Here is the playlist for this week’s installment of the Bottleneck Cafe Radio Show! This week’s show features sets of swing, jump blues, and southern soul as well as a special tribute to my favorite release of 2011, “No Time For Dreaming” by Charles Bradley & The Menahan Street Band PLEASE support these artists and songwriters by purchasing their music.
ARTIST/SONG/ALBUM
Swing & Jump Blues set
GATEMOUTH MOORE/I AIN’T MAD AT YOU PRETTY BABY/CRYIN’ AND SINGIN’ THE BLUES
LIONAL HAMPTON/FLYING HOME/THE HISTORY OF RHYTHM AND BLUES 1925-1942
BILLIE HOLIDAY/ME MYSELF & I (ARE ALL IN LOVE WITH YOU)/LADY DAY: THE BEST OF BILLIE HOLIDAY
COUNT BASIE/THE GLORY OF LOVE/LISTEN AND YOU SHALL HEAR
LOUIS JORDAN & HIS TYMPANY 5/CHOO CHOO CH’BOOGIE/ LOUIS JORDAN #1′S
LITTLE MISS CORNSHUCKS/KEEP YOUR HAND ON YOUR HEART/ROY MILTON’S MILTONE RECORD STORY
LIONAL HAMPTON/CENTRAL AVENUE BREAKDOWN/THE HISTORY OF RHYTHM AND BLUES 1925-1942
BIG MAYBELLE/OCEAN OF TEARS/THE COMPLETE OKEH SESSIONS 1952-55
WYNONIE “MR. BLUES” HARRIS/QUIET WHISKEY/ROCK, MR. BLUES!
Soul Music Set…
SOLOMON BURKE/KEEP LOOKING/THE ATLANTIC RECORDS YEARS
ARETHA FRANKLIN/THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT/THE ATLANTIC RECORDS YEARS
JOE TEX/S.Y.S.L.J.F.M. (THE LETTER SONG)/SINGLES A’S & B’S
THE MIGHTY HANNIBAL/HYMN #5/HANNIBALSIM!!!
EDDIE FLOYD/KNOCK ON WOOD/THE STAX YEARS
CANDI STANTON/I’M JUST A PRISONER (OF YOUR GOOD LOVIN’)/THE FAME RECORDS STORY 1961-1973
SAM & DAVE/HOLD ON I’M COMING/THE ATLANTIC YEARS
JAMES CARR/POURING WATER ON A DROWNING MAN/YOU GOT MY MIND MESSED UP
CHARLES BRADLEY & THE MENAHAN STREET BAND/THE WORLD IS GOING UP IN FLAMES/NO TIME FOR DREAMING
CHARLES BRADLEY & THE MENAHAN STREET BAND/NO TIME FOR DREAMING/NO TIME FOR DREAMING
This morning as I was writing a post to pay tribute to the life of the great Johnny Otis, who passed away yesterday, I learned of the passing of one of the greatest artists Johnny ever discovered, Ms. Etta James. While Etta James is a house-hold name (and rightfully so) the name Johnny Otis is sadly becoming less and less known by today’s music fans. Besides giving Etta James her first big break, Mr. Otis also helped start the careers of many top R&B performers. When not performing with his own band he was in the studio recording and producing sides for many of the best R&B performers. It was Johnny Otis who produced and performed on the original 1952 recording of Hound Dog featuring Big Mama Thornton. Two years later in 1954 Otis found himself in the studio again with another young blues singer, a woman by the name of Jamesetta Hawkins. Like Big Mama Thornton, Jamesetta started out performing with The Johnny Otis Band. She then moved to Los Angeles and entered the studio with the band to record what would be her break out song “The Wallflower (Roll With Me Henry)”. Written by Johnny Otis “The Wallflower” was an answer song to the Hank Ballard tune “Work With Me Annie”. Shortly after the release of the song Jamesetta (now going by the stage name Etta James) started off on a solo career that would last over 50 years. She recorded many smash hits for a number of different labels and released albums up until 2011. In addition to being successful in the recording studio James was also successful on the stage and would continue to be an in-demand performer until 2009 when she was unable to perform due to health issues.
