LIVING BLUES Magazine #114 (1994) LITTLE MILTON Albert Collins SACRAMENTO BLUES

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Seller: Top-Rated Seller stackhouse232 ✉️ (8,145) 100%, Location: Kansas City, Missouri, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 154866954617 LIVING BLUES Magazine #114 (1994) LITTLE MILTON Albert Collins SACRAMENTO BLUES. Contents description by former Living Blues contributor Edward Meyer:

Living Blues # 114, April 1994, Little Milton, Robert Plunkett, Buddy Scott, Sacramento Blues, A Tribute to Albert Collins, Festivals ‘94

Cover Photo : Little Milton, by James Fraher

Editorial by David Nelson

Artist mentioned: Little Milton, Big Jack Johnson

Article summary: new look to the magazine, including soy-based inks, arriving in a protective bag, new glossy paper, a new printer/ a welcome back to Jim O’Neal (who was never 100% gone), with one of the longest interviews ever featured in the magazine ( Little Milton -24 pages); so despite looking slicker, the magazine has kept its integrity and quality, and its editorial promise to promote little known black artists outside the mainstream/magazine was late due to ice storms in February that closed down parts of Mississippi-specifically Clarksdale and Cleveland/ announcement of Living Blues Award ballots to appear in the next issue/ a new designer hired full time; several other employee changes as most employees are interns from the University of Mississippi

Letters to the Editor

George Harmonica Smith- Letter from Roger Wade

-artists mentioned: George Harmonica Smith, Little Walter, William Clarke, Rod Piazza, Mark Hummel, Muddy Waters, Larry Adler

Article summary: new reader to the magazine dismayed at the lack of coverage of George Smith; believes Smith was a better chromatic player than Little Walter; cites how many people Smith directly –taught (most of the current harpists on the scene – the Californian sound)—see LB #58 (obituary)  

A Few Corrections – Letter from Guido Van Rijn (the Netherlands)

-artists mentioned: James “Son” Thomas, Johnnie Johnson

Article summary: writer offers corrections and additions to the Thomas discography printed in the last two issues of LB; filling in may details regarding European recordings; writer previously ran Agram  Records but has temporarily stopped production to concentrate of writing a PhD thesis blues book about presidents and war blues

Letter from Gary Erwin

-artists mentioned: Big Boy Henry

Article summary: author is appreciative of a earlier revue of a Big Boy Henry LP, but notes that because of arthritis, Henry has not played guitar in three years (he just sang on the LP); under medical care, but recovery will take some time

Tapes Gathering Dust – Letter from Peter Comings

Artists mentioned: Bukka White, Big Mama Thornton, Son Seals, Luther Allison, Mississippi Fred McDowell

Article summary: a college radio deejay is in possession of a series of blues tapes made in the early 1970s and asks how to preserve the tapes and the ethics of possibly releasing the material in commercial form

Blues News -compiled by Mary Katherine Aldin

-artists mentioned: Albert Collins, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King (won Grammy), Taj Mahal, Alligator Records (Various artists); Robben Ford and the Blue Line, Buddy Guy (won Grammy), John Mayall, Paul Rodgers, Johnny Winter; blues were also represented in film-soundtrack and Liner notes categories/Rhythm & Blues Foundation Awards given to Little Richard, Otis Blackwell, Jerry Butler, Clarence Carter, Don Covay, Bill Doggett, Mable John, Ben E. King, Johnny Otis, Earl palmer, Irma Thomas, the Coasters/Robins, the Shirelles/ Willie Dixon / Henry Townsend/Lonnie Pitchford/ B.B. King, Bobby Bland, John Lee Hooker/ Ruth Brown/Wynnetria McKnight (age 9), LaSandra Simon (age 12), Steven Simmons (age 10)-taught by Johnnie Billington and Big Jack Johnson

Article summary: Grammy nominations & winners announced; Rhythm and Blues Foundation winners listed/ Willie Dixon inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland (Dixon died 10 days later)/ Dixon’s Blues Heaven Foundation donated 600 musical instruments to a school in NYC and is now collecting instruments to give to a school in Nevada in memory of Matt Oganesov ( a deceased student-blues fan); sixth year the Foundation has been in operation/ Henry Townsend played a rare gig in Louisville, Kentucky, on behalf of a racial diversity cultural group/ Chicago’s Harold Washington Library to feature a blues photography exhibit for a full year- with a different photographer every second month (6 Photographers in total)-sponsored by the Chicago Blues Archives / photo of Lonnie Pitchford and LB editor David Nelson with guitar contest entry forms, the winning form and the guitar drawn for; photo taken at Muddy Waters’ house on Stovall’s Plantation, MS/ South Central Blues Club, Babe and Ricky’s Inn - a thirty year old club saved by songwriters Leiber and Stoller (who paid off the owner’s $9,000 debt)/singer Ruth Brown lost her house, her dog and many possessions in a California earthquake/ students from Clarksdale area Blues in the School program presented a concert to 600 students in a school in Alabama (funded by a National Endowment for the Folk Arts)

Corrections & Amplifications:

Artists mentioned: “Pygmy Head” Bob Anderson mislabeled as Pee Wee Madison; J.B. Hutto mislabeled as Frank Kirkland in issue #112

Festivals ’94 – compiled by Elizabeth Hagood and Jacques Depoorter

-article summary: an alphabetical list, state by state, listed chronologically within each state, of blues festivals in the United States (152), Canada (3) and 10 foreign countries (32)

Alabama (6), Arizona (2), Arkansas (6), California (16), Colorado (2), Connecticut (1), District of Columbia (2), Florida (6), Georgia (2), Hawaii (3), Illinois (3), Indiana (2), Iowa (1), Kentucky (5), Louisiana (7), Maine (1), Maryland (1), Massachusetts (2), Michigan (5), Minnesota (2), Mississippi (17), Missouri (2), Nevada (1), New Hampshire (2), New Jersey (1), New York (6), North Carolina (6), Ohio (4), Oklahoma (3), Oregon (3), Pennsylvania (7), South Carolina (1), South Dakota (1), Tennessee (9), Texas (4), Utah (1), Virginia (2), Washington (4), Wisconsin (3)/ Canada (3), Australia (1), Austria (1), Belgium (6), England (4), Finland (1), France (2), Germany (4), Japan (1), the Netherlands (8), Norway (1), Switzerland (3)

