Dear John,
Lots of happenings happening these days.
George Bowman is celebrating another birthday on Friday. I think it's so many now he's lost count.
Kim Wilson and his band of merry men blow into town for a Saturday night blowout. You see who it is so you know what to expect.
Bluesman Mike and crew will host their 9th Annual Toy & Diaper Drive on Sunday at the RR. Mike has rounded up some of our favorite players to help out. This is a big deal y'all so make your plans.
Tinsley Ellis will be at the MIM next week. I saw him on the Blues Cruise and he's still got it. This will be well worth your time. Go see him.
The 88s have shut down their Sunday jam but there are all kinds of things going on all over town, including the Rocket 88s on Wednesday at Chopper John's.
It's the holidays and if I miss posting any of your gigs please contact me at info@phoenixblues.org and I'll fix it.
Have mahvelous week....
Sincerely,
Jim Crawford, PBS
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| | | A true pioneer of folk/country Blues, Brownie would celebrate his 101st on thursday.
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Brownie McGhee
by Bill Dahl Brownie McGhee's death in 1996 was an enormous loss to the blues community. Although he had been semi-retired and suffering from stomach cancer, the guitarist was still the leading Piedmont-style bluesman on the planet, venerated worldwide for his prolific activities both on his own and with his longtime partner, blind harpist Sonny Terry. Together, McGhee and Terry worked for decades in an acoustic folk-blues bag, singing ancient ditties like "John Henry" and "Pick a Bale of Cotton" for appreciative audiences worldwide. But McGhee was capable of a great deal more. Throughout the immediate postwar era, he cut electric blues and R&B on the New York scene, even enjoying a huge R&B hit in 1948 with "My Fault" for Savoy (Hal "Cornbread" Singer handled tenor sax duties on the 78).
Walter Brown McGhee grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee. He contracted polio at the age of four, which left him with a serious limp and plenty of time away from school to practice the guitar chords that he'd learned from his father, Duff McGhee. Brownie's younger brother, Granville McGhee, was also a talented guitarist who later hit big with the romping "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee"; he earned his nickname, "Stick," by pushing his crippled sibling around in a small cart propelled by a stick. McGhee spent much of his youth immersed in music, singing with a local harmony group, the Golden Voices Gospel Quartet, and teaching himself to play guitar. He also played the five-string banjo and ukulele and studied piano. At age 22, McGhee became a traveling musician, working in the Rabbit Foot Minstrels and befriending Blind Boy Fuller, whose guitar playing influenced him greatly.
A 1937 operation sponsored by the March of Dimes restored most of McGhee's mobility. Off he went as soon as he recovered, traveling and playing throughout the Southeast. His jaunts brought him into contact with washboard player George "Oh Red" (or "Bull City Red") Washington in 1940, who in turn introduced McGhee to talent scout J.B. Long. Long got him a recording contract with OKeh/Columbia in 1940; his debut session in Chicago produced a dozen tracks over two days.
Long's principal blues artist, Blind Boy Fuller, died in 1941, precipitating Okeh issuance of some of McGhee's early efforts under the sobriquet of Blind Boy Fuller No. 2. McGhee cut a moving tribute song, "Death of Blind Boy Fuller," shortly afterward. McGhee's third marathon session for OKeh in 1941 paired him for the first time on shellac with whooping harpist Sonny Terry whom he had known since 1939, when Terry was Fuller's harmonica player. The pairing was an overnight success. They recorded and toured together until around 1980. As a duo, Terry and McGhee did most of their work from 1958 until 1980, spending 11 months of each year touring and recording dozens of albums.
The pair resettled in New York in 1942. They quickly got connected with the city's burgeoning folk music circuit, working with Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Leadbelly. After the end of World War II, McGhee began to record most prolifically, both with and without Terry, for a myriad of R&B labels: Savoy (where he cut "Robbie Doby Boogie" in 1948 and "New Baseball Boogie" the next year), Alert, London, Derby, Sittin' in With, and its Jax subsidiary in 1952, Jackson, Bobby Robinson's Red Robin logo (1953), Dot, and Harlem, before crossing over to the folk audience during the late '50s with Terry at his side. One of McGhee's last dates for Savoy in 1958 produced the remarkably contemporary "Living with the Blues," with Roy Gaines and Carl Lynch blasting away on lead guitars and a sound light years removed from the staid folk world. Despite their later fame as "pure" folk artists playing for white audiences, in the 1940s Terry and McGhee had attempted to be successful recording artists, fronting a jump blues combo with honking saxophone and rolling piano, variously calling themselves Brownie McGhee and his Jook House Rockers or Sonny Terry and his Buckshot Five, often with Champion Jack Dupree and Big Chief Ellis.
McGhee and Terry were among the first blues artists to tour Europe during the '50s, and they ventured overseas often after that. Their plethora of late-'50s and early-'60s albums for Folkways, Choice, World Pacific, Bluesville, and Fantasy presented the duo in acoustic folk trappings only, their Piedmont-style musical interplay a constant (if gradually more predictable) delight. McGhee didn't limit his talents to concert settings. Late in his life, McGhee appeared in small roles in films and on television. Both he and Terry appeared in the 1979 Steve Martin comedy The Jerk. In 1987, McGhee gave a small but memorable performance as the ill-fated blues singer Toots Sweet in the supernatural thriller movie Angel Heart. In his review of Angel Heart, the critic Roger Ebert singled out McGhee for praise, declaring that he delivered a "performance that proves [saxophonist] Dexter Gordon isn't the only old musician who can act."[6] McGhee appeared in the television series Family Ties, in a 1988 episode entitled "The Blues, Brother", in which he played the fictional blues musician Eddie Dupre. He also appeared in the television series Matlock, in a 1989 episode entitled "The Blues Singer". He appeared on Broadway for three years in a production of playwright Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1955, and later put in a stint in the Langston Hughes play Simply Heaven. Films (Angel Heart, Buck and the Preacher) and an episode of the TV sitcom Family Ties also benefited from his dignified presence. The wheels finally came off the partnership of McGhee and Terry during the mid-'70s. Toward the end, they preferred not to share a stage with one another (Terry would play with another guitarist, then McGhee would do a solo), let alone communicate. One of McGhee's final concert appearances came at the 1995 Chicago Blues Festival; his voice was a tad less robust than usual, but no less moving, and his rich, full-bodied acoustic guitar work cut through the cool evening air with alacrity.
