Contents description by Edward Meyer:

Living Blues #90, 20^th Anniversary Issue, March-April 1990, Elder Statesmen: Sunnyland Slim, Robert Lockwood Jr., Johnny Shines, Honeyboy Edwards, George Jackson, The Next Generation

Living Blues #90

Cover Photo: Sunnyland Slim by Jim Fraher

List of Articles:

Editorial: Howling at the Handys, by Peter Lee

-artists mentioned: Robert Lockwood, Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson, Sunnyland Slim, Johnny Shines. George Jackson, Honeyboy Edwards,.

-Article summary: author dismayed at recent Handy Awards; comments on in-fighting amongst the executive, poor management, poor venue, excessive prices, the questionable influence of politician Lee Atwater; Atwater won a brand new special award for exposing blues to the general public by using blues musicians in advertising and at live political events for the president; calls out the seeming biases of committee president Joe Savarin; congratulates Robert Lockwood for being inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame; ends with commentary on the elder statesmen featured in this issue all having some tie to Robert Johnson  

W.C. Handy Awards

-artists shown: Katie Webster, John Weston, Buster Benton, Robert Lockwood Jr., Willie Dixon, Ruth Brown

-artists listed (winners only): Robert Cray/Albert King/James “Son” Thomas/ Willie Dixon/ Robert Cray/Buster Benton, Big Walter Horton, Etta James, Albert Collins, John Lee Hooker, Queen Ida, Sam Myers, Albert Collins, James Cotton-Katie Webster (tie)/Albert Collins/ Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Charles Brown/Albert Collins-Robert Cray-Johnny Copeland, Otis Rush, Robert Nighthawk, Bessie Smith/Memphis Slim, Robert Lockwood Jr., Clifton Chenier, Peter Guralnick (blues literature)/ Albert Collins/Willie Dixon/Ruth Brown (keeping the blues alive-theater)/Rich and Maureen Del Grosso (keeping the blues alive-education),John Weston(amateur talent contest winner)

Article summary: big year for Albert Collins (5 awards); first year after 9 in a row, Koko Taylor didn’t win (placed third); [only musicians listed above by me for the non-voting categories, of which there was 19, compared to 18 that the public votes on]   

The Blues: A Hidden Culture by Jim O’Neal

-artists mentioned: the Atomic Souls, Magic Sam, the Boogie Boys, Howlin’ Wolf, Booba Barnes,  Joee Willie Wilkins, Robert Cray, Eddie Vaan Shaw, Thomas Family, Bell Family, Kinsey Family, Johnnie Billington, Lonnie Pitchford, Robert Lockwood, Little Milton, Bobby Bland

Article summary: despite rumors, author believes the blues is very much alive; he can’t explain how or even why, but believes it is a “strange power” maybe in the soil, or in the blood; problem of passing the torch from the established seniors to the next generation; lack of exposure on radio is a significant problem in the lack of growth of blues amongst a new younger audience; population rational for why there are more whites at blue events than black (in some areas), but believes blacks will still listen to music they are exposed to in the media; emphasizes the need for DJs (and record companies) to give new “unknown” bands the chance/exposure they need

The Future of the Blues, by David Evans

-artists mentioned: Blind Blake, Mississippi John Hurt, Reverend Gary Davis, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Holwin’ Wolf, Koko Taylor, Robert Pete Williams, John Lee Hooker,

-Article summary:  author believes commercially blues is in better shape than it has ever been (magazines, festivals, records, reissues, Awards), but the soul, the music itself is not in as good health; no significant stylistic changes, other than zydeco, since the 1950s; plenty of revivalist, but a lack of real originals; destruction and removal of original roots (effects of mechanized agriculture for an example) of the blues culture ; no development in vocal styles; lack of new topical subjects (too many love-sex songs); decrease in blues poetry (creative lyrics); plenty of technically great musicians (especially guitarist), but they have sacrificed feeling and originality; author states that there are two opposing, never mixing blues audiences: black and white, with whites gaining strength since the 60s and especially in the 80s; the music is no longer just a black tradition; unless the black market changes and grows, the fear is that the blues will go the way of Dixieland Jazz; [overall a realistic but bleak picture of the state of the blues; the author comes off as too much an intellectual and not as in touch with the “culture” as stressed in the related article above by Jim O’Neal]

