Monday 26 May 2014

This week's playlist

The Riverside Ramblers - Dissatisfied
Little Walter - It Ain't Right
The Michael Louis Band - Morning Gasoline
The Michael Louis Band - I Fought The Law
Slim Harpo - I've Got Love If You Want It
Even Dozen Jug Band - Take Your Fingers Off It
Tampa Red - It Hurts Me Too
Ralph McTell - Kindhearted Woman Blues


Blind Willie McTell - Mr. McTell Got The Blues
John Drummer Blues Band - No Chance With You
Lonesome River Band - Sorry County Blues
Ry Cooder - On A Monday
Albert Cummings - Workin' Man Blues
Ted Hawkins - I Got What I Wanted
The Powder Blues Band - Further On Up The Road
Snooks Eaglin - Mean Old Frisco
Eddie Boyd - Blue Coat Man
ZZ Top - La Grange
David 'Honeyboy' Edwards - Roamin' And Ramblin'

Monday Morning Blues 26/05/14 (1st hour) by Kev "Legs" on Mixcloud

Monday Morning Blues 26/05/14 (2nd hour) by Kev "Legs" on Mixcloud

Monday 19 May 2014

This week's playlist

Soulstack - Stone Cold Man
Freddie King - king-A-Ling
Turk Tresize - West On Train
Turk Tresize - Wasted
Blind Gary Davis - Cross And Evil Woman Blues
Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers - Noah's Blues
Billy Boy Arnold - I Ain't Got You
Freddie King - I'm Tore Down
Kathy Frank - I'm A Big Girl

Jimmy Rogers - Walkin' By Myself
Freddie King - Ain't Nobody's Business
The Bloody Jug Band - Murder Of Crows
Status Quo - Good Thinking-Batman
Maria Muldaur - Please Send Me Someone To Love
Patrick Sassone - Because Of You
Dan Sowerby - Messin Round
Riot And The Blues Devils - I Wanna Be
Freddie King - Same Old Blues
Bill Bourne and The Free Radio Band - Maggie's Farm