Little Milton , by Jim O’Neal and Patty Johnson (note the interview is a compilation of two interviews done 16 years apart: 1978 & 1994)

-artists mentioned: Gene Autry, Joe Campbell, Lowell Fulson, Eddie Cusic, Little Bill Wallace, Lonnie Holmes, Willie Love, Otis Green (Big Bear), Re-Bops/Red Tops, Houston Boines, Big Moose Walker, Cleanhead Love, Sonny Boy Williamson-Rice Miller, the Chocolate Drops, (King) Mack Simmons, Charlie Booker, Joe Willie Wilkins, James Peterson, T-Bone Walker, Lonnie Johnson, B.B. King, Elvis (Presley), Playmates of Rhythm, Howlin’ Wolf, Elmore James, Ike Turner, Jackie Brenston, Raymond Hill, Roy Brown, Fats Domino, Big Joe Turner, Ann Margret, Tina Turner, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich, Jesse Knight, Willie Sims, the Bad Boys, C.W. Tate, Billy Gayles, James Carr, Drew Carr, Lawrence Taylor, Little Wynn, Lonnie  Haynes (“Cool Breeze”), Willie Dotson, Oliver Sain, Willie (Burl) Carson (musician and police officer), Otis “Red” Boyd, Chuck Berry, Johnny O’Neal, Clayton Love, Roy Hamilton, Percy Mayfield, Jerry Walker, Leon Bennett (aka “Turkey Red”), Albert King, Roosevelt Marks, George Hudson, Count Basie, Fontella Bass, The Earthworms, Larry Prothro, Billy Davis, Calvin Carter, Gene Barge, Lucky Peterson, Bobby Bland, George Strait, Vince Gill , Chuck Willis, Fats Domino, Al Jackson, Artie White, Vernon Garrett, Tyrone Davis, Denise LaSalle, Lattimore, Millie Jackson, Koko Taylor, Charles Wilson, The All Stars (his current band): Tony Brown, Al  Wilder, Ron Hurt, Steve Maylor,  Danny Patterson, Lynette Love, Scrap Iron (Frank Robinson), Willie Nelson, Earth Wind & Fire, the Commodores, Magic Slim & the Teardrops  

Article summary: bought his first guitar -mail order for $14.40, money he saved from chopping cotton; grew up on a plantation; real name James Milton Campbell; kept a day job, and picked cotton when necessary; played for whites and blacks (separately)- whites liked boogie and country western, so he played country when required ; discusses the Greenville blues (club) scene of the early ‘50s; T-Bone was his hero; met him once in Mississippi, then again later in Chicago; Milton moved first to East St. Louis  in 1955 (before Chicago in the ‘60s); considered Wolf a great performer, impossible to follow on a show; Wolf gave him a pair of cufflinks; Milton was an honorary pall bearer at Wolf’s funeral; recalls recording for Trumpet: in a furniture store with bed mattresses used as sound baffles; Ike Turner took him to Sun Records in Memphis; had his own radio show out of Greenville with a Memphis cosmetic  (Lucky Hearts) company as sponsor; tells how anybody could have a radio show for a cost ($10-$20 an hour-typically during the day); Willie Love’s show was very popular and Milton played on it many times (in addition to his own show-which he got with help from Love; Love also played with the King Biscuit Entertainers show in Helena, Arkansas); Greenville had the first black policeman in the Delta, but he wasn’t allowed to arrest a white person (he could him, but would have to call in a white officer to officially charge him); openly discusses racism, but says he didn’t experience it in Greenville proper, and that though different in ways it was worse in the north (St. Louis & Chicago); moved North for better jobs and better money; lots of work in St Louis and only Ike as competition, so Milton could play two gigs in  the same night and Sunday matinees too without having to travel more than a couple hours away on both sides of the river (Ilinois and Missouri); did live broadcasts from the bigger clubs (radio station KATZ); Albert King became the third band in town in the late ‘50s, early ‘60s ; started recording with Chess circa 1964 and was a nationally touring band by the time he moved to Chicago in 1967; didn’t like the way producers fought at Chess, so he started to produce himself; moved to Stax shortly after Leonard Chess’s death (1969-70); at Stax he added horns and strings; from Stax he went to TK Glades (Miami, FL)—but did the recordings in Chicago; three labels in a row went belly up just as he was hitting new peaks; unsigned for a few years at the end of the ‘70s-early ‘80s making 45s for a few small labels; signed with MCA, but his producer died- no second LP ever happened ; eventually wound up at Malaco in the mid-‘80s ; believes country & western is white blues: music with real stories; comments on the presentation and expectation of some audiences that a bluesman should look shabby and “country” rather than professional; key to his commercial  success is feeling the songs he sings and making them his own (distinct), happy with all his records-all good, and true to his feeling; has continually learned the music business-the more you know, the more you can control, which means the  more money you will make (and the less other people can steal from you); says most of his records only take a couple days to make; he records his guitar with the band, but does his vocals separately after he has the basic track complete ; at Malaco others are involved (and credited) with the production but he says he is in charge, and knows exactly what he wants; oversees all aspects of the overdubs and mixes-retains control; cautious of “over-producing’ and strives not to lose the soul (his personality) in any of his recordings ; has his own booking agency/production company with his wife as office manager (books himself); cut three pieces out of his band-tours with six musicians, a road manger and a bus driver; maintains an apartment in Memphis (more convenient for gigging in the South and Midwest than Chicago); at one time he was planning to live in Memphis, but it got ugly after Martin Luther King’s assassination (and then Stax folded), so he stayed in Chicago (Still his prime residence though he doesn’t spend much time there); has never played on the Las Vegas Strip (like B.B. King)- admits he would like to, but notes Vegas has changed and it is no longer a significant goal – replaced by the casinos in Tunica, MS; long history of gambling in Tunica under Harold Hardface Clanton; not working as much as he used to and often loses money on gigs, but he continues to hustle (and believes you have to hustle to succeed- you can’t wait for someone to hand you success on a platter; happy about the gentrification of Beale Street, saying it is good for local musicians, but hasn’t helped him in any way (no one thinks of him as a Memphis-local performer); notes he doesn’t work much in his hometown of Greenville either (his success has priced him out of the local scene); still playing mainly for middle-age to older blacks, with a small younger following-as much as 80% of his audience is female; doesn’t want to change just to get a white audience-wants them to accept his music the way it is (wishes to remain true to himself); he wants to stay versatile, doesn’t want to get bored playing just for a crowd and not for himself as well [a paragraph from the 1978 interview related to the same subject-question was left in despite it contradicting what he said in 1994; in the earlier interview he says he was playing 98% for blacks and doing modern R &B in order to stay on black radio and give his audience what they expect to hear; the two paragraphs offer a unique glance at the change in his career, attitude, and the blues music scene in general]; comments on the lack of airplay making it hard to win new fans for his current music (they haven’t heard it, and still think he is playing his songs from the 1960s; in his live shows, his band opens with R&B, then he sings (without his guitar), before turning to older pure blues material on the guitar; only plays straight blues if he is with musicians who haven’t played with him before and don’t know his music (specifically when he is in Europe without his regular band); the first time he recorded his International Blues Anthem “The Blues is Alright” was in Europe with Magic Slim; his wish is for more exposure- up to people to like him or not, but wants them to hear him so they can make up their own minds

