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What's New!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
-
Bob Margolin, Bob Corritore &
The Rocket 88s appear Friday at
the Rhythm Room! Former
Muddy Waters guitarist
Bob Margolin comes to the
Rhythm
Room in Phoenix on Friday April
27 to join his frequent blues
partner
Bob Corritore along with
the
Rocket 88s (Bill Tarsha,
Susie Tarsha & Dave Forster).
Look for some powerful Chicago
blues to happen this night.
Doors open at 8pm with a 9:15 pm
showtime. The
Rhythm Room is
located at
1019 E. Indian School Rd.,
Phoenix, AZ 85014. To see
the flyer for this event click
here.
-
Tail Dragger
&
Bob Corritore Media Reaction! The new
Delta
Groove CD,
Longtime Friends
In The Blues
has been on a winning
streak. After being #4 in
the March
Living
Blues Radio
Charts, this CD
has just been announced as
#1 in the French
Powerblues
charts! It was also album of
the month in the UK blues
magazine,
Blues
& Rhythm.
The album has received 30
rave reviews from across the
globe which you can read by
clicking
here.
A1 Blues just posted
a podcast featuring music
and interview by
Tail Dragger
and Bob, which you can see
by clicking
here .
Artist Connection did
one podcast on
Tail Dragger
(click
here),
and one on
Bob
Corritore
(click
here).
The
Blues-Finland.com
website just posted a
wonderful review of the
Tail Dragger
and Bob's performance at the
Stompin At The Savoy
Festival, which you can see
by clicking
here. While in
Finland,
Tail Dragger
and
Bob
Corritore
were both interviewed by
Dave McGuire
of the US Embassy and you
can see there interviews by
clicking
here, and here.
The March issue of Italy's
IL
Blues Magazine focuses
on Chicago blues
and features a Tail Dragger
interview with a side bar
interview from
Bob
Corritore! There will be a CD release
party for
Tail Dragger
&
Bob
Corritore
/
Longtime Friends In The
Blues on
Thursday, June 7 at
BLUES
On Halsted in
Chicago (more on that
later). Thanks!
-
Candye Kane
Surgery Update and Benefit
Shows.
Blues singer
Candye Kane continues
her fight with pancreatic
cancer and has her next
surgery scheduled for May
6th. We send our prayers to
Candye for a successful
procedure. After her last
procedure Candye had a couple
years of health and touring,
and we wish her a full and
quick recovery as round 2 is
anticipated. Numerous
benefits have and are yet to
be held for Candye. Already
past are benefits held by
Croce's in San Diego (March
31), the
Rhythm Room in
Phoenix (March 18), and
Alberta Rose Theatre in
Portland (April 1). The
following upcoming benefit
shows have been sent to us
via
Michael Kinsman:
April 29,
Joe’s Great American Bar &
Grill, Burbank
Featuring
Kelly Zirbes,
The 44s,
Gino Matteo,
Jason Ricci,
Teresa
James & the Rhythm Tramps.
April 30,
Belly Up, Solana Beach
Tommy Castro,
Janiva Magness,
Dave Alvin & the Guilty Ones,
Kim Wilson,
Anson Funderburgh,
Rick Estrin & the Nightcats,
Debbie Davies,
Earl Thomas,
Jack Tempchin, the
Beat Farmers and
current and former members of
the
Candye Kane Band.
Get well
cards and / or donations can be
sent to this address:
Candye Kane
1604 Alvarado Street
Oceanside, CA 92054
-
Star-studded Louisiana Red
Memorial Tribute the day
after BMAs at
Hard Rock Cafe
on Beale! As we all
gear up for the
Blues
Foundation's
Blues Music
Awards on Thursday, May 10th
we also look forward to the
day afterwards where a
memorial tribute will be
held to honor the late
Louisiana Red. This will
take place from 1 to 4pm
Friday, May 11th at the
Hard
Rock Cafe,
315 Beale Street, Memphis, TN
38103
(901) 529-0007. Proceeds all
go to support the
Generation
Blues Educational Fund! The
lineup includes
HOST BAND
Bob Margolin,
Bob
Corritore,
David Maxwell,
Willie J. Campbell and
Jimi
Bott with special guests
Lazy Lester,
Maria Muldaur,
Diunna Greenleaf,
John
Primer,
Randy Chortkoff,
Big
Pete,
Billy Flynn,
Michael
Frank,
Chris James &
Patrick Rynn,
Nick Moss,
Rich DelGrosso,
Jostein
Forsberg
& Morten Omlid,
Billy Gibson
&
JT Lauritsen,
Marquise
Knox,
Matt Hill,
Cleome Bova,
Anson Funderburgh with Andy
T,
Nick Nixon,
and
Markey
Jeannette,
Phil Wiggins,
Lightnin' Malcolm,
Richard
Rosenblatt,
JW Jones,
Zac
Harmon,
Barbara Blue,
Bill
Sims &
Mark Lavoie,
RB
Stone,
Adrianna Marie,
Enrico Crivellaro &
Raphael Wressnig,
Brad Vickers, and
more! For more information
about the
Blues Foundation
and the
Blues Music Awards,
click
www.blues.org. To
see the beautiful flyer
created for this event by
Amy Brat of Brat Girl Media,
click
here.
-
Three Bob Corritore
Productions in this week's
Roots Music Charts!
This week on the Roots Blues
Charts,
Mud Morganfield /
Son Of The Seventh Son
on
Severn Records
is # 11,
Tail Dragger
&
Bob
Corritore /
Longtime
Friends In The Blues on
Delta Groove Productions is
#26, and
Diunna Greenleaf /
Trying To Hold On
on Blue Mercy Records is #
29! To see the chart, click
here.
-
RIP Bob Carter Feb 24, 1952 -
April 19, 2012. Beloved
Chicago area blues drummer
Bob Carter passed away this week
near Belleville, IL.
after an extended battle
with cancer.
He was 60.
Bob performed and/or recorded in
The Dirty Wurds (Chess
recording
artists),
The Fabulous Fish
Heads with Mark Hannon,
Steve
Freund,
The Mighty Blue Kings,
Nick Moss & The Flip Tops,
Little Frank & The Premiers,
Dave
Specter,
RJ Mischo. and
countless other Chicago blues,
rock and jazz bands.
S.P.A.C.E.
in Evanston is having a memorial
concert on May 27th. which was
originally scheduled as a
benefit for Bob. More details
and a donation link
here.
Bob was an amazing drummer and a
kind, understated person. He
will be greatly missed in the
blues world. Special thanks to
Dave Specter for much of this
information.
-
RIP Andrew Love -
November 21, 1941 to April
12, 2012.
Saxophonist
Andrew Love is
best known for being a part
of
The Memphis Horns, the
famous house horn section
for
Stax Records. Andrew
died of complications from Alzheimers on April 12 at
age 70. As a member of
The
Memphis Horns he played on
all
Stax recordings with
horns including songs by
Albert King,
Little Milton,
The Staples Singers,
Johnnie
Taylor,
Otis Redding,
Rufus
Thomas and others. In later
years this celebrated horn
section would pair down to
just 2 peices consisting of
Wayne Jackson on
trumpet and
Andrew on sax, and would work extensively with
The Robert
Cray Band as well as
making numerous high profile
soul and pop music guest
appearances.
The Memphis
Horns crisp sound help to
define soul music as we know
it and the thousands of
recordings featuring
Andrew
Love's sax with forever be a
part of the American
songbook. To read more about
the
Memphis Horns, click
here. To read the
Rolling Stone article of the
death of
Andrew Love, click
here.
-
Son House and Buddy Guy on
YouTube! The
unlikely combination of
Mississippi bluesman
Son
House and Louisiana to
Chicago next generation
bluesman
Buddy Guy perform a
song together from 1968. You
can see this moment in time
by clicking
here.
Friday, April 18, 2012
-
Dave Riley &
Bob Corritore appear
Saturday afternoon at the
Multi-Cultural Festival in
El Mirage, AZ!
Dave Riley &
Bob Corritore
will perform tomorrow, Saturday,
April 21st at the
Multi-Cultural Festival 2012
in New Gateway Park,
10100 E. El Mirage Rd, El
Mirage, Arizona. Dave
and Bob will represent the
blues portion of the
proceedings and other acts,
from many musical
genres include
Elaine Stepter (formerly of
Rose Royce),
Fel Davis,
Denitra
Champ,
Carvin Jones,
Pastor
Wade with the
MCBC Choir,
Monica Castro, Two-Tone
Lizard Kings, and B.Scales.
The show runs from 1pm to
8pm and Dave and Bob hit at
5pm for a half-hour set.
This show is put on by the
AZNBHO.Org. For more
information call
623-204-0959. Admission is
free! To see the flyer for
this event, click
here.
-
Hohner Harmonica's new Blues
Harp packaging!
Hohner Harmonica now has a
new packaging for their
Blues Harp brand. The Blues
Harps now come in a carton
with a sharp design that
includes 3 harmonica
players:
Dan Smith (the
great gospel harmonica
player),
Bob Corritore, and
Junior Wells. Bob is honored
to be included on this
packaging and to be included
with such fine company. To
see the new sharp design for
the
Hohner Blues Harp
packaging, click
here.
-
New Mannish Boys CD and RJ
Mischo to be released May
15th on Delta Groove!
New Photo Page of
Mannish Boys
recording session!
The
Mannish Boys are
somewhat of a modern day
blues phenomenon. Led by the
vision of
Randy Chortkoff,
this group has become known
as an amazing revue of the
West Coast's top blues
players with family of
special guests that
represents Randy's deep
conviction to the blues. The
new double CD will be called
Double Dynamite and
will be officially released
May 15th on
Delta Groove
Productions. Here is
Amazon's editorial
pre-review of the CD:
(2-CD set) The
Mannish Boys
transcend their five
previous critically
acclaimed recordings with
Double Dynamite -
an unprecedented double
studio album containing
outstanding musicianship
with many spectacular and
notable special guests.
Featured artists include
Finis Tasby,
Sugar Ray Rayford,
Mud Morganfield,
Jackie Payne,
Elvin Bishop,
Rod Piazza,
James Harman,
Jason Ricci,
Bob Corritore,
Randy Chortkoff,
Kirk
Fletcher,
Frank Goldwasser,
Junior Watson,
Kid Ramos,
Nathan James,
Mike Finnigan,
Fred Kaplan,
Rob Rio,
Willie
J. Campbell,
Bill Stuve,
Jimi Bott
and many more!
We must also note
that another highly
anticipated
Delta Groove
CD will be out on the same
release date with the label
debut of harmonica master
RJ
Mischo and his new disc
Make It Good.
To see the
Delta
Groove artist
page for
RJ
Mischo and
to hear a sample of
his music click
here.
Thank you Delta
Groove for
the commitment to
traditional blues. We have
constructed a web page of
beautiful photos from the
sessions for the
Mannish
Boys CD which you can see by
clicking
here.
-
Thank you to Stompin' At
the Savoy Festival!
Last weekend the
Scandinavian town of
Helsinki, Finland became a
hub for the blues as the
Stompin' At The Savoy
Festival presented a wonderful
program of blues and roots
at the beautiful
Savoy
Theater. Thanks to our
friends from
Stompin' At The
Savoy, the
Finnish Blues
Society, and the
US Embassy
for bringing
Tail Dragger &
Bob Corritore to this event.
Thanks to the amazing
Tomi
Leino Band for their stellar
backing work. Thanks to all
our friends and fans in
Helsinki who made the trip
a memorable and positive
experience! Thanks to all
the great musicians for some
great camaraderie and for
some great after party jams!
To see a cool video of
Tail
Dragger,
Bob Corritore and
the
Tomi
Leino Band
performing at
Stompin' At
The Savoy, click
here.
-
Radio Interview with
Jimmy Rogers' son
this Sunday on
KJZZ! This
Sunday
Bob Corritore will
interview JD Mosley, the
adopted son of Chicago blues
architect
Jimmy Rogers, who
will share stories of
growing up in a house filled
with the blues. You can
expect to hear stories of
Jimmy's
Gold Tailed Bird
album, Jimmy's work with
Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy's
encouragement from
Johnny
Littlejohn to return to
music after a short
retirement and much more.
By the way you can see JD
and the
Jimmy Rogers
family
standing on their porch on
the back of Jimmy's
Gold Tailed Bird
LP on
Shelter
Records. Along
with the interview will be
lots of priceless music by
the masterful
Jimmy Rogers!
Bob's radio show, Those
Lowdown Blues is aired
each Sunday from 6 to
11pm Arizona time, at
www.kjzz.org.
And this Sunday, April 22,
you can hear the interview
in the last two hours of the
show, from 9 to 11pm.
-
RIP
Levon Helm - May 26,
1940 to April 19, 2012 Drummer/
vocalist/harmonica
player/actor Levon Helm is
best known in popular
culture for his work with
The Band and
Bob Dylan, but
he had a lesser-known
affiliation with the blues.