Featured Artist: Freddie King

Freddie King

September 3, 1934 – December 28, 1976
When King was only six, his mother Ella Mae King and his uncle began teaching Freddie guitar. In autumn 1949, King and his family moved from Dallas to the South Side of Chicago. In 1952 King started working in a steel mill, the same year he married fellow Texas native Jessie Burnett, with whom he eventually had seven children.
Almost as soon as he had moved to Chicago, King started sneaking into South Side nightclubs, where he heard blues performed by Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, T-Bone Walker, Elmore James and Sonny Boy Williamson. King formed his first band, the Every Hour Blues Boys, with guitarist Jimmie Lee Robinson and drummer Frank "Sonny" Scott. In 1952, while employed at the steel mill, an eighteen-year-old King occasionally worked as a Sideman with such bands as the Little Sonny Cooper Band and Earl Payton's Blues Cats. In 1953 he recorded with the latter for Parrot Records, but these recordings were never released. As the 1950s went on, King played with several of Muddy Waters's sidemen and other Chicago mainstays, including guitarists Jimmy Rogers, Robert Lockwood Jr., Eddie Taylor, Hound Dog Taylor, bassist Willie Dixon, Pianist Memphis Slim and harpist Little Walter.
In 1956 he cut his first record as a leader, for El-Bee Records. The A-side was a duet with a Margaret Whitfield, "Country Boy", and the B-side was a King vocal. Both tracks feature the guitar of Robert Lockwood, Jr., who during these same years was also adding rhythm backing and fills to Little Walter's records.
King was repeatedly rejected in auditions for the South Side's Chess Records, the premier blues label, which was home to Muddy, Wolf, and Walter. The complaint was that Freddie King sang too much like B.B. King. A newer blues scene, lively with nightclubs and upstart record companies, was burgeoning on the West Side, though. Bassist and producer Willie Dixon, during a late 1950s period of estrangement from Chess, had King come to Cobra Records for a session, but the results have never been heard. Meanwhile, King established himself as perhaps the biggest musical force on the West Side. King played along with Magic Sam and supposedly did uncredited backing guitar on some of Sam's tracks for Mel London's Chief and Age labels, though King does not stand out anywhere.
In 1959 King got to know Sonny Thompson, pianist, producer, and A&R man for Cincinnati's King Records and King owner Syd Nathan signed King to the subsidiary Federal label in 1960. King recorded his debut single for the label on August 26, 1960: "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" backed with "You've Got To Love Her With A Feeling" (again as "Freddy" King). From the same recording session at the King Studios in Cincinnati, Ohio, King cut the instrumental "Hide Away," which the next year reached #5 on the R&B Charts and #29 on the Pop Singles Charts, an unprecedented accomplishment for a blues instrumental at a time when the genre was still largely unknown to white audiences. "Hide Away" was originally released as the B-side of "I Love the Woman". "Hide Away" was King's conglomeration of a theme by Hound Dog Taylor and parts by others, such as from "The Walk" by Jimmy McCracklin and "Peter Gunn", as credited by King. The song's title comes from Mel's Hide Away Lounge, a popular blues club on the West Side of Chicago. Willie Dixon later claimed that he had recorded King doing "Hide Away" for Cobra Records in the late 1950s, but such a version has never surfaced. "Hide Away" has since become a blues standard.
After their success with "Hide Away," King and Sonny Thompson recorded thirty instrumentals, including "The Stumble," "Just Pickin'," "Sen-Sa-Shun," "Side Tracked," "San-Ho-Zay," "High Rise," and "The Sad Nite Owl". Vocal tracks continued to be recorded throughout this period, but often the instrumentals were marketed on their own merits as albums. During the Federal period King toured with many of the R&B acts of the day such as, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson and James Brown, who performed in the same concerts.
King's contract with Federal expired in 1966, and his first overseas tour followed in 1967. King's availability was noticed by producer and saxophonist King Curtis, who had recorded a cover of "Hide Away," with Cornell Dupree on guitar in 1962. Curtis signed King to Atlantic in 1968, which resulted in two LP's, Freddie King Is a Blues Master (1969) and My Feeling for the Blues (1970), produced by Curtis for the Atlantic subsidiary Cotillion Records.
In 1969 King hired Jack Calmes as his manager, who secured him an appearance at the 1969 Texas Pop Festival, alongside Led Zeppelin and others, and this led to King's being signed to Leon Russell's new label, Shelter Records. The company treated King as an important artist, flying him to Chicago to the former Chess studios for the recording of Getting Readyand gave him a backing line-up of top session musicians, including rock pianist Leon Russell. Three albums were made during this period, including blues classics and new songs like, "Goin' Down" written by Russell and Don Nix.
King performed alongside the big rock acts of the day, such as Eric Clapton and for a young, mainly white audience, along with white tour drummer Gary Carnes for three years, before signing to RSO. In 1974 he recordedBurglar, for which Tom Dowdproduced the track "Sugar Sweet" at Criteria Studios in Miami, with guitarists Clapton and slide guitarist George Terry, drummer Jamie Oldaker and bassist Carl Radle. Mike Vernon produced all the other tracks. Vernon also produced a second album Larger than Lifewith King, for the same label. Vernon brought in other notable musicians for both albums such as Bobby Tench of The Jeff Beck Group, to complement King.
Near-constant touring took its toll on King (he was on the road almost 300 days out of the year), and in 1976 he began suffering stomach ulcers. His health quickly deteriorated and he died on December 28 of complications from that and acute pancreatitis at the age of 42.
According to those who knew him, King's untimely death was due to both stress and poor diet (he was in the habit of consuming Bloody Marys in lieu of solid food so as not to waste time when setting up shows).

Monday Morning Blues 19/05/14 (1st hour) by Kev "Legs" on Mixcloud

Monday Morning Blues 19/05/14 (2nd hour) by Kev "Legs" on Mixcloud

Monday 12 May 2014

This week's playlist

Lonnie Brooks - A Man's Got To Do What A Man's Got To Do
The Groundhogs - Groundhog
Bobby Blue Bland - I'm Not Ashamed
Anthony Gomes - Voodoo Moon
Geoff Muldaur, Jim Kweskin and John Sebastian - New Minglewood Blues
Jarekus Singleton - Sorry
Creedence Clearwater Revival - I Put A Spell On You
The Groundhogs and Tony McPhee - Country Blues
Eva Cassidy - I Wish I Was A Single Girl Again

The Groundhogs and Tony McPhee - Got My Mojo Workin'
Rick L. Blues - Lucky Boogie
Jarekus Singleton - I Refuse To Lose
Terry Blankley - My Feets Keep Walkin'
Woody Guthrie - Worried Man Blues
Arthur Smith and The Crackerjacks - Guitar Boogie
R.B. Stone - Mississippi Woman
The Groundhogs - Blue Boar Blues
The Bootleggers feat. Nick Cave - Burnin' Hell
Washboard Sam - Buckets Got A Hole In