Robert Plunkett: I Think I Had a Little Magic , by John Anthony Brisbin

-artists mentioned: Eddie Shaw, Johnny Dollar, Elmore James, Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller), Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Dawkins, Ricky Allen, Jimmy Reed, Magic Sam, Hip Linkchain, Otis Rush, Freddie King, Calvin Jones, Muddy Waters, John Little John, Aron Burton, Homesick Williamson, Muddy Waters, Tampa Red, Johnnie Jones, Odie Payne, Little Walter, Baby Face Leroy, Jimmy Rogers, Memphis Minnie, Willie Johnson, Jody Williams, Earl Phillips , Sunnyland Slim, Sylvester Plunkett (brother), Floyd Jones, Eddie Clearwater, Snooky Pryor, Walter Horton, Herbert Plunkett (brother), Little Arthur Duncan, Leroy Brant, Buster Brown, Freddie King, Bobby Rush, Willie James Lyons, Luther Allison, Tyrone Davis, Eddie C. Campbell, Mr. Tee (T. J. McNulty), Magic Sam, B.B. King, Big Jackson, Shorty Stallworth, J.T. Brown, Albet King, Little Milton, Robert Nighthawk, Earl Hooker, John Littlejohn, Pinetop Perkins, Little Mack Simmons, Ernie Gatewood, Billy Shelby (aka Cadillac Shelby, aka Billy Wade), A.C. Reed, Ernest Thomas, Ivory Williams, Lee Jackson, Jimmy Walker, Bonnie Lee, Big Time Sarah, Arlean Brown, Fenton Robinson, Jimmy Reed, Hubert Sumlin, Kansas City Red , Albert Collins, Detroit Junior, Willie Kent, Luther Guitar Junior Johnson

Article summary: Chicago singer-drummer (born in Mississippi); started playing music just to get women; has played with a who’s who of Chicago musicians from two generations (50s- thru 80s); affectionate lover of people; lived briefly in Oklahoma; played Diddley bow and sang while growing up; recalls meeting and hearing Sonny Boy and Elmore on a daily radio broadcast from a drug store in Belzoni advertising a medicine called “Talaho” [or Tallaho]; went to Chicago in 1946; surprised by Memphis Minnie- a woman playing an electric guitar (she could hold her own against any man); had two brothers who were playing, who with Arthur Duncan pushed him into playing drums for the first time; quickly got good, and drummers were always in demand (always work available for a drummer); first important gigs were with Freddie King in 1957 ; longtime friendship with Aron Burton; lived with two women at the same time; notorious ladies’ man always drove fancy Cadillacs to woo the women; played seven years with Eddie Shaw (1985-92); finally settled down with one woman but she got killed in  motorcycle accident; joined Elmore James in 1959; compares all the major slide players, but concludes Elmore was the best; reveals that Elmore was more interested in whiskey than women; tells how Homesick took care of him and wouldn’t let him drink with Elmore; Elmore kept him around primarily because he owned a car, and Elmore didn’t (Elmore needed a driver more than he needed a drummer!); Plunkett was with Elmore the night before he died and was supposed to play with him that night at Big Bill’s Copa Cabana Club; joined Sonny Boy for 2+ years after James’ death; Sonny Boy could play three harps at once (small one all the way in his mouth, one outside his mouth and one with his nose); drove Sonny Boy to the bus station the last time he went south to die—told Plunkett that was why he was going; Plunkett believes he was the last man in Chicago to see him; started to play with Ricky Allen; met his second wife; knew Muddy Waters (another ladies’ man), but never played with him; was with Little Walter three days before his murder; considered Walter a mean guy, hard to play with; always got along well with older bluesmen (they always ‘fathered” him); Wolf chased him for five years  before he finally joined his band in 1970; Wolf was a very strict band leader, but was a great guy; left Wolf shortly before his death to move back south; opened his own nightclub near Canton MS; fundamentally run out of town by jealous whites; he left his second wife over money problems and returned to Chicago in 1985; played with Johnny Littlejohn until he got sick, then played with Luther Johnson until he moved to Boston, then hooked back up with Eddie Shaw; didn’t like the  music at first, but settled in after a few months; been drumming and singing for over 40 years, but still has not made a record under his own name; some bitterness towards both Shaw and Dawkins for breaking promises regarding singing on their records