A Tender Heart and a Hustler’s Soul: Sunnyland Slim’s Long Life in the Blues, by David Whiteis

-artists mentioned: Art Hodes, Jimmy Walker, Sonny Boy Williamson (No. 1 & 2), Little Walter, Big Walter, Ruth Brown, Snooky Pryor, Eddie Taylor, Little Brother Montgomery, Fred Below, Memphis Slim, Floyd “Dark Road” Jones, Barrelhouse Chuck, Johnny “Big Moose” Walker, Jimmy Walker/ Miss Panky, Jeff Ward, Sam Burckhardt, Robert Covington, Steve Freund, Robert Stroger, Rover Brown, Little Brother Montgomery, Jim Jackson, Barbecue Bob Hicks, Yank Rachell, Ma Rainey, Big Joe Williams, Memphis Minnie, Barbecue Bob, Blind Boy Fuller, Peetie Wheatstraw, Walter Davis, Honeyboy Edwards, Howlin Wolf, Roosevelt Sykes, Big Bill Broonzy, (Little) Walter Jacobs , Memphis Slim,  Peter Dr. Clayton, Jelly Roll Morton, Muddy Waters, Robert Lockwood Jr., Lonnie Johnson, J.B. Lenoir, St. Louis Jimmy, Baby Face Leroy, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Sonny terry & Brownie McGhee,  Zora Young, Big Time Sarah, Bonnie Lee

Article summary: article originally written and published in the Chicago Reader in 1983; some editorial updating has been done for this reissue; in 1987, he played the Chicago Blues Festival to the largest audience of his career, was awarded s a medal of merit by the city, won a National Heritage Foundation  award, appeared on a PBS national tv show and on NPR (Ruth Brown’s syndicated show); at 82 he is the patriarch of Chicago Blues ; he no longer has Airway Records, but older material has been reissued on other labels, and he is still recording new material; was hospitalized late in 1987 with pneumonia and took months to fully recover; broke his hip in 1988; has outlived most of his original Chicago friends; still holds down a weekly gig at B.L.U.E.S. nightclub/ real name Albert Luandrew; named after a train which he saw kill two different families in the same week; both grandparents lived to be well over 110, and had money and land when they died, but his parents were cheated out of it at the turn of the 20^th century; his mother died when he was young-father remarried but his step mother was cruel; started running away at age 9 and was gone for good at age 12; learned some church songs from a neighbor; taught by lumber mills itinerant pianists; early on taught himself to play all types of music to get the most tips; first job as a cook; started playing full time in 1923  (age 16) after meeting Little Brother Montgomery; played in movie houses behind silent movies; arrived in Memphis in 1927; always had a side/day job (hustle), including moonshining ; first journeyed north to Benton Harbor, Michigan (picked cherries) and Chicago in 1933, but returned south in cotton harvest time; Walter Davis made the first recording of Slim’ signature tune “Sunnyland Train”; became a gambler in Cairo; even was a barber for a time, and procured laborers in the south for jobs in the north (late 1930s); became part of the Chicago blues circle in the early 40s playing mainly with Sonny Boy #1; made more playing parties than he initially did after joining the union; first recorded in 1947 as just as vocalist as Dr. Clayton’s Buddy then shortly after with Muddy Waters (Aristocrat) under his own name; was one of the first bluesmen to play north of Chicago in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; ran a successful  after hours nightclub from 1947-54 using paid police officers to break the rules and provide security; first bout of illness in 1954 slowed him down, and police suspicion caused him to close down his club; started to concentrate on recording as a sideman; starting playing less, concentrating on higher paid out of town jobs - proud that he went to Canada (with Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee )in 1960 (before anyone else); first trip to Europe in 1962, followed by the American Folk Blues Festival and time in Russia in 1964 [“first” to play behind the Iron Curtain]; somewhat low key in the 60s-70s; started his own record company (Airway) in the 1980s, pushing female vocalists; car accident in 1982 affected his right hand playing; proud of having tutored numerous people over a 50 year span; despite his life-style he is a deeply religious man and claims his big heart is what makes him loved and respected; huge physical strength combined with resourcefulness is what allows him to drive on [note this is one of, if not the first, articles by Whiteis who at the time worked for the Chicago Reader, but would become a significant member of LB in the future],    

