Tuesday 27 December 2011

This Week's Featured Artist....

Muddy Waters was born McKinley Morganfield on April 4th 1913 in Jug's Corner in Issaquena County, Mississippi. His grandmother Della Grant raised him after his mother died shortly after his birth. His fondness for playing in mud earned him the nickname "Muddy" at an early age. He then changed it to "Muddy Water" and finally "Muddy Waters. He started out on harmonica but by age seventeen he was playing the guitar at parties emulating two blues artists who were extremely popular in the south, Son House and Robert Johnson.

In 1940, Muddy moved to Chicago for the first time.He switched from acoustic to electric guitar in order to be heard over the din of patrons at the clubs he played on Chicago’s South Side. He recorded songs written for him by Willie Dixon ("I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man,” “I Just Want to Make Love to You,” “I’m Ready") and by Waters himself ("Got My Mojo Working,” “Mannish Boy,” “Rollin’ and Tumblin’").

Waters served to launch many prominent blues musicians, many of whom went on to careers in their own right. The list of notable musicians who passed through Waters’ band includes harmonica players “Little Walter” Jacobs, “Big Walter” Horton, Junior Wells and James Cotton; guitarists Jimmy Rogers, Pat Hare, Luther Tucker and Earl Hooker; pianists Memphis Slim, Otis Spann and Pinetop Perkins; and drummers Elgin Evans, Fred Below and Francis Clay.

Waters’ greatest studio recordings were released as singles during the Fifties, and his first album - a collection of singles entitled The Best of Muddy Waters - didn’t appear until 1958. The Sixties found Waters performing to an ever-widening and appreciative audience as the younger generation acquired an insight into the blues. Muddy headed to England in 1958 and shocked audiences (whose only previous exposure to blues had come via the acoustic folk/blues sounds of acts such as Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee and Big Bill Broonzy with his loud, amplified electric guitar and thunderous beat. In 1960, Waters performed a set at the Newport Folk Festival, released in the same year as Muddy Waters at Newport.

By 1972 Waters accompanied by rock musicians such as Mike Bloomfield and Eric Clapton in The London Muddy Waters Sessions.

Muddy Waters died of a heart attack in 1983. He was 68 years old. His influence is tremendous, over a variety of music genres: blues, rhythm and blues, rock 'n' roll, hard rock, folk, jazz, and country. He influenced such greats as The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Canned Heat, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Paul Rodgers.


Tuesday 20 December 2011

Featured Artist Of The Week...

Bertha "Chippie" Hill was one of the better classic blues singers of the 1920s, and was one of the few singers of her generation to make a full-fledged comeback in the 1940s. One of 16 children, she started working in 1916 as a dancer before she became better known as a singer. She was given the nickname "Chippie" because of her young age and her small size early in her career. She toured with Ma Rainey's Rabbit Foot Minstrels and went on to become a solo performer on vaudeville for a long period. She first recorded in November 1925 for Okeh Records, backed by the cornet player Louis Armstrong . After working steadily in the Chicago area until 1930 (including touring with Lovie Austin), she eventually left music to raise seven children.Hill occasionally sang during the next 15 years (including with Jimmie Noone) but mostly worked outside of music. She was rediscovered by writer Rudi Blesh in 1946, working in a bakery. She was back again in 1950, but was run over by a car and killed in New York at the age of 45.

This Weeks Playlist...

This week we are mostly playing...Lowell Fulson - Lonesome Christmas, Joe Kubeck & Benois King - Poor Man's Christmas, Charles Brown & Johnny Otis - Christmas Comes But Once A Year, Butterbeans & Susie - Papa Ain't No Santa Claus (Mama Ain't No Christmas Tree), Christmas Jug Band - Christmas Iz Coming, The Preston Shannon Band - X-Mas Blues, Bertha "Chippie" Hill - Christmas Man Blues, Felix Gross & His Orchestra - Love For Christmas, Sons Of Heaven - When Was Jesus Born?, Southside Johnny - Please Come Home For Christmas, and J.B. Summers with Doc Bagby's Orchestra - I Want A Present For Christmas.

