Blues News - September 1991

8/7/2019 Blues News - September 1991

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/blues-news-september-1991 1/10

Blues Cruisin' with Lil' Ed

and the Blues Imperials

The Kansas City Blues Society

presents Lil' Ed and the Blues

Imperials on Blues Cruise II on

September 25with the Blues Notions. The

Missouri River Queen is located at 1River

City Drive in Kansas City, Ks. The Boat

will begin boarding at

7 p.m. and departs at8p.m. Tickets are now

on saleatNightmoves,

The Grand Empo-

rium, Missouri River

Queen and

Ticketmaster. This is

KCBS' last BluesMUSIC REVIew Cruise of'91 and here VI

B y SHIRlEY OWENS is a fundraiser that is ~

....................................pure fun. 0

Lil' Ed Williams learned the slide ijj'

guitar from his legendary Uncle, J.B. EHut~o. "When J.B. played slide, you could ~

feel It all though your body," remarked Ed 0

in a 1988 L.A. interview. Today, Ed WH- aliams iskeeping his Uncle's tradition alive

and well.

He plays his Uncle's Gibson guitar

with enthusiasm as he duckwalks,

backbends, and literally crawls through

the audience sliding on his knees and then

walks on top ofhis toes back up the stage

steps never missing a lick.

Ed Williams was born in Chicago in

1955. Ed began his first band in 1975 with

his half brother, bassist James (Pooki)

Young. They took their name from an

Imperial Margarine commercial. In 1985,

Ed had to decide between his full-time dayjob at the Red Carpet car wash in Chicago

or his night gig playing the blues. The

turning point came when Bruce Iglauer,

President ofAlligator records offered the

group to record for the anthology called

The New Bluebloods, a recording ofthe up

and coming Chicago Blues stars. The ses-

sion produced 30 songs in three hours with

no overdubs or second takes. From this

production, Alligator released

Roughhousin'in 1986. Their next release,

ur Ed on the slide guitar.

Chicken, Gravy & Biscuits was also re-

corded "live" in the studio with Lil' Ed's

eight originals.

Today, Lil' Ed no longer has the car

wash blues. Even back in the car wash

days, Ed was ready to play, "I'm a slider.

Thatsoundjust kills me. Itmakes mybody

rumble. I want stay rough and wild, rough

and rugged, baby." Now, he is doing just

that; Lil' Ed gets down on the slide guitar

and makes people smile. Don't miss this

rare occasion on the Missouri River Queenwith Lil' Ed&the Blues Imperials plus the

Blues Notions on Wednesday, September

25. •

Let It Roll

The Blues Pavilion Tent which the KC

Blues Society Is

hosting over Labor

Day weekend at

Spirit Fest '91.,

will seat over 200

blues fans. Located

southeast of Uberty

Memorial, the Blues begins on Friday,

August 30 at 6 p.m. and continues

through Sunday, September 1.. The Spirit

Fest Blues Tent will feature 1.7 Kansas

City Blues bands and on Saturday, Doyle

Bramhall from Dallas, Texas will per-

form.

Inside the Blues Tent, KC Blues SocI-

ety Is hosting a beverage booth, staffed

by KCBS volunteers. Volunteers are stili

needed for the shifts from 2:30 p.m. til

NOT E 5

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

INSIDE

B lues No tes 1

Music Rev iews 3

Mattie & Mae 4

Perfo rmanc e D ia ry 6

Blues/Jazz Volunteers 5

B lues C lubs & Radio 9

Performers L is ting 9

Festivals 9

BLUES NEW S • 1



Robert Johnson, the Blues& the Devil

Lastyear, Columbia Records re-is

sued on CD and cassette all the

known recordings made by Rob-

ert Johnson, a total of forty-one. The re-

lease was a blockbuster success, with sales

in the hundreds ofthou sands, making the

Billboard charts and winning a Grammy

for an artist who has been dead for 53

years! This is just another in a series of

strange twists of

fate surrounding

this extraordinary

blues genius. Rob-

ert, whose first re-

cordings were

made just twoyears

before his death,

never sold very

many copies, and,

although he influ-

enced a lot ofmusi-

cians, like Muddy

Waters, Johnny

Shines, Howlin'

Wolf, and Sonny BoyWilliamson, he prob-ably would have remained in obscurity if

he had not been discovered by young rock

musicians in the 1960's. Since then, Rob-

ert Johnson has attained a stature of

mythic proportions among rock and blues

adherents of the last three decades.

Robert Leroy Johnson was born May

8,1911, inHazelhurst, Mississippi, a small

town just south of the Delta. His father

was Noah Johnson, a man with whom his

mother Julia was having an affair in the

absence of her husband, Charlie Dobbs,

who had been forced to skip town three

years before as a result of some troublewith a prominent white man. Eventually,

Dodds sent for Julia and baby Robert to

join him inMemphis, where he had settled

and adopted the name, C.D.Spencer. After

a couple of years, Julia took off, leaving

Robert with his stepfather. Before long,

though, the boy became a problem, and he

was sent to his mother, who had gone to

theMississippi Delta town ofRobinsonville

and had remarried to a man by the name

ofDusty Willis. Robert had a third father

by the time he was seven years old!