Johnny Shines: Whupped Around and Screwed Around but Still Hangin’ On by Jas Obrecht

-artists mentioned: Robert Johnson, Robert Lockwood, Charlie Musselwhite, Big Bill Broonzy, Arthur Crudup, Tampa Red, Dr. Clayton, Memphis Slim, Memphis Minnie, Son Joe Willie Reed (guitar playing brother), Willie Tango, Little Buddy Doyle, Howlin’ Wolf, (nicknamed Little Wolf) Willie B. Borum, Eddie Vann, Houston Stackhouse, Robert Johnson , M &O, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Lonnie Johnson, Dukes of Swing, Lionel Hampton, Walter Horton, Muddy Waters, Honeyboy Edwards, Sonny Boy (Rice Miller), Calvin Frazier, Robert Nighthawk, Willie Dixon, Georgia Thomas Dorsey (wife) Candy Martin Shines,

Article summary: stroke in 1980 limited his playing; started to learn a trade (upholstering) both as job security and therapy; a series of bad deals and tough times let to his retirement in 1954; tricked into recording again in 1965 by Sam Charters; opened the door for a second career of memorable recordings; briefly played jazz in the 40s when he couldn’t get blues work; started playing at 16; played some gospel organ early in his career; playing in Memphis before Helena; travelled to make money; made money by being able to play whatever people wanted to hear (and would pay for); Shines, Johnson and Calvin Frazier played on  gospel music on The Elder Moten Hour radio show in Windsor, Canada in 1935-36; Memphis Minnie and Big Bill Broonzy were the first people he saw playing electric guitars; he got his first electric guitar in 41-42; Shines gives high praise to Willie Dixon—credits him as the real creator  to  Chicago blues; notes Dixon really can’t sing, but knows how to write and produce-how to create a hit; heavy drinker most of his life; afraid of airplanes (first trip to Europe was with Willie Dixon and the Chicago all Stars (1969); moved to Alabama after his daughter died-inherited her children and didn’t have room for them in his Chicago apartment, so just packed up and left; proud that he has a home and has cared for 11 people off the money earned as a blues guitarist

Robert Lockwood Jr.: Unlocking Some Secrets (no author listed)

Artists mentioned: Robert Johnson, Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller), James (Peck) Curtis, Dudlow, Willie Nix, Howlin Wolf, Count Basie, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, Louis Jordan, James Starkey, Cornelius Starkey, Will Starkey, Sunnyland Slim, Elmore James, Tampa Red, Muddy Waters,  Little Walter, Bo Diddley, the Moonglows, Son House, Eddie Boyd, Willie Mabon, Roosevelt Sykes, Freddy King, Johnny Shines

Article summary: started playing organ at age 8, wanted to be a pianist, Robert Johnson dated his mother (for 10 years (sic?) and changed his life; grew up in Marvel, Arkansas and St Louis (his grandmother lived there); started playing with Sonny Boy as early as 1931, but lost him for a few years when he was living in St. Louis with his grandmother); recorded in Chicago in 1940 (11 years before Sonny Boy), but returned to Arkansas in 1941 and started on the radio (King Biscuit time) with Sonny Boy (believes Sonny Boy had done a couple of weeks-worth of broadcasts before they teamed up; Lockwood stayed with the radio show for two years playing as a duo or trio (band expanded after he left); made $5.00 a day doing just 15 minutes (as much as most people got for six days full work); claims to have taught Williamson some guitar; left Sonny Boy to do his own longer show on the same station (KFFA) for Mother’s Best Flour; always liked Count Basie and Louis Jordan; started playing jazz on the radio in 43 with a 6-piece band (Mother’s Best sponsored 67 bands across the country- much larger company than King Biscuit Flour); returned to Chicago in 1951; recorded Dust My Broom (unissued) before Elmore James; became a first-call session player for Chess Records ; seldom played live in the late 50s; did a few 45s; first LP in 1972; 1970s LPs combined Robert Johnson interpretations with jazzy, complex chord numbers; teamed up with Johnny Shines in 1979 and has recorded and toured major festivals with him through the 1980s      