Tune it at 11am this Wednesday HERE
Or as always, if you miss it, the show will be on Listen Again from when it ends until the next week.

Wednesday 14 December 2011

This Week....

This week we played.....
Little Jimmy King and The Memphis Horns - Happy Christmas Tears, Ray Charles - I've Got A Woman, Big Mama Thornton - Hound Dog, Pete 'Snakey Jake' Johnson - Satisfied, Billy 'Curley' Barrix - Cool Off Baby, Bo Carter - Santa Claus, Willie Mabon - I'm Mad, Muddy Waters - Got My Mojo Workin', Black Ace - Christmas Time (Beggin' Santa Claus), Howlin' Wolf - Smoke Stack Lightning, Lowell Fulson - Lonesome Christmas, Led Zeppelin - You Shook Me.

As always if you missed it, you'll be able to catch it on The Cat's Listen Again facility for one week, by clicking on Listen Again and selecting Wednesday 11am.

Tuesday 13 December 2011

This Week's Featured Artist...

Howlin' Wolf - Born Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910 – January 10, 1976), Howlin’ Wolf ranks among the most electrifying performers in blues history, as well as one of its greatest characters. He was a ferocious, full-bodied singer whose vocals embodied the blues at its most unbridled. A large man who stood more than six feet tall and weighed nearly 300 pounds, Howlin’ Wolf cut an imposing figure, which he utilized to maximum effect when performing. He wrote classics as “Killing Floor,” “Smokestack Lightning” and “Moanin’ at Midnight.”Wolf derived his trademark howl from the “blue yodel” of country singer Jimmie Rodgers, whom he admired. He moved to West Memphis in 1948 where he put together a full-time band. Howlin’ Wolf influenced such blues-based rock musicians as the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton, and he recorded the albums - The London Howlin’ Wolf Sessions and London Revisited - with his British followers in the early Seventies. Howlin’ Wolf gave his last performance in Chicago in November 1975 with B.B. King. He died of kidney failure two months later, aged 65. A life-size statue of him was erected shortly after in a Chicago park.


Wednesday 7 December 2011

Providence Jug Band Special!!



Genre: Jug Band Music
Members: Winston Baldwin - Harp/Vocals, Phil Brightman - Guitar and piano, Stephen green - Mandolin, Keith Haines - Tea Chest Bass and Guitar.
Description: A gigging band playing blues, ragtime, jazz, and jug band music.
Bio: Surfaced during the 1970's when the folk music revival was at its height. Played for a number of years regionally, but split to have families. Reformed 30 years later, and currently play clubs and festivals. They have two CD's - "Back In Town" and "Red Street Rendezvous"


Today's Show is a two hour special featuring the amazing Providence Jug Band. The Midweek Blues team went down to The Bank Corner in Alsager to interview them and record them playing live. We also got some great photos. Tune in today between 11am and 1pm www.thisisthecat.com.

PHOTOS


As always if you miss it, you'll be able to catch it on The Cat's Listen Again facility for one week, by clicking on Listen Again and selecting Wednesday 11am (and for this week, noon too).
Providence Jug Band will be playing at The Narrowboat in Middlewich, this Friday, the 9th at around 8.30pm.

Friday 2 December 2011

Excited!

The Midweek Blues team have been busily editing, researching and planning this week's TWO HOUR Midweek Blues Special, all about Providence Jug Band. Tune in on Wednesday 7th December at 11am.

Wednesday 30 November 2011

This Weeks Playlist...

This week we mostly played...
Leadbelly - Midnight Special, Scott Isaac - Help, Freddy King, Pete Johnson - Friend Of The Devil, Memphis Minnie - Me and my Chauffeur Blues, Furry Lewis - Dry Land Blues, Providence Jug Band -Every Day Of The Week, Stevie Ray Vaughan - Little Wing, Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Ice Cream Man, Ike and Tina Turner - Ain't Nobody's Business, and Mike Morgan - Well Allright Then.

As always if you miss it, you'll be able to catch it on The Cat's Listen Again facility for one week, by clicking on Listen Again and selecting Wednesday 11am

Tuesday 29 November 2011

This Weeks Featured Artist...