Buddy Scott, The Nicest Man in Show Business , by Steven Sharp

-artists mentioned: the Rib Tips, T-Bone Walker, Scott Brothers World, Tyrone Davis, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson (No.1), Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Washboard Sam, “Odell”, Jimmy Johnson, the Matadors, the Victors, the Masqueraders, Howard & Walter Scott (brothers), Earl Hooker, Lee Jackson, Syl Johnson, Little Mack Simmons, Lee “Shot” Williams, McKinley Mitchell, Arelean Brown, Sam Lay, Hubert Sumlin, Count Basie, Henderson Smith, Charlie Parker, Kenny Burrell, Phillip Upchurch, Joe Moss, Kevin Walker, Derwin Johnson, Pat Scott, Wayne Garrett, Little Johnny Scott, Junior Wells, Queen Sylvia Embry, Edmond Earl Farr, Vance Kelly, Melvina Allen, Chaka Khan, Kenneth Scott Jr (son)

Article summary: aka: the “Illinois King of the Blues”; patriarch of a large family of musicians -4 generations (died during the printing of this story-story published posthumously); played guitar and bass on many records; recorded for Alligator (Living Chicago Blues Series-4 songs), and one full LP under his leadership name (1992); still performed a long-time weekend gig even from a wheel chair until the date of his death/born in Mississippi in  large family; family fled to Chicago after his father broke the jaw of a white man (Scott was 5); his father later died a mysterious death while working for the Chicago railroad; lived poor; quit school; boxed for a while; several of the siblings sang and played in church, but like his mother, he was interested in blues from an early age; his mother played guitar (for money), but never taught him; she was friends with John Lee Williamson and Washboard Sam; relates a story of finding Sonny Boy Williamson’s slain body (but the details do not match the official police report -he says Williamson was killed by his wife); started playing guitar at age 16; started as a singer; ladies’ man (but didn’t drink or smoke); tells of Wolf’s toughness as a band leader and his breaking Hubert Sumlin’s teeth; didn’t stay with Wolf or Muddy long because he always wanted his own band and wanted to play more than just blues; enjoys playing anything-whatever the audience wants to hear; has taught several younger musicians and always lets newcomers play with the band; nicknamed the “Godfather”; known to be kind and generous to all musicians; several heart attacks; loss of the use of his legs (liquid build-up [high blood pressure—at the time of the interview he said he doubted he would ever walk again; a sad prophecy]

Sacramento Blues, Part One , by Maureen Jung

-artists mentioned: Johnny Heartsman, Omar Sharriff, Little Charlie & the Nightcats, Al Arnett, Soul of the Blues, Glenn Lane, Richard Golde, Steve Gundhi, Marshall Jones, the Blues Ambassadors, Mel Walker, Gene Chambers, the Sensations, Blues Crusaders, Dave Bonds Band, Blusaders, Andrae Crouch, Edwin Hawkins, the Disciples, James Winegan, Arbess Williams, Aretha Franklin, Sam & Dave, Sam Cooke, Koko Taylor,

Article summary: historically there has been some good/well known blues performers in Sacramento but there is currently nowhere to play, and even the 17-year-old Sacramento Blues Festival is in danger of going extinct; founder of the festival started a record label, so there is some hope of rejuvenation; Arnett, from Georgia, at age 65, is the elder statesmen, but all of the artists featured have played for more than 20 years; Arnett played in Asia while in the Air Force; drummer Marshall Jones is from Louisiana; no distinct Sacramento sound, but influenced by Heartsman there is a jazz leaning; guitarist Gene Chambers was born in Kansas; saxophonist Steve Gundhi is from Louisiana and is thought of as a jazz musician, but says he plays “black modern music”; harmonica player James Winegan was born in Virginia, toured France with Heartsman in 1993; Texas born Jerry Banks has played drums for over 30 years typically playing gospel; only started playing blues in the 1970s; Arbess Williams was born in California; sang gospel with Aretha Franklin, Sam & Dave and Sam Cooke; nicknamed: “the Queen of Sacramento Blues”   

Al Arnett

-artists mentioned: Tiny Grimes, the Beatles, the Sensations, Lou Rawls, Lavern Baker, Nancy Wilson, Sam & Dave, Dick & Dee Dee, O.C. Smith, Johnny Otis, Bobby Blues” Ray, Everyday People, Dave Bonds Band, the Blues Ambassadors, Soul for the Blues, Glenn Lane

Article summary: started playing in 1941; first gig at age 18 in 1947 in Ohio; wore a false beard and glasses to look old enough to play in clubs; sang in church; taught guitar by Tiny Grimes; eventually switched to bass; served in the army in Korea; then joined the Air Force when the war was over and got shipped to France; played polka music in France; in Vietnam he played two different gigs 75 nights in a row (r &b on the first gig, country on the second gig); recorded an LP in Japan and had a regular daily tv spot twice a day (7:20 am and 7:20 pm) ‘60s-71; opened for the Beatles in Japan (1963) [sic: 1966]; lived like a star in Japan; been in Sacramento since 1972; had his own band for the last 5 years (Soul of the Blues); doesn’t tour-family man; drank heavy as a child; considers himself a jazz musician but can play anything   

Marshall Jones

-artists mentioned: Howlin’ Wolf, Johnny Heartsman, Big John Evans, Ray Cotton, Fred Casey, Frank Samuels, Johnny Adams, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, the Neville Brothers, B.B. King, Otis Redding, Muddy Waters; Johnny Ayers [sic Dyer?], Dave Bonds, Al Arnett, Gene Chambers, Troyce Key, Leonard Gill, Little Milton

Article summary: banged on pots, pans and boxes as a kid, using pecan tree twigs for sticks; as a kid he  heard country & western music on the radio; remembers hearing Howlin’ Wolf on the jukebox at the local juke joint/general store; moved to California at age 14; played his first gig with Heartsman at age 18; travelled the world as a merchant marine and played music all over Europe; heard lots of blues in San Francisco in the 1960s at the Filmore West (he lived in the Haight-Ashbury area in the Summer of Love; transferred with his job to Sacramento in the early 70s; played with Dave Bonds, another ex-Louisianan who had the most popular band in Oakland and the East Bay towns (Bonds got religion and stopped playing);career highlight was backing up Little Milton at the Sacramento Blues Festival, which let to other gigs with him; no plans to retire; plays regularly; prefers blues but plays other music as needed   

