Mahalia Jackson

October 16th 1911 – January 27th 1972

General critical consensus holds Mahalia Jackson as the greatest gospel singer ever to live; a major crossover success whose popularity extended across racial divides, she was gospel's first superstar, and even decades after her death remains, for many listeners, a defining symbol of the music's transcendent power. Born in one of the poorest sections of New Orleans she made her debut in the children's choir of the Plymouth Rock Baptist Church at the age of four, and within a few years was a prominent member of the Mt. Moriah Baptist's junior choir. A major inspiration was the blues of Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey.

Jackson relocated to Chicago in 1927, where she worked as a maid and laundress; within months of her arrival, she was singing leads with the choir at the Greater Salem Baptist Church. Her provocative performing style enraged many of the more conservative Northern preachers, but few could deny her fierce talent.

Jackson began her solo career accompanied by pianist Evelyn Gay, who herself later went on to major fame as one half of gospel's Gay Sisters. In 1937 she made her first recordings for Decca, becoming the first gospel artist signed to the label. She soon began performing live in cities as far away as Buffalo, New Orleans, and Birmingham, becoming famous in churches throughout the country for not only her inimitable voice but also her flirtatious stage presence and spiritual intensity.

Producer Art Freeman insisted Jackson record W. Herbert Brewster's "Move on Up a Little Higher"; released in early 1948, the single became the best-selling gospel record of all time, selling in such great quantities that stores could not even meet the demand. Virtually overnight, Jackson became a superstar; among White intellectuals and jazz critics, she acquired a major cult following based in large part on her eerie similarities to Bessie Smith. In 1952, her recording of "I Can Put My Trust in Jesus" even won a prize from the French Academy, resulting in a successful tour of Europe,

Jackson's success soon reached such dramatic proportions that in 1954 she began hosting her own weekly radio series on CBS, the first program of its kind to broadcast the pure, sanctified gospel style over national airwaves. In 1954 she signed to Columbia, scoring a Top 40 hit with the single "Rusty Old Halo," and two years later made her debut on The Ed Sullivan Show.

A triumphant appearance at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival solidified Jackson's standing among critics. In 1959, she appeared in the film Imitation of Life, and two years later sang at John F. Kennedy's Presidential inauguration. During the '60s, Jackson was also a confidant and supporter of Dr. Martin Luther King, and at his funeral sang his last request, "Precious Lord"; throughout the decade she was a force in the civil rights movement, but after 1968, with King and the brothers Kennedy all assassinated, she retired from the political front. At much the same time, Jackson went through a messy and very public divorce, prompting a series of heart attacks and the rapid loss of over a hundred pounds; in her last years, however, she recaptured much of her former glory, concluding her career with a farewell concert in Germany in 1971. She died January 27, 1972.

Wynonie Harris (August 24, 1915 – June 14, 1969)

No blues shouter embodied the rollicking good times that he sang of quite like raucous shouter Wynonie Harris. "Mr. Blues," as he was not-so-humbly known, joyously related risque tales of sex, booze, and endless parties in his trademark raspy voice over some of the jumpingest horn-powered combos of the postwar era.

The shouter debuted on wax under his own name in July of 1945 with backing from drummer Johnny Otis, saxist Teddy Edwards, and trumpeter Howard McGhee. A month later, he signed on with Apollo Records, an association that provided him with two huge hits in 1946: "Wynonie's Blues" (with saxist Illinois Jacquet's combo) and "Playful Baby." After scattered dates for Hamp-Tone, Bullet, and Aladdin, Harris joined the star-studded roster of Cincinnati's King Records in 1947. There his sales really soared.

Few records made a stronger impact than Harris' 1948 chart-topper "Good Rockin' Tonight." Ironically, Harris shooed away its composer, Roy Brown, when he first tried to hand it to the singer; only when Brown's original version took off did Wynonie cover the romping number. With Hal "Cornbread" Singer on wailing tenor sax and a rocking, socking backbeat, the record provided an easily followed blueprint for the imminent rise of rock & roll a few years later (and gave Elvis Presley something to place on the A-side of his second Sun single).