Pure Honeyboy Edwards by Robert Palmer

-artists mentioned: Tommy McClennan, Robert Petway, Dave Freeman, Muddy Waters, Robert Lockwood, T-Bone Walker, Charlie Patton, Son House, Big Joe Williams, Jimmy Rogers

Article summary: started playing guitar at age 14; met other bluesmen in Greenwood at age 17; travelled with Big Joe Williams starting in 1932; discussion  of the understanding of originality in Mississippi blues; most players had tutors and there is a lot of copying, with individual personality added later creating schools and chains of stylists; many Delta players were heavily influenced by records (excluding Patton), but Edwards doesn’t seem to have been, so sounds different than other musicians who migrated to Chicago; first went to Chicago in 1955,  but was not successful-considered too “country”; recorded for Alan Lomax in 1942 and some singles in 51 and 53, but nothing released;  few recordings available at the time of writing; started playing electric in the 60s, but in an erratic style making it hard for people to accompany him; working on a book at the time of the article

Leaving Kansas City: George Jackson by Allison Crews

-artists mentioned: Glover Johnson, Willie Love, Bobby Parker, Howlin’ Wolf, Robert Lockwood Jr., Doug Lowe {sic: Dudlow], James “Henpecked” [“Peck”] Curtis, Robert Nighthawk, Robert Johnson, Son House, Memphis Minnie, Son Joe, B.B. King, Dago Johnson, Louis Jordan, Willie Love, Sonny Boy Williamson (No.2),

Article summary: started playing a diddley bow as a child in Alligator, MS; first real guitar at 19; saw Robert Johnson play once in 1937 (before he owned a guitar) ; served in South-east Asia during the Second World War; won a talent contest in Burma; returned to Mississippi in 1945; moved to Kansas City and played with Louis Jordan; played with Willie Love for three years, and Williamson briefly

Blues in to the 1990s by Dick Shurman

-artists mentioned: “Little” Howlin Wolf, B.B. King Jr., Bobby Rush, Robert Cray,

Article summary: author is sure blues will continue to be relevant, but also sure it will change, as change is the only consistent in the world; admonishes “old codgers” that prevent change; has faith that the musicians will change as necessary, adapting to new technologies, but acknowledges that DJ’s, promoters, record executives, everyone else in the blues music business must change too; future is not in recreating the past, but building on it foundation and creating something truly new; that the future won’t sound the same is a given; hope that technology will  not drown-out humanity and immediacy of blues; veteran fans have to have open hearts and ears, and foster support of new artists;  the next generation will ultimately decide what blues will sound like going forward; joking, the author ends with acknowledging that those who don’t like change better go spend money on vinyl before it is no longer available

The Next Generation by Mary Katherine Aldin and David Nelson:

-artists mentioned: Robert Cray, Joe Louis Walker/ Lonnie Shields, Barbara Carr, John Watkins, Johnny B. Moore, Lynn White, Trudy Lynn/Kinsey Report. Lil’ Ed Williams, Kenny Neal, Billy Branch, Lucky Peterson, Guitar Slim Jr., Valerie Wellington, C.J. Chenier, Lurrie Bell, Phil Wiggins, Chris Thomas/Kenny Neal-Raful Neal; C.J. Chenier-Clifton Chenier; Lil Ed Williams- J.B. Hutto; Chris Thomas-Tabby Thomas; Johnny Watkins-Jimmy Johnson; Lucky Peterson – his father (James Peterson); Kinsey Report-Big Daddy Kinsey; Lurrie Bell-Carey Bell/Eddy Clearwater; Guitar Slim Jr-Guitar Slim/ Bo Carter Chatmon/Sam and Lonnie Chatmon; Sonny Boy (Williamson) 2/Howlin Wolf’s sister/ Robert Lockwood, Johnnie Shines/ Melvin Taylor, Eddie Van Shaw Jr., Maurice John Vaughan   