Gene Chambers

Artists mentioned: the House Rockers, James Brown, Al Arnett, Wayne Brady, the Sensations, Ike & Tina Turner, Joe Valentine and the Imperials, Everyday People, Dave Bonds, Al & Marshall Jones, Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield

Article summary: joined the military out of high school; went to Guam; sang and won a Guam talent contest in 1957; started playing guitar in Japan in 1962 (taught by a horn player); played James Brown-soul with other Air Force men, including Al Arnett and the Sensations (the top band in Japan); transferred to Texas, but Arnett convinced him to come to Sacramento where musicians were making more money (Arnett led three different bands and played every night); starting to sing more; says he is not the best player, but he plays with feeling and soul

Steve Gundhi

-artists mentioned: Bunk Johnson, Louis Armstrong, Gene Morris, Kirk Kirkland, Sonny King, Prince Harris, Pharaoh Saunders, John Coltrane, Ed Kelly, Smiley Winters, Maurice Jackson, Manny Goldsmith, Jimmy Butler, Michael White, Bird (Charlie Parker), Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Glenn Lane

Article summary: his dad played Dixieland style jazz cornet (Bunk Johnson was a neighbor); tried several instruments before settling on the saxophone at age 17; moved to San Francisco at age 20, then into a jazz co-op in Oakland-played up to 12 hours a day, what he calls classic black music; only recently started playing blues in the late ‘80s: “blues is the soul of jazz”; considers himself an experimental player, alwsys learning and changing   

James Winegan

-artists mentioned: John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Champion Jack Dupree, Junior Wells, Sonny Boy Williamson (No.2), Johnny Heartsman

Article summary: came from Virginia at age 11; went to college on a football scholarship; started on saxophone but couldn’t afford to purchase one, so switched to harmonica; came to Sacramento in the ‘70s; jammed with Johnny Heartsman; hit by racism-white bands got all the gigs; thinks Rap is creative and progressive, but he doesn’t like the anti-women lyrics, or the drug culture

Jerry Banks

-artists mentioned: Al Arnett

Article summary: started in gospel music; a soulful, not flashy drummer; stopped smoking and drinking which has improved his stamina; claims playing blues is hard and that playing blues is the lowest paying kind of music; hasn’t made money in 20 years; loves the interaction with the blues audience, plays the same whether there are two people or 2.000 people in the audience

Arbess Williams

Artists mentioned: the Mellowtones, Johnny Heartsman, Bill & Tank Williams (brothers)

Article summary: started singing at 15, playing professional at 18, but retired at 25; working as a hair dresser; starting singing again after 5 years when she moved to Sacramento; recognized while singing in Lake Tahoe; other members of the family all sang gospel; Williams still sings gospel and believes there is a soul connection between church and blues music; started playing Spanish music in San Diego with her brothers; writes  humorous music; likes to have a good time (drinks tequila), but doesn’t do profanity, and stays professional and feminine; worried about the future of blues in Sacramento; none heard on the radio; happy that she has fans of all ages; believes the blues is spiritual, but now plays rock and R&B as well in order to get gigs; music is the universal language

A Tribute to Albert Collins , complied by Brett Bonner (contributors: Pete Mayes, Joe Hughes, Gatemouth Brown, Dick Shurman, A.C. Reed, Koko Taylor, Bruce Iglauer, Johnny B. Gayden, Larry Burton, Casey Jones, Robert Cray)

-artists mentioned: Pete Mayes, Joe Hughes: Johnny Guitar Watson, Johnnie Copeland Gatemouth Brown, Lonnie Brooks, Luther Tucker, Barrelhouse, Jimmy Johnson, Booby Murray, Isaac Scott, Coco Montoya, Otis Rush, A.C. Reed, Lowell Fulson, Koko Taylor, Albert King, Etta James, Roy “Guitar” Gaines/T-Bone Walker, Aron Burton, Roy Brown, Johnny B. Gayden, Son Seals Larry Burton, Casey Jones, Robert Cray

Article summary: unique stylist, dynamite guitarist from an early age; taught younger guitarists, and had more fire than any other Texas guitarist; loved to jam; gracious, diplomat; toured small venues up and down the west coast in the late ‘60s-‘70s (post-Imperial and Tumbleweed recordings); had a contract with Bluesway but they went under leaving him without a contract for several years (before he signed with Alligator); changed band members regularly; befriended Dick Shurman in Seattle; Shurman took him to emergency dentist in ‘71; also wrote his first major piece of press LB #15; Shurman moved to Chicago in 1974 and lost touch with Collins but found him again at the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1977; brought him to Chicago for his very first gig in Chicago (with Lonnie Brooks in 1978), and took him to Holland the same year (where he recorded with Barrelhouse and made a tv appearance); intense player even in the studio; sings along with his solos (notes); didn’t feel comfortable as a singer for a long time; Shurman brought him to Alligator; three main things different between his live shows and his recordings: body language, lengthy (repetitive dance grooves, and sheer volume- Albert liked to play fully cranked up; the most influential West Coast guitarist, and eventually copied by Chicago guitarists too (after he started playing the Chicago clubs regularly – including Otis Rush); high praise from A. C. Reed and Koko Taylor (two musicians that toured with Albert a lot for several years (78-93));  Iglauer says he was the most physical performer he had ever seen when he first saw him in 1974; when Albert first came to Chicago he liked having an organist in the band, and claimed to “hear” (imagine) music best on an organ, (before trying to play it on a guitar); Iglauer paid him $1,000 for his first LP (Ice Pickin’), which was less than Collins wanted, but more than Iglauer had ever paid; Iglauer had never imagined he would have an international-non-Chicago-famous artist on his label (but he didn’t know that Collins still had a day job in Houston); nicknamed “the Razorblade” for music that cuts deep to the soul, but also for never arriving to a gig until the last minute (living  on the edge); had the genius ability to make any song his own, even if he had never heard it before ; exciting performer, but undisciplined leader and businessman (never prepared, typically late, not good at firing people); the Live in Japan LP is one complete set (no alterations, no reordering, no multiple performances to choose from-one continuous tape recorded as played and heard); always had time for his fans; polite and humble; Iglauer believes he and Shurman were perfect producers for Collins and he is proud that they got Albert to sing; Gayden loved the “Ice Pickin’” LP and sold multiple copies of it when he worked in a record store; was intimidated by Collins’ grimaces and frightful faces he made when playing and at first thought he had made mistakes and Albert was mad at him; Gayden calls him a father figure and a  friend (didn’t ever feel like he was a “boss”); playing with him was “fun”; it took a few years before they made good money but all the band enjoyed playing together -just like family-; the first Ice Pickers played on most of his Alligator LPs and stayed with him for 10-15 years, touring the world (including Japan); good sense of humor, and always fair/ the ultimate, take no prisoners guitar slinger