He passed away yesterday in
New York, after a
long struggle with cancer. Levon
Helm's musical contributions
are many and well documented,
and we will refer to the
Wikipedia page for his bio:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levon_Helm. Though
we will not detail his pop
music activity in this
obit, let's review some of
Levon's very active blues
offerings: As a native of
Arkansas he was
influenced at an early
age by the work of
Sonny Boy
Williamson II,
Robert
Lockwood, Jr., and James
"Peck" Curtis (who Levon
credits as his early
drum inspiration). In the
early 1960s Levon would land
a gig with Canadian blues /
rock 'n roller
Ronnie
Hawkins, and in 1964 he
would appear on the
John
Hammond album So Many
Roads. In the mid 70s,
while The Band was at the
height of their career, Levon appeared on
Muddy
Waters' Grammy-winning
Woodstock Album. Levon
was also crucial in getting
Muddy Waters (with
Pinetop
Perkins,
Paul
Butterfield and
Bob Margolin) on
The Band's 1976 finale
concert / documentary film,
The Last Waltz, and
when the organizers of that
show considered a last
minute cut of Muddy's
segment due to time and
budget concerns, it was
Levon who stood up to
organizational pressure and
refused to perform unless
Muddy's part of the show was
honored. In his post-Band
years, Levon's work would
gravitate to a blues format
as he hosted regular
star-studded "Barn
Concerts" that were
literally at the barn of his
Woodstock, New York
residence. His group would
feature a series of
harmonica player
/ vocalists who would serve
as the frontmen including
Chris O'Leary,
Little Sammy
Davis, and
Steve Guyger.
Levon was also involved in
Louisiana Red's 2002 CD,
A Different Shade Of Red,
The Woodstock Sessions
on
Severn Records. Levon's
reputation among the blues
world was of the highest
order.
Bob Margolin refers
to Levon as "an amazing
musical soul." We thank this
great man who, while rising
to the heights of pop
stardom, always worked to
better the blues. To see a
great article by
Bob Margolin about his
recollections of
The Last Waltz, click
here.
To see the New York Times
obit click
here.
-
Sonny Boy Williamson II
sings "Bye Bye Bird" on
YouTube!
Please enjoy this video of
Rice Miller AKA
Sonny Boy
Williamson II singing and
playing harmonica "Bye Bye
Bird" with all sorts of
wonderful rhythmic effects!
This clip was filmed in the
UK in 1964 as part of the
American Folk Blues
Festival. Click
here.
April 5, 2012
-
Dave Riley /
Bob Corritore Juke
Joint Blues Band appear this Saturday at the Rhythm Room! The 7
year blues partnership of
Dave Riley and
Bob Corritore will be presented
this Saturday, April 7th at the
Rhythm Room. Dave and Bob will appear
that night with Dave's son Dave "Yahni" Riley, Jr. on bass and
Brian
Fahey on drums. Look for some good down home blues this night. To see a
photo page devoted to Dave and Bob's blues adventures click
here. To hear some samples of Dave and
Bob's recorded music click
here.
The Rhythm Room is located at
1019 E. Indian School,
Phoenix, AZ 85014.
-
Mud Morganfield and Tail Dragger/Bob Corritore place high in the
March Living Blues Radio Charts! Bob's two most recent
productions
Mud Morganfield /
Son Of The Seventh Son on
Severn
Records and
Tail Dragger &
Bob Corritore /
Longtime Friends In The Blues
on
Delta Groove Productions both scored high
on the March
Living Blues
Radio Charts. Mud reaching the # 2 position, and
Tail Dragger /
Bob Corritore reaching #4! Thanks to all of the blues radio shows who have
embraced these new releases, and to Jim McGrath who compiles the charts!
-
Tail Dragger & Bob Corritore
headline Stompin' At The Savoy Festival next week in Finland!
With their new release Longtime Friends In The Blues on the
Delta Groove label,
Tail Dragger and
Bob Corritore head to Helsinki,
Finland to headline the Stompin' At The Savoy Festival. The 3 day
festival happens on April 13, 14 and 15 with
Tail Dragger and Bob's set
happening on Saturday, April 14. This set will be backed by Finland's
excellent Tomi Leino Band. Also appearing at the fest will be Steve
James,
Sven
Zetterberg,
Beat From Palookaville,
Queen Fatima & The Royal Four,
Dave
Acari & The Hellsinki Hellraisers,
Honey B & The T-Bones featuring Paleface, and
Maxwell Street Market. DJs Pete H and High-Q,
Black River Bluesman and Bad Mood Hudson. To see the
beautiful poster for the festival click
here. To get more information on
Tail
Dragger &
Bob Corritore / Longtime Friends In The Blues, and to
order click
here.
-
Photos from the Mud Morganfield CD Release Party at Legends!
Last weekend Bob Corritore flew to his former hometown of Chicago to
participate in the CD release party for
Mud Morganfield's new album Son Of The Seventh Son
on Severn Records. This party happened last
Saturday night at
Buddy Guy's Legends and the day before the band made a
live appearance on
WGN Television! This led to a truly special event as
Chicago blues fans packed into Legends to honor and celebrate the eldest
son of
Muddy Waters and the extension of his father's legacy that he
represents. The band that played on the record was mostly reunited with
Mud, Bob,
Rick Kreher,
Harmonica Hinds,
Barrelhouse Chuck,
E.G.
McDaniel, and
Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith.
Billy Flynn who also played on
the CD had a prior engagement but was able to participate in the
WGN
broadcast. To see a photo page devoted to this wonderful and symbolic
time, click
http://www.bobcorritore.com/photos175.html.
-
New documentary film examines the Mississippi
juke joint tradition! The makers of the
award winning documentary "M for Mississippi" have continued their
mission with a follow up film titled We Juke Up In Here:
Mississippi’s Juke Joint Culture at the Crossroads. The film will
premiere Friday, April 13 with a 5:30pm inaugural screening at Delta
Cinema,
11 Third Street in Clarksdale, MS. The event
is free and open to the public and will kick-off the Juke Joint
Festival weekend in Clarksdale (www.jukejointfestival.com). The
film is produced by Roger Stolle of Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art (www.cathead.biz)
and Jeff Konkel of Broke & Hungry Records (www.brokeandhungryrecords.com)
who both are dedicated folklorists, specializing in the blues of
Mississippi. For more information on the film please see the website at
www.wejukeupinhere.com.
-
Muddy Waters at Newport 1960 on YouTube! We honor this
late legend of the blues during his birthday week. Please enjoy these
clips of the great
Muddy Waters peforming at the Newport Jazz Festival
in 1960. The great band includes
Otis Spann on piano and
James Cotton on
harmonica. Here is Muddy at the top of his game!
"Hoochie Coochie Man"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV_ZhBcNiQQ
"Rollin Stone"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_vsvX2qiLM&feature=related
"Got My Mojo Working"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhTCYqJsfqs
March 29, 2012
-
Mud
Morganfield CD Release Party Saturday at Legends! On March 20
Severn
Records released the first national release by
Mud Morganfield, the
eldest son of
Muddy Waters. This release is called
Son Of The Seventh
Son and it has already received about 20 rave reviews which you can
read by clicking
here. A CD
release party is planned for Saturday night, March 31st at
Buddy Guy's
Legends with an opening set by
Eddie Taylor, Jr. before Mud and band
take the stage!
Mud Morganfield's band that night will consist of
Rick Kreher,
Barrelhouse Chuck,
Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith,
E.G. McDaniel,
Harmonica Hinds and
Bob Corritore plus guest appearances by Katherine
Davis and Deitra plus a few surprises! Copies of
Son Of The Seventh Son
will be available that night. To see the flier for this event click
here.
Buddy Guy's Legends is located at
700 S. Wabash, Chicago, IL
60605. Also Mud and the band will make a live televised
appearance Friday morning, March 30 on Chicago's WGN and this broadcast
is available throughout the USA.
-
Tail Dragger &
Bob Corritore /
Longtime Friends In
The Blues makes a strong entry!
Tail Dragger &
Bob Corritore
collaborated on the powerful album
Longtime Friends In The Blues which
was just released last week on the
Delta Groove label. With promotion
just started 2 weeks ago this CD has been met with an initial wave of
positive reaction. To see the first 15 glowing reviews of this CD click
here. To see the Roots Radio Report for this week which
debuts this CD at #17 click
here. The CD has been listed in the the "Top 50 Breakthrough
Recordings" in the Antiquarian Librarian which lists all musical genres!
To see this listing click
here.
Tail Dragger and Bob will headline the
Stompin' At The
Savoy
festival in Helsinki, Finland on April 14th. To see the beautiful poster
for the festival click
here. There will be an official CD release party
on Thursday, June 7 at
B.L.U.E.S. on Halsted in Chicago which BTW is the
day before the
Chicago Blues Festival. Features on
Tail Dragger will
appear in upcoming issues of
Living Blues and IL Blues Magazines. Bob
just did an interview on Jim and Diane on
WCTG in VA,
and both
Tail Dragger and
Bob interviewed with Matt
Kacar at
Artist Connection Podcast, and
Mark Wade at
A1Blues.com. Thanks
to all the writers, reviewers, radio show hosts, bloggers, and fans for
their support!
-
Louisiana
Red remembered with new photo page! We remember and celebrate the life
of the recently deceased
Louisiana Red with a beautiful photo page. Red
was a gloriously talented down-home blues artist and his musical
contributions will live through eternity. Thanks to all the folks who
sent in photos of Red upon the news of his passing. Some of those are
included on this page, which you can see by clicking
here.
-
RIP
Jerry McCain - June 18, 1930 to March 28, 2012
Harmonica master
Jerry McCain
passed away yesterday at age 81. He was born in Gadsden, Alabama which
remained his home town throughout his life. He became a harmonica player
at an early age and made his debut recordings for
Trumpet in 1953. This
would be followed by brilliant recordings for
Excello,
Rex,
Okeh,
Jewel, Romulus,
GAS, Ichiban,
Cedar, and Music
Maker. McCain is worshiped by blues harmonica lovers for his great sense
of phrasing, some wonderful trademark licks, and a beautiful full-bodied
tone. He was also a great singer and a brilliant and
often humourous
songwriter, and on some of his classic recordings are
considered the bedrock of early rock & roll. He
will be best remembered for his now classic double single on Rex Records
of "She's Tough" with it's catchy vocal break, and the flip of the
evergreen harmonica instrumental "Steady." Both of these songs are often
covered band-stand favorites. The
Fabulous Thunderbirds re-popularized
"She's Tough" with a version on
their
1979 debut record which brought
wider attention to McCain's original version. We thank
Jerry McCain for
his many great and timeless recordings and the profound infuence he had
on the blues.
For Jerry McCain's bio by Larry Benicewicz click
here
To read about his passing in
the Gadsden Times click
here
To hear Jerry McCain's
"Steady" click
here
To hear "She's Tough" click
here
To hear his version
of "Red Top" on the Okeh label click
here
To hear "My Next
Door Neighbor"
click
here
To hear Jerry first record
"Wine-O-Wine" on Trumpet, click
here .
-
Alan Lomax field recordings available online at no
charge.
Alan Lomax in his tireless work as a folklorist for the
Library Of Congress, went around the USA with portable recording
equipment to capture and historically archive American folk music,
including many great recordings of the blues. His contributions to
preserving and exposing musical traditions are nothing short of amazing.
The Lomax recordings are becoming available online for free some 10
years after the folklorist's passing. Click
here for the NPR story:
-
Son
House On YouTube! Please enjoy this powerful A Capella performance of
Son House singing his classic "Grinnin' In Your Face" which you can
click
here to see.
March 16, 2012
-
Dave Riley
/ Bob Corritore Juke Joint
Blues Band appear Saturday
at the Rhythm Room!
This Saturday, March 17th is
not only Saint Patricks Day,
it is also the birthday
party for
Dave Riley who
turns 63 at midnight that
night! The party calls for
the downhome blues of the
Dave Riley /
Bob Corritore
Juke Joint Blues Band (with
Brian Fahey, and Dave "Yahni" Riley,
Jr.).
Doors open at 8pm with a
8:30 opening set by
Jimmy
Pines & Washboad Jere,
The
Rhythm Room is at
1019 E. Indian School Rd.,
Phoenix, Arizona, 85014.
To see the beautiful event
poster click
here.
-
Tail Dragger
/
Bob Corritore
in the news!
The new
Delta Groove CD,
Tail Dragger &
Bob Corritore
/
Longtime Friends In The
Blues will be officially
out on March 20th (this
Tuesday). But there already
are a number of rave reviews
that have popped up! To see
the first wave of reviews
for this CD click
here.
Tail
Dragger will perform this
Saturday (tomorrow), March 17th at
Buddy Guy's Legends in
Chicago and will have some
advance copies of the CD
available for sale.
Tail
Dragger and Bob will
headline the
Stompin' At The
Savoy festival in Helsinki,
Finland on April 14th. To
see the beautiful poster
for the festival click
here.
To see the CD cover art
click
here.
To a hear a sample from this
CD on the
Delta Groove home
page click
here. To
see the Delta Groove promo
e-blast for this release
click
here.
-
Louisiana Red
Memorial Tribute
planned in
Memphis for day
after the BMAs!
There will be an
afternoon memorial
tribute show honoring
the late
Louisiana Red
on Friday, May 11th, 1pm
to 4pm at the
Hard Rock
Cafe,
315 Beale
Street Memphis, TN
38103, (901)
529-0007. Proceeds will go
to the
Blues
Foundation's
youth education branch,
Generation Blues.