Article summary: noted that it is proper to honor the elder statemen of blues, but equally important to praise the new comers; also noted that the blues is a family affair; 9 of the 22 featured artists are sons or relatives of older statemen; author believes the state of the blues is in good hands going forward; 2 have international fame; 11 have good national audiences; six have strong regional support

Lurrie Bell-

-artists mentioned: Carey Bell, Fenton Robinson, B.B. King, Magic Sam, Albert Collins, New Generation of Chicago Blues, Sons of the Blues (SOB Band), Koko Taylor, Eddie C. Campbell, Eddy Clearwater,

Article summary:  b. 1958; author lists his brief musical history, bands played with an recordings made; at least one trip to Europe

Billy Branch

-artists mentioned: Jimmy Walker, Willie Dixon, McKinley Mitchell, SOB Band

Article summary: b. 1952; credits Willie Dixon for his success; in addition to extensive tours (Europe and Canada), he is active in Urban Gateways blues education

Barbara Carr

-artists mentioned: The Comets Combo, The Petities, Oliver Sain, Fontella Bass, Johnnie Johnson

Article summary: active in St. Louis since 1963; long associated with Oliver Sain; a breakout record with Johnnie Johnson in 1988; strong first solo LP led to national tours

C.J. Chenier:

-artists mentioned: Clifton Chenier

Article summary: b. 1957; started as a trumpeter; always interested in music, but late to come to zydeco and the accordion (only when his father got sick, then died); one LP on Arhoolie (his dad’s long-time label)

Robert Cray

-artists mentioned: One Way Street, Albert Collins, Richard Cousins

Article summary b. 1953: army child, moved frequently; moved to Tacoma in 1968, then Portland, Oregon; inspired by Albert Collins; first LP recorded in 1978, released in 1980; career took -off with second LP in 1982; now a major cross-over star touring with rock bands; multiple Handy Award winner; seen as the hope for the future of the blues

Vasti Jackson

-artists mentioned; Tower of Soul, Black Cotton, Z.Z. Hill, Johnny Taylor, Katie Webster, Bobby Rush

Article summary:  b. 1959; multi-talented instrumentalist, band leader, producer associated with Malaco Records; currently playing with Katie Webster; has toured throughout America but likes playing/living in Mississippi

The Kinsey Report

-artists mentioned: Ralph, Donald, & Kenneth Kinsey, Lester “Big Daddy” Kinsey, Albert King, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Peter Tosh, Ron Price 

Article summary:  sons of a famous father; recorded two LPs with their father, and two solo Lps; band broke up while Donald played reggae and with Albert King, but came back together in 1985

Trudy Lynn

-artists mentioned: Little Milton, Ike & Tina Turner, Z.Z. Hill, Gary B.B. Coleman

Article summary: Houston’s First Lady of Soul; toured as a featured singer with other bands; first hit single in 1984; first LP in 1988

Johnny B. Moore

-artists mentioned: the Gospel Keys, Charles Spier, L.C. Roby and the Presidents, Willie Dixon, Koko Taylor,

Article summary: b. 1950 in Mississippi but moved to Chicago as a teen; toured with Koko Taylor and Willie Dixon in the 70s; first solo work starting in 1975; several recordings made in Europe; classic “West Side” Chicago guitar stylist

J.E. Morgan

-artists mentioned: Ju-Par Universal Orchestra, Houston Stackhouse Jr

Article summary: aka: Gone for Good Morgan; active in Arkansas after time in Detroit; has a radio show and involved in a club/management company (with Stackhouse Jr.); has recorded one LP after a regional hit single

Kenny Neal

-artists mentioned: Raful Neal, Lazy Lester, Slim Harpo, the Neal Brothers, Bob Greenlee