Obituaries

Big Jack Reynolds – age 72, by Matthew Donahue

-artists mentioned: Jimmy Reed, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Sonny Boy Williamson (No.2), Fats Waller, Eddie Burns, Bobo Jenkins, Eddie Kirkland, John Lee Hooker, the Griswold Brothers

Article summary: associated with Toledo, Ohio and Detroit; started on guitar before moving to harmonica; met Lemon Jefferson as a child in Georgia; parents were farmers; learned from records and musicians in minstrel shows and juke joints; stationed in Indiana during the war; went to Detroit after the war; got his nickname in Detroit on Hastings Street playing with all the best Detroit musicians; played with John Lee Hooker, and lived across the street from Sonny Boy Williamson for a while; when Hastings Street was torn down for urban renewal he moved to Toledo; few gigs but he continued to play thru the ‘70s-‘80s; recorded his first LP in 1987 (with the Griswold Brothers); played at the first Toledo blues festival in 1985; recorded a second “LP” (Cassette only) in 1989

Cooper Terry -1949-1993

-artists mentioned: Jerry Portnoy, Muddy Waters, Sonny Terry, B.B. King

Article summary: real name: Verl Cooper Jr., died of Aids; born in Texas, raised in California; worked a Graphic arts job with Jerry Portnoy, who introduced him to Sonny Terry, who got him hooked on the harmonica; lived in Italy from 1971-73; recorded 6 LPs in Europe; moved home to be with family during the final stages of his illness

Buddy Scott-died of cancer in Chicago

Silas Hogan

Grady “Fats” Jackson

Byron E. “Wild Child” Gipson

John Littlejohn

Papa John Creach

Eugene “Texas” Ray -1937-1993; Texas harmonica player recorded in the late 1950s and 1981

From the Archive , by Edward Komara

-artists mentioned: Big Joe Turner (real name Joseph Vernon Turner), Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters, Mamie Smith, Charlie Fisher, Bennie Moten, Count Basie, Andy Kirk, Jay McShann, Pete Johnson, James P. Johnson, Sonny Terry, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Big Bill Broonzy, Robert Johnson, Elmore James, Coleman Hawkins, King Curtis, Mundell Lowe, Lloyd Glenn

Article summary:  an appreciation of Big Joe Turner; raised by his mother; quit school in the 6th grade; sang on the streets of Kansas City until age 20; Kansas City under Thomas Pendergast was a wide-open town with gambling, drinking, prostitution and Kansas City Jazz – “defined as the riff and the blues”; brought to NYC by John Hammond in 1938, for the Carnegie Hall Spirituals to Swing Concert; concert was recorded but not released until 1958; recorded in the 40s for several labels including Okeh; recorded with Atlantic from 1951-1961, with the best in jazz; continued to record for Pablo Jazz Label thru the 1970s with Lloyd Glenn (after Johnson retired); survived changing trends thru 5 decades, but died poor; his wife and friends started a Big Joe Musician’s Fund to help other musicians with no health insurance / Article includes a request for donations to the archives and a thank you to past donors

Record Reviews

Various artists, The Blues: A Smithsonian Collection of Classic Blues Singers (Smithsonian Collections-Sony Music Special Products)

R.L. Burnside, Too Bad Jim (Fat Possum)

Oscar Perry, Still Blue (TSOT)

Koko Taylor, Force of Nature (Alligator)

Charles Brown, Just a Lucky So and So (Bullseye Blues)

Jerry McCain, I’ve Got the Blues All Over Me (Wild Dog Blues-Ichiban)

Artie “Blues Boy” White, Different Shades of Blue (Waldoxy)

Poonanny, Poonanny Be Still (Waldoxy)

Mike Griffin & The Unknown Blues Band, Gimme What I Got Comin’ (Waldoxy)

Aron Burton, Pat, Present and Future (Earwig)

Louisiana “Guitar” Red, You Crazy Baby (Uptown Video Records)

John Hammond, Trouble No More (Pointblank)

Booker T. Laury, Nothin’ But the Blues (Bullseye Blues)

Glenn Lane, Standing on the Edge of the Blues (Have Mercy)

Various artists, West Fresno Blues Masters, Vol. 1 (Fedora)

Mississippi Heat, Learned the Hardway (Van Der Lind)

Ruby Andrews, Ruby (Goldwax)

Guitar Crusher, Googa Mooga (Blue Sting-Belgium)

Phil Guy & Lurrie Bell, Chicago’s Hottest Guitars! (Wolf-Austria)

Calvin Owens, True Blue (Top Cat)

James Van Buren, Live at Littleton Town Hall (Van Buren Records & Tapes)

Diamond Teeth Mary, Walking Mary’s Blues (Upright)

Legendary Blues Band, Money Talks (Wild Dog Blues-Ichiban)

Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin, Down in the Alley (Alligator)

The Smokin’ Joe Kubek Band, Texas Cadillac (Bullseye Blues)

Carey Bell & Louisiana Red, Brothers in Blues (CMA Music)

Buddy Scott, Bad Avenue (Verve)

Hop Wilson, Houston Ghetto Blues (Bullseye Blues)

Albert King, The Ultimate Collection (Rhino)

Various artists, The Blues World of Little Walter (Delmark)

Eddie “One String” Jones & Edward Hazelton, One String Blues (Gazelle Documents)

Big Joe Williams, Willie Love, Luther Huff, Delta Blues 1951 (Alligator)