Robert used the surname Spencer

until he was in his teens, when his mother

told him about his real father. After that

he called himself Robert Johnson. Itwas

about this time that he developed an inter-

est in music. First be played around with

the Jew's harp, but soon went on to the

harmonica. Against his mother's wishes,

Robert started hanging around other

musicians in Robinsonville, particularly

Willie Brown, a widely respected guitar

player. Brown took an interest in the boy

and showed him the fundamentals of the

guitar. BothCharley Patton and SonHouse

2 • SEPTEMBER 1991

also started staying in Robinsonville, and

Robert could usually be found following

this trio whenever they played, absorbing

all he could from these accomplished

bluesmen. However, Robert's early at-

tempts at the guitarmust have been rather

amateurish and the frequent butt ofjokes

among the older musicians.

Suddenly, Robert left town and noone

heard from him for several months. When

he showed up again, he exhibited a guitar

virtuosity that astounded Brown, Patton,

and House. Robert was playing with such

control and inventiveness that somepeople

believed that itmust have come from some

supernatural source. What the boys in

Robinsonville didn't know and Robert

didn't tell them was that, during his ab-

sence, he had been in his birthplace of

Hazelhurst, some 200 miles to the south,

trying to locate his father, but also pains-

takingly perfecting his guitar technique.

He had come under the tutelage of Ike

Zimmerman, a guitarist with a reputation

as an outstanding musician who played inthe melodious East Coast style, rather

than the rougher Delta style that Robert

was used to.

Robert learned everything he could

from Zimmerman, as well as studying the

urbane and sophisticated blues of Scrap-

per -Blackwell, Leroy Carr, and Lonny

Johnson fromphonograph records. Robert

would spend hours in solitary practice,

playing a tune over and over until he had

refined it toperfection. Soon after he came

to Hazelburst, Robert married his second

wife, a woman several years older than

himself named Callie Craft. (Robert's firstwife had died in childbirth when she was

only 16 and Robert was 19.)

The notion ofa mortal trading his souI

toSatan for fortune, fame, or glory was not

new with Robert Johnson, certainly. This

intriguing proposition has been around in

literature and music as long as the devil

himself. Since the blues are considered

the devil's music anyway, other blues

musicians have used the Satan connection

to enhance their reputations. Robert's

mentor, Ike Zimmerman, suggested that

Lucifer was his muse by insisting that he

had learned to play the guitar while sit-

ting on a tombstone in a graveyard at

midnight. Tommy Johnson, another con-

temporary ofRobert's and possibly a dis-

tantrelative, unabashedly claimed tohave

acovenant with Old Scratch, and, ofcourse,

there was the High Sheriff from Hell,

Peetie Wheatstraw, thedevil's son-in-law.

(See "Yesterday's Blues," March 1991.)

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

SEPTEMBER1991

The Kansas City BLUES NEWS is pub-

lished monthly by the Kansas City Blues

SOCiety, Inc. Articles, reviews, band cat-

endar dates, and items of interest must be

submitted by the 20th of each month, and

become the property of the SOCiety.

Founding Editor Roger Naber

Editor Shirley Owens

Contributing Writer/Photographer. Larry Smith

Typesetting/Layout Matt Quinn

Advertising inserts must be received by the

I 5th of each month. For more information

on advertising in the BLUES NEWS, call

737-0713. FAX: (816) 246-6065.

Advertising Rates:1/8 page $20

1/4 page _ $30

1/2 page $60

Full page $ 120

Board of Directors and Officers:

President Roger Naber

Vice-President Jon Lowe

Vice-President Kenny Taylor

Secretary Suzanne Colbert

Treasurer Bernie Pope

Director Patrick Flemington

Director _ Larry Smith

Director.............................. Provine Hatch

Director Monica LarsonDirector John Stuerke

Director Peter Horak

KCBS Chairperson Shirley Qwens

Membership Chairperson Marcie Ryan

The Kansas City Blues Society, a

Missouri not-for-profit corporation was

formed for the sole purpose of promoting

and preserving various styles of blues

music. Founded in December of 1980, the

Kansas City Blues Society presents:

monthly jam sessions, various local and

national groups in concert, and our main

presentation The Kansas City Blues and

Heritage Festival.Members receive the newsletter, dis-

counts on Society events and discounts on

purchases at certain participating busi-

nesses. Annual dues are $ 10 per person or

$ 15 per family and $50 per Corporate

MemberShip. Tojoin the Society send your

name, address, phone number and dues

to: Kansas City Blues Society, P.O. Box

321 31, Kansas City, Missouri 641 11.

For more information,

call 531·7557 or 737·0713.



EMI Blues Series has released

Albert Collins, The Complete Imperial

Recordings. Collins known as "The Mas-

ter of the Telecaster," "The IceMan, ""The

Houston Twister" and "Razor Blade" be-

gan his recording career in 1958. His new

reissue, a double CD package with inter-

esting liner notes, is the compilation of3

Imperial LPs, Love Can Be Found Any-

where (Even on Guitar), Trash Talkin'

and The Complete Albert Collins. All were

produced beginning in 1969 for Imperial

by blues struck Bill Hite, Canned Heat'slead singer. In 1977, Collins began record-

ing with the Alligator label,

Collins' Imperial recordings gather

material from his early years but for many

today these are like a new Collins sound.