After that, Harris was rarely absent from the R&B charts for the next four years, his offerings growing more boldly suggestive all the time. "Grandma Plays the Numbers," "I Like My Baby's Pudding," "Good Morning Judge," "Bloodshot Eyes", and "Lovin' Machine" were only a portion of the ribald hits Harris scored into 1952 (13 in all) -- and then his personal hit parade stopped dead. Changing tastes among fickle consumers accelerated Wynonie Harris' sobering fall from favor.

Records for Atco in 1956, King in 1957, and Roulette in 1960 only hinted at the raunchy glory of a few short years earlier. The touring slowed accordingly. Chess gave him a three-song session in 1964, but sat on the promising results. Throat cancer silenced him for good in 1969, ending the life of a bigger-than-life R&B pioneer whose ego matched his tremendous talent.

William James "Willie" Dixon

(July 1, 1915 – January 29, 1992)

Willie Dixon's life and work was virtually an embodiment of the progress of the blues, from an accidental creation of the descendants of freed slaves to a recognized and vital part of America's musical heritage. A producer, songwriter, bassist, and singer, he helped Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and others find their most commercially successful voices.

By the time he was a teenager, Dixon was writing songs and selling copies to the local bands. He eventually made his way to Chicago, where he won the Illinois State Golden Gloves Heavyweight Championship. He might have been a successful boxer, but he turned to music instead, thanks to Leonard "Baby Doo" Caston, a guitarist who had seen Dixon at the gym where he worked out and occasionally sang with him. The two formed a duo playing on street corners, and later Dixon took up the bass as an instrument.

Dixon would occasionally appear as a bassist at late-night jam sessions featuring members of the growing blues community, including Muddy Waters. Later on when the Chess brothers -- who owned a club where Dixon occasionally played -- began a new record label, Aristocrat (later Chess), they hired him, initially as a bassist on a 1948 session for Robert Nighthawk. The Chess brothers liked Dixon's playing, and his skills as a songwriter and arranger, and during the next two years he was working regularly for the Chess brothers. He got to record some of his own material, but generally Dixon was seldom featured as an artist at any of these sessions.

Dixon's real recognition as a songwriter began with Muddy Waters' recording of "Hoochie Coochie Man." The success of that single, "Evil" by Howlin' Wolf, and "My Babe" by Little Walter saw Dixon established as Chess' most reliable tunesmith, and the Chess brothers continually pushed Dixon's songs on their artists. In addition to writing songs, Dixon continued as bassist and recording manager of many of the Chess label's recording sessions, including those by Lowell Fulson, Bo Diddley, and Otis Rush.

During the mid-'60s his music was getting covered regularly by artists like the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds, and when he visited England, he even found himself cajoled into presenting his newest songs to their managements. Back at Chess, Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters continued to perform Dixon's songs, as did newer artists such as Koko Taylor, who had her own hit with "Wang Dang Doodle." Gradually, however, after the mid-'60s, Dixon saw his relationship with Chess Records come to a halt. The death of Leonard Chess in the autumn of 1969 and the subsequent sale of the company brought about the end of Dixon's relationship to the company.

Dixon continued performing, and was also called in as a producer on movie soundtracks such as “Gingerale Afternoon” and “La Bamba”, producing the work of his old stablemate Bo Diddley. By that time, Dixon was regarded as something of an elder statesman, composer, and spokesperson of American blues. Dixon eventually began suffering from increasingly poor health, and lost a leg to diabetes. He died peacefully in his sleep early in 1992.

