When Cassius fought Sonny (1964)

Images of Cassius Clay (post fight) were clipped from a colorized version of this:

Saturday Matinee – Bench, Eric Bibb, Pepe Ahlqvist w/ the Wentus Blues Band, & the Sad Sam Blues Jam

Such a touching story. In clay.
[h/t Mme. Jujujive]

“America, for all of its associations with pain and its bloody history, has always been a place of incredible hope and optimism. To be American, and particularly to come from New York City, is to be blessed.” – Eric Bibb

Eric Bibb was interviewed in April 2019 by Charlie Heat at Kensaltown Live. Jump to 01:12 for some stompin’ blues.

Finnish blues rocker Pertti “Pepe” Ahlqvist & the Wentus Blues Band, live in Borås, Sweden (2004). Scandi blues at its best.

Let’s go one more. The Sad Sam Blues Jam features sisters Sadie Johnson (Vocals/Guitar) and Sam Johnson (Bass), with Krista Hess (Vocals/Guitar) and Matt McCarthy (Drums). Sam Motter is the wailin’ sax player. That’s what they sounded like in 2014 while still in high school!

Looks like that’ll do it for now. Gonna see if I can unclog the sidebar widgets that WorpDress arbitrarily farked up, but other than that, have a great weekend and we’ll be back tomorrow with more roughage.

Saturday Matinee – Earl Hooker, Sam Maghett & Joanna Connor

Here’s Earl Hooker’s guitar with Earl Hooker [1930-1970].

Here’s Earl Hooker’s guitar being ripped to shreds by Magic Sam Maghett (1937-1969). I think the song is also named Looking Good.

Here’s Joanna Connor’s guitar, played by Joanna Connor, playing Magic Sam playing Earl Hooker’s guitar.

Killer stuff, that. Have a great weekend, folks. See you back here tomorrow for more stuffing and gravy.

Saturday Matinee – Trapeze Strip Tease, Al Cohn, Shaye Cohn & Tuba Skinny

From the Utoobage description:

Laverie Vallee, known better as Charmion, was a Sacramento born trapeze artist who possessed strength and a physique most men would be envious of. However, she was most well known for her risqué striptease performances. The act was incredibly impressive and provocative for the era. One of her greatest fans was Thomas Edison. As a result of that adoration, on November 11, 1901 Charmion committed a simplified version of her act to film for Edison. Charmion eventually retired to Santa Ana, California. She passed away on February 6, 1949 at the age of 73.

[Video found here. It’s silent. Talkies didn’t become commercially viable until the 1920s, so don’t crank up the volume and blow your speakers later.]


The Al Cohn Quartet at the Sanremo Jazz Festival 1987.
Al Cohn (1925-1988) was one of the greatest improvisational jazz saxophonists of all time. Now check this out:

That’s Shaye Cohn, Al Cohn’s granddaughter, playing stride.
Now check THIS out:

Tuba Skinny on Royal Street, New Orleans, April 2013 (covering Bessie Smith‘s “You’ve Got To Give Me Some” 1929).

Current lineup:

Shaye Cohn – Cornet, Piano, Fiddle, Accordion, Banjo & Spoons
Craig Flory – Clarinet & Saxophone
Barnabus Jones – Trombone, Banjo, Fiddle, Guitar, Vocals
Todd Burdick – Tuba
Gregory Sherman – Vocals, Guitar & HarmonicaMax Bien-Kahn – Guitar & Banjo
Jason Lawrence – Banjo & Guitar
Robin Rapuzzi – Washboard & Drum set
Erika Lewis – Vocals & Bass drum

Dang. I’ve been impressed with Shaye Cohn’s stuff for years without knowing her pedigree, and now I know where she got it from. Note how she cues the band while playing.

Have a great weekend, folks, and we’ll do something else tomorrow.

Saturday Matinee – The Veteran & The Neighbor, Junior Wells, The Healers & Roy Buchanan

Iraq war veteran (Airborne Infantry) bought a plot of farmland in rural Virginia and discovered that something came with it. Grab a mug and listen to his story.

Junior Wells‘ performed his 1960 hit “Messin’ With The Kid” live in 1993. The Blues Brothers did a decent cover in 1978, and this version by The Healers is killer.

The Healers have one fine lineup, and one fine cause.

Roy Buchanan (1939-1988) was one of the greatest unknown blues guitarists in modern history. Have a listen to “Roy’s Bluz” live in Austin Texas, 1976. [Related posts here.]

Have a great weekend, folks. Got a nice assortment of Hot Links for you to sift through tomorrow.

Saturday Matinee – St. Patrick’s Day Eve Edition: Irish Wedding at 5AM, The O’Reillys & The Paddyhats, & The Rumjacks

Pretty good rendition of “The Rattlin’ Bog.” It’s a tough song to sing, but I’m partial to the version sung by The Fenians. Saw them sing it live more than once, and Terry Casey never stumbled.

The O’Reillys & The Paddyhats jam it with “Barrels of Whiskey.”

The Rumjacks‘ “An Irish Pub Song” is “a piss take at the explosion of Irish Pubs in Australia and the bastardisation of a culture.
From the lyrics posted on the Utoobage:

There’s a county map to go on the wall,
A hurling stick & a shinty ball,
The bric, the brac, the craic & all,
Lets call it an Irish pub.

Caffreys, Harp, Kilkenny on tap,
The Guinness pie & that cabbage crap,
The ideal wannabee Paddy trap,
We’ll call it an Irish pub.

You get the idea. On the other hand, my favorite Irish rebel song was a broadside set to music: Nell Flaherty’s Drake. It’s got some of the best snarky curses I’ve ever read. Here’s The Clancy Brothers’ version.

This is kinda fun, too. Good story intro:
The Night I Punched Russell Crowe.”

Have a great weekend, folks. We’ll be donning some green tomorrow.

Saturday Matinee – Doodling In Math Class, Forklift Finesse, Vegetable Music, Funk Mashup & Lillian Reyes

That’s amazing. A cardioid is an anti-parabola. I never thought of it that way.
I used to do similar doodles, but nothing like hers. Draw a square, divide each line with dots, draw curvy lines top to bottom and right to left, then connect the diagonals and the result is a 2 dimensional wavy cloth. Or you can do dog-chase doodles to do spirals, but those need graphics to explain.

Amazing. Now I wanna see him do it with a Zippo [via].

Amazing. Now I wanna see him do it with meat [via].

Amazing. Now I gotta get up offa that thang.

Amazing R&B vocals featuring Lillian Reyes. I love this stuff.

Have a great weekend, folks. See you back here tomorrow for more really important stuff.

Bonus – Old guys singing in a men’s room with great acoustics.

Saturday Matinee – Howlers, Howlers, Howlers, etc.

Very cool trio from Williams, Arizona, not to be confused with the Midnight Howlers of Madera, California.

Very cool quartet from Madera, California, not to be confused with the Midnight Howlers of unknown regions.

Very cool trio from unknown regions, not to be confused with Ivory Joe & the Midnight Howlers of Nashville, Tennessee.

Very cool party band from Nashville, Tennessee, not to be confused with the inane and expensive Halloween costume called the Midnight Howler.

Inane and expensive Halloween costume called the Midnight Howler, not to be confused with Midnight Howler.

Okay, I’ll stop. Have a great weekend, folks. See you back here in a few short hours.

Saturday Matinee – Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks

Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks had an unusual sound for a band based in San Francisco at the peak of the psychedelic music era. From an obit in the New York Times 7 February 2016:

“He came to call his music “folk swing,” but that only hinted at the range of influences he synthesized. He drew from the American folk tradition but also from the Gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt, the Western swing of Bob Wills, the harmony vocals of the Andrews Sisters, the raucous humor of Fats Waller and numerous other sources.”

Hicks was still performing up until his demise at the age of 74.

THAT is the prettiest (and only) cover of Tom Waits‘ classic “The Piano Has Been Drinking” I’ve ever heard. The backup vocals are sultry, and note the subtle hat-tip at about 03:00.

Have a great weekend folks, and a long one if you’re taking advantage of a mid-week Independence Day.

Saturday Matinee – Human Fountains, The Band and The Black Crowes.

Might have been better with four NFL cheerleaders in skimpy wet chamois skins, but that’s just my non-judgemental politically correct sexist micoagressional opinion [via].

That’s one of the best songs by one of the best bands ever.

That’s one of the best covers of one of the best songs by one of the best bands ever.

Have a great weekend, folks, and remember that President’s Day is a construct designed to minimize the historical importance of both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, two of the greatest and most influential Presidents in the history of the United States of America.