Another reissue CD package is

from Alligator, The Living Chicago Blues

Series, which is 4 CDs released in 1978

and 1980 on vinyl. This Alligator blues

series features living Chicago blues veter-

ans like Pinetop Perkins, Louie Lee, Eddie

Shaw, Magic Slim, Luther "Guitar Jr"

Johnson, Lonnie Brooks, Carey Bell and

Detroit Jr. Each CD is a volume ofreviews

ofeach artist and well worth checking out

with, of course, excellent blues listening.

Blues Review

The Complete Stax/Volt Singles,

1959-1968. Fantasy Records.Asman southern soul Memphis label,

StaxIVolt is over thirty years old. Today,

you can spin out one of the 9 CDs and

It all began in an old neighborhood movie

theater at 926 E. McClemore in Memphis,

Tn. The Stax sound was born and created

what was to be later categorized as 60's

Southern soul.

A few months ago, Fantasy Records,

who bought StaxIVolt in 1977 after Atlan-

tic sold out, has compiled The Complete

Stax/Volt Singles, 1959-1968. It is a 9 CD

package with 244 cuts.

The giants ofsoul, Otis Redding, Rufus

and Carla Thomas, Sam and Dave, Eddie

Floyd, Booker T. & the MGs, Johnnie

Taylor, Albert King, Mable John & the

Mark-Keys, to name a few, were the pio-

neers of the Stax sound.

Accompanying the CDs is a beautiful

63-page booklet which documents and puts

all the pieces together about how it hap-

pened. Stories are revealed about how

songs were written by notably Isaac Hayes

and David Porter. They were in an envi-ronment chock full of talented studio

musicians, such as Steve Cropper, Donald

"Duck" Dunn, Al Jackson, Jr., and Booker

T. who made the Stax sound work and

brought it to the forefront of American

music.

catch, reflect and learn a part of history

that still will make you want to twist and

shout.

(Shirley Mae Owens plays the Blues on

KKFI-FM 90.1 on Monday, Wednesday

and Thursday from 4 to5p.m.)

ON SALE NOW!!

Blues Calendar

",,,,n"'," of BluesClaude

Jackson,R a y

Blue, UttleVinson, and

with theTraffic Jam Blues Hour 4-5 pm

and on Tuesdays & Thursdayswith the Breakfast Club

7:30 - 9:00 am

T o t a l

Calendar($8 K C S S m em be rs )

Calendar($10 1 ' I J b I i c )

~~oooo~, __

C h~ payable to 'K CBS ' and Mail to : KCBS Me r ch an d is e D e par tme n t7 94 8 W om all R d., S uite 1 20 5 • Kan s a s City, M O 6 41 14

BLUES NEWS • 3



NOTES FROM MATTIE & MAE

Dear Blues readers, estmember,gui-

Yup, yup, ya! It's time to kick off those tarist Willy

high heel sneakers (we'll still be Phillips (not his

sneaky ...M&M), loosen up that beehive r e eel

(we're always loose and on the loose) and. name ... M&M) _

let it all hang out! (with the blues in the " had fun checkin'Blues Capital of the World, right here in: out the Mutual

Kansas City ...M&M). • Musicians Foun-

We'll flip us a fish (we'll seal it with a: dation. He will

kiss) and turn us inside out, boy, have we. soon marry his Willy Phillipshad fund partying, dancing, spending cash • girlfriend of ten- _

and talkin' trash. : plus years, the magnificent Chicago-based

First, we want to thank you, baby, for. singer Liz Mandville who introduced

making our cocktail party the best. (You. Willy-to the fabulous wonderful marvel-

were a dream to work with, Rick: ous, too-cool-for-school Bel Airs, Dicky

Starr!!".M&M) • and Davey Pruitt and Pat O'Connor.

• (Faves, faves and faves. Do a fave forHot Gossip: Legendary : us ...M&M.)

Blues Band • Not to be missed (we don't miss

Well, let us tell you, Willie "Big Eyes": anything ...M&M) is the Bel Airs first CD

SmithandCalvin"Fuzzy"Joneshaven't. ever produced by Lou Whitney of the

aged abit since the Blues Brothers movie .• Morrells and Skeletons fame from

Besides playin' the lottery, they played· Springfield, Mo. The name was inspired

them Blues --and how --with the Legend- : by us - "Dangerous Curves." (Hear it on

aryBlues Band at Nigbtmoves. • the Mattie & Mae Blues Hour on

They told us they've put down tracks: Wednesdays from 4 to 5p.m. onKKFI-FM :

with Pinetop Perkins and Hubert. 90.1...M&M) •

Sumlin for the newMuddyWatersTrib-

ute album. Recording over these tracks

with Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and

more. More on this later.

After leaving KC, they made tracks

(choo,choo, cha boogie...M&M)to Ichiban

studios in Atlanta to lay more tracks forLegendary Blues Band's next release.

(They promise to release us sometime!

