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Roadhouse Blues October 9, 2018

Dear John,

Quiet week in Bluesland.
It's not Mr. Stroger's birthday or anything special. I just posted him this week because I was embarrassed about the misspelled name on the plaque he was presented for Best Badass Bluesman recently. The photo was on FB for the world to see. Congrats Bob! Cat's 86 and still gittin' it.
I was informed that I will be able to attend the IBC in Memphis due to some help from some very special friends of mine. I'm stoked. All other years I saved up and a car crapped out or a medical crisis occurred. Not this time by gawd...I'm goin'...
A reminder: there is a PBS benefit in the works for Oct. 21 at the Steel Horse. It's been a while since we've been there but Rick is a huge supporter and has offered the joint for our use. Make your plans.
The Lazy Lester show at the RR on Saturday promises to feature the best of the best in our little community. Lester performed here many times and is sorely missed.
Beautiful weather. Just right for hugging the one you're with.
Have a Bluesy week...

Sincerely,
Jim Crawford, PBS

Mr. Bassman

by Jim Crawford

Many blues lovers give little credit to the bass player. They don't realize he and the drummer are the glue that holds the whole ship together. Bob Stroger has spent the better part of the last 60 years showing folks just how important the bass is to the success of the band and the music.

Born in rural Missouri, Bob and his brother followed their father to Chicago after Bob's brother was discharged from the army. "My father left Missouri and came to Chicago years ago to work on the Wabash Railroad. I moved to Chicago in the late '50s or early '60s. It's been so long ago. A lot of people can tell you dates but usually when I do things that's past tense I don't think about it anymore. I wasn't with my father 'cause he traveled from town to town with the railroad."

And lo and behold, Muddy Waters was instrumental in launching Bob's career in music. "I got started in Chicago. I got a chance to see Muddy at a little place called Silvio's. We lived right behind it. I could look out my back door and look into their back door and see the musicians, Muddy and all of them. You could look right in there because there was no air conditioning and all of the windows and doors was open, especially in the summer time. That's what kind of got me really started with this scene. I first started on the upright bass and we couldn't travel with it so I switched to the guitar and that was the bass. Back then we would run the guitar strings down an octave lower and we would play the guitar for the bass. I really started playing music on the guitar bass. Nobody wanted to play the bass and everybody wanted to be in the band. My brother was the drummer and the guitar played didn't want to play the bass. I wanted to be in the band so I said I'd play the bass. The first band I was with was called The Red Tops. We formed back in the early, early days. The reason we called it The Red Tops everybody back in the day wore uniforms and we couldn't afford them so we bought some tams and sewed a little red circle on them and called ourselves The Red Tops. My brother (John Stroger) was on drums and a guy named Banks was on the guitar. He's a preacher now. Our harmonica player, bless him, he's dead now, was going to be a preacher, too. I fell in love with the bass. I never wanted to be a front person anyway. I wasn't the talkin' kind so it did me good to stay in the background. The first portable bass I ever saw I think my friend Calvin Jones had it. He played one made by Sears. That was the first one I saw and later on I got a Fender bass. I think Dave Meyers was the first one I saw with the Fender bass and got one. That one got stolen and the bass I have now is the second bass I ever owned. I've had it almost as long as I've been playing music, over 60 years. Been with me all through my music career.

Bob's resume is like a Who's Who of the blues. He's played with or recorded with almost all of the legends in the business except Little Walter. "I never played with Muddy or Little Walter. I used to go to Walter's rehearsals but he didn't think I was good enough to play with him I guess. Everybody played with Little Walter but me. I never thought I'd ever play music as a career. It came to me when Otis Rush came along and we went to France, I think it was. We went to the venue from the hotel at 8 in the morning and the people were lined up almost round the block. We started at 8 at night. I thought this is a big thing. This is something I would love to do. It's the first time I ever had it in my mind this is something I wanted to do for a career. Otis was the first one to take me to Europe on my first gig. From there I joined the American Blues Festival Tour, the one Willie Dixon started years ago. I was on the tail end of that and that's where I hooked up with Eddie Taylor and Sunnyland Slim. I did that tour for about seven years. Me and Odie Payne was the rhythm section for the whole thing. Besides Eddie Taylor and Sunnyland Slim there was Carey Bell, Lurie Bell, Memphis Slim and Hubert Sumlin. We all did about seven years going to Europe. Then I got with Jimmy Rogers and stayed with him for seven or eight years. That's when I felt I had come into the blues. The Delta blues. I played a little jazz but I feel the blues. That's when I got to know Pinetop (Perkins) and the rest is history. Then I got with Mississippi Heat. Then that's when Willie ("Big Eyes" Smith) and I got to be really tight. They used to call us The Roadrunners 'cause we was so old and could drive 12 or 16 hours and come to the gigs and give so much energy. We mostly got our energy from Pinetop. He'd get on the bandstand with so much energy we'd just look at him and we had to play.