Featured Artist: Chuck Berry

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry

(born October 18, 1926)
Born into a middle class family in St. Louis, Missouri, Berry had an interest in music from an early age and gave his first public performance at Summer High School.
While still a high school student he served a prison sentence for armed robbery between 1944 and 1947. On his release, Berry settled into married life and worked at an automobile assembly plant.
By early 1953, influenced by the guitar riffs and showmanship techniques of blues player T-Bone Walker, he was performing in the evenings with the Johnnie Johnson Trio His break came when he traveled to Chicago in May 1955, and met Muddy Waters, who suggested he contact Leonard Chess of Chess Records. With Chess he recorded "Maybellene"—Berry's adaptation of the country song “Ida Red” —which sold over a million copies, reaching #1 on Billboard's Rhythm and Blues chart.
By the end of the 1950s, Berry was an established star with several hit records and film appearances to his name as well as a lucrative touring career.
Berry was among the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on its opening in 1986, with the comment that he "laid the groundwork for not only a rock and roll sound but a rock and roll stance." Berry is included in several Rolling Stone "Greatest of All Time" lists, including being ranked fifth on their 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time

Featured artist Chris Rea

(born Christopher Anton Rea, 4 March 1951)

British singer and guitarist Chris Rea has enjoyed a run of popularity in Europe during the late '80s and early '90s after almost a decade of previous recording. Rea started out performing with a local group called Magdalene, taking David Coverdale's place; the band won a national talent contest in 1975 as the Beautiful Losers, but still failed to get a record contract. Rea left the band and recorded the album “Whatever Happened to Benny Santini?”, which alluded to a discarded stage name. The album went gold on the strength of the U.S. Top 20 hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)." Rea then spent some time, concentrating his efforts on his main fan base of Europe.
A compilation of tracks from Rea's '80s albums, “New Light Through Old Windows”, was released in 1988 and sold well in the U.K. and Europe and charted in the U.S. Rea followed it up with the critically acclaimed “The Road to Hell”, which many regarded as his best album. It and its follow-up, “Auberge”, went to the top of the U.K. album charts, but did not prove as successful in the U.S., where he has failed to chart with his subsequent releases.
After being diagnosed with pancreatitis, Rea underwent an operation called a Whipple procedure (pancreaticoduodenectomy), with a predicted 50% chance of survival. In 2001, Rea promised himself that if he recovered, he would be returning to his blues roots. This near brush with death was the catalyst for a change in musical direction and motivation.
In 2005 he released “Blue Guitars”, an eleven CD collection of 137 blues-inspired tracks recorded in eighteen months, complete with his own paintings as album covers. It is seen by himself as his finest work to date.
The fun “The Return of the Fabulous Hofner Blue Notes” appeared in 2008, and he released “The Santo Spirito Blues” in 2011.

Featured Artist - Danny Overbea

Danny Overbea

3 January 1926, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, d. 11 May 1994, Chicago, Illinois

Danny Overbea, came out of the Chicago R&B scene, and was one of the earliest pioneers of rock 'n' roll.
He began his musical career in 1946 and first recorded in 1950 as a vocalist on an Eddie Chamblee track.
He formed a vocal-instrumental trio called the Three Earls
Overbea joined Chess Records in 1952, producing his best-known songs, "Train Train Train" and "40 Cups Of Coffee", the following year. Both were essentially rock 'n' roll songs before the concept of "rock 'n' roll" had even emerged.
In the pop market, "Train Train Train" was covered by Buddy Morrow and "40 Cups Of Coffee" by Ella Mae Morse. By 1955, when rock 'n' roll was making its breakthrough on the pop charts, Bill Haley And His Comets recorded "40 Cups Of Coffee", which, even though it did not chart, proved to be one of their better efforts.
By now Overbea was gaining a name as a writer of songs as well as a performer
Famed disc jockey Alan Freed featured Overbea many times in his early rock 'n' roll revues in Ohio and New York; his acrobatic back-bend to the floor while playing the guitar behind his head was always a highlight of the shows.
The first recorded Overbea work in 1954 was the strangely named "Ebony Chant" and the flip was "Stomp And Whistle". This record did not do anywhere near as well as the first two releases.
Overbea was also a talented ballad singer (in the mode of Billy Eckstine), having most success with "You're Mine" (also recorded by the Flamingos) and "A Toast To Lovers".
Overbea made his last records in 1959 and retired from the music business in 1976.