(They've got us

under their

spell ...M&M)

Legendary

Blues Band's

newest and cut-

Blues Happens at ,...Home of the RIlles A ' J I M I I I iM I I I i i _ J ; ; t

~ : : : ~ : l ~ ~ ; ~ ~ ; ~ .niliftlM~452-4393

Monday is Import Night· Texas Tuesday - 24 oz. BeersWednesday is Open Jam Night featuring The 39th St. Blues Band

All Bands Play 9:30 pm - 1:30am"Coldest Beer North of tile Riner" - Lilldsay Shannon

. Thursday is Ladies Night- Live Music- Free Pool-

. Every Wednesday ...The 39th St. Blues Band-


The ever young Zora Young will soo

be recording with Pinetop Perkins, Wil

lie "Big Eyes" Smith, Calvin Jones,

Madison "Meat Counter Swimmer"

Slim and more great stars. (not the one

in our eyes...M&M)Zora knows the Blues

being Howlin' Wolf's cousin. (We're alrelated. Does that relate? ..M&M)

George Meyers, Grand Emporium co

owner, says "I'm only interested in tw

things -- women and minor key Blues.

(Wethought it was Mattie &Mae ...M&M

We were able to take a side trip thi

month (we're always trippin' ...M&M) t

the club Sweetwater in Mill Valley, Ca

There John LeeHooker was performing

• songs off his soon to be released in Sep

tember album, Mr. Lucky. Joining us and

John Lee on stage were Ry Cooder,

Carlos Santana and Albert Collins wh

are on this latest endeavor. Also appear-ing on the new LP will be Van Morrison,

Keith Richards, Robert Cray, Johnnie

Johnson, Johnny Winter, John

Hammond and us doing our famous

backup lip syncing.

Well, folks, that's it for this month

Remember:

UR 2 Good 2 B 4 Gotten.

Love & kisses,

Mattie &Mae

(2 dolls with great personalities)

P.S. Tad, Tad, Tad--comesee us soonand

always buckle up.

P.P.S. We love correspondence and gifts

Send to Mattie &Mae, KCBS, P.O

Box 32131, KCMO 64111.

SEPTEMBER LINE-UPSept. 6 & 7 Little Jimmy King

(Rounder Record Release Party)

September 13 Duke Elephant

September 14 .. Dangerfield McNally

September 29 Cat DaddysSeptember 21 T.B.A.September 27 &28 Eddie Kirkland,

"Mr. Energy Man"

Saturday Afternoon Blues - 3-7 pm

Sept. 7 Little Hatch

Sept. 14 Dan Doran BandSept. 21 Little Hatch

Sept. 28 Dan Doran Band



SPIRIT FESTBLUES

'91TEN TPAVILION

SOME FEATURED KC PERFORMERS...

Nobody better than Abb Lockeat the Blues Tent withhis Chicago band. 2:30 pm,Sunday. Sept. l.

Back where she belongs on aKC stage. Linda Shell. atthe Spirit Fest. Saturday.August 30. 7:30 pm.

The Dan Doran Band (pictured left to right)Doran (piano/vocals). John Selzer (trumpet). DanaSmith (sax) will jump your blues away at 7:30 pm,Sunday. Sept. 1.

AUGUST 30, 31, SEPTEMBER 1 , 1991BLU ES PA VILIO N IS LOCA TE D SOUTH O F LIBE RTYMEMORIA L & EAST OF THE DRIVE

BIU;~~Booze& ~ ma r b e q u e

September 8 - Noon to ? ~ ~

Rain D ate - O ctober 1 3 ) ~ ,

$6.00 with a eovered dish or

$10without

Tryst Fa lls - 5 1/ 2 m ile s E ast of 1 -3 5 on 92 H wy.Carpoo lI j Po ss ib le

ALL YOU CAN

EAT, DRINK & HEAR5 BANDS • 5 PIGS • 50 K EGS OF BEER

39th Stre e t B lues Band • D an D oran Band

L ittl e H a tc h & t he House r ock e rs

D a ng erfie ld N cN aU y • T he B lu es N otio ns

F or M o re In fo rm atio n C o nta ct K en ny a t 4 52 -8 39 9

7230 W . 75th St . • Overland Park , KS( 913 ) 236 -6211

Ever~ Swn,cet~ -- Blwes J e t ' " 8-12 ...i,cnight

with The Blwes lJotions

'9 1 Blues Calendar

BLUES NEWS. 5



August 31

Junior We l ls and

John Paul & the Hellhounds

Sep tember 28

Darrell Nulisch & Texas Hea t

~ H ~ ~ M A I N S ~ ) - ) S 0 4


Performance Diary

Blues for EveryoneKind ofa short month, for a number of

reasons. Plus I didn't stray too far from the

lair.

August Z • Nightmoves

Mark Dufre sne 's Bar·B-O H it Parade

A homecoming and class reunion allin one. Dufresne is a Kansas City native

whonowresides in S e -

" ....",," ...." ...." attle. In 1990 he was

voted Seattle's top

harmonica player by

the Washington Blues

Society. He is also a

powerful vocalist with

more than three oc-

taves range.

MUSIC REVIEw Joining Dufresne

By LM. SMITH this night were Rick

............................................."Cardy" Quintero on

guitar, in like Smith on bass and drummerTim Osbarn. Considering they only had

one day of rehearsal they sounded amaz-

ingly good. Quintero's playing had more

fire than I've heard from him oflate. The

setting provided him room to stretch out,

and maybe that made the difference.