The Tribute is hosted by
Bob
Margolin &
Bob
Corritore and
includes appearances by
Lazy
Lester,
Maria
Muldaur,
Diunna
Greenleaf, John
Primer,
Randy
Chortkoff,
Big
Pete,
Billy
Flynn,
Willie
J Campbell
(bassist of the
Mannish Boys),
Michael Frank,Chris
James &
Patrick Rynn,
Rich
DelGrosso,
Jostein Forsburg & Morten
Omlid,
Billy
Gibson &
JT
Lauritsen,
Marquise Knox,
Matt
Hill,
Cleome
Bova,
Anson
Funderburgh with
Andy T and Nick Nixon,
Phil
Wiggins,
David
Maxwell,
Lightnin' Malcolm
and more. This will be a
brisk--paced event with all
front artists contributing
just one song each. For more
information on the
Blues
Music Awards, click
here.
To read the obit for
Louisiana Red
and the amazing story of his
life, click
here.
To see a German article
about the post-funeral show
in Hannover, click
here.
And for more
information on
Generation Blues,
click
here.
-
Earliest photo of
Louisiana Red?
While in Germany for
Louisiana Red's funeral,
Bob Corritore snapped a photo of
a framed picture hanging on
the wall of Red's Hannover
apartment. It shows a
youthful
Louisiana Red in
what is likely the earliest
known photo of this blues
legend. Dora (Red's wife)
reports that it was taken in
the 1940s. To see the photo
click
here.
-
Classic early 1970s
Chicago Blues photos from
Bill Lupkin!
Harmonica champion
Bill Lupkin was very active in
the Chicago Blues Scene of
the early 1970s, working
with the
Bob Riedy Blues
Band and the
Jimmy Rogers
Blues Band. He has shared
some
amazing photos
from that time period with
shots of
Howlin' Wolf,
Billy
Boy Arnold,
Jimmy Dawkins,
Lefty Dizz,
Bob Riedy,
Johnny Littlejohn,
Little
Mack Simmons, and others.
This is the first batch from
Bill, so you can look
forward to continuing
volumes of these gems! To
see the photo page click
here.
-
Kim Wilson presents
Rush Limbaugh with
cease and desist.
Harmonica master /
Fabulous Thunderbirds
leader Kim Wilson forbids
Rush Limbaugh to use his
music on any of his
broadcasts. Few in the blues
have hits applicable to this
situation. To read the
article in click
here.
-
Passings.
Sadly we have had so many
from our blues community
leave us. Rather
than impose so much grief
upon our readers, we will
refer and link to other
posted obits as we list the
following blues heroes who
have recently
passed away:
RIP Big Walter Price - Click
here for obit.
RIP Andy Cornett - Click
here for obit.
RIP Eddie King - Click
here for obit.
RIP Bugs Henderson - Click
here for obit.
RIP Red Holloway - Click
here for obit.
We are are thankful for
these fine musician's
lifetime of devotion and
unique
contributions to the genre.
Though we are saddened, we
must look at this loss as
emphasizing the importance
of our own roles in keeping
the blues alive.
-
Louisiana Red with
Hubert Sumlin and
Sunnyland Slim on
YouTube!
Please enjoy this amazing
clip of a youthful
Louisiana
Red in 1980 with
an all-star group featuring
Sunnyland
Slim,
Hubert Sumlin,
Bob Stroger and
Odie
Payne Jr.,
Red plays slide guitar and
sings the political "Please
Mr. Carter" in fine form.
Click
here.
February 25, 2012
- RIP Iverson Minter AKA Louisiana Red
March 23rd, 1932- to February 25, 2012. It is with a heavy heart
that we report the passing of one of the greatest and most beloved
traditional blues artists.
Louisiana Red died this afternoon at a
hospital in Germany (Note Europe is 9 hours ahead) after a few days in a
coma brought on by thyroid imbalance. He was 79.
Louisiana
Red was a powerful downhome blues artist who could channel
his teachers (among them
Muddy Waters,
Elmore James,
Robert Nighthawk,
Lightnin' Hopkins and
John Lee
Hooker) into his own heartfelt musical conversation,
delivered with such moving passion and honesty that it would leave his
audiences indelibly touched. He was fine singer with a distinctive
voice, and an amazing guitarist who could play all of the traditional
blues styles and excelled as one of the world's greatest slide
guitarists. He could create moods and textures, both musically and
spiritually, and had the ability of falling so deep into his own songs
that he would go to tears, making his audience cry with him. That was
the gift of this great artist.
Wikipedia lists
Louisiana Red as
being born in Bessemer, Alabama but his own reports have fluctuated from
various Southern towns and cities. Red lost his mother at birth and his
father was killed in a Ku Klux Klan lynching when Red was just 5 years
old. He lived in an orphanage in New Orleans for a few a his childhood years
until his grandmother took him to Pittsburgh to live. A few years later she
bought him his first guitar, a $12 Kay. Red would play along with records
and the radio and begged some guitar lessons from his first mentor, Crit
Walters. It was early in life that Red made the decision to become a blues
musician. In the late 1940s Red would follow his passion to Detroit where he
would become friends with
Eddie Burns and
John Lee
Hooker. He would make his first recordings in Detroit for
producer
Joe Von Battle under the moniker of Rocky
Fuller, a pair of these recordings were leased to
Chess records. He would accompany John
Lee Hooker on a session for
Modern Records and you can hear Red shouting "Lord Have Mercy" in
the middle of JLH's "Down Child". Red would also land a 1953 recording
session in Chicago for
Chess in which he is accompanied by
Little Walter
on the brilliant "Funeral Hearse At My Door" which remained in the vaults
unreleased for decades. Red's next stop would be New York where he would
record for producer
Bobby Robinson and for Atlas Records. But
it was
Louisiana Red's 1962
Roulette label recordings that garnered him
national recognition as a bluesman. His single "Red's Dream" with its
humorous political commentary became a major hit and was followed by the
Roulette album The Lowdown Back Porch
Blues. This was followed by the 1965 release of Louisiana Red Sings
The Blues on
Atco. In the mid 70s he became the
cornerstone of the Blue Labor label cutting two excellent solo acoustic
albums; Sweet Blood Call and Dead Stray Dog and also
appearing on that label as a featured sideman on albums by
Johnny Shines,
Roosevelt Sykes,
Brownie McGhee, and
Peg
Leg Sam. He was romantically involved with folk legend
Odetta
for a small period of time in the 1970s. European promoters and booking
agents took an interest, and Red found a new audience with his annual
overseas tours. Labels such as
L+R
from Germany and
JSP from England began recording Red, the latter debuting their
catalog with Red, Funk and Blue, a duet album with
Sugar Blue.
Red appeared as himself in the movie Come Back featuring
Eric Burdon
of
Animals fame. Red lived in Chicago for awhile in the early 1980s
where he worked at the
Delta Fish Market. He would then move to
Phoenix in late 1981 where he lived and played with
Bob Corritore for about
a year.
Red left
Phoenix for a European tour in late
1982,
and it was then and
there that he met his true
love,
Dora, who
he married and spent the rest of his life with.
Dora gave Red an uncompromised love
and the constant companionship and protective looking-out-for that Red
needed. Dora also
provided the family situation that Red yearned for in his life as Red took
great pride in his love and adoption of Dora's sons. The positive impact and
dedication that Dora provided Red was simply amazing. Red would live in
Hanover Germany for the rest of his life with Dora and each year in
January, the two would vacation in Ghana, Africa, Dora's country of origin.
He found work so plentiful in Europe that for a period of time he rarely
would come to the USA. In 1995
Earwig Records would release Sittin'
Here Wondering. which had been recorded by
Bob Corritore in 1982 and sat
on the shelf for over a decade. This CD created a relationship between Red
and Earwig
label chief
Michael Frank who would record 2 more
records by Red and book annual US tours. Releases followed on
High Tone and
Severn
as well as a documentary DVD released only in Europe. In 2009 Little
Victor struck gold with his production of Red's Back To The
Black Bayou CD released first on the
Bluestown
Label and then picked up by Ruf Records. Victor had idolized and
studied under Red for years and lovingly coaxed this brilliant album from
his mentor. Back To The Black Bayou swept Europe and the US with
awards and nominations. Simultaneously, Red's collaboration with pianist
David Maxwell
produced You Got To Move, and in 2010 Red would go to the
Blues Music Awards with 5 nominations and
receive 2 wins!
Little Victor also produced Red's final
critically acclaimed CD Memphis Mojo.
It is sad to say goodbye to the loving persona
of this great bluesman who's music warmed our hearts Louisiana
Red's vulnerability became his strength and he filled his heart
with an unstoppable passion for music and acceptance. His legacy is great
and his friendships are many. He can now rest in peace after a lifetime of
giving us everything he had through his amazing blues. God bless you Red.
February 23, 2012
-
This weekend at the Rhythm Room;
Lucius Parr CD Release
Party, A Blues Benefit and The Rocket 88s with guests! The
Rhythm
Room in Phoenix will present the blues this weekend with Lucius Parr (the
nephew of
Albert Collins) hosting a CD release party for his new CD
Gotta Go. Guests include
George Bowman,
Charlie Rae, Gloria Bailey,
Bob Corritore (who plays of 3 tracks of the new CD) and others.To see the event
flier click
here.
On Saturday afternoon beginning at 3:30 Mary Godfrey hosts a benefit called
Breathe The Blues Away. To see the event flier with the lineup of
many bands click
here
. On Saturday night the veteran
Rocket 88s (Bill and Susie Tarsha and
Dave Forster) bring their traditional blues sound to the
Rhythm Room with
special guests
Johnny Rapp, Keith Rogers,
Dave Riley and
Bob Corritore. The
Rhythm Room
is located at 1019 E. Indian
School Rd,. Phoenix, AZ 85014.
-
Blues
is celebrated at the White House!
Last Tuesday night
President
Barack Obama
presented an evening honoring the blues as part of
Black History Month. Many
aspects of the blues and it's popular crossover were featured and the
artist's included were
B.B. King,
Mick Jagger,
Buddy Guy,
Shemekia Copeland,
Trombone Shorty, Warren Haynes,
Jeff Beck,
Susan Tedeschi,
Derek Trucks,
Gary Clark, Jr. and a house band led by
Booker
T (of
Booker T. and the MGs fame).
President Obama even joined
in for a few lines of "Sweet Home Chicago"! Both
Etta James and
Hubert Sumlin
were memorialized. The
filming in it's live raw form was viewable online last night, and the edited
presentation will be available on
PBS on Monday night (Consult your local
listings for the exact time). The
White House blues celebration will be watched
by millions and should give all of us in this industry a boost!
To see the Yahoo News article and some clips from the night click
here.
-
First Mud Morganfield CD reviews! The
highly anticipated new CD,
Mud Morganfield /
Son Of The Seventh Son
on the Severn label has a release date of March 20. But it is already
garnering some great initial airplay and the first batch of rave reviews. To
see the first two published reviews click
here. Look out for Mud's CD
release party on March 31st at
Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago!
-
2011
BMA Photo Page! As
the voting for the 2012
BMA is in it's last week, we have put
together a photo page of some of the fun times from last year's event. The
BMAs are simply the greatest blues hang
that there is. This year's
BMA ceremony takes place on Thursday May
10, 2012 at the
Cook Convention Center in Memphis,
Tennessee. For more information on the
BMAs go to the
Blues Foundation
website at
www.blues.org.
Note that
Voting ends at
07:59:59 (CST) Thursday, March 1, 2012.
To see our 2011
BMA photo page click
here.
-
Chicago Blues Guide pays tribute to Maxwell Street! Please
enjoy this beautiful article and photo expose recently posted by the
Chicago
Blues Guide.
Tom Smith provides an insider's look at the grand blues
tradition of Chicago's
Maxwell Street market. Each Sunday morning a
gathering of street vendors, hustlers, bargain seekers, and blues and gospel
street performers came to this street. It was a cultural smorgasbord with
healthy servings of blues dished up in fine form. To see this article click
here.
-
B.B. King on
Sesame Street!
B.B. King sings the blues about the
letter "B" on a 2004 episode
of the children's show
Sesame Street!
This performance, complete with Big Bird, Bert and other show characters, is
simply amazing! Click
here.
-
Jimmy Rogers on harmonica! It is not well known that
Jimmy
Rogers was a great harmonica
player as he is most celebrated for his intricate guitar-work and his
elegant blues vocals. Please enjoy the "Round About Boogie" from 1948, which
happens to be
Jimmy Rogers' first record, where he sings and plays harmonica:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-oNtUSbgJA.
And here is a nice write-up on the song and how it fits into Chicago blues
history by the renown blues journalist / harmonica player Scott Dirks
http://www.the-blindman.com/text.htm.
-
Junior Wells with
Buddy
Guy on YouTube!
Please enjoy this riveting 1970 performance showing the musical chemistry of
Junior Wells and
Buddy Guy from the movie
Chicago Blues. Click
here.
February 9, 2012
-
This Friday
and Saturday a Chicago Blues
celebration at the Rhythm
Room in Phoenix with John
Primer!