Featured Artist - Sleepy John Estes

John Adam Estes (January 25, 1899 or 1904 – June 5, 1977)

Big Bill Broonzy called John Estes' style of singing "crying" the blues because of its overt emotional quality. Actually, his vocal style harks back to his tenure as a work-gang leader for a railroad maintenance crew, where his vocal improvisations and keen, cutting voice set the pace for work activities
Estes made his debut as a recording artist in Memphis, Tennessee in 1929, at a session organized by Ralph Peer for Victor Records. His partnership with Nixon was first documented on songs such as "Drop Down Mama" and "Someday Baby Blues" in 1935; later sides replaced the harmonica player with the guitarists Son Bonds or Charlie Pickett.He later recorded for the Decca and Bluebird labels, with his last pre-war recording session taking place in 1941.
Some accounts attribute his nickname "Sleepy" to a blood pressure disorder and/or narcolepsy. Others, such as blues historian Bob Koester, claim he simply had a "tendency to withdraw from his surroundings into drowsiness whenever life was too cruel or too boring to warrant full attention"
Many of Estes' original songs were based on events in his own life or on people he knew from his home town of Brownsville, Tennessee, such as the local lawyer ("Lawyer Clark Blues"), local auto mechanic ("Vassie Williams' Blues"), or an amorously inclined teenage girl ("Little Laura Blues")
He also dispensed advice on agricultural matters ("Working Man Blues") and chronicled his own attempt to reach a recording studio for a session by hopping a freight train ("Special Agent (Railroad Police Blues)"). His lyrics combined keen observation with an ability to turn an effective phrase.
Estes suffered a stroke while preparing for a European tour, and died on June 5, 1977, at his home of 17 years in Brownsville, Tennessee

Featured Artist - Ma Rainey

Ma Rainey (April 26, 1886? – December 22, 1939)

Ma Rainey wasn't the first blues singer to make records, but by all rights she probably should have been. In an era when women were the marquee names in blues, Rainey was once the most celebrated of all; the "Mother of the Blues" had been singing the music for more than 20 years before she made her recording debut (Paramount, 1923). With the advent of blues records, she became even more influential, immortalizing such songs as "See See Rider," "Bo-Weavil Blues," and "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." Like the other classic blues divas, she had a repertoire of pop and minstrel songs as well as blues, but she maintained a heavier, tougher vocal delivery than the cabaret blues singers who followed. Rainey's records featured her with jug bands, guitar duos, and bluesmen such as Tampa Red and Blind Blake, in addition to the more customary horns-and-piano jazz-band accompaniment (occasionally including such luminaries as Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory and Fletcher Henderson).

Born and raised in Columbus, Georgia, Ma Rainey (born Gertrude Pridgett) began singing professionally when she was a teenager, performing with a number of minstrel and medicine shows. In 1904, she married William "Pa" Rainey and she changed her name to “Ma” Rainey. The couple performed as "Rainey and Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues" and toured throughout the south, performing with several minstrel shows, circuses, and tent shows. According to legend, she gave a young Bessie Smith vocal lessons during this time. By the early '20s, Rainey had become a featured performer on the Theater Owners' Booking Association circuit.

In 1923, Rainey signed a contract with Paramount Records. Although her recording career lasted only a mere six years -- her final sessions were in 1928 -- she recorded over 100 songs and many of them, including "C.C. Rider" and "Bo Weavil Blues," became genuine blues classics. During these sessions, she was supported by some of the most talented blues and jazz musicians of her era, including Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Coleman Hawkins, Buster Bailey and Lovie Austin.