Dufresne did some exceptional work

on chromatic harp, something very few

players use. It's a tough axe, but when

used properly changes the sound of the

harp totally.

Dufresne, Quintero and Nightmoves

proprietor Kenny Taylor have known each

other since grade school, which helps to

explain why Quintero and Dufresne

meshed their playing sowell onsuch short

notice.

All in all it was a fun night with some

musical hot spots and a few clunkers. It

was what the blues is supposed to be;

spontaneous, a bit rough and sincere.

August 9 • Crown Center

Dan Doran Band

This little excursion reminded me of

why I dislike going to the Free Friday

Night Concerts at Crown Center.

The sound mix was terrible. Way toomuch drum, not enough vocal, horns a

little weak. Also the set up, which was

designed for headliners Sha Na Na was

not the best. Doran was at an acoustic

piano seton a riser behind the band, facing

about three-quarters away from the audi-

ence.

Still the band sounded pretty good.

They hit a good groove on "Marie Marie."

Trumpeter John Selzer turned in some

nice mute work. Guitarist Bill Dye dis-

played his unerring sense ofcontrol, eve

when he's flailing away at his axe. He als

showed he knows how to use the entire

fretboard. "Party Girl" made me wonde

why Selzer's vocal mike had more volum

than Doran's. At the same time, it was the

first time that Dana Smith's tenor wor

could be heard.They closed out with "Fat GuyWiggle

which drew big crowd response. Dye's sol

was exceptional. He used a flurry ofnote

that actually shaped into a great line. Th

guy is a master of a variety of styles, and

uses them all. Drummer Alan Fishell se

up his solo real well, then developed i

even better. When he's on, Fishell re

minds me ofJoe Morello. This evening h

was on.

I made a quick exit at the end of the

set, because there was someone else I wa

anxious to see.

August 9 • Nightmoves

Legendary Blues Band

In military terminology these guy

would be Band, Blues, Legendary. In thi

case that would be appropriate because

first and foremost this is a band in the

classical sense ofthe word. Itisn't a fron

man, with four other guys. This is a true

Legendary Bluesmen Ileft to right':

Willie -Big Eyes- Smith, Madison

Slim and Calvin -Fuzzy- Jones

ensemble. Five players, four of who take

turns singing lead. Three soloist who share

the duty.

Madison Slim, harp and vocal, has

good voice. He gets most of the solos, sayabout 40%. "Piano" Willy O'Shawny has

wonderful growl of a voice and a banging

piano style. He makes very good use o

dissonance. Guitarist Willy Phillips is the

only non-vocalist in the band. He just

sticks to playing the guitar. Willie "Bi

Eyes" Smith is the drummer/vocalist and

Calvin Jones does bass/vocal duties.

Smith did the vocals on "Hoochi

Coochie Man." He's abitofa shouter. Slim

shouted right back on harp. Jones on "Hip



Shakin' Mama" displayed his voice well.

Good solos from harp and piano. An al-

most solo from Smith was solid.

Smith is the leaderofthe band, but it's

obvious there is a lot of respect between

the members. That's the only way to have

a complete band like this. Smith and Jones

have been playing together for 20 years,

back to their days with Muddy Waters.

Slim has been with the band about

five years. Piano Willie over a year and

Phillips is the new guy.

"We all love the blues," said Smith.

"We search till everyone finds the groove."

He added, "it's no big deal, but it's hard to

get it right. We try to get to the feeling of

it. The blues tells a story like it is." •

" Y ESTER DA Y'S BLU ES" FR OM PAG E 2

Robert exploited this theme in some of

his songs. "Hell Hound on My Trail," "Me

and the DevilB1ues," and "Crossroad Blues"

eerily imply that the devil is about to

collect his due.

Robert developed other personality

traits during his sojourn south of the

Delta that enhanced his mystique. Heperfected an uncanny ability to recall any

song that he heard - even ifhe had only

beard it once - and then play it back

without a mistake. Other musicians were

mystified by this and could never figure

out how hedid it.After be left Robinsonville

the second time, Robert became the quin-

tessence of a traveling musician. He made

Helena, Arkansas, the capital of Delta

Blues, his home base for the few years left

of his life, but be was constantly on the

move. As a result, he was seen by a lot ofpeople in a lot of different places. In fact,

he moved so rapidly and so often, thatsometimes he seemed to be in different

towns at the same time.

Robert really didn't trust anyone and

rarely spent much time playingwith other

musicians. Ifanyone tried tostudy him too

closely, he would turn away or even stop

playing, walk away, and, perhaps disap-

pear again for months. Johnny Shines was

one musician who Robert seemed to like,

and, inreturn, Johnny idolized Robert and

determined to stick with him in order to

learn all be could. They traveled exten-

sively outside the Delta, through Illinois,

Michigan, on into Canada, and back down

the East Coast. But even on this trip,

Robert would skip out without telling

Johnny where he was going, leaving poor

Johnny to figure out which way to go.

Another young musician that inter-

ested Robert was Robert Lockwood.When

Lockwood was a teenager, Robert John-

son started living with his mother. He

seemed to think of the young Lockwood as

his musical heir and taught him every-

thing he could. Lockwood became so at-

tached to Johnson that be started using

the name, "Robert, Jr."

Another attribute ofRobert Johnson's

was his attraction to women, and, in theend, it proved to be a fatal attraction. One

Saturday night, on August 13, 1938, to be

exact, Robert and Sonny Boy Williamson

were playing a gig in a jook joint near

Greenwood, Mississippi.

Robert became too friendly with the

owner's wife, and the proprietor sent Rob-

ert a drink of whiskey heavily laced with

strychnine. The devil, at last, had col-

lected his due. •

Sources:

1. Oliver, Paul, The Story of the Blues.

Philadelphia: Chilton, 1974.

2. Palmer, Robert, Deep Blues. New York:

Penguin Books, 1982.

[[00 ~Or{/ f i ] 0 r m r m ~ @ I T I D 1 b D m n t b 0

O~ 0 ~r r t r rm ® i l l ~W 0

~ 0 /t!0 0~ 0JFrmr;xD ~ ~

n : t D rnffJbm ~ ff i0G [liQID illIJb &J\:.;] iJ - i t 1 h

********** ..C O M P L E T E B A B S E B V I C E ***********B E E R B U C K E T S P E C I I L S . . . P B R a n d L a B a t t ' s

B I K - B - QB L U B SB B B R

Volunteer Report

Thanlls, Part IIThe Kansas City Blues Society spon-

sors many events month we want to

recognize our veteran volunteers and

those who worked hard both days at the

First Blues & Jazz Festival.

Many of our 10th Annual Blues &

Heritage Festival (1990) volunteers

signed up for a second year. We would

like to thank them for their continuing

support: Dorothy Adams, Tom Baker,

Debbie Butterfield, Fred Chatlos, Suzi

Cohen, Chuck Conwell, Cowboy, Walt

Devolt, Susan Dickey, Charles Downs,

Tom Duncan, Robert Eller, Charles

Fertig, Bianca Holcomb, Pat Horton,

Jerry Klukow, Ron Lacy, Leonard Ladd,

Susan Lenox, Dave MacMillian, Scott

Mackey, Kathy and Sonny Marquez,

Fenton Miller, Jeff Miller, Claude Page,

John Richardson, Rocky Scarcello,

Beverly Shaw, Steve Vastbinder, Caro-

lyn Wicker and Jeanna Williams.

Bill Jeffress "rolled out the (trash)barrels" on Friday and that was abigjob.

Cowboy should receive special thanks

for handling parking control both days

(for the second year in a row). It's not a

fun job and hopefully will not be a volun-

teer requirement in the future. Thanks,

Cowboy! Tara Coen and David McBath,

new KCBS members, worked both shifts

both days and also took a turn at parking

control.

Some of our volunteers had so much

fun on Saturday, they came back and

worked again on Sunday, even though

they weren't originally scheduled to.

Among them: Larry, Luanne and Terry

Reichard, Sheila Esckilsen, Susan Lenox,

John Edgerton, Steve Vastbinder and

Todd Vance.

We also had a group of volunteers

who committed themselves towork both

days, some of them several months be-

fore the event. These are the people who

become the backbone of events like the

Blues &Jazz Festival. Many ofthem are

two-year veterans and deserve special

thanks. Among them are: Bennie Bush,

Tara Coen, Fred Chatlos, Walt Devolt,

Carla Drum, TomEdmonds, Dale Groom,

David Handley, Bianca Holcomb, CarolJones, Dave MacMillian, David McBath,

Fenton Miller, Michael Morgan, John &Cecilia Munn, Fay Ozoh, Shirley Parks,

Randy Robinson, Carlin Smith, Elaine

Ulrich, Clara Ulrich, Jeanna Williams,

Sterling Webster-Bey, Dee Zweygardt.

Once again, we hope we haven't

forgotten tomention anyone who worked

hard at the festival. Thanks, againl

- M ARC IE R YAN

BLUES NEWS • 7



rAn"TATTOO

TATTOO

TATTOO

TATTOO

TATTOO

TATTOORENDEZVOUS

O ctober 25· 26 • 27S1.00 P e r P e rs o n . P e r Day

Fri. 12 - 12, Sa l 1 2 -12. Sun. 12 - 10

H E L D A TT A no O IS T S f R O M A R O U ND T H E C O U N T R Y

Ro,. 80,. U 0._ \"

Sailor No.e. (

~dWoR~ lRudy S·"II· r

.......rt_ of -... Im : ~ c ~ ~ ~ : ; ~ ~ ~ · r e nt:

Hilton Airport iPlaza Inn I,

8801 N.W. 1121h. K.C. MO i

(1-29) i~

I Tattoo' Contest. Lectures & Videos for Regis,tered Guests i i i l l M j

U k ' : " : " , : : : " ' : ' , , : : : : : ",w:;'::;'(":":'¥':::"":"A~::";:'ki";'ilii:x:ni!§;;:iij':,"i'}t':',::%Htx::vc

BLUES BAND EACH NITEBLUES NOTIONS DAN DORAN BAND

For Info. Registration forms, etc .. write or call . ..

Il~~'millii~ __ 'm~

IEAST COAS'T II AL'S ~J

11507 Central Ave., Kansas City, KSI,~ Qll-.321-1214··'J~~:m1~~~:t~jWl:t~JU'f!i~fmll~~~:~~~~~t!'f!tli

1.-----------------MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

ANNUAL DUES:

Single -- $10.00Family -- $15.00

NAMEADDR~ __

CITY/~ATEIZIP _

TELEPHONE:

DATE: _

Send Check or Money Order to:KANSAS CITY BLUES SOCIETY

P.O. Box 32131 • Kansas City • Missouri • 64111

-----------------~

8 • SEPTEMBER1991

N BLUES NOTES· FROM PAGE I

midnight on Saturday, 8/31 and Sunday, 9/1. If yo

are available, please call Shirley Owens, 737-0713 o

Kenny Taylor, 452-4393. Come Join the fun and goo

blues over Labor Day weekend. Let It roll at Spirit Fes

'91.

Have you experienced the Blues on water? Only o

the Kansas City Blues Society's Blues Cruise will yo

have this extraordinary adventure. The Missouri Rive

Queen will be roiling down the river by Blues power

when UI Ed&the Blues Imperials and The Blues Notions

put the paddle wheel Into a natural spin. KCBS' las

Blues Cruise of '91 Is on Wednesday, September 25

TIckets are now on sale at Nlghtmoves, Grand Emp~

rlum and TIcketmaster. Remember If you are hooked o

. the Blues, you need to crulsel

September 12, the second Thursday of the month, I

KCBS' regular monthly Blues Jam Is stili roiling along

at the Grand Emporium. September's Blues Jam wil

be hosted by the fabulous 39th St. Blues Band. Thes

guys did the awesome Jobof backing up the Kansas Cit

Blues women trio at the '91 Blues & Jazz Fest. A

general KCBS' membership meeting will precede the

Blues Jam at 8:30 p.m.

As we go to press the Blues Notions are getting read

to hit the road to Memphis where they will compete I

the National Blues Talent Contest. Before they roll ou

of town, be sure to see them off at the Blues Tent fo

the Spirit Fest on Friday, August 30, 7 p.m. KCBS

wishes them all the best and a safe trlpl



I(C BLUES JAMS

SUNDAY JAMS • JAMS - Bring your instruments• Epicurean Lounge & Restaurant, 7502 Troost. 333-8383

• H & M Barbecue, 1715 N. 13th, KansasCity, Ks .

• JCs, Truman Rd. & Jackson, 241-9030, The Blues Thunder Band, 7:30p.m.

• The Roxy, 7230 W. 75th Street . 236-6211, featuringThe Blues Notions, 8:00 p.m. - 12:00 p.m. (see advert.]

MONDAY JAMS• Blayney's, 415 Westport Road, 561-3747, 10p.m.

• Hurricane, 4048 Broadway, 753-0884, KCBlues Band, 10 pm-2 am

TUESDAY JAMS• Blayney's, 415 Westport Road, 561-3747, The 39th St. Blues Band

• The Levee, 43rd & Main, 561-2821,Sonny Kenner Blues Band, 8:30-12:30 pm

• The Point. 917 West 44th, 531-9800, Lonnie RayBlues Band,9 pm-l:00 am

WEDNESDAY JAMS• The Levee, 43rd & Main, 561-2821, The 1234 Band, 8:30-12:30 pm

• Nightmoves, 5110 NEVivion Rd, 452-4393, The 39th St. Blues Band,8-12 pm

THURSDAY JAMS• The Tuba, 333 Southwest Blvd at Broadway, 471-6510, KCBottoms Band,

9:00 pm

SATURDAY JAMS• Chateau Lounge, 5934 Prospect, 523-9333, The Freeze, 3 - 8 p.m.

• Grand Emporium (seeadvert. ], 3832 Main, 531-7557,Gilbert 's Saturday Blues Party, 4-7 pm

• Hartings Upstairs, 3941Main, 531-0303, Diana Ray& RichVan Sant. 2-6 pm• H & M Barbecue, 1715 N. 13th, Kansas City, Ks , Abb Locke, 10 pm

• Me's Lounge, 5709 Troost, 363-9376, Saturday & Sunday, The Goucho

Band, 4:00 - 8:00 p.m.

OTHER CLUBSQ Birdland, 1600 E. 19th, 842-8463

Q City l ight Jazz Club, 4749 Pennsylvania, Blue Monday jam 8 pm - midn.

Q Eblon's, 1601 E. 18th Street, 221-6612

Q The Fabulous Inferno Show Lounge, 4038 Troost Avenue, 931-4000,Sonny Kenner· 5 BluesBand

Q Grand Emporium,Fridays-little Hatch's Houseparty, 6-8p.m.

Q Jimmy's Jigger 1823 W. 39th St, 753-2444

Q Kiki's Bonton Maison, 1515 Westport Road, 931-9417

Q Patches, 3041 Main, 931-2711

Q The Phoenix, 302 W. 8th Street, 472-0001

Q Quaff Buffet &Saloon, 10I0 Broadway, 471-1918

Q Roxy, 7230 W. 75th St.,Overland Park. Ks., 236-6211

Q Strouds Restaurant. 454-9600, 333-2132, featuring Roy Searcy

Q uprown-oown & Dirty, 6508 Martway, Mission, Ks . 236-4300

Q Wither's Place. 110 I E.31st Street. 942-6379

BLUES FESTIVALS

September 7

WaShington, DC Blues Festival,

Langdon Park N.E., D.C., noon to 7 p.m.

September 14-15

19th Annual San Francisco Blues Festival, 11 a.m. to 6 pm

September 20, 21, 22

Sacramento Blues Festival, (916) 683-1709.

September 21

Mississippi Delta Blues Festival, Greenville, Ms., (601) 335-

3523.

September 27 & 28

Bull Durham Blues Fest, (800) 772-BULL.

October 11-1 2

King Biscuit Blues Festival.

October 13

WC Handy Awards, Memphis, Tn.

BLUES RADIOKANU-FM 9t.5

Saturday

KCUR~M 89.J

Friday

8 p.m. - "Blues in the Night-with Kyle Neuer

Saturday

8 p.m. "Blues Stage-

9 p.m. "Friday Fish Fry" with Chuck Haddock

8 p.m. "Saturday Night Fish Fry" Chuck Haddock

12 Midnight "Lonesome Pine Special "

4:00 p.m. - "Traffic Jam" Blues Hour

7:30 a.m. - "Breakfast Club" with Dave Creighton

4:00 pm - -Mattie & Mae" Blues Hour

7:30 a.m. - "Breakfast Club" with Dave Creighton

Sunday 7 p.m. - "Kansas City Blues Show"

with l indsay Shannon

Monday.fri. 12 noon "Lunch at the Oldies"

Sat. - 3 p.m. "Blues for Two" with J.S. Marshall

Daily

KKFI-FM 90. t

Daily

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

KCFX~M tOt

KPRHM tOJ.J

KCXL-AM

KIDZ-AM 15to

PERFORMERS LISTING

IIAI'lIDS Sam Johnson and Company ... .. .. .

Alaadeen & the Deans of Swing... .. 621-2896

. ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... 831-4396 Sandy Brown Quartet 523-7365

City light Jazz Ensemb1e756-2697 Steve Mil ler Orchestra 722-0887

Coco & Dan Lee 561-2623 The 39th St. Band .

Dirty Sparks 829-4951 421-2861 • 363-5080

Fast Johnny 796-2742 The Blues Notions ..

Fiermon and the Kings of Jazz 333-4697 • 262-4656

................................... 923-2812 The Dan Doran Band ..

FrankSmithTrio 339-6698 531-1589· 341-1076

J.R.'S Jazz Brokers 923-7181 The linda Shell Band 765-3556

Jazz Plus 921-5854 The New KC Seven 765-0397

Joe Cartwright Trio 756-2697 Tommy Ruskin Trio 432-6885

John Paul & the Hellhounds ........ Vince Bilardo & Friends 49 I -327 I

.. ..... ..... .... 432-0867 • 83 I -4578 .Bilu

Julie Turner Group 423-6885 Dave Williams 756-0481KC Blues Band 252-2096

KC Bottoms Band ......... 753-2470 Ik!.unIlittle Hatch & the Houserockers... David Basse 56 I -2489

.. 86 I -3 103 Marl< Gilmore 53 I -3876

Lori Tucker &Shining l ight ... ..... . .GY . i Im :

................................... 765-0640 Allen Blasco 829-495 I

Mahogany 363-6 I 73 Glen Patrik 361-2160

Mama Ray & the Rich Van Sant Band Ron Singlton 625-7880

................ 420-0093 • 648-2432 Krell Stinner 444-8266

Max Groove 756-3725

Mike Ning Trio 436-03 I 8

Milleage Gilbert Band 321-7955

Millie Edwards & the Hit and Run

Band ... ..... 523-9024 • 753-3536

Milt Abel Trio 333- I 212

MMF Big Band 42 I -9297

Modern Times 677-3763

New Riddem 333-7444

QriginalLegends of Jazz62 I -2896

Rhythm Kings 841-14 15

Rich Hill & the Riffs 363-382 I

Ronnell Bright Orchestra. 561-21 40

HiI rJlJoe Colbert 452-425 I

Saxophone

Bill Caldwell 756-28 12

Dwight Foster 32 I -6504

Y2CAIILC. (Speedy} Huggins .. 56 I -93 I I

Jim Laforte 241-0808

Rich Robben 942-5803

"Cotton Candy" WaShington .. ....

................................... 924-6763

September 5 - Sunnyland Slim (I 907); 7 - Uttle Milton

(1934); 8 - Guitar Shorty (I 947); 13 - Charles Brown

(1922); Lurie Bell (1958); 15 - Snooky Pryor (1921); 16-

B.B. King (1925); 18 - Louis Myers (1929); 23 - Ray

Charles (1932), Fenton Robinson (I 935); 24 - Chick

Willis (1934); 25 - Booba Barnes (1936); 28 - Koko

Taylor (1935), CJ. Chenier (1957).

BLUES NEW S • 9



Date post:	08-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	matt-quinn
View:	220 times
Download:	0 times

Blues News - September 1991

Documents