As for Johnny Otis, discovering Etta James was just one of the many highlights in a career that lasted well into his eighties. A true renaissance man, Otis was a songwriter, performer, producer, author, store and bar owner, and painter. He even got involved in politics in his home state of California during the 1960′s. However, with all these accomplishments Johnny Otis is probably best know for writing the hit song “Willie and The Hand Jive” which would sell over 1.5 million copies and be covered by Eric Clapton for his 1974 album 461 Ocean Boulevard.
During the their lifetimes both Etta James and Johnny Otis brought to joy to millions of fans all over the world, they are both members of multiple halls of fame, and their influence can be heard in the music of artists in every genre of music. They will both be dearly missed.
Preachin’ The Blues: The Life and Times of Son House
Written by historian Daniel Beaumont, Preachin’ The Blues: The Life and Times of Son House provides a well researched, in-depth look at the life of one of the most important figures in Blues history – Eddie “Son” House. Born in 1902 in Lyon, Mississippi, Son House grew up very involved in the church and didn’t embrace the Blues until 1927 when he heard a guitar player at a house party. Moved by the sound this guitar player was getting out of his instrument with the use of a bottleneck slide, House decided to pick up the guitar and start playing the Blues. Starting out by performing at parties, Son House grabbed the attention of those in attendance with his larger-than-life voice and commanding guitar strumming style. It was performances like this in the 1930′s that would inspire and help shape the playing style of both Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. Even now the music of Son House is still inspiring musicians. Artists such as The Black Keys and The White Strips both cite Son House as a major influence on their careers. But Preachin’ The Blues… doesn’t just focus on Son House the musician. Son was many things in his life – a preacher, a farmer, a husband, even a murderer. Needless to say, his complex life gave him much subject matter to sing about.
While many books on the History of the Delta Blues include information on Son House, there really hasn’t been a book that dives this deep into his individual story. One of the main reasons for this is probably because large sections of House’s life are a complete mystery. Only one copy of the first recordings Son House made for the Paramount Record label in 1930 has ever been found. Even interviews that House himself gave after being rediscovered by three college-age blues fans in the early 60′s were sometimes hard to decipher. During these interviews House would occasionally mix up dates and times from his own life. Taking all of these factors into account, it isn’t a surprise that the name Son House isn’t really know beyond serious music fans. Hopefully, this book will change that.
ETTA JAMES WHO’S BLUE? RARE CHESS RECORDINGS OF THE 60′S AND 70′S
We need to thank the good people at ACE Records for releasing this album. When I first saw the new Etta James compilation Who’s Blue?Rare Chess Recordings Of The 60′s and 70′s in the bin at my local record store I thought to myself “does the world really need another Etta James Greatest Hits album?” It seems like every few years I see a new “Best of Etta James” album featured on iTunes or on the shelves at the record store. However, my friend Tom who is in charge of the Blues section at Amoeba Records in San Francisco assured me that this album was worth a listen. As per usual, he was right.
Who’s Blue?Rare Chess Recordings Of The 60′s and 70′s completely ignores Etta’s most famous recordings and is compiled entirely of B-sides and deep album cuts from her time at Chess Records. Many of these recordings haven’t seen the light of day in a long long time and most of them have never been released on CD! As expected, the music on this disc showcases Etta’s talents as one of the greatest Blues and R&B singer of all time, but what caught me off guard was how funky Etta could be! The tune, “I’ve Been A Fool” was a failed attempt by Etta’s producers to get her to “update” her sound and become more of a Disco singer. After hearing this track it’s puzzling to me that Chess Records could have been anything but overjoyed with the results of this session. Etta screams and shouts while the backing band lays down a deep funky groove complete with a wonderful Duane Allman-style slide guitar solo. “Only A Fool” was another attempt to push Etta out of the R&B realm and into a more “popular” genre. This time she was paired with Steppenwolf producer Gabrial Mekler. Again, Etta comes through with another classic performance and although it may not have been exactly what Mekler or Chess were looking for it does show that Etta can be as funky as well as soulful.
Also included on this compilation are the Southern Soul ballads “Are My Thoughts With You?” and “My Man Is Together”. Both songs have a mellow country-like swagger and should have been huge singles for the West Coast raised Etta James who sounds right at home singing Southern Soul. But these songs are only a few of the gems on this disc. The bluesy “Don’t Take Me For Your Fool” is classic Etta James. Her vocals meet the hard hitting backing band head on and set up a dark bluesy groove that shows you why Etta James has as much right to claim the title “Queen Of Soul” as Aretha Franklin does.
