Author: Jim White

Roadhouse Album Review: “Bluesland Theme Park” is a musical thrill ride from HeavyDrunk and Watermelon Slim

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HeavyDrunk and Watermelon Slim — “Bluesland Theme Park” — HeavyDrunk Records

“Bluesland Theme Park” is an exotic blues album filled with music that reflects two different amusement park thrill rides: The roller coaster exhilaration of the band HeavyDrunk and the primal scream of Watermelon Slim’s wicked slide guitar.

Watermelon Slim is William P. Homans III, a multi-award-winning singer/songwriter whose raw intensity pours out through his razor-sharp slide, soulful harp and passionate vocals, and whose nickname comes from his work on a watermelon farm many years ago. HeavyDrunk is Rob Robinson’s gritty vocals leading a superb nine-piece band that effortlessly blends blues, soul and musical creativity. The band’s name is credited to the legendary Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, speaking about a musician who wanted to sit in on a song with Brown: “Man, he’s a no-playin’ so-and-so … and a heavy drunk!”

Slim has released 14 albums; Robinson 11, and this is Rob’s fourth with HeavyDrunk. They joined forces for this session of original songs after Robinson and Slim first met in Clarksdale, Miss. “Once I heard Slim play ‘Little Bighorn’ I was blown away,” Robinson says.

The raucous, horn-filled title track opens with an invitation to join the fun at Robinson’s original “Bluesland Theme Park,” looking through the glass darkly at what’s to come and what you never know you’ll find in this musical carnival: “Sneak down the alley with junky in the dark / at the bluesland theme park.”

“New Wine” adds a chorus behind a funky beat with lyrics that make a spiritual point: “In the winners circle, pointing up to god / on the mountain top, pointing up to heaven / must be something to it, pointing up to god.” Slim’s “Little Bighorn” features his slide and laconic vocals on a philosophical lament: “Well I’ve had some bottles / And I’ve had some women / But the bottles get empty / And the women drift away.” A handclapping chorus welcomes the gospel enthusiasm of “Church Bells (Little Zion)” by Robinson and Eddie Wilson: “Church bells ringing in the delta / Guiding lost souls through the night.”

The lilting melody of “Watermelon Girl” (no relation to Slim!), by Robinson and Tony Joe White, offers a fruitful observation: “Watermelon girls make the world go round.” Slim slides in again with his observations about life on the road in “Road Food & Cheap Motels” “I know them beds and I know them smells / Rolling down this highway while my song still sells.” The delicate balladry of “You Make Me Want To” offers a gentle take on unfulfilled desires: ‘You make me want to up and run astray / And leave the only one that was ever truly mine.”

The foreboding rhythms of “4 Better Worser 2” surround cryptic observations: “Voodoo woman and the preacher looked in his bible / “Shook their heads, looked down at me and you / “washed their hands in holy water / 4 better worser 2.” Slim reprises “Little Bighorn” with just his starkly eloquent acoustic guitar, then leads a chant-like “Australia” that is almost a capella, except for his mournful harp interlude, in an ode to the perils of the outback: “Now underneath the southern cross / Every man is his own boss / But you better take some water on the outback / Cause if you drink alkali know your gonna die….”

The closer, “Fresh,” with its chunky rhythms and backup singers, is a good old-fashioned R&B dance number with Motown overtones and a joyous message: “Hold steady baby, I’m focused and ready / Gonna lift you up and celebrate you.”

“Bluesland Theme Park” combines the inventive music of Rob Robinson and Watermelon Slim for a trip through a portal into another musical dimension, filled with imaginative lyrical adventures spun on ethereal slide guitar moans and floating on brassy big-band carousels. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Here’s the album title track

Tracklist:
01. Bluesland Theme Park – Rob Robinson 2:15
02. New Wine – Rob Robinson 2.54
03. Little Bighorn (feat. Watermelon Slim) – William B. Homans 3.26
04. Church Bells (Little Zion) – Rob Robinson & Eddie Wilson 3.58
05. Watermelon Girl – Rob Robinson & Tony Joe White 3.06
06. Road Food & Cheap Motels (feat. Watermelon Slim) – William B. Homans 2.48
07. You Make Me Want To – Rob Robinson 4.07
08. Better Worser Too – Rob Robinson 3.37
09. Little Bighorn Acoustic (feat. Watermelon Slim) – William B. Homans 3.29
10. Australia (feat. Watermelon Slim) – William B. Homans 2.57
11. Fresh – Rob Robinson 2.18

Roadhouse Album Review: “Sun Come And Shine Redux” is filled with the expressive musical creations of Jennifer Porter

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Jennifer Porter — “Sun Come And Shine Redux” — Overton Music

The luminous voice of songstress Jennifer Porter shapes the elegant tapestry of her lyrics into a musical style that blends its worldliness into other-worldly dimensions. Her seductive vocals breathe intimate stories of love and loss against a backdrop of sublime instrumentation.