Throughout it all Bob remains humble as so many of his peers have been. "Awards never meant that much to me. My reward is for the people to enjoy what I do. I was never the one who came off the bandstand and go to the dressing room and hide. When I come down I like to be with the people. People feel so much closer when they think you're personable and you talk personal to them. That's my reward. The people are the ones who got me out here. The people keep me in jobs. The people are the ones who pay my rent."

GOT BLUES?

If you are a Blues musician, a group, or a club that features Blues music, and would like to be listed, please send your info to info@phoenixblues.org and we'll be happy to list your event in our weekly Out & About section of the newsletter

In This Issue

Mr. Bassman

Out & About

Weekly Jams

Out & About

Tuesday, October 9

Carvin Jones, 7 p.m., Stackers, Phoenix

Wednesday, October 10

Bad News Blues Band, Every Wed., 9:30 p.m., Chicago Bar, Tucson

Thursday, October 11

Eli Cook w/Pat Roberts & The HeyMakers, 8 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix

Pop Top, 8 p.m., The Lounge, Phoenix

JC & The Juke Rockers, 5:30 p.m., the Patio @ The Forum, Chandler

Eric Ramsey Hosts OPEN MIC, 6 p.m., Fatso's Pizza, Phoenix

Hans Olson (EVERY THURSDAY), 6 p.m., Handlebar, Apache Junction

Arizona Blues Project, 8 p.m., Harold's, Cave Creek

Friday, October 12

Rocket 88s (Lazy Lester Tribute), 8 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix

Eric Ramsey, 6 p.m., Desert Eagle Falcon Field, Mesa

Sugar Thieves Trio, 7 p.m., Opa Life CafÃ©, Tempe

JC & The Juke Rockers, 9 p.m., Sage & Sand, Glendale

Hoodoo Casters, 8 p.m., Lucky strikes, Apache Junction

Carvin Jones, 8 p.m., Pacino's, Mesa

Saturday, October 13

Soul Power Band, 9 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix

Rocket 88s, 6 p.m., Rip's, Phoenix

Blues Review band, 7 p.m., England Performing Arts Center, Camp Verde

Sugar Thieves, 8 p.m., England Performing Arts Center, Camp Verde

JC & The Juke Rockers, 8 p.m., West Alley BBQ, Chandler

Leon J, 7 p.m., Mary D Fisher Theater, Sedona

Paris James, 6:30 p.m., D'Vine Wine, Chandler

Sunday, October 14

JC & The Juke Rockers, 7 p.m., Sun City Grand, Surprise

True Flavor Blues, NOON , Copper Star, Phoenix

Monday, October 15

Weekly Jams

Sunday

Rocket 88s JAM, 4 p.m., Chopper John's, Phoenix

Bourbon Jack's JAM w/Kody Herring, 6 p.m., Chandler

Sir Harrison, JAM every other Sunday, The Windsock, Prescott

MONDAY

Bam Bam & Badness Open JAM, 9 p.m., Char's, Phoenix

Weatherford Hotel JAM, 6:30 p.m., Flagstaff

TUESDAY

JAM Sir Harrison, 9 p.m., Char's, Phoenix

Rocket 88s, JAM, 6 p.m., The Last Stop (Old Hideaway West), Phoenix

Gypsy's Bluesday Night JAM, 7 p.m. Pho Cao, Tempe

Tailgaters JAM, 7 p.m., Glendale

WEDNESDAY

Tool Shed NEW JAM Party, 6 p.m. Gabby's, Mesa

THURSDAY

Tool Shed JAM Party, 7 p.m., Steel Horse Saloon, Phoenix

Jolie's Place JAM w/Adrenaline, 9 p.m., Chandler

Friday

Saturday

Bumpin' Bud's JAM 2nd & 4th Saturdays JAM, 6 p.m., Marc's Sports Grill