After listening to the music on this disc, one can’t help but wonder why some of these tunes didn’t get the same attention as classics such as “At Last” and “Tell Mama”. While we may never know who the true “Queen of Soul” is we do know that Soul Music wouldn’t be where it is today without the talents of Ms. Jamesetta Hawkins.
CHARLES BRADLEY & THE MENAHAN STREET BAND “No Time For Dreaming”
“No Time For Dreaming” is more than an album, it’s an autobiography about Charles Bradley. Without being preachy, Mr. Bradley and The Menahan Street Band combine soulful music along with larger than life vocals to tell the story of a man who had to work against the odds his whole life.
This is a real soul album done by real soul musicians. Although the band is tight and knows what they’re doing the real story here is the voice of Charles Bradley. Due to years of performing in dive-bars and smokey clubs his voice has aged the perfect amount for this music. You can really feel the pain in Mr. Bradley’s voice when he cries out to society to change it’s values on the tunes “Golden Rule” and “The World (Is Going Up In Flames)”. That being said, the most heartfelt vocal performance on this album might be on the track “How Long”. Around the 3 minute mark Mr. Bradley lets out a Jay Hawkins-like scream that makes you wonder if he’ll survive this song! This tune could only be sung by someone who has lived the life Charles Bradley has.
Born in Florida in 1948 and raised in Brooklyn NY, Mr. Bradley has spent the majority of his adult life on the road. Usually having to travel by way of hitch hiking, he tried to find work and establish himself as a professional musician in a number of cities across the country before ending up in California. After finding a steady job and playing gigs with pick-up bands Mr. Bradley thought he had finally found a place to call home. But as he was just about to put the down payment on his first house he was laid off from his job of 17 years. Frustrated but not accepting defeat, he gathered his belongings and returned to Brooklyn where he began performing as a James Brown impersonator in local night clubs. Going by the stage name “Black Velvet” he wowed audiences with his amazing showmanship and impressive vocal abilities. Now 51 years of age it seemed as if things were settling down for Mr. Bradley, but alas, this was not the case. One morning, while staying at his mother’s house he awoke to devastating news that his brother had been murdered by his nephew. Just when it seemed as Mr. Bradley’s life was doomed to be a life of sorrow he was visited by Gabrial Roth of Daptone Records during one of his “Black Velvet” performances. Soon there after, Mr. Bradly found himself in the Daptone Records studios recording his first single for the label “Take It As it Comes”. The single was a hit and thus began a whole new chapter in life of Charles Bradley.
But not all the songs on this album are about pain and heartbreak. “No Time For Dreamin” is an up beat funky tune that sends out a message of determination and (like the life of Charles Bradley) tells the listener that if you stay the course and work hard for what you want you can achieve your goals.
Arhoolie Records founder Chris Strachwitz has been recording (or “documenting” as he puts it) different forms of roots music for the better part of the last 50 years. During that time Mr. Strachwitz has traveled to numerous juke joints, plantations, prisons and coffee shops, in order to document an artist in a setting that is natural and familiar to them. This process delivered very positive results. You would be hard pressed to find recordings that better capture the intensity and passion of artists like Mance Lipscome, Big Joe Williams, and Fred McDowell. In my opinion Arhoolie Records is the leading authority on American roots music and in recent years the label has a number of box sets that showcase the best of it’s catalog. But just when you think you’ve heard everything Arhoolie and Mr. Strachwitz have to offer they release a new Book/Four CD set that is ESSENTIAL for any fan of American roots music.
