Monday 30 January 2012

Featured Artist of the Week

Grainne (pronounced Gron-ya) Duffy is a guitar player, singer and songwriter from Ireland who has an intense understanding of the blues and brings a great deal of soul to her music.
She was raised in a family of seven in Castlebayney, Co. Monaghan. Grainne sang with her sisters in the choir before they broadened their interests into the likes of Aretha Franklin, the Pretenders and the Rolling Stones. Around this time she discovered Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green and the voices of Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie.
She played an old acoustic guitar for a while, but the strings were too hard to hold down. After borrowing an electric guitar from her brother-in-law she knew she had found her calling.
Like nearly every Irish guitarist she is influenced by Rory Gallagher, and talks of the passion of his music, and the tender aspects of his voice and playing.
She has written music for the BBC and, following the success of her first album "Out Of The Dark" , recorded and released her second album "Test Of Time" in 2011". Check her out at her website.


Monday 23 January 2012

The First Monday Morning Blues!!

We have been counting down the days, and today it's here...the first Monday Morning Blues on The Cat. Midweek Blues is no more. At 11am today tune in for two whole hours of great blues music on our LIVE radio show. Among other things, we will be playing tribute to Etta James who passed away on Friday, and also playing a song by local artist Jonathan Tarplee.

Saturday 21 January 2012

Etta James Dies Aged 73

Sadly Etta James lost her battle with Lukaemia on Friday January 20th, Her manager Lupe De Leon said: "She was a true original who could sing it all - her music defied category. This is a tremendous loss for the family, her friends and fans around the world." She is survived by her husband and her two sons, Donto and Sametto, who were with her when she died. She was our Featured Artist just a few weeks ago.

Wednesday 18 January 2012

A New Look

Welcome to the newly restyled Monday Morning Blues Blog! The changes reflect our exciting move from the one hour Midweek Blues show to a new 2 hour LIVE slot on a Monday between 11am and 1pm. Tune in on Monday for the first Monday Morning Blues show on thisisthecat.com and get in touch during the show.

Today's Playlist

This week we have....
Blind Blake - Diddie Wa Diddie, Pink Anderson and Simmie Dooley - Every Day In The Week Blues, Blind Boy Fuller - Truckin' My Blues Away, Robert Johnson - I Beleive I'll Dust My Broom, Tampa Red - It Hurt's Me Too, Cannon's Jug Stompers - Walk Right In, Mississippi John Hurt - Walk Right In, Sonny Terry - Harmonica Stomp, Josh White - Blood Red River, Tommy Johnson - Big Road Blues, Barbecue Bob - Atlanta Moan.

This will be the last Midweek Blues! But all is not lost, blues fans...... we are becoming bigger and better with a new show Monday Morning Blues. Two hours of blues brought to you LIVE between 11am and 1pm on a Monday on The Cat.

Wednesday 11 January 2012

Today's Playlist

Today at 11am on Midweek Blues on The Cat, we will be playing....
Lonnie Brooks - A Man's Gotta Do What A Man's Gotta Do, Professor Longhair - Mess Around, Jimmy Witherspoon - Killing Time, Carey Bell's Blues Harp - Carey Bell, Saffire - Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time, Dixieland Jug Blowers - Boodle Am Shake, Pete 'Snakey Jake' Johnson - Deportee and Professor Longhair - Everyday I have The Blues.

This week's featured atrtist is Professor Longhair, see our blog post for more about him.

Unfortunately our listen again facility is not available this week, so grab this chance to get your weekly dose of blues!

Tuesday 10 January 2012

This Weeks Featured Artist.....

Professor Longhair was born on December 19, 1918 in Louisiana. He made a living as a street hustler until he started to play piano seriously in his thirties. He taught himself how to play on a piano with missing keys that someone had thrown away, so his style became distinctive. Longhair first recorded in 1949 on the Star Talent label, creating four songs, including the first version of his signature song, "Mardi Gras in New Orleans."
After recuperating from a minor stroke, Professor Longhair came back in 1957 with "No Buts - No Maybes." 
In the 1960s Professor Longhair's career faltered. He became a janitor to support himself, and fell into a gambling habit.
To restore his standing, he appeared at the 1971 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival , and in 1973 played at the Newport Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival. His single visit to the UK, in 1978, was commemorated by The London Concert.
He influenced countless musicians, such as Fats Domino, Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Henry Butler, Huey "Piano" Smith, Marcia Ball, Champion Jack Dupree, Jon Cleary, the Meters, and the Neville Brothers.
Longhair died in his sleep on January 30, 1980, from a heart attack.


Monday 2 January 2012

This Week's Featured Artist....

Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins on January 25 1938 in Los Angeles. As a child, Etta was a gospel prodigy, singing in her church choir and on the radio at the age of five. When she turned twelve, she moved north to San Francisco where she formed a trio called The Creolettes (which later became The Peaches), and was soon working for bandleader Johnny Otis. When the trio split after 2 chart hits, Etta James began a solo career under the signing of Chess Records in 1960, and had a number of hits for the label, including "All I Could Do Was Cry," "My Dearest Darling," and "Trust in Me." However privately she was becoming a heroin addict, and her career suffered until 1967 when she had a come-back with "Tell Mama" and "I'd Rather Go Blind."
Her career lapsed again in the early 70's until she went into rehab.Though she continued to record but with limited success. In 1988 James signed with Island Records and released comeback album, Seven Year Itch. The album sold respectably and James was determined to keep her career on track, playing frequent live shows and recording regularly, issuing Stickin' to My Guns in 1990 and The Right Time in 1992. 
In all she recorded 29 studio albums, 4 live albums and 8 compilation albums.
In 2010, James was hospitalized with MRSA-related infections, and it was revealed that she had received treatment for dependence on painkillers and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. At 73, she is currently in a serious condition in hospital suffering from Leukaemia.

Edited to add that sadly Etta James lost her battle with Lukaemia on Friday January 20th, Her manager Lupe De Leon said: "She was a true original who could sing it all - her music defied category. This is a tremendous loss for the family, her friends and fans around the world."