Various artists, A Taste of the Blues -Vol. 1 (Vee-Jay)

Various artists, A Taste of the Blues – Vol. 2 (Vee-Jay)

Professor Longhair, The Professor Longhair Anthology (Rhino)

Lightnin’ Hopkins, Lightnin! (Arhoolie)

Hip Linkchain, Airbusters (Evidence)

Ma Rainey, Complete Recorded Works -1928 (Document-Austria)

Luella Miller, Complete Recorded Works -1925-1928 (Document-Austria)

Lillian Glinn, Complete Recorded Works – 1927-1929 (Document-Austria)

Mae Glover, Complete Recorded Works – 1927-1931 (Document-Austria)

Arizona Dranes, Complete Recorded Works – 1926-1929 (Document -Austria)

Paul Butterfield-bio/Hohner Harmonica advert

Artists mentioned: Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Otis Rush, Magic Sam, Little Walter, Elvin Bishop, the Butterfield Blues Band

Article summary; born in Chicago; playing flute at age 10; harmonica at age 14; started jamming at age 16; met Elvin Bishop at the University of Chicago; discovered at the Northside Big John’s Club; played at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival  (first electric band to play the festival; backed up Bob Dylan in historic  first electric appearance); credited for reviving dying Chicago Blues; combined elements of folk and jazz with his blues; disbanded his first band in 1972; created the Better Days band; in 1976 he played with The Band at the historic Last Waltz concert (film); living and playing in California in the 1980s; died age 44; nicknamed his harp: the “heart’s horn”; played Marine Band Hohner harps  

Radio Charts

Top 20 for December 1993

Artists listed: Albert Collins, Robert Cray, Angela Strehli, Billy Boy Arnold, Jesse Austin, Jerry McCain, Bob Margolin, Sue Foley, J. Thackery & J. Mooney, H-Bomb Ferguson, Junior Wells, B.B. King, Joe Louis Walker, Eddie Burks, Taj Mahal, Kim Wilson, Mike Griffin & the Unknown Blues Band, Larry McCray, Solomon Burke, Debbie Davies

Top 20 for January 1994

Artists listed: Billy Boy Arnold, Bob Margolin, Koko Taylor, Sue Foley, Albert Collins, Joe Louis Walker, Robert Cray, Solomon Burke, Smokey Wilson, B.B. King, Angela Strehli, Debbie Davies, Legendary Blues Band, H-Bomb Ferguson, Kim Wilson, Jerry McCain, Taj Mahal, Hop Wilson, Jesse Austin, Mitch Woods

BluEstoterica by Jim O’Neal

-artists mentioned: Edna Johnson, Charlie Patton, Monroe Moe Jackson, Monroe Guy Jackson, Little Walter, Howlin Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson (No.2), Turner Junior Johnson, Cannon’s Jug Stompers,” John “Memphis Piano Red”, Jesse James Jefferson (Preacher Thomas), Willie Blackwell

Article summary: new feature to discuss blues minutiae; the files of the Library of Congress prewar blues are the last great untapped prewar archive; in doing research, the writer discovers a song labeled Manuwat Blues; research reveals it is a version of Minglewood Blues, a song associated with Memphis artists; “town” actually just a sawmill, with the name “Mengel Wood”; transcribers at the Library made numerous bad guesses at pronunciations, which in some cases were made even worse by Dixon & Godrich’s discography transcriptions; most unusual of all songs- 1942- “ Junian, A Jap’s  Girl Christmas for His Santa Claus”, which transcribed as  “A Jap Girl For Next Christmas from Santa Claus’’-presumed to be by a soldier just going from the Delta to Japan -credited to Willie Blackwell, a little-known performer; upon close repeated listening O’Neal concludes the title , based on lyrics in the song actually should be:  “(I’m Going to Send) Junior a Jap’s Skull for Christmas for his (present from) Santa Claus”; the song is very grizzly, regardless of what singer called it…