Rainey's recordings and performances were extremely popular among black audiences, particularly in the south. After reaching the height of her popularity in the late '20s, Rainey's career faded away by the early '30s as female blues singing became less popular with the blues audience. She retired from performing in 1933, settling down in her hometown of Columbus. In 1939, Rainey died of a heart attack. She left behind an immense recorded legacy, which continued to move and influence successive generations of blues, country, and rock & roll musicians. In 1983, Rainey was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame; seven years later, she was inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Featured Artist: Lonnie Johnson

Alonzo "Lonnie" Johnson
(February 8, 1899 – June 16, 1970)

Blues guitar simply would not have developed in the manner that it did if not for the prolific brilliance of Lonnie Johnson. He was there to help define the instrument's future within the genre and the genre's future itself at the very beginning, his melodic conception so far advanced from most of his pre-war peers as to inhabit a plane all his own. For more than 40 years, Johnson played blues, jazz, and ballads his way; he was a true blues originator whose influence hung heavy on a host of subsequent blues immortals. 
Johnson's extreme versatility doubtless stemmed in great part from growing up in the musically diverse Crescent City. Violin caught his ear initially, but he eventually made the guitar his passion, developing a style so fluid that instrumental backing seemed superfluous. He signed up with OKeh Records in 1925 and commenced to recording at an astonishing pace -- between 1925 and 1932, he cut an estimated 130 waxings.
The red-hot duets he recorded with white jazz guitarist Eddie Lang (masquerading as “Blind Willie Dunn”) in 1928-1929 were utterly groundbreaking in their ceaseless invention. Johnson also recorded pioneering jazz efforts in 1927 with no less than Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Duke Ellington's orchestra.
After enduring the Depression and moving to Chicago, Johnson came back to recording life with Bluebird for a five-year stint beginning in 1939. Under the ubiquitous Lester Melrose's supervision, Johnson picked up right where he left off, selling quite a few copies of "He's a Jelly Roll Baker" for old Nipper. Johnson went with Cincinnati-based King Records in 1947 and promptly enjoyed one of the biggest hits of his uncommonly long career with the mellow ballad "Tomorrow Night," which topped the R&B charts for seven weeks in 1948. More hits followed posthaste: "Pleasing You (As Long as I Live)," "So Tired," and "Confused."
Time seemed to have passed Johnson by during the late '50s. He was toiling as a hotel janitor in Philadelphia when banjo player Elmer Snowden alerted Chris Albertson to his whereabouts. That rekindled a major comeback, Johnson cutting a series of albums for Prestige's Bluesville subsidiary during the early '60s and venturing to Europe under the auspices of Horst Lippmann and Fritz Rau's American Folk Blues Festival banner in 1963. Finally, in 1969, Johnson was hit by a car in Toronto and died a year later from the effects of the accident.
Johnson's influence was massive, touching everyone from Robert Johnson, whose seminal approach bore strong resemblance to that of his older namesake, to Elvis Pressley and Jerry Lee Lewis, who each paid heartfelt tribute with versions of "Tomorrow Night" while at Sun.

Featured Artist Of The Week

The Original Fleetwood Mac 1967 - 1970

The roots of Fleetwood Mac lie in John Mayall's legendary British blues outfit, The Bluesbreakers. Bassist John McVie was one of the charter members of The Bluesbreakers, joining the group in 1963. In 1966 Peter Green replaced Eric Clapton, and a year later drummer Mick Fleetwood joined. Inspired by the success of Cream, The Yardbirds and Jimi Hendrix, the trio decided to break away from Mayall in 1967. At their debut at the British Jazz and Blues Festival in August, Bob Brunning was playing bass in the group, since McVie was still under contract to Mayall. He joined the band a few weeks after their debut; by that time, slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer had joined the band. Fleetwood Mac soon signed with Blue Horizon, releasing their eponymous debut the following year. “Fleetwood Mac” was an enormous hit in the U.K., spending over a year in the Top Ten. Despite its British success, the album was virtually ignored in America. During 1968, the band added guitarist Danny Kirwan. The following year, they recorded “Fleetwood Mac In Chicago” with a variety of bluesmen, including Willie Dixon and Otis Spann. The set was released later that year, after the band had left Blue Horizon for a one-album deal with Immediate Records; in the U.S., they signed with Reprise/Warner Bros., and by 1970, Warner began releasing the band's British records as well.

