The origins of the Moon Walk.
Sugar Chile Robinson was a 7 year old blues & boogie woogie piano prodigy. I wondered what happened to him and found this. Here he is in 2007 at the age of 69:
Let’s move on to something completely different.
I’d heard of neither Ola Belle nor Zane Campbell until today but both were and are awesome.
Have a great weekend, folks. There’s more in the hopper.
Not sure what to make of this. The son of one of the greatest blues guitarists ever appeared on a Chicago children’s TV show in 2010 and lip-synched his way through the embarrassment. In the YouTube comments, his grandaughter posted her kudos:
There are a lot of Utoobage entries for Elmore James, but I couldn’t find any live video performances, so let’s go with some covers, with links to the original recordings.
In 1972, The Allman Brothers Band covered “One Way Out” (1961).
In 1980, ZZ Top covered Elmore James’ Dust My Broom (1951) which was itself a cover of Robert Johnson’s recording (1936).
In 1984, George Thorogood & Albert Collins nailed Elmore James’ Madison Blues (1960).
Great stuff that. Have a great weekend, folks, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow.
Bonus:
I really don’t know what to make of this, but it somehow seems appropriate given the fires in California. Reminds me of early Devo vids. [h/t Bunkessa]
Justin Johnson amazes me. Plays lead, rhythm, bass and chorus at the same time on a 4-string cigar box slider. One of the commenters on the Utoobage posted “I’m convinced this guy is f***ing Buckethead,” and others agreed, so let’s roll with that.
“I was eating it, and I put the mask on and then the bucket on my head. I went to the mirror. I just said, ‘Buckethead. That’s Buckethead right there.’ It was just one of those things. After that, I wanted to be that thing all the time.” –Buckethead
Yeah, that’s a hella nice jam despite the silly visual gimmicks. Brian Carroll rocks.
Then here comes this guy.
Have a great weekend, folks. Be back here tomorrow for more stuff.
Nate Smith jams it. Betcha can’t spot the mistake.
Seems I heard Justin Johnson before, but only accidentally. Sure, it’s a compilation vid, but that there is some righteous awesome. Reminds me of this guy:
Ry Cooder took the slide guitar and shoved it right though my temporal lobes with his 1987 album “Get Rhythm.” It’s a must-have if you like Swamp Rock.
Have a great weekend, folks. See you tomorrow when the time is right.
Dad sings Chris Stapleton‘s R&B version of David Allen Coe‘s take on Linda Hargrove‘s “Tennessee Whiskey” in a parking lot. Awesome. Yeah, it went viral some time ago, but it’s still a good-un.
The Spunyboys rock.
R.I.P. Antoine Dominique “Fats” Domino Jr. [1928-2017]. He was the greatest Country/Blues/R&B/Rock and Roll crossover recording artist ever, and he influenced generations with his easily recognized voice and rolling piano style.
Have a greats weekend, folks. Be back here tomorrow for stuff.
I found this both oddly fascinating and mildly disturbing. It’s an a/v collage from 2013 somewhere near Lake Erie, yet it’s also kind of an appropriate soundtrack for the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey, and for those survivors who haven’t yet fully realized what they’ve lost.
What happens once the news crews are gone? What happens once the reality sets in that you survived the ordeal, but you’ve lost everything? Our prayers are with you.
Now about those looters and scammers…
For a long time, this was THE signature song of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and in some ways his 1956 hit was a blues parody. In January of 2014, Samantha Fish picked it up and jammed it right down our throats with no apologies. Killer version.
Loved this proto-funk theme, and I love the Bo-Keys for rocking the retro soul grooves that I grew up with.
Have a great Labor Day Weekend, folks, and we’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff than your imagination can even tolerate. Or not.
In case you’re living in a closet, there’s some nasty weather going on down south with a killer hurricane underway.
Led Zeppelin unapologetically ripped off Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe for one of their greatest hits.
On the other hand, this blues jam was an original.
So what’s next? Maybe a Rainy Night In Georgia.
To my friends down in Texas and Louisiana, keep safe.
I’ve never seen a single episode of “Parks & Recreation,” but this advert featuring actor Nick Offerman is mildly amusing [via]. It doesn’t go far enough IMO. Someone tell Nick that I’d be happy to outline a horror story based upon actual events.
John Edmark creates some amazing stuff using the irrational number Phi, laser cutters and strobes [via].
“Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride” is a 2006 documentary about rogue reporter Hunter S. Thompson, narrated by Nick Nolte. Thompson was an amusing unhinged journalist who set the standard for inserting himself into every story he ever covered.
Gotta have at least one music vid, and we haven’t posted any Roy Buchanan in a while, so there you go.
Have a great Memorial Day Weekend, folks, and please take the time to remember what it’s all about.
Wow. I haven’t heard stuff like this since the Blues Brothers promoted it. Okay I have, but not as far as you know.
St. Paul & The Broken Bones does retro soul / R&B, with a sound that is pure Stax/Volt from the Big O days. They’re from Birmingham, not Memphis, and I’d post a direct link to their website, but it froze up my computer twice (you’ve been warned).
Let’s continue our stroll down Soul Street, shall we?
Booker T. & The M.G.’s were about as close to the center of the Soul Circuit as anyone. (Members of San Francisco’s CCR were in the wings during this performance taking notes).
Okay, let’s jam the gears. How many influences can you cover in one song?
Bunkessa volunteers at a local radio station occasionally, and The Knitts showed up to play live in-studio. The band is getting a following, have some tours lined up (and they know she has a Class B license).
Have a great weekend, folks. See you back here tomorrow for more fun stuff.
Steve N’ Seagulls is a band from Finland that records bluegrass covers of various heavy metal groups (including AC/DC) and they’re entirely awesome.
Little Feat was (and is) an underrated band that didn’t get as much attention as they deserved, despite Jimmy Page’s endorsement. Here they are with Emmy Lou Harris and Bonnie Raitt on backup vocals playing their 1973 hit “Dixie Chicken.” Great swamp rock. (Check out the lead-in to their 1979 album “Down On The Farm” for a grin.)
The embedded title says it all, but the vid starts late and cuts off too soon. Jimi Hendrix studied the masters, including Buddy Guy.
Buddy Guy paid tribute to complimented both Hendrix and Cream at the Byron Bay Blues Fest in April 2014.
Have a great weekend, folks, and don’t forget Yo Mama Day.
Tacky Raccoons 