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Weekend Blues - Happenings Coming up on the Weekend Blues Join me this weekend for the best in Blues, Downhome Soul, & 'roots' inspired Rock 'n Roll each Saturday and Sunday from 1-5pm on KGOU. -'Hardluck' Jim Blues News Koko Taylor (September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009) The "Queen of the Blues", Koko Taylor, passed away on June 3rd following complications from gastrointestinal surgery. She was 80. Born Cora Walton, she earned the moniker, "Koko", as a child due to her love for chocolate. Her big, huskey voice was her calling card... and served her extremely well, whether featured in a snarling Chicago Blues shuffle or the most tender of ballads. In a May 2003 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine, she was quoted as saying, "My life is like a train ride in fields of blue." Oklahoma Blues Hall Of Fame 2009 inductees/ceremony announced This year's 'Hall of Fame' induction ceremony starts at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, May 23rd, with a barbecue dinner. The event will feature performances by Pure Silk, Wes Reynolds, Selby Minner, Tony Mathews, & more at the Down Home Blues Club, 701 D.C. Minner Street, Rentiesville, OK.
Miss Blues to be featured on 'prime time' TV... Oklahoma's "Queen of the Blues", Dorothy Ellis, is to appear on KWTV's "Discover Oklahoma" on Saturday, April 25th at 6:30pm. Lester Davenport (1932-2009) Chicago blues harmonica player Lester "Mad Dog" Davenport died on March 17, 2009 of prostate cancer. Davenport was born in Tchula, Mississippi on January 16, 1932 and moved to Chicago at age fourteen. In addition to harmonica, he played bass, drums, and guitar, allowing him work in the Chicago blues scene. He recorded two CDs: When The Blues Hit You (1993) and I Smell A Rat (2002). His recording credits as a sideman are extensive. Funeral services were March 28, 2009. World Loses Legendary Bluesman Willie King On Sunday, March 8, 2009 the outstanding Alabama blues musician Willie King passed away near his home in Old Memphis, Alabama, following a massive heart attack. His career started on a plantation with a one-string, homemade diddly-bo. Six recordings and a DVD later, along with numerous national and international festival performances, Willie King had gained a substantial national and international reputation. John Cephas (1930-2009) John Cephas passed away March 4, 2009 in his home in North Virginia; he recently retired from performing live due to illness. Cephas was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Bowling Green, Virginia. After his cousin, David Taleofero, taught him the alternating thumb-and-finger picking style of the Piedmont Blues, Cephas tried to be like the records he heard and played for family and friend gatherings by age nine. Cephas joined the army during the Korean War, and upon his return he was a professional Gospel singer, carpenter, and Atlantic fisherman. In 1977, he and harmonica player Phil Wiggins formed a duo that performed all over the world. Cephas served on the Executive Committee of the National Council for the Traditional Arts, was a founder of the Washington, D.C. Blues Society, and received the 1989National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. In addition to performing, he portrayed a blind bluesman in the Kennedy Center production of “Blind Man Blues” and in a Washingtonian production of Zora Neal Hurston’s “Polk County.” Cephas and Wiggins were scheduled to perform March 19 at the Savannah Music Festival in Georgia and May 16 at the Randolf Community Arts Center in West Virginia. John Cephas is survived by his longtime partner, Lynn Volpe. Funeral arrangements are incomplete. Melvin Scott (1954-2009) Melvin Scott, long-time bass player of the Blackhawk Blues Band, passed away February 25, 2009. Funeral services were held on February 28th at Pecan Grove Methodist Church Southeast of Wetumka, OK. Blues Hall of Fame 2009 The Blues Foundation has announced the inductees for the Blues Hall of Fame in 2009: Performers: Irma Thomas Taj Mahal Son Seals Reverend Gary Davis Non-Performers: Clifford Antone, Austin club owner Mike Leadbitter, discographer Bob Porter, author Classics of Blues Literature: Jeff Hannusch I Hear You Knockin’ Classics of Blues Recordings (Songs): “Boom Boom” by John Lee Hooker “Caldonia” by Louis Jordan “Sitting on Top of the World” by Mississippi Sheiks Classics of Blues Recordings (Albums): Amtrak Blues by Alberta Hunter T-Bone Blues by T-Bone Walker Blues With a Feeling (Newport Folk Festival Classics) by various artists Above information courtesy of The Blues Foundation at www.blues.org Snooks Eaglin 1936 – 2009 Snooks Eaglin, born Fird Eaglin, Jr., passed away on Feb 18, 2009, after returning home from hospitalization for prostate cancer. Born in New Orleans, he began playing guitar at age five and earned the nickname “Snooks” after his mischievous nature. He got his first regular gigs with the Flamingoes in the early 1950s; in the early 1960s he recorded several albums on the Imperial record label. After a long recording hiatus, Snooks appeared on the Wild Magnolias’ first album and in recording sessions with Professor Longhair. He joined the Black Top label in the 1980s and recorded Baby, You Can Get You Gun!, Out of Nowhere, Teasin’ You, Soul’s Edge, and Soul Train from ‘Nawlins: Live at Park Tower Blues Festival ‘95. His final album, The Way It Is, was released in 2002 by Money Pit records. He was scheduled to make a comeback appearance at the New Orleans Jazz Fest in spring 2009, where he regularly performed. Snooks Eaglin earned the nickname “The Human Jukebox” for his vast repertoire, and his unique fingerpicking style made him an influential blues artist of the twentieth century. Eaglin is survived by his wife, Dorethea Eaglin, his daughter, Stacey Eaglin Hunter, his step-son, Allen Ancar III, and his two step-daughters, Carolyn Gioustover and Deborah Ancar Randolph. 