Our good friend Hans Olson toured with Brownie for a while before Brownie retired. He has fond memories of his time with the legend.
"One of the greatest things I've ever done was tour with Brownie McGhee back in the '80s." Hans said. "I joined up with him right after he broke up with his longtime partner of 40 years, Sonny Terry. I played his last few tours with him before he retired.
I knew it was a gig that even Bob Dylan would have been honored to do. I'm learned so many great songs and styles playing with Brownie. He also gave me a running commentary on the racial injustice of the country from when he toured in the '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s. He had a story of discrimination for almost every town we went through. I learned a lot from him.He was a wise and wonderful guy. I feel the obligation to continue to do his songs and I still perform them every night." We recorded one of his songs together on my 1995 album "Solo".
His like won't pass this way again. Brownie Live |
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| Out & About Tuesday, November 29 Carvin Jones, 7 p.m., Dirty Blonde, Chandler Wednesday, November 30 Harlis Sweetwater, 9 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix Carvin Jones, 8 p.m., Culinary Dropout, Tempe Paris James, 5:30 p.m., II Vinaio, Mesa Bad News Blues Band, Every Wed., 9:30 p.m., Chicago Bar, Tucson Thursday, December 1 Hans Olson, 7 p.m., Handlebar, Apache Junction Carvin Jones, 8:30 p.m., The Lounge, Phoenix M&M Duo, 6 p.m., Camelback Inn, Scottsdale Friday, December 2 George Bowman & Bluesmen, 9 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix Rocket 88s, 8 p.m., Brass Rail, Phoenix JC 7the Juke Rockers, 7 p.m., Handlebar, Apache Junction Hoodoo Casters, 6 p.m., Motorcycles on Main, Mesa Blues Review Band, 8 p.m., All American, Fountain Hills Carvin Jones, 8 p.m., Tim Finnegan's, Phoenix First Friday Blues w/Gypsy, Uvon & Friends, 7 p.m., Art Awakenings, Phoenix Paris James, 7 p.m., D'Vine Wine, Mesa Saturday, December 3 Kim Wilson & His Blues All Stars, 9 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix Rocket 88s, 7:30 p.m., Janey's, Cave Creek Hoodoo Casters, 9 p.m., Mama Juggs, Coolidge Blues Review Band, 8 p.m., All American, Scottsdale Outback Blues Band, NOON, Chihuahua Festival, Wenden Carvin Jones, 9 p.m., Tilted Kilt, Tempe Paris James, 7 p.m., D'Vine Wine, Chandler Sunday, December 4 9th Annual Toy & Diaper Drive w/All Star lineup, 6 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix Carvin Jones, 6 p.m., Desert Eagle Brewing Co., Mesa Two Flavor Blues, NOON, Copper Star, Phoenix Monday, December 5 Carvin Jones (acoustic), 6 p.m., Monastery, Mesa
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Weekly Jams
Sunday
Rocket 88s, 6 p.m., Saint Nick's Tavern, Phoenix THIS JAM IS NO LONGER 88s are looking to relocate...
Ray Ray & BluZone, 5 p.m., Wild Willy's, Avondale
R.d. Olson JAM, 2 p.m., Sally's BBQ, Prescott
Bourbon Jack's JAM w/Kody Herring, 6 p.m., Chandler
MONDAY Ray Ray & Bluzone Every other Monday, Opa Life Cafe, Tempe
Bam Bam & Badness Open JAM, 9 p.m., Char's, Phoenix
TUESDAY Gypsy's Bluesday Night JAM, 7 p.m. Pho Cao, Tempe
Front Page Blues Band, EVERY THIRD Tuesday, 6 p.m., Far >From Folsom, Prescott
Tailgaters JAM, 7 p.m., Glendale
WEDNESDAY Rocket 88s, 7 p.m., Chopper John's, Phoenix Tool Shed JAM Party, 7 p.m., El Dorado, Scottsdale
Bumpin' Bud's 1st & 3rd Wednesdays JAM, 7 p.m., Marc's, Glendale
THURSDAY Tool Shed JAM Party, 7 p.m., Steel Horse Saloon, Phoenix Jolie's Place JAM w/Adrenaline, 8 p.m., Chandler Brad's Place JAM, 7 p.m., Ahwatukee (Every other Week) |
| Moved? Changed email addresses? Please let us know of any changes in your address, email, or phone number so we can keep you informed about the Blues community in Arizona. Email us at: info@phoenixblues.org or write to: Phoenix Blues Society P.O. Box 36874 Phoenix, Arizona 85067 |
| 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 |
Blues Blast
tickets are on sale effective today! Early Bird tickets have a limited quantity this year, so get 'em while they're hot: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/blues-blast-17-tickets-288536
Phoenix Blues Society presents Blues Blast 17! This Family Friendly event, held annually at MT Hance Park, brings together the best of local and national Blues artists to ensure a great day of music. As always, children under age 16 are FREE! Artists for this year's event are: Eric Ramsey Sistahs Too, Mike Eldred Trio, Karen Lovely & the Pacific Northwest Allstars and the 2016 IBC winners, The Delgado Brothers. eventbrite.com
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