Hear Me Howling! Blues, Ballads, and Beyond, is a dream come true for fanatics of American roots music. This beautifully packaged box set is stuffed with information on, and recordings from more then 20 artists! The book is full of wonderful pictures (some never before released publicly) that give you a little glimpse of what these artist were like on and off the stage. My personal favorite picture in this book is a picture of the great Mance Lipscome performing at Greek Theater in Berkeley, California. You get a sense from this picture that even though Mance’s home in Texas was only a few hundred miles away on a map, it must have felt like it was a world away to Mance who had never ever performed in front of a crowd that large. But wonderful photos are only part of this great set. All of the music, which was recorded in the San Francisco Bay Area, is amazing. Like Mance Lipscome, many of these artists were not used to the hustle and bustle of big city life. One of the most moving performances is Mary & Big Joe Williams’ performance of “Oakland Blues”. You can hear confusion and pain in the voice of Mary Williams when she sings about wanting to go back home to Louisiana. In a recent interview I did with Chris Strachwitz on the Bottleneck Cafe Radio Show, he talked about this session and how it was a rough time for Big Joe, who later got arrested for carrying a knife in his boot and then left town without warning. On a lighter note, you get to hear Big Mama Thornton intimidate a band of jazz musicians on live recordings of “Ball and Chain” and “Hound Dog” and Lightnin’ Hopkins gives you a colorful view of what life was like on Telegraph Ave in the 1960′s. But Blues isn’t the only music showcased here. Folk singer Barbara Dane does a wonderful and heartfelt version of “Deportees” and Bob Neuwirth’s “Come See” is guaranteed to tickle your funny bone. Cliften Chenier’s “Mr. Charlie” is a good introduction for anyone getting interested in Zydeco (I found myself picking up some of his albums after hearing this track) and Bob Mielke’s Bearcats version of “Moose March” will get your feet moving. But this is just the tip of the ice berg as they say, there is so much in this box set that it took me a month to get through it! You can get your copy of Hear Me Howling!Blues, Ballads, and Beyond at www.arhoolie.com.
I first became familiar with Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears in 2009 when I did my annual “Best New Music of The Year” radio show. I asked for suggestions from listeners and friends and my good friend Jon told me about this funk band he had seen that past summer at the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco. Knowing that Jon has great taste in music I gave Black Joe Lewis a listen on iTunes and after about 30 seconds of listening to the first track on the album “Tell Em’ What Your Name Is!” I turned off the computer and went straight to the record store to pick up a copy for myself. Needless to say, that album stayed in my car for most of the next year. Now Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears are back with a new album entitled “Scandalous”, the bands second release for Lost Highway records. This record picks up right where the last record left off and keeps the party going the whole way through! The album opens with the upbeat and funky “Livin’ In The Jungle” before sliding into the slick groove of “I’m Gonna Leave You”. But the song that is show stopper on this album for me is the dirty blues number “Messin”. Few artist can really channel the feel and sound of the great Lightnin’ Hopkins but Black Joe Lewis sounds right at home on this tune. Something that also sets this album (as well as “Tell Em’ What Your Name Is”) apart from other releases is that Mr. Lewis isn’t afraid to use his great sense of humor! The song “Mustang Ranch” not only grooves hard but will also make you laugh your ass off! In short, if you are a fan of really good music done really well, this album is for you!
I would like to pass on my condolences to the family of Joe Willie “Pinetop” Perkins who passed away on Monday March 21, 2011. When most fans think of Pinetop Perkins they think of him backing up the great Muddy Waters, but that was only one part of Pinetop’s career, which lasted more then 70 YEARS! Pinetop was born in 1915 in Mississippi and began playing blues in the late 1920’s. During the 1930’s and 40’s Mr. Perkins played all around the South with a number of different musicians including a three year stint with Sonny Boy Williamson on the King Biscuit Time Radio show where he was sometimes referred to as “Pinetop”. After his time working with Sonny Boy, Mr. Perkins continued to work around the Southern states playing with many different musicians. When not one the road he worked in Memphis playing clubs with artists such as B.B. King and Earl Hooker. While working with Hooker, Pinetop got the chance to record with a young record producer on the scene named Sam Phillips (yes that Sam Phillips) at Sam’s newly formed Sun Records. This is where Pinetop recorded his version of “Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie” which was originally written by the great Clarence “Pinetop” Smith. This new version would solidify Mr. Perkins’ nickname as Pinetop and the rest is history. Pinetop Perkins was one of the last links to the classic days of Blues music. During his amazing career he played with Sonny Boy Williamson, B.B. King, Earl Hooker, Muddy Waters, Robert Nighthawk, Johnny Winter, and Honeyboy Edwards just to name a few. Last year Pinetop released the album “Joined At The Hip” with fellow Muddy Waters band alumni Willie “Big Eyes” Smith. The album won a Grammy for best Traditional Blues album. Not bad for a 97 year old piano man. Thank you Mr. Perkins for all the great music you left us.
