-32 platter on the accompanying CD — for example, Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “One Dime Blues” and Blind Blake’s “Seaboard Stomp.” ►

Pride, pain and prodigy: Discover the real Aretha Franklin

April 21, 2010 | Zach Sorscher@fwmedia.com | 0

The voice is unmistakably Aretha. Deeply soulful, defiant and proud, at times tender and full of longing and desire, but also wracked with pain — hers is the sound of a woman actually roaring. ►

Leslie West gets the Blues

April 21, 2010 | Zach Sorscher@fwmedia.com | 0

An angry Leslie West makes for a loud, rattlesnake-mean guitarist, and that rage, along with other aspects of his personality, is palpable in some of the blues records he’s done on the side in recent years.
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Obituaries: Weepin’ Willie Robinson, Ronald Johnson, Oscar Peterson and more

April 21, 2010 | Zach Sorscher@fwmedia.com | 0

“Weepin’” Willie Robinson, a blues singer who performed with Steven Tyler and Bonnie Raitt but also spent time homeless, has died at age 81.
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New DVD documents the broad impact of Mayfield, Impressions

April 14, 2010 | Zach Sorscher@fwmedia.com | 0

While giving his 3-year-old child a bath last September, David Peck says the thought to make a documentary DVD about Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions just popped into his head.
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