The
Rhythm Room proudly
presents
John Primer with
the
Rhythm Room All-Stars
(Bob Corritore,
Chris James,
Patrick Rynn,
Brian Fahey)
and special guest
Barrelhouse Chuck on Friday
and Saturday, February 10
and 11. Expect a very
special two nights of pure
Chicago Blues! Also of note
is Saturday's pre-show
featuring jazz guitar great
Bobby Broom & The Deep Blue Organ Trio who will appear
for a 6pm set before
John
Primer's 9pm show. The
Rhythm Room is located at
1019 E. Indian School Rd.,
Phoenix, AZ 85014.
Please also note that
John
Primer and
Barrelhouse Chuck
will also be guests on
Bob
Corritore's radio show on
Sunday February 12. The
radio show,
Those
Lowdown Blues, can be
heard online at
www.kjzz.org or
in Phoenix at 91.5FM, 6pm to
11pm (Arizona time) each
Sunday night.
-
IBC
Recap.
I once thought that going to
the
IBCs
(AKA The International Blues
Challenge)was all about the
band competition, and
perhaps for some it is. But
for a number of years now I
have chosen to attend to be
a part of what I feel is the
bigger picture of this
event. To me this event is
a family gathering of blues
people who come to get the
feeling of community that is
so powerfully demonstrated
in these few days.
Everyone is there for the
blues, and that's a powerful
thing. Hundreds of bands
determined to make their
best appearance, blues
societies, seasoned
musicians, agents, writers,
bloggers, photographers,
booking agents,
publicists,and blues people
of all types are all
there. In addition to the
band contests, the
IBCs feature
great showcases and
after-hours jams, tasty
southern dining experiences,
clinics, seminars, and the
Keeping the Blues Alive
Awards Brunch. One must
applaud the amazing
organization of the
Blues Foundation,
who's small staff call upon
and coordinate volunteer
members to work many of the
tasks of this smoothly run
event. These are just a few
examples of the many ways
that this event nurtures a
powerful blues camaraderie.
You could not walk down the
street without bumping into
a familiar face every few
steps. Many introductions
and exchanged business cards
combine with a wide
array of great bands all
playing their hearts out to
their blues family. While at
the
IBCs
I had a number of fun
playing opportunities; a
Thursday late night jam at
the New
Daisy Theater
with
Jonn
Del Toro Richardson,
Sean Carney, and
Rich DelGrosso,
a Thursday later night jam
where host
Nick Moss
called upon me to join him
for a couple classic Chicago
blues numbers, a walk back
to the hotel with
Hawkeye Herman were
I played harp and Hawkeye
sang some gospel classics,
Bob Margolin's
Friday blues showcase where
I got to play with Bob,
Tad Walters
(who opened the show playing
some great harmonica!),
Matt Hill,
Chuck Cotton and the
Peterson Brothers,
And then an impromptu lobby
jam at the Double Tree after
the
KBA Brunch. Speaking of which, Saturday's KBAs
were a very reflective and
joyous time as the
Blues Foundation
honored the behind the
scenes heroes of our
industry. To see this years
KBA
recipients click
here.
I sat between my
friends
Jean Guillermo (Blues
Sur Seine) and
Karen
McFarland
(Mississippi
Valley Blues Society)
watching some
heart-warming speeches by
some very accomplished award
recipients! Shortly after
the
KBAs
it was off to the band
finals at the beautiful
Orpheum Theater
which was part concert and
part lobby party. For a list
of the IBC winners in all
categories click
www.blues.org. Immediately
after the band finals, was a
dinner with friends
Steve Simon and his
lovely lady Downing,
Paul and Jean Benjamin,
and
Bill Wax,
who's birthday we were
celebrating! I called it an
early night around
10:30pm because of my early
Sunday morning flight back
to Phoenix where later that
night my radio show
celebrated it's 28 year
anniversary!
Coming home,
I was on the same flight
home as my friends, Common
Ground Blues Band who
represented Phoenix at the
IBCs. A fun time in Memphis!
-
Phoenix's
Blues Blast Festival happens
March 10 with headliner
Sugar Ray & The Bluetones!
The
Phoenix
Blues Society presents the Blues
Blast 2012 festival on
Saturday, March 10 at the
new location of
Margaret T. Hance Park in downtown
Phoenix, located at 200 East
Moreland Street. Appearing
at
Blues Blast 2012
will be
Sugar Ray & the Bluetones,
Dave Riley & Bob Corritore, The
Sugar
Thieves,
Big Daddy D & the
Dynamites,
George Bowman and
the Baddboyz Blues Band
featuring Lucius Parr, and
Common Ground Blues Band.
The show will start at 11:00
am; gates will open at 10:00
am. More information at
http://www.bluesblast.info/.
Also note that the pre-party
will be Friday March 9 at
the
Rhythm Room with
Alligator recording artist
Janiva Magness and her CD
release party! Also the
after party will happen
immediately after the fest
at the
Rhythm Room with a
showcase / celebrity jam
hosted by the
Rocket 88s.
Festival ticket stub holders
can attend the after-party
free of charge!
-
Tail Dragger
and
Bob Corritore to
headline Stompin' At The
Savoy in Helsinki, Finland!
The official poster with the
full lineup has just come
out! The 2nd Annual Stompin'
At The Savoy Festival
happens April 13, 14 and 15
at the
Savoy Theatre in Hellsinki. Appearing at this
festival will be
Tail
Dragger and
Bob Corritore
backed by the
Tomi Leino
Band (excellent band!),
Steve James,
Sven
Zetterberg,
Beat From Palookaville,
Queen Fatima &
The Royal Four,
Dave Acari &
The Hellsinki Hellraisers,
Honey B & The T-Bones
featuring Paleface, and
Maxwell Street Market. DJs
Pete H and High-Q,
Black
River Bluesman and Bad Mood
Hudson. To see the new
poster click
here. To see
cover art for the
Tail
Dragger &
Bob
Corritore's
forthcoming CD on
Delta
Groove, click
here.
-
Bob Corritore's 2011
Year in Photos! We
have just added a 2 part
photo page to reflect Bob's
musical adventures of last
year. Please enjoy an inside
peek at shows, show posters.
sessions, off stage fun,
recording sessions, good fun
and good friends. For part
one click
http://www.bobcorritore.com/photos159.html and
for part two
http://www.bobcorritore.com/photos166.html.
Note that we also will soon
be showing you extensive
photo pages of the 2011
BMAs,
The 2011
Lucerne Blues
Festival and the
Hubert Sumlin Memorial Show at
FitzGerald's so these great
events are just touched upon
in year photo recap. Please
enjoy these mementos of a
great year!
-
Mud Morganfield
complete CD art revealed!
Mud Morganfield, the eldest
son of
Muddy Waters, will
have his first nationally
released CD,
Son Of The
Seventh Son, out on the
Severn Records label on March
20th, 2011. There will be a
CD release party in Chicago
on Saturday, March 31 at
Buddy Guy's Legends! Here is
the complete artwork for
this highly anticipated
release. Click
here.
-
Sister
Rosetta Tharpe
with Big Walter Horton on
YouTube!
Check out this unusual
paring of gospel and Chicago
blues as the magnificent
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
performs with
Willie Dixon's
Chicago Blues All-Stars with
Big Walter Horton,
Lee
Jackson,
Lafayette Leake,
and
Clifton James.
This 1960s clip has
beautiful sound and color as
Sister Rosetta Tharpe sings her
classics "That's All" and
"Didn't It Rain" with
Chicago blues backing! Click
here.
February 3, 2012
-
Off to
Memphis for the IBCs!
The
International
Blues Challenge
(AKA IBCs) is a time when
the
blues community
comes together to greet the
up-and-coming artists that
will be part of the future
of this music. During the
IBCs, many bands from all
over the world will compete
for a chance at great
recognition in the blues
community. In addition to
this event, there are many
side attractions such as the
Keeping The Blues Alive
awards presentations,
various showcases, a now
famous jam after hours at
the
Rum
Boogie
hosted by
Bob
Margolin,
and much networking. Blues
societies, booking agents,
labels, festivals,
publications, photographers,
and every possible blues
industry type is in
attendance, as well a
multitude of fans who come
to take part in this blues
spectacle! For more
information on this event
click
here.
To see the flier for
Bob
Margolin's after hours jam,
please click
here.
-
Those
Lowdown Blues on
KJZZ turns 28 this
Sunday!
Bob Corritore's
radio show,
Those
Lowdown Blues celebrates
28 years on Sunday! Bob has
earned a strong radio
listenership with the show's
timeless historic
presentation of the genre
and with Bob's extensive
personal library of blues
music. The show has been
celebrated locally with
numerous
New Times "Best Of
Phoenix" awards and other
press and recognition,
received the
Blues
Foundation's "Keeping The
Blues Alive Award" in 2007,
and won an "Honorary
Membership" from
Collectif
Des Radios Blues presented
to Bob in France at the 2008
Cognac Blues Festival! You
can tune into
Those Lowdown
Blues each Sunday from 6pm
to 11pm Arizona time, or
hear it online at
www.kjzz.org.
Thanks to
KJZZ for their
commitment to blues music!
-
John Primer to
headline Chciago Blues
weekend at the the Rhythm
Room! On February
10 and 11 the
Rhythm Room
will present two nights of
glorious Chicago blues with
John Primer backed by the
Rhythm Room All-Stars (Bob Corritore, Chris James,
Patrick Rynn, and Brian
Fahey) plus very special
guest
Barrelhouse Chuck on
piano. John has an exceptional
resume: He worked in the
house band at Theresa's
Lounge along side of Sammy Lawnhorn, where he regularly
backed Junior Wells and
James Cotton. He was in the
last lineup of the Muddy
Waters Blues Band, he worked
with Magic Slim & The
Teardrops for years. He
played on the
Grammy winning CD, Pinetop
Perkins & Willie "Big Eyes"
Smith / Joined At The
Hip. He is currently a
featured artist in the
highly aclaimed Chicago
Blues: A Living History
package. We look forward to
a weekend of pure Chicago
Blues. The
Rhythm Room is
located at
1019 E. Indian School Rd.,
Phoenix, AZ 85014. To
see the flyer for this event
click
here.
-
Diunna Greenleaf
continues to garner critical
acclaim!
Congratulations to Houston
based blues queen
Diunna
Greenleaf as her new album,
Trying To Hold On, continues
to be met with critical
acclaim. The most recent
Blues Revue Magazine with
Robert Cray on the cover
features a rave review of
the record by Kay Cordtz.
And in that same issue, her
CD was in the Bravo listing
of most listened to CDs in
the
Blues Revue offices!
Blues Revue is also
preparing a future
Diunna
Greenleaf feature article
written by Tim Parsons. She
was recently featured in
Deitra Farr's Artist To
Artist column in
Living
Blues Magazine. She is the
feature of Honey Sepeda's
blog
Honey Bee's Blues. Diunna is up for a Blues
Music Award in the "Koko
Taylor
Traditional Female Blues
Artist" category and
Trying To Hold On is up
for "Traditional Blues CD"!
-
Amazing 1940's
Footage of
Sonny Boy Williamson
and
Robert Jr. Lockwood!
Please enjoy these silent
movies of Sonny Boy
Williamson and Robert Jr.
Lockwood performing in
promotion of King Biscuit
Flour. It is as if you have
been transported in a time
machine! We became aware of
this footage from Facebook's
Real Blues Forum.
The YouTube copy states the
following; "Max Moore, owner
of Interstate Grocery in
Helena, Arkansas, was the
sponsor for radio station
KFFA's "King Biscuit Time"
program. We believe he shot
this home movie circa 1942.
In it, renowned blues
musicians Robert 'Junior'
Lockwood and Sonny Boy
Williamson perform on the
front porch of a small-town
Arkansas grocery store. This
is likely the earliest
footage of these musicians
performing together. The
second portion of the clip
is a 1952 tour featuring
Williamson and his band.
This film was preserved with
a grant from the National
Film Preservation
Foundation. Max Moore Home
Movie Collection". To see,
click
here!
-
Chicago
Sun-Times previews upcoming
Chicago Blues Festival!
The Chicago Blues Festival
happens this year on June 8,
9 and 10 in beautiful Grant
Park. Though the full music
schedule does not yet appear
on the fest website (http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/supporting_narrative/events___special_events/special_events/mose/chicago_blues_festival.html),
The Chicago Sun-Times
newspaper has the inside
track and speaks of many of
the acts performing. To read
the article click
here.
-
Lazy Lester /
You
Better Listen Liner Notes.
In 2011
Lazy Lester released
You Better Listen on the
Bluestown label out of Norway.
This CD is nominated for a
Blues Music Award in the category
of "Traditional Blues Album."
Lazy Lester is also up for
BMAs
in "Instrumentalist-Harmonica"
and "Traditional Blues Male
Artist". Co-producer Jostein
Forsburg asked
Bob Corritore to
write the liner notes for this
release, which are posted on the
label website. You can see them
by clicking
here.
-
Magic Slim
and
Grana Louise to star
in a movie!