List of Adverts

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, p.i

Koko Taylor/Alligator Records, p. 4

Joe Turner/Rhino Records, p. 6

Johnny Winter/ Columbia Legacy, p. 7

Eureka Springs Blues Festival, p. 9

2nd Annual Sound Advice Riverfront Blues Festival (Jacksonville, Florida), p. 10

4th Annual Springing the Blues (Jacksonville, Florida), p. 11

8th Annual Carolina Lite Blues Festival, p. 11

2nd Annual Mississippi Crossroads Festival, p. 12

7th Annual Bull Durham Blues Festival, p. 14

7th Annual River Blues Festival (Philadelphia), p. 14

9th Annual Jambalaya Jam (Philadelphia), p. 14

Living Blues Blues Directory 1993-94, p. 15

3rd Annual Shannon Street Blues Fest (Jackson, Tennessee), p. 15

2nd Annual Port Townsend Blues Workshop, (Oregon), p. 16

JSP/Joe Houston & Otis Grand, p. 78

Doug Jay/Blue Jay Productions, p. 79

Glenn Lane/Have Mercy Records, p. 80

Bluesiana Hot Sauce/Shanachie, p. 80

King/Rhino Reissues Series, p. 81

Queen Bee & the Blue Hornet Band/Sharktooth Records, p. 82

Roundup Records, p. 83

Carol Fran & Clarence Hollimon/ Black Top, p. 84

H-Bomb Ferguson/Earwig, p. 84

Delmark Records, p. 85

Paula Records, p. 86

Buddy Guy’s Legends/Blues Wear, p. 87

Paul Butterfield/Hohner Harmonicas, pp. 88-89

Hubert Sumlin/Billy Branch/Wolf (Austria), p. 90

Jesse “Wild Bill” Austin/Roesch Records, p. 91

Rod Piazza/Big Mo Records, p. 91

Prime Chops Sampler/Blind Pig, p. 92

Jimmy Thackery & John Mooney/Blind Pig, p. 92

Blues Foundation Symposium/Handy Awards/ Beale Street Music Festival, p. 93

Antone’s Records/Doyle Bramhall/ Luther Tucker p. 94

John Hammond/Pointblank, p. 95

Barefoot Servants/Epic, p. 96

Kevins Harps, p. 97

Eddie Burks/Rising Son Blues, p. 97

John Hammond/Vanguard, p. 98

Charlie Musselwhite/Alligator, p. 99

Alligator, p. 100

Rivera Records, p. 101

Rocky Hill-Midnight Creepers/Collectables, p. 101

JSP/Carey Bell, p. 102

Lee Oskar Harmonicas, p. 103

Mississippi Heat/Van Der Linden Recordings, p. 103

Savannah Gathering/Warren Wilson College, p. 104

Johnny Dyer & Rick Holmstrom/ Black Top, p. 104

Mike Morgan & the Crawl/Black Top, p. 104

Mighty Sam McClain/Audioquest Music, p. 105

Rooster Blues Records/Stackhouse Delta Record Mart/Willie Cobbs, p. 106

Koko Taylor/Alligator Records, p. 107

Drive Archive/Seven LPs, p. 108

Albert Collins/Alligator Records, p. 109

Slippery Noodle Inn/Re Live Record/Club/t-shirt, p. 110

Johnny Otis Show/Alligator Records, p. 111

Appaloosa Records, p. 112

Juanita Williams/the Nighthawks/Big Mo Records, p. 114

Classified Ads, pp. 115-116

Willie Phillips/Yolanda Briggs/Energy Records, p. 117

Solo Blues Productions (Spain-magazine and t-shirts), p. 117

Harvey Mitchell/ M. W. Productions, p. 117

Floyd Dixon/Cottontail Record Co., p. 117

Mojo Bags/First House of Polyester Worship, p. 117

Diamond Teeth Mary/Upright Records, p. 117

Ray Fuller and the Blues Rockers/Oahu Records, p. 118

Tom Radai Blues Management, p. 118

Linwood Taylor Band, p. 118

Blue Ship Café (Tampa Florida), p. 118

Larry Garner/Sevenfold Productions, p. 118

Offbeat (New Orleans Music Magazine), p. 118

Mike Henderson Blues Band/Path Way CDs, p. 119

Roy Roberts/New Moon Blues, p. 119

Westcoast Blues Review, p. 119

Louisiana “Guitar” Red, p. 119

Sizzling Productions (instructional videos), p. 119

Kicking Mule Recordings, p. 120

Blues & Rhythm and the Gospel Truth (magazine-England), p. 120

Stefan Grossman/Country Blues Guitar instructional videos, p. 120

Rave- On Records, p. 120

Stephen Anderson/Midnight Blue, p. 120

Vinyl Sale/Patrick Edwards, p. 121

R.L. Burnside/Fat Possum Records, p. 121

Blues T-Shirts/Gear Inc., p. 121

Shaker Harmonica Microphones, p. 121

CAI Entertainment Agency, p. 122

1993 Portland Waterfront Blues Festival/ Burnside Records, p. 122

Catfish Keith, Fish Tail Records, p. 122

The Night Stalkers, p. 122

Fred Sokolow/Instructional guitar videos/Sokolow Music, p. 122

Ace Video & Music, p. 123

Mole Valley Music, p. 123

Robert Lockwood/Lockwood Records, p. 123

Percy Strothers/Mojo Buford/Blue Moon, p. 123

Blue Wave Records, p. 122

Elderly Instruments, p. 123

Roundup Records, p. 124

Homespun Tapes, p. 124

Southern Culture Catalog, p. 124

James Fraher/Fine Prints and posters, p. 124

Skeeter Brandon & HWT 61/Hi-Test Blues, p. 125

Sing Out (Folk song magazine), p. 125

Lead Belly t-shirts, p. 125

JSP Records/Blue Z Music Company, p. 125

Louisiana Catalog (Collectables and souvenirs), p. 126

Rejoice/Old Time Country/ Living Blues magazines/ Southern Culture Productions, p. 126

Life Beat HIV/AIDS Information and Resources, p. 126

Yazoo Blues Videos, p. 126

Johnny Mars/ Mars Productions International/MM & K Recordings, p. 129

John Lee Hooker/Jas Obrecht-Blues Guitar (Book), p. 130 (Back Cover)

Number of Pages : 131

Published in Mississippi - $ 3.50/ $4.50 (CAN)---first issue with new glossy paper and squared binding   

 

 

 

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If you have any problems with your order, please contact me before opening a case with eBay.

I have many more records, CDs and magazines listed at my eBay store, BluEsoterica.com Mail Order, and if you are in Kansas City, see my bins at Happy Rock Antiques, 100 NW 72nd St. in Gladstone, MO (10 miles north of downtown KC via U.S. Highway 169). The store is open every day (10am-8 pm Tuesday through Saturday, noon-5pm Sunday, 10am-6pm Monday). My booth is number 152 (the one with the most soul, jazz and blues records; there are several other booths with records, too).

-- Jim O'Neal, Co-founder, Living Blues (eBay seller Stackhouse232)

Thanks for buying from my eBay store. Your purchases support my blues writing and research work!

Please keep me in mind if you have blues memorabilia or records you no longer want to keep.

 

  • Condition: Very Good
  • Condition: Worn along spine and top edge. Address sticker on front. Otherwise excellent.
  • Language: English
  • Book Title: Living Blues/The Magazine of the African-American Blues Tradition
  • Author: Center for the Study of Southern Culture, Univ. of Mississippi
  • Publisher: Center for the Study of Southern Culture, Univ. of Mississippi
  • Genre: Art & Culture, Biographies & True Stories, Folklore & Mythology, History, Oral History
  • Topic: African Americans, Blues, Criticism, Cultural History, Entertainment, Ethnic Studies, Historic Figures, Local History, Music, Performing Arts, R&B, Soul Music, Traditional Folk Music
  • Narrative Type: Nonfiction
  • Original Language: English
  • Edition: First Edition
  • Type: Magazine
  • Format: Magazine
  • Features: Illustrated
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: United States

PicClick Insights - LIVING BLUES Magazine #114 (1994) LITTLE MILTON Albert Collins SACRAMENTO BLUES PicClick Exclusive

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