Article summary: started playing with his father at 13, and bass with Buddy Guy at 18; first LP recorded in Florida in 1987; rereleased by Alligator in 88; second LP in 89; both LPs reached number one on the blues charts; considered one of the brightest young stars on the scene

Lucky Peterson

-artists mentioned: Wille Dixon, Kenny Neal, Rufus Thomas, Lazy Lester

Article summary: real name: Judge Kenneth Peterson; son of blues guitarist, nightclub owner James Peterson; playing organ - first record at age 5 appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and the Tonight Show as a child prodigy; started playing with Little Milton at age 17 (3 years) then went with Bobby Blue Bland; toured and recorded in Europe in 1986 ; moved to Florida in 1988; back up musician for several people on Kingsnake Records; 1988 LP on Alligator has him playing guitar as well as keyboards

Lonnie Pitchford

Article summary: lives in Mississippi; plays six-string guitar but best known for playing one stringed guitar (diddley-bow); has recorded in Europe and one side of an LP in Atlanta; youngest artist to play at the National Downhome Blues Festival in 1984

Lonnie Shields

-artists mentioned: Sam Carr, the Unforgettable Blues Band, Frank Frost, Big Jack Johnson, B.B. King, Johnny Taylor, Z.Z. Hill

Article summary: b. 1956; modern Delta bluesman; started playing soul and funk but changed to blues after meeting Sam Carr; has recorded for Rooster (not yet released); Has played the Chicago Blues Festival

Guitar Slim Jr.

-artists mentioned: Guitar Slim (Eddie Jones)

Article summary: famous father died when he was 8; grew up on the streets of New Orleans; debut LP in 1988 was nominated for a Grammy (predominantly reproductions of his father’s greatest hits)

Chris Thomas

-artists mentioned: Tabby Thomas, Slim Harpo, Silas Hogan, Arthur Kelly, Henry Gray

Article summary: -age 24; grew up playing Baton Rouge blues, but an extremely individualistic guitarist; has recorded one 45 and one LP; second Lp to come out soon; now lives in Austin, Texas

Joe Louis Walker

-artists mentioned: Howlin’ Wolf, Rosco Gordon, Amos Milburn, Earl Hooker, Fred McDowell, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Mike Bloomfield, Nancy Wright,

Article summary: b. 1949 in San Francisco; first recording in the 60s still unissued; 3 LPs (1986-88, 89; cover artists of LB # 87; popular in England

John Watkins

-artists mentioned: Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Koko Taylor, Willie Dixon , James Cotton, Son Seals, Koko Taylor, Lonnie Brooks, Jimmy Johnson

Article summary: regular house musician at Chicago’s Theresa’s Lounge in the 70s; joined Willie Dixon’s All Stars in 1973; one LP in Europe, now available in the USA; member of Alligator Records: the New Bluebloods

Valerie Wellington

-artists mentioned: Lee Shot Williams, Sunnyland Slim, Son Seals, Jimmy Johnson, Lefty Dizz, Magic Slim, Lacy Gibson, Albert Collins, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey

Article summary: b. 1959; started performing on piano at age 15; has song opera, done theatre (playing Ma Rainey in a Bessie Smith play, also appeared and TV and a major movie; one LP in 1983; compared to Bessie Smith

Lynn White

-artists mentioned: Big Ike Darby, B. B. King, Willie Mitchell

Article summary:  b. 1953; found working as a cashier in Big Ike Darby’s famous record store in Mobile, Alabama; several 45s in the 70s including two big regional hits; four LPs starting in 1982; has toured nationally with B.B. King, currently living in Memphis

Phil Wiggins

-artists mentioned: (John) Cephas, Flora Molton, John Jackson, Hound Dog Taylor, Sunnyland Slim, Eddie Shaw, Johnny Shines, Hammie Nixon, Sonny Terry, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson (No. 2), Big Chief Ellis;

Article summary: b. 1954; half of most acclaimed current country blues team; has recorded two LPs with Cephas and toured the world as part of a government sponsored agency tour; involved with Washington DC theater group; has consistently played as part of a duet (first with Molton, then Ellis, then Cephas) 