Though still in the
fundraising stage, here is a
teaser revealing the basic
idea of a forthcoming movie
called We Be Kings
that will star Magic Slim
and
Grana
Louise as main
characters. In this movie
two down and out teen
rockers save an elderly
bluesman's life and are
guided by the ghost of his
wife to achieve the fame he
never had. To see the clip
and find out more about the
movie, click
here.
-
RIP
Don Cornelius
-September 27, 1936 to
February 1, 2012.
Don Cornelius, host and
creator of the beloved
television show Soul Train
was found dead today, from
an apparent suicide. He was
75. One cannot
over-estimate the influence
of this show in bringing
great soul and rhythm &
blues artists into the
spotlight and highlighting
the joy of dancing to the
music it presented. For
Don's wikipedia bio click
here, and for the
Huffington Post article
which includes a video and a
slide show click
here.
We are saddened that a man
that brought so much joy to
others, would leave the
world this way. He will be
remembered fondly by the
millions of people that his
work touched.Here
is a wonderful YouTube clip
of
Don Cornelius announcing
on Soul Train, with special
guest Johnnie Taylor singing
"Stop Doggin' Me
Around"(Click here to see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1kDiLDwflY).
-
Correction to Omar
Shariff Obit. Bay Area
blues promoter Thomas Mazzolini
sends this correction and his
personal insight to our
Dave
Alexander AKA
Omar Shariff obit;
"Dave Alexander
shot himself in Marshall,
Texas. He had moved there
from California in 2011. I
cannot understand why he
would take his own life
given that he had embarked
on a new career and location
where he appeared to be
working more often and was
appreciated for
his skills and legacy. The only
thing that I could think of was
depression. Perhaps a moment of
utter despair. I was sickened
over the news upon hearing it
early Monday morning. While in
Sacramento we had often spoken
and of course I booked him many
times especially in the early
years".
-
1968 B.B. King on
YouTube! Here
is a clip
of a youthful
B.B.
King from 1968 singing "I've
Got A Mind To Give Up
Living." Click
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC8NACR28J4&feature=related.
January 20, 2012
-
Etta James
January 25, 1938
- January 20, 2012. How many people have
fallen in love while listening
to the song "At Last" or shed a
tear when listening to "I'd
Rather Go Blind" or danced with
delight and empowerment when the
song "Tell Mama" would come on?
That was the power of the
legendary
Etta James who died
today after a long struggle with
numerous health issues. She was
73. Etta represented the human
condition and all of its
imperfections of which she could
sing about with an experienced
vulnerability that would seem to
cut straight to your
heart. Born
Jamesetta Hawkins in
Los Angeles, Etta
began singing
in church at age 5. She would
launch a professional music
career under the name "Peaches"
while still in her early teens.
In 1955 she teamed up
with producer/musician/
bandleader/talent scout
Johnny
Otis to release "The
Wallflower" which rose to #1 in
the Rhythm & Blues charts.
Throughout the 1950s she made
many spectacular recordings for
Modern Records and in 1960 she
signed with the
Chess label's
subsidiary
Argo Records. It was
during her
Chess period that
some of her most beloved hits
were released. Along the way she
became addicted to heroin which
led to some bumps in her career
but she kicked the habit in 1974
and rebuilt her amazing career.
She would open for the
Rolling
Stones, win
Grammy and
Handy Awards,
sing the national anthem at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, be
inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1993, and unquestionably
solidify her stature as a
true music legend. In 2008 the
movie
Cadillac Records
featured
Beyoncé
portraying the
Etta James
character during the
Chess Records years. Beyoncé's
version of Etta's "At Last' from
that movie would win a
Grammy. Sadly,
Etta James
publicly criticized
Beyoncé for
singing "At Last"
at the inaugural ball for
President
Barack
Obama.
The last few years found Etta
dealing with many health issues
including blood infection and leukemia. Through all of her
trials and tribulations,
Etta James will remembered for
all time as a singer who,
perhaps better than anyone else,
could become the song. We
thank Etta James for the gift of
her music and her unstoppable
spirit and grit which will live
on forever through her
many timeless recordings.
To read the Yahoo news article on Etta's passing click
http://music.yahoo.com/news/legendary-blues-singer-etta-james-dies-calif-163709371.html.
Here
are
some
examples
of Etta's wonderful music:
"I'd
Rather Go Blind" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YApNirMC9gM
"At
Last"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1uunRdQ61M
"Good Rockin' Daddy"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV6_ro22Swk
"The
Wallflower"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZFyKBQ7evY
"The
Pick-Up"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOtmVy5zFt4
"I
Just Want To Make Love To You"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Pu_AdU_NQg
"Tell Mama"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVqsvCclGnk&feature=fvst
January 19, 2012
-
RIP Johnny Otis -
December 28, 1921 to January
17, 2012. Ioannis
Alexandres Veliotes, who is
best known as
Johnny
Otis, was one of
the true bedrock figures of
blues, rhythm & blues &
early rock & roll. He died
at age 90 at his home in the
Los Angeles suburb of
Altadena after years of
decreasing health.
Johnny
Otis did it all:
singer,
multi-instrumentalist,
songwriter, producer,
bandleader, talent scout,
radio show host, television
show host, label owner,
nightclub owner, sculptor
and painter, author, and he
even had his own brand of
apple juice! He had a
vibrant personality, a sharp
look, and the ability to get
things done. He was an
essential part of many of
the greatest moments in
rhythm & blues! As as white
man of Greek decent, Otis
truly embraced black
culture, and very decidedly
and successfully led his
own black music
movement. The huge list of
his musical
contributions show
super-human qualities, and
his amazing story is well
told from Lee Hildrebrand
words from Johnny's own
website:
"Johnny
Otis was born
December 28, 1921 in
Vallejo, California. He grew
up in a predominantly black
neighborhood in Berkeley,
California, where his father
owned and operated a
neighborhood grocery store.
He began his musical career
in 1939 as a drummer with
Count Otis Matthew's West
Oakland House Rockers. In
1943, at the recommendation
of
Nat
"King" Cole and
Jimmy
Witherspoon, he
moved to Los Angeles to join
Harlan
Leonard's Kansas City
Rockets at the
Club Alabam. By 1945 he was
leading his own band, and
had his first big hit that
year with "Harlem Nocturne".
In 1948 he joined with Bardu
and Tila Ali, and Johnny
Miller to open The
Barrelhouse in Los Angeles,
which was the first
nightclub to feature Rhythm
& Blues exclusively. In 1950
he had ten songs that made
the Top 10 on
Billboard Magazine's
Best Selling Retail Rhythm &
Blues Records list. With
this success, he went on the
road with his California
Rhythm & Blues Caravan, and
became the hottest musical
attraction in black America.
In the early 1950's,
remaining active as a
writer, performer, and
producer, Johnny began a
radio career and became one
of the most popular disc
jockeys in southern
California. His career in
radio has now spanned almost
50 years. His early radio
broadcast success led to a
weekly variety show on
television. "The
Johnny
Otis Show" was on
TV in Los Angeles for eight
years.
Johnny
Otis discovered
many legendary Rhythm and
Blues singers such as
Esther
Phillips,
Willie
Mae "Big Momma" Thornton,
Etta
James, and the
Robins (who evolved into the
Coasters), all of
whom were at one time
featured vocalists in his
band. He also discovered
Sugar
Pie DeSanto,
Hank
Ballard and the Midnighters,
Jackie
Wilson, and
Little
Willie John. He
produced, and with his band
played on the original
recording of "Hound Dog"
with
"Big
Momma" Thornton.
He produced and played on
Johnny
Ace's "Pledging
My Love", and produced some
of
Little
Richard's
earliest recordings. On his
own Blues Spectrum label,
Johnny has recorded and
played with Rhythm & Blues
pioneers such as
Big
Joe Turner,
Gatemouth Moore,
Amos
Milburn,
Richard Berry,
Joe
Liggins,
Roy
Milton,
Eddie
"Cleanhead" Vinson,
Charles Brown,
and
Louis
Jordan. Johnny
played the drums on
Charles Brown's
first major hit "Driftin'
Blues" in 1946. He also
recorded with Illinois
Jacquet, and Lester Young.
One of the many highlights
of his long career was when
he performed as a drummer
with the great Count Basie
Orchestra.
In the 1960's Johnny served
as Deputy Chief of Staff to
Mervin
Dymally, whose
career he followed from the
State Assembly, State
Senate, Lieutenant
Governorship of California,
to the U.S. Congress. His
first book "Listen
To The Lambs",
which addressed the 1965
race riots was published in
1968. His next book, "Upside
Your Head! Rhythm & Blues on
Central Avenue"
was published in 1993. Many
of his paintings,
sculptures, and wood
carvings are displayed in "Colors
and Chords - The Art of
Johnny Otis"
which was published in 1995.
His most recent book, "Johnny
Otis -
Red
Beans & Rice and Other Rock
'n' Roll Recipes"
was published in 1997.
Johnny
Otis's song
writing credits include
"Every Beat of My Heart", (a
song he wrote originally for
Jackie
Wilson, but was
made a hit by
Gladys Knight and the Pips),
"Roll With Me Henry", (also
known as "The Wallflower"),
"So Fine", "Willie And The
Hand Jive" (which sold over
1.5 million copies), and
many, many others.
Johnny has been inducted
into the Rhythm & Blues Hall
of Fame, into the
Blues
Hall of Fame and
into the
Rock &
Roll Hall of Fame.
The Archives of African
American Music and Culture
at the University of Indiana
has cataloged hundreds of
hours of his past radio
shows for his interviews,
comments, insights, and
historical significance.
He has remained active in
his recording studio and has
put out 6 CD's on his label
since the mid-nineties."
One must also mention
Johnny
Otis' son,
Shuggie Otis who
is a brilliant guitarist.
Another observation is
Johnny
Otis' appearance
at the
Monterey Jazz Festival
in the movie thriller
Play
Misty For Me
starring
Clint
Eastwood. Another
fun fact was Johnny's
disguised "adult party"
album credited to Snatch
and the Poontangs. We
thank God for
Johnny
Otis and remember
his brilliant and definitive
contributions which will
live on forever. His mark on
the world leaves it a better
place.
Some great clips:
Johnny
Otis singing
"Willie And The Hand Jive"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOrQTh_Cq7U
Johnny with
Little
Esther Phillips
performing "Misery"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WNkoABY63w
Johnny with
Roy
Buchannan
performing "Bye Bye Baby"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icwUx_xGPXg
Johnny
Otis "Harlem
Nocturne" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bYPnfXXUp4
January 13, 2012
-
Dave Riley / Bob
Corritore Juke Joint Blues
Band tonight at the Rhythm
Room! When
Dave
Riley and
Bob
Corritore combine
their rich blues experiences
the result is a finely
crafted combination of deep
Mississippi and Chicago
Blues. On Friday, January 13
Dave and Bob and their band
(with
Brian
Fahey on drums
and Dave "Yahni" Riley, Jr.
on bass) will bring their
special brand of blues to
the
Rhythm
Room. Doors at
8pm and music at 9pm. The
Rhythm
Room is at
1019 E. Indian School Road,
Phoenix, AZ 85014.
-
Mud Morganfield's
new CD on Severn to be
released on March 20th!
Cover art revealed!
Mud
Morganfield, the
eldest son of
Muddy
Waters, came onto
the scene about 5 years ago.
His closeness to his father
in voice, appearance, and
mannerisms in nothing short
of a modern miracle.
Severn
Records will
release Son Of The
Seventh Son, Mud's
first national release on
March 20th. The CD produced
by
Bob
Corritore
features a great backing
band consisting of Rick
Kreher,
Billy Flynn,
Barrelhouse Chuck,
E.G. McDaniel,
Kenny Smith,
and
Harmonica Hinds
and
Bob Corritore
switching off on the
harmonica chores. Look for
numerous CD release parties
around the country and
around the world, starting
appropriately on March 31 at
Buddy Guy's Legends. To see
the album art and the
spectacular cover, click
here. Watch out world,
here comes
Mud
Morganfield!
-
New Mannish Boys CD
to recorded next week!
When band leader/
harmonicist/ label chief
Randy
Chortkoff does
something, he does it all
the way. so is the case with
the grandiose production of
the new CD by super group
The
Mannish Boys.
Musicians will gather next
week for numerous days of
recording sessions that will
become the next CD by this
memorable band. Here is what
the press release says:
"THE
MANNISH BOYS RETURN TO THE
STUDIO.
So
how exactly do The
Mannish
Boys plan to top five
critically acclaimed CDs when
preparing to record their next
highly anticipated studio album?
Easy… they simply call up all
their friends, invite them over,
and make it a double! Yes, you
heard correctly. This month The
Mannish
Boys head into the
studio to record a 2-CD set and
follow up to the band's 5th
anniversary recording "Shake
For Me," released back in
March 2010. The current lineup
will feature powerhouse
vocalists
Finis
Tasby and newcomer
Sugaray Rayford, the dynamic
six-string duo of
Kirk Fletcher and
Frank "Paris Slim" Goldwasser
on guitars,
Randy
Chortkoff on
harmonica, along with the
propulsive rhythmic support of
Willie J. Campbell on bass
and
Jimi Bott on drums. Rounding
out this star-studded
extravaganza will be special
guests
Elvin Bishop,
Mud
Morganfield,
Jackie Payne,
Candye Kane,
Rod Piazza,
James
Harman,
Kid Ramos, Junior
Watson,
Mike Finnigan,
Rob Rio,
Fred Kaplan,
Nathan James,
Laura
Chavez,
Bob
Corritore and
Bill Stuve. The sparks will fly as
The
Mannish
Boys tackle classics
and B-side rarities for what is
sure to become another
quintessential recording in
their ever-growing catalog. Look
for the new
Mannish
Boys album, produced
by
Randy
Chortkoff and Jeff
Scott Fleenor, coming out on
Delta Groove this May 2012" To
see the beautiful poster
announcing this release click
here.
