The Bottleneck Cafe

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.

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.

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!

On October 10, 2010 we lost the greatest soul singer of all time, Mr. Solomon Burke.   Sadly, Mr. Burke never got as much press as other soul legends like James Brown or Marvin Gaye even though he was just as much of a pioneer in soul music as they were.   Solomon Burke was a true talent who could command the attention of any audience.  Even in the later part of his career  when he became confined to sitting down while he was performing he still could deliver a high intensity live show.  I was lucky enough to get to see Mr. Burke in Oakland in November of 2009 and even though he was only allowed to play for a little over an hour, it was one of the best performances I have seen in my life.  Solomon was loved by musicians in every genre of music. Everyone from The Rolling Stones to Emmylou Harris to The Blues Brothers were inspired by Solomon’s music.  I hope that in the coming years his music and impact on popular music get they recognition they deserve. Today is a sad day for me.  However, I am comforted by the fact that even though Mr. Burke is gone his message of love and kindness will live on through the recordings he has left with us.  Thank you Mr Burke for sharing your talent and music with us.