Lil Ed Williams

-artists mentioned: J.B. Hutto, James “Pookie” Young

Article summary: b. 1955 in Chicago; taught by Hutto; discovered by Bruce Iglauer of Alligator Records working in a car wash; powerful first LP with Alligator in 1986 recorded “live” in studio with no second takes; recent second LP

Blues On Canvas: Fredrick Brown by Helen Doob Lazar

-artists mentioned: Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson (No.2), Lightnin’ Hopkins, Earl Hooker, Brook Benton, B.B. King, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, Ray Charles, Roosevelt Sykes, Z.Z. Top, Magic Sam, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Blake, Bessie Smith, James Cotton, Tampa Red,

Article summary: 37 blues portrait paintings; solo show in China, born in Georgia, raised in Chicago; now living in NYC; raised in Chicago lived near blues stars, and listened to Pervis Spann on the radio; father owned a popular pool hall and shoe shine stand on the South Side of Chicago; got the idea to paint bluesmen after a trip to Mississippi and seeing the Muddy Waters home on display in the Clarksdale MS Delta Blues museum; also moved initially by the deaths of Earl Hooker and Magic Sam  both of whom he saw in Copenhagen in 1969 with the American Folk Blues Festival  shortly before their deaths; paints who he like to listen to, but combines artists who never played together in “dream band” scenarios  (typically of the same era but not necessarily related in their music; inspired by the music, not by the appearance of the musicians he paints; painted the 37 portraits in one continuous, short burst of creativity; still others he might paint later, but has moved on to another inspiration at this point; his blues paintings have sold to collectors in European countries and throughout America   

Sterling Plumpp: A Blues Poet, by Jacques Lacava

-artists mentioned: Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Hound Dog Taylor, Willie Dixon, SOB Band/Chi-Town Hustlers, Billy Branch, J.W. Williams, B.B. King,

Article summary: raised in Mississippi; now University of Chicago English professor; award winning poet (Carl Sandburg Literary Award) second book of blues related poems; rare intellectual who follows blues; grew up near Silvio’s nightclub (famous home club of Wolf); seen in major movie: Mississippi Blues; as a poet, he has been most inspired by the cadence and tone of Muddy Waters; blues is the language of the working man (not intellectuals); first inspired by James Baldwin (“Sonny’s Blues”); has written a play that features a band behind his words; also performed with solo harpist Billy Branch; extremely prolific; writes some of his poems in blues clubs while listening to live music; article ends with a long poem called “Blues/Scapes” (in 9 parts), inspired by Carl Weathersby    

The Blues Had a Baby: A List of Songs Copied by Rock, Soul, and Pop Artists, by Howery Pack

-artists mentioned in the introduction or pictured: Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, Big Mama Thornton, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, the Grateful Dead, Derek & the Dominoes, Sonny Boy Williamson, Sam Cooke, Otis Rush, Eddie Burns, Bobby Bland, Albert Collins, James Cotton, Willie Dixon, Lowell Fulson, Albert King, John Lee Hooker, Koko Taylor, Snooky Pryor, Doctor Ross, Rockin’ Sidney, /

Article summary: updating of an article from LB #76; most covered songs: Hound Dog and Baby What You Want Me To Do; most covered performers: Muddy Waters and Jimmy Reed; most copied performances by Eric Clapton (question whether he is in fact a bluesman not a rock star) Tampa Red, Mick (and the Rolling Stones); list based on reading lots of sources, and the input of friends and associates; 83 blues artists listed as having been copied

 

