Roadhouse Blues January 16, 2017

Dear John,

Well, we got our friend Mike Eldred inducted into the AZ Blues Hall of Fame on Sunday. The Rhythm Room was full of hall of famers who all showed up to support their newest compadre. It was a find day/night for music and kudos go to Hans for coordinating the whole show. Congrats MIkey!!
Smokestack is in Memphis as we speak and Robert texted me and said it's cold...damn cold. I'd love to tell you what he really said, but there might be children reading. Please send good vibes the guys' way and let them feel the love.
Dr. Johnson's next HART Fund fundraiser is Valentine's weekend and as usual, it will be a biggie.
Blues Blast '18 is on the near horizon and PBS could certainly use your help during the show. We need about 100 volunteers to help out. Two hours work for a day pass to the show. Win/win.
Lots o' stuff going on so hug somebody and have a great week.

Sincerely,

Jim Crawford, PBS

Robert Johnson's Top 10

by Stephen M. Deusner

One hundred years ago, a boy-child was born in Mississippi - a dirt-poor, African-American who would grow up, learn to sing and play the blues, and eventually achieve worldwide renown. In the decades after his death, he has become known as the King of the Delta Blues Singers, his music expanding in influence to the point that rock stars of the greatest magnitude - the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers - all sing his praise and have recorded his songs.

That boy-child was Robert Johnson, an itinerant blues singer and guitarist who lived from 1911 to 1938. He recorded 29 songs between 1936 and '37 for the American Record Corporation, which released eleven 78rpm records on their Vocalion label during JohnsonÂ¹s lifetime, and one after his death.

Most of these tunes have attained canonical status, and are now considered enduring anthems of the genre: "Cross Road Blues," "Love In Vain," "Hellhound On My Trail," "I Believe IÂ¹ll Dust My Broom," "Walking Blues," "Sweet Home Chicago."

One hundred years after his birth, he remains one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, and his small catalog-recently collected in the excellent two-CD Centennial Edition-is one of the strongest pillars of rock 'n' roll. Johnson has inspired a range of musicians, so here we present 10 of the best Robert Johnson covers.

The Rolling Stones - "Love in Vain"
The Stones slowed "Love in Vain" down to a crawl, settling into the song as if to savor the heartbreak. The studio version on Let It Bleed features sobbing pedal steel and a raw mandolin solo courtesy of Ry Cooder, but it's surpassed by the version on 1970's Get Your Ya-Ya's Out. Live, the song becomes a powerful showcase for Mick Jagger's loose vocals and Keith Richards' spidery guitar work. The cover from their 1995 live album, Stripped, however, could be smug parody.

Cassandra Wilson - "Come On In My Kitchen"
On this standout on her 1993 album Blue Light 'til Dawn, Cassandra Wilson sells Johnson's innuendo as sweet seduction, dipping into her lower register and flirting with meter to reveal the unfathomable heartache motivating her invitation. The halting jazz arrangement truly sells the composition, however, especially that lascivious, sinister bass growl and the rim clicks that sound like rain on the roof.

Gun Club - "Preaching the Blues"
On their 1980 debut, the Gun Club injected some supremely nervous punk energy into Johnson's version of "Preaching the Blues" (which is often credited to Son House or simply labeled traditional). The song almost gets away from them, as the late Jeffrey Lee Pierce howls out his unhinged vocals and the guitars repeat that riff so persistently it becomes creepily hypnotic.

Lucinda Williams - "Rambling on My Mind"
Long before she became a country artist, Lucinda Williams was an acoustic blues singer, and her debut opens with this sleek confident cover of "Rambling on My Mind." She hadn't quite developed her signature slur in 1979, but backed by guitarist John Grimaudo, she gracefully conveys the restlessness of the lyrics.

Led Zeppelin - "Traveling Riverside Blues"
Perhaps the most famous and transformative Robert Johnson cover. In 1969, Led Zeppelin turned the song into a pagan boogie that showcases Jimmy Page's insistent central riff, John Paul Jones' fat bass line, John Bonham's impossible beat, and Robert Plant's possessed performance, which borrows from at least three Johnson compositions.

Howlin' Wolf - "Dust My Broom"
Long before white British kids discovered him, older black bluesmen were playing the hell out of Robert Johnson's tunes, chief among them Howlin' Wolf. His hoarse delivery and blaring harmonica lend the tune a strident groove, as if he doesn't quite grasp the sexual undertones.

Cream - "Cross Road Blues"
Few artists have done as much to make Robert Johnson boring and tasteful than Eric Clapton, who recorded a deadly album of covers in 2004. But this version of "Cross Road Blues," recorded with the short-lived super group Cream, gets points for exploding the power-trio format. Maybe Clapton just needed Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker to egg him on.