Lead Belly - Huddie William Ledbetter (January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949, better known as Lead Belly or Leadbelly) was an iconic American folk and blues musician, notable for his strong vocals, his virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the songbook of folk standards he introduced.

Although Lead Belly most commonly played the twelve-string, he could also play the piano, mandolin, harmonica, violin, and accordion. In some recordings he just sings while clapping his hands or stomping his foot.

The topics of Lead Belly's music covered a wide range of subjects, including gospel songs, blues songs about women, liquor and racism; and the newsmakers of the day, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, Jean Harlow, the Scottsboro Boys, and Howard Hughes.

A certain tribute to the influence of Lead Belly that he's been covered by a huge range of artists including Johnny Cash, Mungo Jerry, Paul King, Tom Waits, Scott H. Biram, The Doors, The Beach Boys, Rory Gallagher, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and even Led Zeppelin, Meatloaf and Nirvana.

In 1976 Lead Belly joined a select group of folk singing legends who have been honoured with a biographical film about their life. The film, entitled Leadbelly, was directed by Gordon Parks who also directed the shaft movies and starred Roger E. Mosley.





Sunday 27 November 2011

Exciting News!


Yesterday the Midweek Blues team were invited down to The Bank Corner in Alsager to interview and record The Providence Jug Band! The band were absolutely brilliant and the interview we did with them was so good, we have decided to grab an extra hour next Wednesday (7th December) and do a two hour Midweek Blues Providence Jug Band Special.
You can check out the band's Facebook page HERE.

If you are in a Jug/Blues band and would like us to come and interview you, please get in touch. Details are on the Contact Us page.

Wednesday 23 November 2011

This Week....

This week we are playing.....
Curtis Jones - Roll Me Over, Alexis Korner - Night Time Is The Right Time, Steve Angelo & John Mayall - Long Night, Graham Bond Organisation - Strut Around, Zoot Money - Get On The Right Track Baby, The Blues Band - Talk To Me Baby, Todd Sharpville - Little Bit Worried, The Memphis Jug Band - One The Road Again, Roy Gaines and The Crusaders - Hell Of A Night, Nick Drake - Here Come The Blues, Chris Rea - The Closer You Get.

If you miss it, you'll be able to catch it on The Cat's Listen Again facility for one week, by clicking on Listen Again and selecting Wednesday 11am

Tuesday 22 November 2011

This Week's Featured Artist...


Alexis Korner (19th of April 1928- 1st January 1984) was a blues musician and broadcaster, who is often referred to as the Founding Father of British Blues. He helped to bring together many English blues musicians. In 1954 he jointly opened a blues club in London's Soho, where he formed the group Blues Incorporated in 1961. This included at various times Charlie Watts, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Graham Bond, and others and attracted younger fans, including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Rod Stewart, Jimmy Page and John Mayall.
For a while Korner hosted Five O'Clock Club, a childrens' television show that introduced a whole new generation of British kids to American blues and jazz.
During the '70s Korner had his only major hit, as leader of CCS. Their version of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" went on to become the theme tune to Top of The Pops from 1971-1981.

Wednesday 16 November 2011

This Week's Featured Artist...


The Memphis Jug Band was comprised of Will Shade, Will Weldon, Hattie Hart, Charlie, Polk, Walter Horton, and others in various configurations. Guitarist/harpist Will Shade formed The Memphis Jug Band in the Beale Street section of Memphis in the mid-'20s. The Memphis Jug Band was the most recorded (over 100 sides between 1927 and 1934) and one of the most popular of the jug bands to spring up in Memphis in the 1920s (along with Canon's Jug Stompers). The jug band craze started in Louisville, Kentucky around 1905. Will Shade continued to lead the group in various incarnations until his death in 1966.


This week....

Want an hour of great blues? Tune in today at 11am to hear....
Mississippi John Hurt - Coffee Blues, Walter Trout - Life in The Jungle, Memphis Jug Band - Stealin' Stealin', B.B. King (with Etta James) - There's Something On Your Mind, Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell - How Long, How Long Blues, Robert Johnson - They're Red Hot, Tommy McClennan - Bottle it Up and Go, Joe Bonamassa - Slow Train and..... a snippet from Kev's interview with Steve Cropper!