Blues Rare and Well Done by Ron Weinstock

-artists mentioned:  Albert King, Son Seals, Z.Z. Hill, Robert Cray, Various artists: Living Country Blues USA (L&R-Cephas & Wiggins, Boogie Bill Webb, Son Thomas, CeDell Davis, Flora Molton, Frank Hovington, Sam Chatmon, Cora Fluker), Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Professor Longhair, Albert Collins, Kok Taylor, Clifton Chenier, John Cephas & Phil Wiggins, Henry Townsend, Blind Lemon Jefferson, B.B. King 7 Bobby Bland, Big joe Williams, Floyd Dixon, Lonnie Johnson/ artist mentioned within the list but not part of it: Otis Rush, Johnny Winter, Elmore James, the Myers Brothers (Louis and Dave), Otis Spann, Johnnie Jones, Fred below, Willie Dixon, Odie Payne, Charlie Parker, Sam Lawhorn, Earl Hooker, Roosevelt Sykes, Walter Davis, John Lee Williamson, Charlie Musselwhite, Charles Brown, Amos Milburn, Ed Bell 

Article summary: writer lists/reviews 20 favorite (not meant to be a “best of” list) LPs that have come out in the 20 years that LB has been published; many that slipped through the cracks and haven’t been reviewed previously in LB; list includes three anthologies including previously reviewed 21-LP Piano Blues set on the Matchbox label 

List of Adverts

Miller Genuine Dr
aft 1990 Band Network (6 bands listed), p. i

Clarence Gatemouth Brown/Alligator Records, p.3

1990 (updated) Blues Directory, p. 8

Blind Pig Records, p. 9

Cold Wind Records, p. 9

George Jackson/Amblin’ Inc., p. 11

Blind Willie’s (Atlanta nightclub and T-shirts), p. 13

2-Speed Music Study Recorder/ Workshop Records, p. 13

University of Mississippi Southern Studies Program, p. 13

Living Blues Back Issues (for sale), p. 23

Bay Blues (magazine), p. 23

Happy 20^th Anniversary LB (from Ichiban Records), p. 23

Fleet Starbuck/Suniland Records, p. 31

Congratulations to LB on 20 years (from Drink Small & Charles Derrick Mgr., p. 31

Hans Theessink (Coming to America), p.31

James Harman, Rivera Records, p. 35

5^th Annual Detroit Indoor Blues Festival, p. 35

Ace Video & Music-4 page insert pp. 39-42

Blues & Rhythm and the Gospel Truth (magazine), p. 43

Living Blues Bumper Stickers, p. 43

Finigan Productions/Saffire Uppity Blues Women, p. 43

Sing Out Folk song magazine, p. 43

Bull Durham Blues Festival T-shirt, p. 43

Wavelength (New Orleans music magazine), p. 43

Back Porch Blues (band and LP), p. 43

Silent Partners/Mel Brown/Antone’s Records, p. 47

4^th Annual King Biscuit Blues Festival, p. 47

Down Home Music, Special Mail Order Sale, p. 47

Rejoice (gospel magazine), p. 57

Earwig Music Catalog, p. 57

Stackhouse/Delta Record Mart, p. 58

F.A.R.M. (Foundation of American Roots Music)/Charles Brown, p.59

Michael “Hawkeye” Herman/ Redwood Music, p. 59

Blues Man Willie/Fix My Rooster/Energy Records, p. 59

H-Bomb Ferguson/Papa Lou Records/Vetco Enterprises, p. 59

Martin Luther King Jr/Goldwax, p. 59

Solo Blues (magazine, cards, T-shirts)/Muddy Waters discography, p. 63

Jewel Records, p. 63

Chicago Blues Poster by James Fraher, p. 63

Mississippi Department of Archives/Jailhouse Blues/Rosetta Records, p. 63

Magic Slim, p. 63

Robert Lucas, Across the River/ Delta Man Music, p. 63

Old time Country (magazine), p. 66

Vanguard Records (CD reissues), p. 67

Blues Archive (seeking donations), p. 67

The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Country Music, p. 67

Alligator Records, p. 68

Acoustic Archives/Sonny Boy Williamson & Willie Love (Trumpet reissues), p. 76

Classified Ads, pp. 78-80

Living Blues Bumper Stickers, p. 78

University Microfilms International, p. 78

Elderly Instruments, p. 80

Wolf Records (Austria), p. 81

Chess Records/ Muddy Waters Box, p. 82 (Back cover)

Number of Pages: 80 + covers

Published by the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi.