Tag: Blues

Saturday Matinee – Big Mama Thornton, The Doors, John Lee Hooker & JLH jr.

Big Mama Thornton blows harp, and now it’s got scars, too.

Now I don’t generally like mashups, but this one is kinda cool, mixing John Lee Hooker with the Doors, cranking “Road House Blues.” (Nixing Jim Morrison’s vocals would have been better though, but that’s just my opinion.)

Here’s John Lee Hooker from 1980’s Montreal Jazz Festival with “Roll Me Like You Roll A Wagon Wheel.” Pure boogie.

John Lee Hooker Jr. has been performing for a while, also, but only as a frontman.  This is about the best I could come up with on short notice.

[Whoop! I almost forgot! We’re gonna announce the Contest Wiener tomorrow, so be back here for the confetti and horns, and bring your own water balloons!]

Saturday Matinee – World’s Strongest Redneck, Derek, Bob, Gatemouth & Johnny, and Buddy Guy

Redneck washing machine. When Steve McGranahan‘s not bending cast iron skillits for charity, this funny guy makes videos.

“Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?” was one of Derek & The Dominos’ greatest hits.

One of my favorite Wailers songs.

Here’s a 44 year old Clarence Gatemouth Brown with a 32 yearold Johnny Jones playing  “Chicken Fat” in 1968. [via]

Happy 74th Birthday to Buddy Guy, one of the last original bluesplayers.  Here’s a guy who left the south for Chicago and played for sandwiches to keep from starving.

Have a great weekend, folks. See y’all back here tomorrow.

Saturday Matinee – Cows & Cycles, Kim Wilson, W.C. Clark, Angela Strehli, Jimmy Vaughan, Little Walter, Coco Taylor, Howlin’ Wolf, Leon Redbone, and a link to Marion Harris


Cows & Cows & Cows. (Tip o’ the tarboosh to Bunkarina.)


If that wasn’t odd enough, try Cycles. (Thanx, Possum.)


Whoa. Whatta lineup. Kim Wilson, backed by Jimmy Vaughan and W.C.Clark with Angela Strehli. Might have posted the vid before, but so what.


Little Walter was an excellent harp player. Here he is with Coco Taylor in 1967, playing Howlin’ Wolf’s “Wang Dang Doodle.”


What was truly pitiful in the 60s was that the Brits were the ones to reintroduce American blues to Americans. (Look who introduces the great Howlin’ Wolf on this clip.)


Let’s wrap up with a healthy dose of Leon Redbone. Poor video, but a nice version of this song from 1916.

Have a great weekend, but be back here tomorrow for more fun.

Saturday Matinee – American Dialects, W.C. Clark & the Fabulous Thunderbirds

American regional dialects are curious, and when I hear one I haven’t heard in a while I try to identify where the speaker grew up. If you listen closely, you can hear the ancestral accents and phrasing as well: English to the north, Scottish and Irish to the south. As for me, I have no accent, but Mrs. Strutts says I do… I sound a lot like central Ohio mixed with some faint Texan stuff. (Here’s a simple online test if you’re curious what accent mix you have.)

W.C. Clark backed by The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and featuring Angela Strehli is an awesome mix of Texas blues. Never heard of W.C. Clark? Try this:

Yep, that’s Stevie Ray Vaughan with W.C. Clark. Next question?

Saturday Matinee – A.B. & the D., C.T.A., B.G., and Dan

Archie Bell & the Drells doin’ the “Tighten Up.”  No lip synching there.

Chicago Transit Authority from 1970. Chicago was a lot of funk and whiteboy soul and I loved this band before it got all weeny. They were cool, even after “Color My World,” the slow-dance-rubbing-anthem for teenagers everywhere.  (Janessa Vapors was in great demand whenever it was played.)

“Sweet Home Chicago,” a Robert Johnson song, as performed by Buddy Guy in the Elmore James style. I might be mistaken, but it looks like the late Stevie Ray Vaughan‘s band Double Trouble is backing him up.  Dan Aykroyd & John Belushi’s “Blues Brothers” resurrected the song, but dedicated it to Magic Sam.

Now for something completely differnet. At the TR board meeting today, we discussed whether or not we should allow/encourage submissions of links to the Utoobage that demonstrate the various talents of our Loyal Readers.

The answer was a solid but wavering YES.

So here’s our first submitutante, Dan, who knows how to shred a guitar and doesn’t mind posting it on the Utoobage.  Note that he’s torn the head off his electromo-gitfiddle since it was obviously in his way.

What kinda man follows Tacky Raccoons? Well, there you go. If anyone else would like to contribute, post your hidden talents, toss us some emailage and maybe we’ll give you some pro-bono face time.

Your pal,
Bunk

Saturday Matinee – Aiki, Stripes, Two Weeny-Lookin’ Beards, Buddy & Buddy & Jimi

I’d never heard of AikiJujutsu before today. It’s awesome because it depends on the energy of the attacker, rather than the strength of the defender. A Veteran on one of the blogs I’ve been following recently (Blogmocracy, aka LGF2.0) said he likes it because it gives one the options of annoy, hurt, or harm, depending on the level of the attack. Hit the Gurgle/Utoobage buttons for more.


Speaking of the military, here’s Bill Murray at his peak. No way could anyone have pulled this off in real life, but it’s still classic.  (After this scene, the rest of the movie sucked donkeys.)

This is very cool… except for the weeny beards that kinda negate the coolness. [Found here.]

I was about to post a video of Electric Flag, but this is even better: Buddy Miles with Buddy Guy in the U.K in 1969.  Looks like they’re playing with Paul Butterfield’s band, prior to the blues revival in the U.S.

More Buddy Miles, this time with Jimi Hendrix, 1970. Beyond the valley of cool.  (We’ve got a great photo of Buddy Miles coming up tomorrow. Stay tuned.)

Saturday Matinee – Bruce, TXT, Robin, John Lee, and Elevators

Bruce Lee plays pingpong with nunchuck.  Awesome.

TXT Island, found at ZanyPickle.

Okay.  Back to the basics.  Here’s Robin Trower‘s “Too Rolling Stoned” from 1975.  There was a blues revival going on back then, but it was overshadowed by theatrical rock.

I was gonna jump to George Thorogood‘s classic cover of “One Bourbon…” but thought I’d look for John Lee Hooker‘s original. Found several on the Utoobage, until this jumped up:  “Hobo Blues” from 1965.  Judging by his odd fingerings, he’s got his guitar tuned to Dmajor, but that’s just a guess. (Hooker always looked to me like he’d been popped in both eyes during a bar fight.)

Since Friday the Thirteenth comes on a Saturday this month, here’s The 13th Floor Elevators, 1966.

Saturday Matinee on Sunday: Jaco, John, Willie, T-Bone, Helen, Sonny, Brownie, John, Memphis & others (featuring Tom Waits)

Jaco Pastorius with John Scofield.  Not sure who is on drums.  Pastorius is my all time favorite bass player, (with Bootsy Collins a close second).

Willie Dixon was a classic bassman.  Not sure who is on the ivories, but it’s not Eubie Blake, Meade Lux Lewis, Albert Ammons or Pete Johnson.  Memphis Slim?

This has gotta be one of the greatest blues lineups in history:  Willie Dixon, Memphis Slim, T-Bone Walker, Helen Hume, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee and John Jackson.

Emotional Weather Report delivered by Tom Waits.

Otha Ellas Bates McDaniel (Bo Diddley) 1928-2008

If I’m not mistaken, his nickname came from the diddley bow, which consisted of a wire attached to the side of a barn and strung to a wood plank. To play it, you step on the plank to vary the wire tension while you bang out a rhythm on the wire with a stick, kinda like a washtub bass: “bomp-bomp-bomp–bompbomp.”

Video from the TNT Show 1966. Here’s to the Bo Diddley Beat.