-
Tail Dragger & Bob
Corritore to release CD on
Delta Groove! While
on the subject of
Delta Groove
we are proud to
announce that
Delta Groove
will have another fall
release with
Tail Dragger &
Bob
Corritore /
Longtime Friends In The
Blues! This album highlights
the 35 year friendship and
musical chemistry of these
two blues artists. Together
with a great band consisting
of
Henry Gray,
Kirk Fletcher,
Chris
James,
Patrick Rynn, and
Brian Fahey, these sides
powerfully present a great
classic Chicago blues
ensemble sound. Gutsy and
raw, this is no-apology,
real blues as is rarely
performed these days. To get
a sneak peak at the cover
click
here!
-
RIP Dave Alexander
AKA Omar Shariff - March 10,
1938 to January 8, 2012.
Not to be confused with the
famous actor of the same
name,
Omar Shariff was a
Louisiana born, Texas raised
blues piano player. He was
found dead at his Sacramento
home on Jan 8 of self
inflicted gunshot wounds. He
was 73. A brilliant
songwriter, a stirring
vocalist, and articulate
jazz-spiced blues piano
player, Shariff had s
persona that was serious and
intense. He recorded a
series of acclaimed CDs on
the
World Pacific,
Arhoolie,
and
Have Mercy labels. He
first recorded under the
name Dave Alexander but
would later record as Omar Shariff. His music often had
a dark, haunting quality to
it. To read the obit in the
Longview, Texas News
Journal, click here
http://www.news-journal.com/news/local/boogie-woogie-legend-dies/article_7b0ba07b-def7-5e8a-bdc6-3eaed15e7c62.html?mode=story.
To hear him perform his song
"The Raven" click
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvQPKk2JUpA
-
R.L Burnside
performs Goin' Down South on
YouTube! please
enjoy the Mississippi Hill
Country Blues of a youthful
R.L. Burnside performing his
classic "Going Down South" in
the early 1970s at a juke
joint. Click
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3e-BNLYrMU&feature=related
January 11, 2012
-
2011 Recap.
2011
was a year filled
with touring, recording,
musical growth and
career building. It was the
year highlighted by my CD,
Bob
Corritore
& Friends /
Harmonica Blues
on the Delta
Groove
label, winning a
Blues
Music Award! It
was a year when I
received both
BMA and
Living
Blues Award nominations for
best harmonica player. It
was the year my nightclub
turned 20 years old, my
radio show (Those
Lowdown Blues on
www.kjzz.org)
turned 27, and I turned age
55. It was also a year of
grieving and funerals, as so
many of the most celebrated
blues elders, some of
whom were my
close friends and
musical associates, were
laid to rest.
I played many great
festivals, concerts, club
dates, and far too many
memorial shows. I played
great harmonica on releases
by Louisina Red, Diunna
Greenleaf, and Little
Victor. The recording
efforts of last year will
also turn into numerous
releases for this year.
I feel both overwhelmed and
grateful as I look back at
this time in my life. It was
a year where I felt very
fulfilled and reinforced,
stood on some important
stages with great players,
made sensational
recordings, and I played my
heart out regularly.
Thank you for allowing me
these great things
-
CDs and DVDs
Released. I was
associated with 6 releases
this year, either as a
harmonica player, or
producer, or both and for
one release I was the writer
of the liner notes. Here is
a listing of this year's
crop of releases.
1)
Louisiana Red
with Little Victor's Juke
Joint / Memphis Mojo (Ruf
Records) I play harmonica on
about half the tracks.
Powerful downhome blues
by this legendary master!
!
2)
Diunna Greenleaf
/ Trying To Hold On
(Blue Mercy). I produced 6
of the 13 tracks on the CD
and play harmonica on 4 of
them. A simply brilliant
songwriter-oriented blues
CD.
3)
Little Victor /
Boogie All Night
(El Toro). I had the
privilege of playing on one
track of this wild CD!
4)
2010 BMAs DVD
(Blues
Foundation)
-This DVD presents
highlights of the 2010
Blues
Music Awards.
I appear on one
song performing with
Louisiana Red &
Little
Victor.
5)
17th Annual
Lucerne Blues Festival CD
(Lucerne Blues Festival). A souvenir CD for the
festival. I played on and
produced one track on this
CD.
6)
Lazy Lester / You Better Listen
(BluesTown Records). I did
not perform on or produce
this one, but I did write the
liner notes for this very
cool CD.
-
Recording Sessions
and DVD Filming,
This year I spent a huge
amount of time in the studio
working on many projects.
I produced part of, and
oversaw last year's long
awaited CD by
Diunna Greenleaf,
Trying To Hold On. Mud
Morganfield
flew me into Chicago to
produce and play on his
first national release,
Son Of The Seventh Son,
out March 20th on
Severn Records.
Mud's CD has an all-star
band consisting
Billy Flynn,
Rick Kreher,
Barrelhouse Chuck,
E.G. McDaniel,
Kenny Smith,
Harmonica Hinds
and myself.
Dave Riley
and I recorded our 3rd CD
tentatively called Hush
Your Fuss due out later
this year. We spent allot of
time writing new material
for this one and did a
number of sessions to
accomplish this one.
I produced a great CD called
Tail Dragger
&
Bob
Corritore
/ Long Time Friends In
The Blues which will be
out early this year on
Delta
Groove! That CD
will feature the great
backing of
Henry Gray,
Kirk Fletcher,
Chris James,
Patrick Rynn,
and
Brian Fahey.
Clarke Rigsby
and I also did live
recording sessions at the
Rhythm Room
with
Tail
Dragger and the
Rhythm Room All-Stars
with
Kirk
Fletcher, and
The Dave Riley / Bob
Corritore Juke Joint Blues
Band
(These will be combined with
other
Rhythm
Room live
recordings for a 20
year anniversary CD). I also
did sessions with
Valerie June, and
Magic Slim & The Teardrops, and I contributed harmonica
parts to recordings with
Louisiana Red,
Lucius Parr,
and rock legend
Dave Mason.
Clarke and I mixed
Amanda
Taylor's track picks for a
forthcoming CD documenting
the 2010 harmonica
extravaganza,
Amanda's Roller Coaster
with
Billy
Boy Arnold,
James Cotton,
Lazy Lester,
Kim Wilson,
Paul Oscher.
James Harman,
Al Blake,
Dave Riley & Bob Corrritore, and
many more!
My 2 song set
at the 2011 BMAs
in Memphis was filmed with a
band that
included
Willie "Big Eyes" Smith,
Eddie Shaw,
David Maxwell,
Jimi Bott,
Chris
James &
Patrick Rynn. A
commemorative DVD will come
out early this year.
I also played harmonica for a
live performance filming of
Sam Lay and
The Bob Riedy
Blues Band at
Dell Rhea's
Chicken Basket in Willowbrook, IL on June 11.
This will eventually be a
part of documentary produced
by the
Chicago Blues
Foundation. Am
I forgetting anything?
-
Awards, Nominations, and
Recognition.
Bob and his musical collaborators
were associated
with numerous
awards
and achievements
this year:
-
Bob
Corritore
& Friends
/
Harmonica Blues won
a 2011
BMA
(Blues Music Award) in the
"Historical Album" category.
Bob's first
BMA
win!
-
Bob
Corritore was
nominated for a 2011
BMA
for "Instrumentalist -
Harmonica" and the other
nominees were
Charlie Musselwhite,
James
Cotton,
Kim
Wilson,
and
Paul
Oscher
(some pretty amazing company
to be associated with).
Congratulations to Charlie
who won the award!
-
Bob
Corritore was
nominated for a 2011
Living Blues
Magazine
Award for "Most
Outstanding Musician -
Harmonica" and the other
nominees in that
category were
James Cotton,
Billy Boy Arnold,
Charlie Musselwhite,
and
Sugar Blue (again, some
pretty amazing company to be
associated with).
Congratulations to
James
Cotton who won the award.
-Bob
Corritore
& Friends /
Harmonica Blues was
nominated for a 2011 Blues
Blast Music Award for "Best
Traditional Blues CD.'
Congratulations to Pinetop
Perkins & Willie "Big eyes"
Smith who rightfully won
this award.
-Bob
Corritore
won the
Big City Blues Magazine's
2011 Happy to Have the Blues
Awards in the
very light-hearted category
of "Best Hair 'Do' - Male.'
-Bob
Corritore
received a
Certificate of Special
Recognition form the Office
of the Governor of the State
of Arizona. Click here
http://www.bobcorritore.com/images/BC%202011%20101.jpg.
-
Diunna Greenleaf /
Trying
To Hold On was nominated for
a 2012
BMA
in the
Traditional Blues Album
category. Diunna was also up
for a
Koko Taylor Traditional
Blues Arist (Female)
category.
-
Diunna Greenleaf /
Trying
To Hold On and
Louisiana
Red /
Memphis Mojo were tied
for 1st place in the October
Powerblues Chart with
Little
Victor / Boogie All Night
was in second place! Bob
played harmonica on all
three of these!
- The
Rhythm
Room received
a 2011
New
Times "Best
Of Phoenix Award" in both
the Critics and Readers
Choice categories for "Best
Blues Club"
-
Chico
Chism,
Bob
Corritore's
longtime musical partner,
was inducted into the Arizona
Musicians and Entertainers
Hall of Fame in a
ceremony on February 13,
2011 at the
historic
Orpheum Theater
in Phoenix. Chico spent the
last 20 years of his life as
a member of the Phoenix
music community and
contributed greatly to its
blues scene. Bob presented
the award to Chico's
daughter Audrey.
-
Festivals,
gigs and great on-stage
moments!
2011 was blur of one great
show after another. It seems
like I was playing almost
every week. I was flying all
over the place and playing
at some of the
most prestigious festivals
in the country and around
the world with some of
favorite artists. I worked
with a wide array of people;
The
Rhythm
Room All-Stars (Bob
Corritore,
Chris
James,
Patrick Rynn,
Brian
Fahey),
Dave Riley / Bob Corritore
Juke Joint Blues Band (Dave
Riley,
Bob Corritore, Dave "Yahni"
Riley, Jr.,
Brian
Fahey) or
the
Dave Riley / Bob Corritore Duet,
The Delta
Groove Harp Blast (an
amazing revue!),
Mud
Morganfield Blues Band,
Tail
Dragger,
Henry Gray,
Louisiana Red,
Jessi Colter,
The Mannish Boys,
Bob Margolin,
Diunna Greenleaf,
Willie
"Big Eyes" Smith,
Kenny Smith,
Hubert Sumlin,
Billy Flynn,
The Bob Riedy
Blues Band with
Sam Lay,
Eddie Shaw,
Morry Sochat,
Valerie June,
Cleome Bova,
Tommy Dukes,
George Bowman,
and others. Here is a
rundown of my shows this
year in
chronological order:
The year was off to a running
start with a
Tail Dragger
live recording
session at the
Rhythm Room! the
band included Kirk Fletcher,
Chris James,
Patrick Rynn,
Brian
Fahey and myself.
Clarke Rigsby
of
Tempest Recording recorded 2
solid nights of heavy Chicago
blues on January 7th and 8th.
-The
following weekend went from back
in the alley to uptown as
country legend
Jessi Colter had
me accompany her in her January
7 performance at a ChildsHelp
VIP fundraiser dinner at the
Paradise Valley Country Club in
the audience were Jane Seymour,
John O'Hurley, former president
Dan Quayle and senator Jon Kyl.
A complete 360 from the weekend
before.
-Janiva
Magness invited me onstage to
join her on a
Robin Rogers song
during her January 14th show at
the
Rhythm Room.
-
TheDave Riley / Bob Corritore
Juke Joint Blues Band appeared
many times at the
Rhythm Room
with Jan 21st being the first of
the year.
-
The mighty
Mud Morganfield
(eldest son of
Muddy Waters)
played a 2 night run at the
Rhythm Room backed by the
Rhythm
Room All-Stars on January 28 and
29.
-A
trip to Memphis to
IBCs would
not be complete without
attending
Bob
Margolin's famous
jam at the
Rum Boogie. This
happened on Feb 4 and was the
first of many times that
Bob Margolin would play together
during the year.
-I
played a couple
Chico Chism
songs with
Hans Olson at the
Arizona Musicians and
Entertainers Hall of Fame
event at the
historic Orpheum Theater in
Phoenix. I also presented the
award to Chico's daughter Audry
Donson who flew in from Chicago
for the event.
-Dave Riley and I opened the
Blues Blast Festival after-party
with a duo set at the
Rhythm
Room before
Johnny Rawls kicked
off the jam. I would get up
later in the night and play with
Johnny and members of
Trampled
Under Foot.