25th IBC Results The Blues Foundation presented the 25th International Blues Challenge February 4-7, 2009 in Memphis, Tennessee. The IBC is the world’s largest gathering of Blues bands in the world, resulting in winners ready to take their acts to the international stage. A record number of 164 bands and solo/duo acts from international Blues societies took the stages of Beale Street to compete before judges on Thursday and Friday, in hopes of making the Saturday finals. The winners are: Band 1st place JP Soars & the Red Hots--South Florida Blues Society 2nd Place Ty Curtis Band--Cascade Blues Association 3rd Place MonkeyJunk--Ottawa Blues Society Best Guitarist Award JP Soars Solo/Duo 1st place Little Joe McLerran--Blues Society of Tulsa 2nd Place Alphonso & Richard--Crossroads Blues Society of Mississippi Nathan James & Ben Hernandez were given the Best Self-Produced CD Award for Hollerin'! The duo won the International Blues Challenge in 2007. Micah Kesselring, from the Columbus Blues Alliance, who participated in the Youth Showcase, was awarded a scholarship to the Centrum Blues Workshop this coming summer. This scholarship was secured by Board member Cassie Taylor. Blues Grammy Winners Announced The 51st Grammy Award winners were announced Sunday, February 8, 2009. Note the winners in bold: *Best Traditional Blues Album The Blues Rolls On - Elvin Bishop [Delta Groove Music] Skin Deep - Buddy Guy [Silvertone Records] All Odds Against Me - John Lee Hooker, Jr. [Steppin' Stone Records/CC Entertainment] One Kind Favor - B.B. King [Geffen Records] Pinetop Perkins & Friends - Pinetop Perkins & Friends [Stoneagle Music/Telarc] *Best Contemporary Blues Album Peace, Love & BBQ - Marcia Ball [Alligator Records] Like A Fire - Solomon Burke [Shout! Factory] City That Care Forgot - Dr. John And The Lower 911 [429 Records] Maestro - Taj Mahal [Heads Up International] Simply Grand - Irma Thomas [Rounder Records] David "Fathead" Newman 1933-2009 David "Fathead" Newman, legendary saxophonist/flutist and composer who was a prominent member of the Ray Charles band in the fifties and the sixties and a renowned bandleader in his own right thereafter, passed away on January 20, 2009 in upstate New York, succumbing to the pancreatic cancer that he heroically battled for the past year. He was 75 years old. David Newman was born in Corsicana, Texas on February 24, 1933 and soon moved with his family to Dallas, where he graduated Lincoln High School, following which he attended Jarvis Christian College where a studied theology and music on a scholarship while working in local bands. After two years of college, Newman went on the road full time with fellow Texan Red Connor's group which featured Ornette Coleman and with the band of Charlie Parker's mentor Buster Smith, playing dance halls, throughout the southwest. While on tour he met Ray Charles, who was working as a sideman with another group. The two bonded, both musically and personally and when Charles began leading his own band in 1954, he called upon Newman to join the group, beginning a twelve-year association with the organization, helping to define the Charles orchestra's sound as its star tenor soloist. Charles was instrumental in helping Newman set out on a solo career, bringing the saxophonist to his label, Atlantic Records, leading to his debut album as a leader in 1959, Fathead: Ray Charles Presents David Newman. The date included Newman's soulful rendition of Paul Mitchell's classic "Hard Times," with which he would be identified for the rest of his life. Newman would record numerous more records as a leader for Atlantic. His versatility on saxes and flutes also made him a first call session player and his presence contributed to studio dates by the likes Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Dr. John, Joe Cocker, The Average White Band and Garland Jeffreys, as well as jazz greats Lee Morgan, Herbie Mann and fellow Charles alumnus Hank Crawford. In 1980, Newman, determined to pursue his own musical identity, recorded several mainstream jazz albums for the Muse label. Artists such as Cedar Walton, Jimmy Cobb, Buster Williams, Louis Hayes and other fine NY musicians, helped round out the rhythm sections. He returned to Atlantic Records in the late eighties to record several more albums for the label that started out with. One of the recordings Live at the Village Vanguard, featured Stanley Turrentine and Hank Crawford. Newman's next recordings were on Herbie Mann's Kokopelli label, a beautiful CD in tribute to Duke Ellington, titled Mr. Gentle, Mr. Cool and another that he produced, Under A Woodstock Moon, the title referring to his move to upstate New York. Newman began a productive relationship with High Note Records at the close of the 1990s, releasing an impressive series of albums, including Chillin', Keep the Spirits Singing, Davey Blue, The Gift, Song for the New Man, I Remember Brother Ray (a moving tribute to Ray Charles became the #1 Most Played Jazz Album nationwide), Cityscape, and Life. His latest album Diamondhead was released in 2008. Newman appeared on many television shows including Saturday Night Live, David Sanborn's Night Music, David Letterman, and Michael Jackson: Thirtieth Anniversary Celebration. He appeared in Robert Altman's film Kansas City and did a national tour with the Kansas City Orchestra for Verve Records. He was portrayed by Bookeem Woodbine in the feature film Ray, the award-winning movie on the life of Ray Charles starring Jamie Foxx. David Newman is survived by his loving wife and manager of twenty eight years, Karen Newman, four sons, seven grandchildren, three great grandchildren, an uncle and an aunt and a father-in-law who was his best friend, Izzy Goldstein. Memorial services are to be announced in the near future. * Obit/Bio courtesy of DavidFatheadNewman.com Contact Information Keep sending those requests... & comments! 'Hardluck' Jim jjhardluck@ou.edu 325-3110 |
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