R.L. Burnside - "Kind Hearted Woman Blues"
North Mississippi juke blues is typically torrid and electrified, needling listeners until they can't help but dance along. And particularly through his later albums with Jon Spencer, R.L. Burnside conveyed a larger-than-life persona that at times borders on cartoonish. But unplugging for 1997's Acoustic Stories, he shows a more tender side on this cover, which derives its considerable power from his agile guitar work and precarious vocal delivery.

Big Joe Williams - "Hellhound on My Trail"
The late bluesman Williams had a strange voice, slightly froggy and pitched like a quietly reminiscent preacher. His 1966 album Classic Delta Blues includes several Johnson covers, although "Hellhound," which turns the original into a ruminative internal monologue and features fine scallops of guitar licks, is arguably the best.

Dinah Washington - "Walking Blues"
From the 1940s through the early 1960s, the Alabama-born, Chicago-raised singer developed a unique, urbane vocal style that incorporated aspects of rural musical traditions, allowing her to cover Hank Williams' "Cold Cold Heart" as well as Johnson's "Walking Blues." On the latter, she sounds impossibly sleek and commanding, trading jabs with the horns and slyly insinuating more than the lyrics make explicit. Like Johnson, she died young-at 39 and at the peak of her fame.

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

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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

In This Issue

Robert Johnson

Out & About

Weekly Jams

2018 Arizona Blues Showdown is Sept 16 and 23.

Time to start thinking about your trip to Memphis.

NOTE: If we DO NOT have three or more solo/duo entrants we will not have a solo/duo category. Players will be welcome to compete with the herd.

MARK THE DATE!!

Out & About

Tuesday, January 16

Tommy Castro & the Painkillers, 8 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix

Carvin Jones, 7 p.m., Beaver Bar, Phoenix

Wednesday, January 17

Tommy Castro & the Painkillers, 8 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix

Carvin Jones (acoustic), 7 p.m., Arlie's, Tempe

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

Thursday, January 18

Johnny Defrancesco w/Duke Jethro, 7 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix

Michel Lander, 8 p.m., Culinary Dropout, Tempe

Chuck Hall ( acoustic), 6 p.m., Cheeseheadz, Peoria

Blues Review Band, 7 p.m., Indian Ed. Center, Phoenix

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

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

Friday, January 19

Mike Eldred Trio 9 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix

Hans Olson, 6 p.m., Gallagher's, Phoenix

Chuck Hall (acoustic), 10 a.m., Carefree Arts Fest, Downtown Carefree

JC & the Juke Rockers, 7 p.m., Handlebar, Apache Junction

Hoodoo Casters, 6 p.m., Desert Eagle Brewing Co., Mesa

Blues Review Band, 10 a.m., Indian Market, Cave Creek

Carvin Jones, 9 p.m., Kay's Place, Mesa

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

Front Page Blues Band, 8 p.m., Jersey Lilly, Prescott

Saturday, January 20

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

Sugar Thieves Trio, 3:30 p.m., Cityscape Park, Phoenix

Sugar Thieves, 8:30, Rhythm Room, Phoenix

Chuck Hall (acoustic), 10 a.m., Carefree Arts Fest, Downtown Carefree

Hoodoo Casters, 7 p.m., American Legion Post 58, Fountain Hills

True Flavor Blues, 8 p.m., West Valley BBQ, Chandler

Leon Js Juke Joint, 7 p.m., Sound Bites, Sedona

Blues Review Band, 10 a.m., Indian Market, Cave Creek

Outback Blues Band, 7 p.m., Stanford Inn, Salome

Carvin Jones, 9 p.m., Lucky Break, Phoenix

Hallelujah Blues Band, 4 p.m., Bailey's Pub, Phoenix

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

Front Page Blues Band, 8 p.m., Jersey Lilly, Prescott

Sunday, January 21

Chuck Hall (acoustic), 10 a.m., Carefree Arts Fest, Downtown Carefree

Blues Review Band, 10 a.m., Indian Market, Cave Creek

Leon Js Juke Joint, 2:30 p.m., Mountain View Pub, Cave Creek

Carvin Jones, 1 p.m., Roadrunner, New River

True Flavor Blues, NOON , Copper Star, Phoenix

Monday, January 22

Blues Review Band, 4 p.m., Medical Art Plaza, Chandler

Carvin Jones (Acoustic), 7 p.m., Waldo's, Gilbert

Weekly Jams

Sunday

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

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, 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

Rocket 88s, 7 p.m., Chopper John's, Phoenix

Tool Shed JAM Party, 7 p.m., Draw 10, Phoenix

Bumpin' Bud's 2nd & 4th Saturdays 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, 9 p.m., Chandler

Brad's Place JAM, 7 p.m., Ahwatukee (Every other Week)