-On
Feb 23
Dave Riley and
Bob Corritore did a
seminar and acoustic
performance for the Arizona
Audio Video Club. we won allot
of fans that night.
-Another great gig with the
Dave Riley / Bob Corritore
Juke Joint Blues Band on Feb 26.
-The
Rhythm Room All-Stars appeared
Friday and Saturday March 4 and
5 at the
Rhythm Room
-The
Dave Riley / Bob Corritore Band
did a 2 night live recording on
March 18 and 19th with the 18th
being
Dave Riley's birthday!
-On
April 1th
Dave Riley and I did a
guest set with the
Rocket 88s
who I had the pleasure of
working with quite a bit
throughout the year.
-It
was up north to Cottonwood,
Arizona the next day (April 2)
to headline the
Old Town Blues
Festival with a great array of
Arizona talent.
-
Dave Riley
and I were in
Tacoma,
Washington on April 9th to
headline the
Gray Sky Blues
Festival.
Gary Grape, the festival
promoter had us play with the
marvelous rhythm section of
Scott Simmons and Andrew
Cloutier. Dave
and I sat in with
Maia
Santell
and the
V-Knights (all
brother child prodigy blues
band). we also did a few numbers
at the after party hosted by
Randy Oxford.
-On Tuesday April 12, Dave and
I performed
a short set for the Japan
Earthquake Relief Benefit at the
Rhythm Room (Thanks for
organizing this Gypsy).
I also played a fun set that
night with
Paris James.
-Dave Riley Bob Corritore Band
at the
Rhythm Room on April 23
-Rhythm Room All-Stars played at
the
Rhythm Room on April 29 and
30 with special guest
George
Bowman.
- May 5
Bob
played at the
Blues Music Awards
with a dream band of
Jimi Bott,
Eddie Shaw,
Chris James,
Patrick Rynn,
David Maxwell, and
Willie
"Big Eyes" Smith, who came up on
the second song to do a
Pinetop Perkins tribute
of "Big Fat Mama" which he sang
and did a harp duet with Bob.
This set was right after
Bob Corritore & Friends /
Harmonica
Blues won a
BMA for "Historical
Album".
-2
days and very little sleep later
the
Dave Riley / Bob Corritore
Juke Joint Blues Band took the
stage on May 7 at the amazing
Moulin Ospel Blues Festival in
the Netherlands. That was the
start of a tour which found us
at Goor Blues in Gooreind,
Belgium on May 8, The legendary
Banana Peel in Ruiselede,
Belgium on May 9, De Kroeg in
Geldrop, Holland,on May 10,
Muziekodroom Club in
Hasselt, Belgium on May
12, the
Amsterdam Harmonica Meetup Group on May 13 (thanks
George Reijnders), and Hunky
Dory in Leiden, Holland on May
14th. A great week of playing!
-May
21 found
Dave Riley and I back
at the
Rhythm Room doing a short
set at the annual
Chico Chism
Memorial Birthday Show.
-I
appeared at
The Simi Valley
Cajun & Blues Music Festival on
Saturday, May 28th as a guest of
the
Mannish Boys backing
Finis Tasby on a couple
Lowell Fulson
songs.
-The
following week I was reunited
with my dear friend
Louisiana
Red for 2 nights of joy at the
Rhythm Room on June 3 and 4. the
Rhythm Room All-Stars were the
backing with
Chris James playing
amazing accompaniment in Red's
totally down home numbers.
-
The following week was off to
the
Chicago Blues Festival with
a string of numerous shows. I
played during the
Pinetop
Perkins tribute set at the
Kick-off Party at
Buddy Guy's
Legends on June 9th (this was
the last time I saw
Willie "Big
Eyes" Smith perform and he was
just amazing!) . The next day I
played with
Sam Lay and the
Bob Riedy Blues Band at the Windy
City Blues Society Stage,
and later that afternoon I
had
an impromptu acoustic duet with
Rocky Lawrence at the Best Buy
tent. That night I was at
Smoke
Daddy with
Billy Flynn where I
played some songs behind
Milwaukee Slim as well as doing
a kicking harmonica solo and a
accompanying Billy on a
Jimmy
Rogers song. On Saturday, June
11, I played in Willowbrook at
Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket with
Sam Lay and the
Bob Riedy Blues
Band, this show was filmed for
a future documentary. On Sunday
June 12 I played the Front Porch
stage of the
Chicago Blues
Festival with the
Mud
Morganfield Band with
Barrelhouse Chuck,
Billy Flynn,
Rick Kreher, E.G. McDaniel,
Kenny
"Beedy Eyes" Smith.
Harmonica
Hinds did the first half of the
show and I played the second
with Hinds coming back up for a
2 harp blowout on the last
song! To see a nice clip from
this show click
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6UeeNFIM8E&feature=player_embedded.
Later that night I appeared at
Smoke Daddy as part of
Morry
Sochat & The Special 20s "Half
Chicken Special Show" with both
Billy Flynn and I as featured
special guests.
Rick Estrin,
Joe Filisko,
Dave Waldman,
Willie
Buck,
Scott Dirks, Mojo Mark,
Andrew
Diehl,
Deak Harp and
others all played for great
festival wrap up!
-Valerie June came to visit and
we had 3 great musical days
together. She came in on the
28th and we spent that day
working up songs and playing
records, the next day we opened
for
Jimmie Vaughan at the
Rhythm Room, and on June 30 we did a
duet recording session at
Tempest Recording. What
a wonderful talent she is!
-Dave Riley and I did a tour of
Brazil with promoter Adrian
Flores in July. Dave and I
just love this country for it's
warm, musical people and the
great food. We played July 9 and
10 at the
Pocos de Caldas Jazz & Blues
Festival, July 15 at Patio
Havana in Buzios, July 16 in
Natal at the Bosa Y Jazz Fest
and July 17 at Pipa
Beach (where I also sat in on a
number with
Jefferson Goncalves
and
Taryn Szpilman).
Thanks to
Adrian Flores and
Luciano
Boca.
- After hearing about the
Edmonton's
Labatt Blues Festival
for years I was finally able
to experience it's magic.
On Saturday, August 20th The
Dave Riley / Bob Corritore
Juke Joint Blues Band band provided a great
set of our unique brand of
down home blues for the
fest. The next day, August
21, I sat in on a couple of
songs from her new album
Trying To Hold On
which, was the first time I
played those songs since we
recorded them. I then
played on the debut
performance of the
Delta
Groove Harp Blast! Quite a
maiden voyage as this show
was pure harmonica
fireworks! The great band incuded
Jimi Bott,
Willie J
Campbell,
Kirk Fletcher,
Frank "Paris Slim" Goldwasser, and
Rob Rio! I
opened the set, followed by
Randy Chortkoff, Big Pete,
Mitch Kashmar, and a
harmonica finale with all 4
of us plus
R.J. Mischo. What
an honor to be associated
with this noble project and
pretigious label. This was a
very satisfying festival and
I felt like each of my 3
appearances at the show
brought a different aspect
of my playing to the stage.
- I was reunited with
Tommy
Dukes on August 27 at his
appearance at the
Rhythm
Room. I used to work in his
band in the 1980s. Tommy
called me up for a
few numbers each set to play
the
Jimmy Reed songs he
loves so much.
-The
Rhythm Room
20th Anniversay Celebration
happened Friday, Saturday,
and Sunday September 16, 17,
18. We celebrated the 2
decade mark with a
spectacular star studded
weekend of musical
presentation!
Many bands and artists
played over this 3 day blues
and soul marathon, but my
contributions to the
proceedings were as follws: On
Friday I sat in with
Tommy
Castro on a
Jimmy Reed song,
Saturday was billed as "Bob Corritore & Friends" and
included
Mud Morganfield,
Bob Margolin,
Diunna
Greenleaf,
Dave Riley,
Billy
Flynn,
Barrelhouse Chuck, Mookie Brill and
Brian
Fahey. This show happened
just days after
Willie "Big
Eyes" Smith passed. Each of
us had close releationships
with Willie and this night
became an unofficail
memorial tribute to our
friend. Friday was a full
day of 11 Phoenix bands,
Dave Riley and I did a set
and I also contibuted to
George Bowman's set with
Lucius Parr, and to
Tommy
Dukes set. These three days
were a powerful musical
statement from Phoenix's
blues and roots concert
club!
- I celebrated my 55th
birthday on September 24 (My
actual birthday is sept
27th). I brought in
Magic Slim & The Teardrops for the
proceedings. I have known
Magic Slim since I was 18
years old so it was very
symbolic that he was the
band to perform at this fife
milestone.
Dave Riley and I
opened up with a duo set and
we called up
Jessi Colter
and
Jerry Lawson for a song
each during our set. Slim
was just great and he had me
join him for the 2nd set.
Slim reminded me of the
afternoon at
Florence's on
Chicago's South Side in the
late 1970s when I tried my
first (and last) pig ear
sandwich. The next day we
did a 4 song recording
session at
Tempest and that
night I flew into Chicago to
attend
Willie "Big Eyes"
Smith's funeral.
- This year's
King Biscuit
Festival in Helena, Arkansas
was a very powerful musical
experience. Then again, it
always is. Being in the
heart of the Deep South
really connects you to the
roots of this music. During
the week (from October 4th
to 9th, I performed 3
memorials for Pinetop and
Willie with
Bob Margolin,
Bob Stroger,
Kenny Smith,
Little Frank,
Clay Swafford,
and Jimmy Mayes. On one of
these tributes I also played
a very powerful set with
Hubert Sumlin. All of these
memorials were very moving
and spiritual. It was great
to see
Kenny Smith up front
singing and I see that as a
future direction for this
talented young man. I also
played 2 great shows with
Dave Riley (one at the
Delta
Cultural Center Annex and
one at
Hopson's Plantation
in nearby Clarksdale,
Mississippi) The DCC
show featured Yahni on bass
and the great
Wes Starr on
drums. I also played a wild
set with
Ernest "Guitar" Roy
at the festival. I also
played a great set with
Helena legend
C.W. Gatlin
and played with
Cleome Bova,
Big Red,
Levee Town (with
Cheryl Arena and
Deak Harp),
Sterling Billingsley, and
members of
Reba Russell's
band. Always an amazing time
at the Biscuit!
-On November 1st I left for
Switzerland to participate
in the
Lucerne Blues
Festival. I arranged for a
great band that included
Tail Dragger,
Henry Gray,
Kirk Fletcher,
Chris James,
Patrick Rynn,
Brian Fahey
and myself. I also was part
of the
Delta Groove Harp
Blast with
Mitch Kashmar,
Randy Chortkoff,
Big Pete,
Jimi Bott,
Willie J.
Campbell,
Kirk Fletcher, and
Alex Schultz. I did numerous
shows throughout the week
with both bands.
Performances began on
November 4th where the
Tail
Dragger /
Henry Gray package
played for a "Blues Night"
concert at La Poste in the
Swiss town of Visp. then
numerous shows throughout the
week with both bands. On one
of these shows
Tail Dragger,
Chris James and myself
performed for the mayor and
a group of city officials.
Tail Dragger crawled on his
belly while singing for the
Mayor! The festival had me
do a speech for the festival
sponsors at a special
dinner. I also sat for a
song or two on the sets by
Joe Louis Walker and
Terrance Simien. This
festival is so amazing and
it was one of the great
highlights of the year! I
returned home on November
15th with a smile on my
face.
- On November 25th (the day
after Thanksgiving) I did a
wonderful gig with the
Rocket 88s.
Johnny Rapp and
I were the special guests
that night and it just fell
together magically.
- On Thursday, December 8 I
was featured along with
about 20 other Phoenix based
harmonica players for our
annual Blues Harmonica
Showcase, hosted by the
Rocket
88s.
|
-Just when I
thought we
were winding
down the
year, the
legendary
Hubert
Sumlin
died. I flew
into Chicago
for Dec 12
and stayed
at
Tail Dragger's
house. On
Tuesday Dec
13
Tail Dragger
and I went
to the
burial and
later that
night
Bob Margolin
and I hosted
a most
amazing
tribute show
in Hubert's
honor at
Fitzgerald's
in the
Chicago
suburb of
Berwyn, IL.
It was
really a
community
event and I
did my best
to direct
the stage
and get
everyone up.
That night I
did the
opening set
with
Bob Margolin,
Little Frank,
Bob Stroger
and Jimmy
Mayes. I
would later
back up my
close
associates
Sam Lay,
Tail Dragger
&
Mud
Morganfield
(with
Sam Lay
on drums!)
Other
performers
that
night were
Eddie Shaw,
Billy Branch,
Zora Young,
Gary Martin
(Hubert's
nephew),
Lil' Ed,
Kenny "Beedy
Eyes" Smith,
Mary Lane,
Eddie C.
Campbell,
Ronnie
and
Wayne Baker Brooks,
Scott Dirks,
Jonn
Del
Toro
Richardson,
Harry Garner,
Matt Hill,
Richard
Rosenblatt,
Deak Harp,
Dave Herrero,
Mark Wydra,
Harlan
Terson,
Rodney Brown,
Billy Flynn,
Tom Holland,
Marty Binder,
Michael
Coleman,
Kenneth
Kinsey,
Melvin Smith,
Jerry
Porter,
Twist Turner,
Big Head
Todd,
Michael
Frank and
many others.
An
incredibly
powerful
night
remembering
one of the
greatest of
Chicago blues
musicians.
|
-On Dec 17th I made my last
appearance of the year when
Rod Piazza invited me to
join him onstage for 2
numbers with his great band.
It was wild playing through
the Rod amp with that
fantastic band.
As I reflect on all of these
great shows it is hard for
me to believe that I fit all
this into one year. I feel
very blessed to have all
these great shows with great
musicians.
-
Articles, Interviews, and
other press.
There were 2
Bob Corritore
Cover stories in 2011; One
for
Blues Blast Magazine by Chefjimi Patricola,
and the other for
Blues &
Rhythm Magazine (UK) by Mike
Stephenson. My posthumous
reflections on
Pinetop
Perkins and
Hubert Sumlin
appeared in
Blueswax, I did
interviews with Blue Moose
(Holland),
Sonny
Payne for
the legendary King Biscuit
Time broadcast on
KFFA (Helena,
Arkansas), David Beardsly
for the
National Blues
Museum (St. Louis), Vinni
"Bond" Marini for
American
Blues News, Jim and Diane Bolten of
WCTG (Virginia).
Bob and
Dave Riley did
interviews with Marty Kool
of
KXCI (Tucson) and
Adrian
Flores for
Radio Raw Blues
(Brazil). Bob and
Tail
Dragger did an interview
with Dietmar
Hoscher for
Concerto Magazine
(Austria).and Bob was a
small part of a
Tail Dragger
interview by Marino Grande
and Matteo Bossi for
IL
Blues Magazine (Italy). Also
a number of my close
associates all had
Blues Blast Magazine cover
stories in which I was
mentioned (Thanks to
Kenny
Smith,
Dave Riley,
Diunna
Greenleaf and
Mud
Morganfield). The Edmonton
Journal (Canada) ran a
beautiful article by
Roger Levesque on the
Delta Groove Harp Blast.
Delta Groove Productions
(the greatest record label
an artist could be signed
to!) has sent out many press
releases and posted many
items with my name and
photo. The
Chicago Blues
Festival currently features
a photo of
Mud Morganfield
and I on their website as a
representation of the
festival (Click here
http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/supporting_narrative/events___special_events/special_events/mose/chicago_blues_festival.html to
see). Kadmus Arts featured a
photo from that same
performance in their 2011
Festival Year in Review
slide show (click
http://kadmusarts.com/blog/?p=2332 to
see). Thanks
to Daniel Liguori and a team
of ASU students for making a
film documentary on me
called The Journey of A
Phoenix Bluesman. Many
publications also featured
reviews and articles on
projects and recordings that
I have been involved in, and
it would be impossible to
list each of these. Thanks
to all the interviewers,
reviewers, and publications
for the honor of this
attention and support.
-
Website and
Social Media Sites.
In 2011 we sent out
exactly 46 Bob
Corritore Blues
Newsletters to a
subscription base that is
now over 15,000.
We keep all the past
newsletters on file and you
can access them by clicking
here
(you can access prior years
by scrolling to the menu
links at the bottom of the
page).
We added 7 new photo pages
to
www.bobcorritore.com to
an already extensive photo
section filled with both
current images and classic
blues photos from the
archives. For an
entertaining view of the
blues please check out the
photo section by clicking
here. Thanks to webmaster
George
Thomas Vaught
for his great work and
dedication. You can also
access these social media:
Bob Corritore
Fan Page on Facebook
www.facebook.com/BobCorritore
Bob Corritore
on Twitter
www.twitter.com/BobCorritore
Bob Corritore
on Myspace
www.myspace.com/bobcorritore
Special thanks to social
media coordinator
Amy
Brat.
-
Rhythm Room Concert
Club: My nightclub
celebrated it's 20th
anniversary in September of
2011. We.presented a wide
array of blues shows both
national and Phoenix based
blues acts. This year's
blues and
blues-oriented shows included
Louisiana Red,
Tail
Dragger,
Mud
Morganfield,
Bob
Margolin,
Diunna
Greenleaf,
Henry
Gray,
Billy
Flynn,
Barrelhouse Chuck,
Mookie
Brill,
Jimmie
Vaughan,
Janiva
Magness,
Guitar
Shorty,
James
Harman,
Johnny
Rawls,
T-Model Ford with
Gravel Road and
Bill Abel,
Valerie June,
Dave
Riley / Bob Corritore Juke
Joint Blues Band,
Rhythm
Room All-Stars,
Rocket
88s,
Johnny
Rapp,
George
Bowman,
Charlie
Rae,
Savoy Brown,
Rosie Ledet & The Zydeco Playboys,
Cold Shott & The Hurricane
Horns,
Sugar Thieves,
Rory
Block,
Dirty Dozen Brass
Band,
Reba Russell Band,
Rod
Piazza & The Mighty Flyers,
Bad News Blues Band with
Long John Hunter,
Zac
Harmon,
Grady Champion,
Guy
Davis,
John Nemeth,
Hans
Olson,
George Thomas & The Flamekeepers,
Billy T Band
(from Norway),
Tommy Dukes,
Big Nick & The Gila
Monsters,
Lucius Parr,
Paladins,
Coco Montoya,
Duke Robillard,
Karen Lovely,
Delrayz,
Soul Power Band,
Common Ground Blues Band,
Big Daddy D & The Dynamites.
Blues Harmonica Showcase
(hosted by the
Rocket
88s),
Hoodoo
Kings Reunion, Soul Singers
Showcase,
Leon Blue, Blues
For Paz (hosted by the Blues
Dinosaurs),
Walter Trout,
Chief Schabuttie Gilliame,
Kirk "Eli" Fletcher,
Peter
Karp & Sue Foley,
Harper,
Repeat Offenders,
Scott H. Biram,
Damon Fowler,
Leon
Russell,
Eric Gales, Hacksaw
Blues Band featuring
Ronnie
Whitehead,
Crosscut
Saw,
Blue Sky Band Featuring Tina
Bailey,
Gypsy & The Smokin'
Section,
Krimson Chord,
Paris James,
Chris Bell
Band,
Jimmy Thackery,
Francine Reed with the Andy
Gonzales All-Stars, Blues
Review Band, Arizona Blues
Showdown (Contest for
IBC),
Boogie Woogie Piano
Blowout (with
Lisa Otey,
Carl "Sonny" Leyland,
Lluis
Coloma,
Marilyn
Harris), Indigenous, Blues Dawg,
Cedric
Burnside,
Joey DeFrancesco,
Donna Herula,
Doug MacLeod,
Bo-Keys,
Sammy
Eubanks, Magic Slim & The
Teardrops. It was a great
year of presenting blues for
the
Rhythm
Room!
-
Passings. This seems
like it was a particularly
rough year for the blues as
we have said goodbye to many
of our most celebrated heroes
in the blues. Here is a list
of some of those from the
blues family who left us in
2011:
Bobby Robinson,
Ray
Galloway, Robert Tilling,
Fred Saunders, Blues Sister
Jeannie Webster, Clay
Hammond, Carl Hodges,
Gary
Moore,
Marvin Sease, Helen
Gathers,
Tom Leavey,
Big
Bill Collins,
Johnny Nitro,
Eddie Kirkland,
Big Jack
Johnson,
Herman "Roscoe"
Ernest III, Bobby
Phillips, Melvin Sparks,
Pinetop Perkins,
Sir
Lattimore Brown,
Lacy Gibson, Jack Myers,
Huey P. Meaux,
Gil
Scott-Heron, L.V.
Banks,
Cornell Dupree,
Benny Spellman,
Nick Ashford,
Jerry Leiber,
Jerry Ragovoy,
Jo Jo Williams,
Gil
Bernal,
Terry Lee Taylor,
Lil
Greenwood,
Spurling Banks, James Mason,
Honeyboy Edwards,
Willie
"Big Eyes" Smith, Jessy
Dixon, Roy Pinn,
George "Mojo"
Buford,
John-Alex Mason,
Bob
Brunning,
Earl Gilliam,
Coco
Robicheaux,
Lee Shot Williams, Doyle Bramhall,
J Blackfoot,
Howard Tate,
Paul Thomas,
Dobie Gray,
Hubert
Sumlin,
Martha Chesser (wife of
Phoenix blues promoter Bill
Chesser), and DJ Gary Miller
(of
BluesSource).
-
Special Thanks to
the behind the scenes heroes.
I could not accomplish the
work I do without a
brilliant team behind me, so
here are some of the people
that helped to support the
cause in 2010: Special
thanks to
Randy
Chortkoff,
Jeff
Fleenor,
Josh
Temkin,
Frank
Roszak,
Steve Dixon and everyone at Delta
Groove Productions
for a really beleiving my
artistic efforts and for
helping me along this path, George
Thomas Vaught, the
webmaster and newsletter
facilitator,
Amy
Brat, my
Social Media coordinator,
Mona
Watkins,
the General Manager and the
Rhythm
Room and
all the staff, who run the
club while I am off doing
blues projects, Everyone at KJZZ (particularly
Jennifer Waters,
my blues assistant), Kyle
Deibler and Phoenix
Blues Society,
who work hard to move the
Phoenix blues scene forward,
Hohner Harmonicas, Tony
Tingle, who has done great
volunteer work for the
Southwest Musical Arts
Foundation and who sells CDs
at my gigs, Also thanks to
volunteers Linda Marlowe,
Shannon Sousa, Melissa
Montgomery, Ami Johnson and
Daniel Liguori. Martin
Elmers, owner of the
Rack
Shack Barbecue
at the
Rhythm
Room,
The Blues
Foundation,
Michael Frank
of
Earwig
Music,
Mark Carpentieri of
MC
Records, Dale Baich and Beth
Lipham of
Blue
Witch Records,
Bob
Margolin,
Richard Rosenblatt
and
Chip
Eagle of
VizzTone,
David Earl at
Severn
Records,
Betsie
Brown of
Blind
Raccoon,
Mark Pucci of
Mark Pucci
Media,
Joe Filisko, Lynn
Orman of
Orman
Music and Media Group,
Scott
Dirks,
Clarke
Rigsby of
Tempest Recorders,
John Wrobble of
Porcupine Productions,
Tony
Amato at
AI
Design,
Dave Shirk of
Sonorous Mastering,
,
Collectif des Radios Blues,
Music
Choice,
Bluesville
on
Sirius
XM,
John
"Johnny D" Dixon,
Kim
Wilson,
Amanda
Taylor, Franky
Bruneel of
Back To The Roots
Magazine,
Art Tipaldi, Brett
Bonner of
Living Blues
Magazine, Little
Victor,
Eileen Bailey, Barbara Lee,
Adrian Flores,
Luciano Boca,
Cam Hayden and Carol Dean,
Vicente "Harmonica" Zumel
and his wife Roser,
Gary
Grape, the amazing
Patricia
Morgan, the
Lucerne Blues
Festival, The
Moulin Ospel
Blues Festival, The
Amsterdam Harmonica Meetup
Group, my wonderful
band members and musical
collaborators,
all of the writers,
reviewers, photographers,
publications, festivals,
blues societies, radio show
hosts and programmers,
friends, and fans who have
shown me the warmth of their
support. A heartfelt thank
you everyone!
-
The Promise of 2012.
I am very excited to
continue down this wonderful
musical path.
Dave Riley
will be arriving in Phoenix
this week
for his annual winter stay.
We are wrapping up work on
our 3rd CD, due out later
this year. On March 20th
Mud Morganfield's CD
Son Of The Seventh Son will
be released March 20th on
Severn Records.
Tail Dragger
&
Bob Corritore /
Longtime Friends
In The Blues
will be released in early
2012 on
Delta Groove! I will
be going to California in
about a week to lay down
tracks with
Mud Morganfield on the
forthcoming star-studded
Mannish Boys double CD. My
harmonica is featured on a
few tracks of
Lucius Parr's
new CD due out in February
of this year.
Amanda Taylor
will likely release the
Amanda's Roller Coaster CD
which is mixed and ready to
go.
I will be compiling a
Rhythm
Room 20 Year Anniversary CD
from the many live
recordings done at the club
over the years!
I am
playing at the Stompin'
At The Savoy Festival
in Helsinki,
Finland with
Tail Dragger
and I will play the
Simi
Valley Cajun and Blues Music
Festival with the
Delta
Groove Harp Blast.
I am playing upcoming shows
at the
Rhythm Room
with
John Primer, The
Rhythm
Room All-Stars,
Barrelhouse Chuck,
Dave Riley &
Bob Corritore, The Rocket 88, and Lucius
Parr. Also I am scheming
with
Mud Morganfield,
Sam Lay &
Bob Riedy,
Diunna Greenleaf, and
Bob Margolin about some upcoming
gigs.
Delta Groove Records has
plans to really get behind
me this year.
My radio show Those
Lowdown Blues on
www.kjzz.org
will turn 28 this year and
is going strong! Who knows
where this blues highway
will lead in the year ahead,
but I stand ready to embrace
all of life's blessings as
they present
them-self. Here's to a great
2012!
-
Bob Corritore
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