Fleetwood Mac released “English Rose” and “Then Play On” during 1969, which both indicated that the band was expanding its music, moving away from its blues purist roots. That year, Green's "Man of the World" and "Oh Well" were number two hits. Though his music was providing the backbone of the group, Peter Green was growing increasingly disturbed due to his large ingestion of hallucinogenic drugs. After announcing that he was planning to give all of his earnings away, Green suddenly left the band in the spring of 1970; he released two solo albums over the course of the '70s, but he rarely performed after leaving Fleetwood Mac. The band replaced him with Christine Perfect, a vocalist/pianist who had earned a small but loyal following in the U.K. by singing with Spencer Davis and Chicken Shack. She had already performed uncredited on “Then Play On”. Contractual difficulties prevented her from becoming a full-fledged member of Fleetwood Mac until 1971; by that time she had married John McVie.

Featured Artist Of The Week

Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer.
Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. She is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era and, along with Louis Armstrong, a major influence on subsequent jazz vocalists.
Back in 1912, Bessie Smith sang in the same show as Ma Rainey, who took her under her wing and coached her. Although Rainey would achieve a measure of fame throughout her career, she was soon surpassed by her protégée.
She scored a big hit with her first release, a coupling of "Gulf Coast Blues" and “Downhearted Blues”. Even on her first records in 1923, her passionate voice overcame the primitive recording quality of the day and still communicates easily to today's listeners.
At a time when the blues were in and most singers were being dubbed “blues singers”, Bessie Smith simply had no competition.
Smith became a headliner on the black T.O.B.A. circuit and rose to become its top attraction in the 1920s. Working a heavy theater schedule during the winter months and doing tent tours the rest of the year (eventually traveling in her own railroad car), Smith became the highest-paid black entertainer of her day. Columbia nicknamed her "Queen of the Blues," but a PR-minded press soon upgraded her title to "Empress".
She made 160 recordings for Columbia.
Although she was dropped by Columbia in 1931 and made her final recordings on a four-song session in 1933, Bessie Smith kept on working. She played the Apollo in 1935 and substituted for Billie Holiday in the show Stars Over Broadway. The chances are very good that she would have made a comeback, starting with a Carnegie Hall appearance at John Hammond's upcoming From Spirituals to Swing concert, but she was killed in a car crash in Mississippi.

Featured Artist Of The Week

Gus Cannon
Born Sept. 12, 1883 in Red Banks, M.S. Died Oct. 15 1979 in Memphis, TN.
A remarkable musician (he could play five-string banjo and jug simultaneously!), Gus Cannon bridged the gap between early blues and the minstrel and folk styles which preceded it.
Self-taught on an instrument made from a frying pan and a raccoon skin, he learned early repertoire in the 1890s from older musicians, notably Mississipian Alec Lee. The early 1900s found him playing around Memphis with songster Jim Jackson and forming a partnership with Noah Lewis, whose harmonica wizardry would be basic to the Jug Stompers' sound. In 1914, Cannon began work with a succession of medicine shows which would continue into the 1940s, and where he further developed his style and repertoire.
Cannon's Jug Stompers first recorded at the Memphis Auditorium for the Victor label in January 1928. Hosea Woods joined the Jug Stompers in the late 1920s, playing guitar, banjo and kazoo, and also providing some vocals.
Although their last recordings were made in 1930, Cannon's Jug Stompers were one of Beale Street's most popular jug bands through the 1930s.
By the end of the 1930s, Cannon had effectively retired, although he occasionally performed as a solo musician.
He returned in 1956 to make a few recordings for Folkways Records. In the "blues revival" of the 1960s, he made some college and coffee house appearances with Furry Lewis and Bukka White He also recorded an album for Stax Records in 1963, following the chart success of "Walk Right In", with fellow Memphis musician Will Shade, the former leader of the Memphis Jug Band.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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."