Featured Artist: The Groundhogs

The Groundhogs
The band was originally formed as The Dollar Bills in New Cross, London in 1962 by brothers Pete and John Cruickshank (born in 1943 and 1945 respectively in Calcutta, West Bengal, India). Tony McPhee (born 1944), the lead guitarist in an instrumental group called the Shcenuals, joined the group later that same year. McPhee steered them towards the blues and renamed them after a John Lee Hooker song, "Groundhog's Blues".
John Cruickshank suggested they became John Lee's Groundhogs when they backed John Lee Hooker on his 1964 UK tour: they later supplemented Little Walter, Jimmy Reed and Champion Jack Dupree when they toured the UK. McPhee featured on Dupree's From New Orleans to Chicago (1966) alongside Eric Clapton. The Groundhogs issued "Shake It" b/w "Rock Me" on the Interphon record label in January 1965.
Their line-up on their first album, “Scratchin' The Surface”, released in November 1968, consisted of McPhee as singer and guitarist: bassist Peter Cruickshank (born 2 July 1945, in Calcutta, Ken Pustelnik on drums (born 13 March 1946 on a farm near Blairgowry, Angus, Scotland) and Steve Rye on harmonica (born 8 March 1946 in London – died 14 July 1992, in London). In 1969, the single "B.D.D." (Blind Deaf Dumb) flopped in the UK but hit number one in Lebanon.
The group's album releases “Thank Christ For The Bomb” (May 1970); “Split” (March 1971); and “Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs” (March 1972), recorded as a trio without Rye, all reached the Top 10 in the UK Album Charts. “Split” reached number 5, spending 27 weeks in the UK Albums Chart and achieved gold record status.
They supported The Rolling Stones on their 1971 British tour at the request of Mick Jagger and released an album of their live set on the Stones tour, recorded at Leeds University and called “Live at Leeds”. All these albums and live shows were performed by the classic power trio of Cruickshank, McPhee and Pustelnik. 1974's album “Solid” saw a last return to the charts.
After breaking up in 1976 they returned with a different line-up a decade later. At times in the 1990s, McPhee alternated two line-ups. After years of performing and recording for a loyal following, original manager Roy Fisher put together a short-lived 'original line-up' to celebrate their fortieth anniversary. McPhee left the band again in order to pursue an acoustic career, leaving Cruickshank and Pustelnik to continue, subsequently forming 'The Groundhogs Rhythm Section' with invited frontmen, latterly with Eddie Martin, while McPhee embarked on a major tour in 2004 with Edgar Winter and Alvin Lee and issued an acoustic blues album “Blues at Ten”.
McPhee put together a new band in 2007, with long-time Groundhogs bassist Dave Anderson (ex- Hawkwind) and Marco Anderson on drums. This trio toured England in 2008 with Focus and Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash. The 2009 line-up of Tony McPhee's Groundhogs comprised McPhee, Anderson and previous long-term drummer Mick Jones. The Groundhogs Rhythm Section's latest recruits, Bob Bowles (guitar, vocals) and Jon Buckett (guitars, keyboards, vocals), joined Ken Pustelnik and Pete Cruickshank in February 2011. As of 2011, the new Groundhogs' lineup consists of McPhee, Anderson, Joanna Deacon (vocals), and Carl Stokes (drums).

Monday Morning Blues 12/05/14 (1st hour) by Kev "Legs" on Mixcloud

Monday Morning Blues 12/05/14 (2nd hour) by Kev "Legs" on Mixcloud

Monday 5 May 2014

This week's playlist

John Lee Hooker - Baby Lee
Peetie Wheatstraw - Weeping Willow Blues
Snooks Eaglin - Oh Lavinia
Debbie Davis - Don't Put The Blame On Me
3am - For The First Time
Frank Frost - My Back Scratcher
Mig and The Mudz (feat. Lady Loretta) - Down
Elder Richard Bryant and His Sanctified Singers - Come Over Here
Buddy Guy - My Time After Awhile
ScottyBoy Daniel Blues Band - Drinkin' Beer

Roy Newman and His Boys - Match Box Blues
Joe Bonamassa - Dust Bowl
Jack Derwin - Blues For Me
Geno Washington - Dust My Broom
Eric Bibb - Money In Your Pocket
John Earl Walker - Earl's Boogie
Bob Dylan - Early Roman Kings
Matt Anderson - I Lost My Way
Professor Longhair - Every Day I Have The Blues

Monday Morning Blues 05/05/14 (1st hour) by Kev "Legs" on Mixcloud

Monday Morning Blues 05/05/14 (2nd hour) by Kev "Legs" on Mixcloud