If you miss it, you'll be able to catch it on The Cat's Listen Again facility for one week, by clicking on Listen Again and selecting Wednesday 11am

Wednesday 9 November 2011

This Weeks Playlist

On today's show we played...
Arthur Smith and The Crackerjacks Instrumental - Guitar Boogie, Fleetwood Mac- Need Your Love So Bad, Beale Street Mama - Bessie Smith, Dust Bowl - Joe Bonamassa, A Spoonful Blues- Charley Patton, Crow Black Chicken - Ry Cooder, Vigilante Man - Pete 'Snakey Jake' Johnson, Black Cat Bone - Robert Cray, Albert Collins & Johnny Copeland, I Just Wanna Make Love To You - The Super Super Blues Band.

If you missed the show today, you can listen again until next week by clicking HERE and selecting Wednesday 11am

Thursday 3 November 2011

New Poster!


If you would like to help spread the word, and you have a little wall or window space, please print out a copy of our poster! It can be found full size by clicking on the image in the "Poster" section of the tabs above. Thank you! x

Wednesday 2 November 2011

This Weeks Playlist

This week we may have got quite silly, but we have played......
Jim Kweskin - Somebody Stole My Gal, ZZ Top - La Grange, John Lee Hooker - Boom Boom, Chuck Berry - In The Wee Hours, Albert King, Steve Cropper and Pop Staples - What'd I say (Jen really liked this one!), Louisville Jug Band - Sing You Sinners, Smokey Hogg - When I've Been Drinking, Junior Wells - Messin' With The kid (Jen likes this one too!), Robert Johnson - Sweet Home Chicago and Bob Dylan - Rollin' and Tumblin'.

If you missed the show, you can catch it again on Listen Again for one week HERE and select Wednesday, 11am.

Wednesday 26 October 2011

This Week's Playlist

This week (October 26th) we played.... Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - Cold Shot, David 'Honeyboy' Edwards - Kansas City, Lonnie Brooks (not Loonie, oops) - A Man's Gotta Do What A Man's Gotta Do, The Beatles - Yer Blues, John Martyn - Sugar Lump, Leadbelly - Rock Island Line, Savoy Brown - Taste and Try (Before You Buy), Robert Wilkins - That's No Way To Get Along, The Fabulous Thunderbirds - She's Tuff, Blind Boy Fuller - Untrue blues, Josh White - Good Gal, Mississippi Sheiks - Tell Me What The Cats Fight About.


For the record.... Jen's looked it up and Leadbelly was born Huddie William Ledbetter. Huddie is pronounced HYEW-dee or HUGH-dee.

If you missed the show, you can catch it again on Listen Again for one week HERE and select Wednesday, 11am.

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Today We Are Live!

Tune in to The cat at 11am for your weekly dose of great blues music. We will be mostly playing...
Sunny Blair, Eddie Kelly's Washboard Band, James Booker, Tom Archia, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, John Lee Hooker, The Allman Brothers' Band, Danny Overbea, Mississippi John Hurt and Bukka White.
Listen HERE

Thursday 13 October 2011

What Do You Think?

So, the blog is looking pretty good, there's a few different pages across the top. Anyone have any suggestions of anything else they'd like to see here?

Wednesday 12 October 2011

On Today's Show

This week we have mostly played....Robert Johnson, Big Mama Thornton, Mississippi Sheiks, Mississippi John Hurt, Billy 'Curley' Barrix, Dr Feelgood, Willie Mabon, Arlo Guthrie, Bo Diddley, Etta James, Smokey Hogg and Ma Rainey.
Listen again for one week here...
Listen Again
and select Wednesday, 11am.

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Welcome To Our New Blog!

Welcome to the brand new sparkly Midweek Blues blog. Midweek Blues is a weekly radio show on The Cat, a community radio station based in Nantwich, Cheshire. Our music spans nine decades, and we keep the chat informative, but light hearted. You can listen to The Cat 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but Midweek Blues is on Wednesdays between 11am and noon.