As a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, Gregg Allman has seen just about everything. In Gregg’s amazing 40+ year career he has seen music styles come and go, battled drug and alcohol addiction, witnessed the start of the digital music revolution, and been married to Cher and he is still standing! Sadly however, it seems that if you are an aging classic rock artist in the world today and your recent “Greatest Hits” package isn’t selling then your only other option is to record an album of Blues covers or standards. Most of the time on these these albums the artist’s performance sounds mechanical and uninspired. This is however is not the case with Gregg Allman’s new solo record Low Country Blues.
For Low Country Blues Mr. Allman is teamed up with producer T-Bone Burnett. This proves to be a very smart move as T-Bone pushes Gregg in a bit of a different direction then he may be used to. There are no long draw-out jams and the songs sound focused and well orchestrated without sounding over-produced. The stand out performance on this album is Mr. Allman’s rendition of the Skip James classic ”Devil Got My Woman”. The song starts beautifully with just guitar and vocal before the band quietly comes in around the 1 minute mark. The musicians stay out of each other’s way and create a hypnotic groove which carries on until the end of the tune where it returns to just guitar and vocal. This a hard song to cover but Mr. Allman truly does it justice. Another pleasant surprise on this album is the rendition of the early B.B. King classic “Please Accept My Love”. B.B. King may have a much stronger voice then Mr. Allman but that doesn’t keep Mr. Allman from putting his own stamp on this song and making it his own. For fans who want something a little more “classic Allman Brothers” sounding, the tune “Little By Little” is for them. This type of shuffle blues is Gregg Allman’s bread and butter and he pounds his way through it with ease. Overall this is a very good record and while it may not be Mr. Allman’s best performance ever (live at the Fillmore East takes home that honor) it’s still a better performance than most young blues singers could hope for on their best day.
It’s not a surprise that many of the best Rhythm & Blues compilation albums come from the United Kingdom. Blues greats like John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, and Howlin’ Wolf were welcomed with open arms when they journeyed across the Atlantic to perform and record. The first songs musicians like Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, and Eric Clapton learned to play were Rhythm & Blues songs. Many of the songs on the first great Rock N’ Roll albums were covers of classic Rhythm & Blues songs. You get the point. So it only makes sense that one of the best Rhythm & Blues Box Sets to be released in the the last 15 years was released out of the U.K. by Rhythm And Blues Records (http://www.rhythmandbluesrecords.co.uk/index.html)
The History of Rhythm An Blues 1942-52 is a well documented collection of classic R&B songs, mixed with a few deep album cuts, neatly compacted into four Compact discs. The music sounds great and the booklet is well-researched. Disc One is titled “Jumpin’ From Harlem To The West Coast” and focuses on the Jump Blues and Boogie sound of the East and West Coast by shining a light on some of R&B’s lesser know stars like Miltone Records owner Roy Milton and band leader Joe Liggins. Disc Two is titled “Guitar Boogie, Sax Screamers and Gospel Roads“. Here we get a good sampling of the music that would get the fingers moving of millions of guitar players on both sides of the Atlantic. Songs like John Lee Hooker’s “Boogie Chillen” and Big Joe Williams “Baby Please Don’t Go” are highlighted along with deeper cuts by artists like Willie Dixon’s Big Three Trio and Jay McShann. There is also a tip of the hat to one of the kings of Country music, Mr. Hank Williams! Disc Three is titled “Have You Heard The News, There’s Good Rockin’ Tonight!”. On this disc we get a pile of Risque’ Blues and Bandleaders. This is your party disc. Songs like Wynonie Harris’ “Good Morning Judge” and Bullmoose Jackson’s “Big Ten Inch” are essential to any R&B collection and a good reminder that music should be fun. Disc Four is titled ” Soul Train Mambo, Destination New Orleans” and gives us a good in-depth look at some artists that started incorporating a number of different styles and rhythms into traditional R&B. Songs like the Ella Fitzgerald/Louis Jordan version of “Stone Cold Dead In The Market” and Professor Longhair’s classic “Mardi Gras In New Orleans” sound right at home next to R&B standers such as Percy Mayfield’s “Please Send Me Someone To Love”. I highly recommend this Box Set for anyone who is interested in learning not just about the History of Classic R&B but the History of popular music in general.