All of this imaginative and original magical music comes together again on “Sun Come and Shine Redux,” the remixed and remastered reprise of Porter’s impeccable 2021 release, “Sun Come and Shine.” The title song was then honored with the We Are The Music Makers award for Best Roots/Americana/Blues song.

The title song itself, “Sun Come and Shine,” which opens the album, features multi-instrumentalist Porter on the Hammond B-3, and a delicate harp and piano intro leading into the mystic of its lyrics: “Sun come and shine in my door / Let your light creep gently cross the floor / ‘Til my thoughts don’t scare me no more.” On Show Me Your Love,” Porter provides her own backing vocals as well as B3 and Fender Rhodes work, highlighting ethereal vocals in a tender love song: “In the tone of your voice and the words that you choose / In the moves and the grooves that you use / Won’t you show me your love.”

A lilting melody envelops the dreamy optimism of “When Its All Been Said And Done: “Let’s roll the rug back and we’ll have a dance / I’ll bring you violets and we’ll take a chance.” A gorgeous burst of horns slips into “Satin Shoes,” with its esoteric imagery: “We’ll feel sad when we sit very still / To ask for joy and pray for time / We can’t recall we ever knew / How desperately we need a happy ending.” The sultry-voiced, upbeat “Stop Your Talkin’” is an earthy warning framed in jazzy horns: “You better stop your talkin’ talkin’ / Or I’ll be going, going, gone.”

The bluesy “In and Out With You” is a rhythmic adventure of love featuring a razor-sharp guitar solo by George Naha punctuating delightful lyrics with and a joyous shout at the finish: “Cross the ocean dark on this night-light flight / Holding hands while cycling in the rain / Sleeping by your side on this midnight train.” Porter’s airy touch on the B3 encircling a sensuous sax leads into the lovely refrain of a “Bitter New York Night” warmed by luscious vocals: “And when we’re old and dance real slow / I will dream…”

The rousing accordion of C.J. Chenier and a taste of Porter’s honky-tonk piano introduce the New Orleans rhythms of “You’re So Easy To Be With” and its colorful vibrations: “You’re so easy to get lost in / I forget to find my way.” The only non-Porter song, “Something On Your Mind,” is a poignant ballad by Dino Valenti: “I have seen the writing on the wall / Who cannot maintain will always fall.” The haunting strains of Cindy Cashdollar’s pedal steel warm the finale, “I’ll Be Here,” with its gentle promise of everlasting love: “I’ll take your hand and I’ll walk without shame / For as you go, so will I / ‘Til the day that I die.”

“Sun Come and Shine Redux” is layered with the sophistication of Jennifer Porter’s smart, sensitive lyrics and the eloquence of her unique voice. It’s filled with expressive musical creations torn from Porter’s personal vision for you to experience with her. Let her explore your mind.

Here’s the title song, “Sun Come And Shine”

Roadhouse Album Review: “Closer to the Bone” is Tommy Castro at his “real blues” best

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Tommy Castro — Closer to the Bone” — Alligator Records

Tommy Castro has been around the blues block a few times.

He’s been making his high energy brand of blues for four decades, covering 17 albums (including this one), thousands of gigs, and he’s won ten Blues Music awards, including the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year Award in 2023. And he and his band, the Painkillers, pretty much serve as the house band on the semi-annual Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise.

The Painkillers are at full strength for this new, closer-to-the-blues-bone release, including guitarist Castro on vocals and resonator guitar, Mike Emerson on keyboards, Randy McDonald on bass and vocals, with Bowen Brown on drums. A few high-powered guests include Chris Cain on guitar, Rick Estrin and Billy Branch on harp, Deanna Bogart on sax and vocals, Jim Pugh on keyboards, and the criminally talented Christoffer “Kid” Andersen, on bass, piano, rhythm guitar, organ and upright bass as well as producer at his Greaseland Studios.

“This is a real blues record, the way they would have made them back in the day,” Castro says. Almost all the tracks were recorded live in the studio, filled with spontaneous performances that evoke a personal, down-home, juke-joint vibe.

Castro uses the session to pay tribute to some of his influences, including songs by contemporary California blues guitar greats like Johnny Nitro, Ron Thompson and Chris Cain. And he dips back into blues past for songs from Magic Slim, Eddie Taylor, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Jimmy Nolen and Wynonie Harris. It’s an impressive list.

The rollicking original opener, “Can’t Catch a Break,” is a traditionally themed blues shuffle with Castro full-throatedly bemoaning how “bad luck and trouble is the story of my life,” with a stinging guitar solo and fadeout. Nolan’s 1956 rocking blues “The Way You Do” follows with Estrin on harp, and Nitro’s loping blues, “One More Night” is next — Nitro was another California musician from ’70s and ’80s, who, like Castro and McDonald, was a member of The Dynatones.

The original “Crazy Woman Blues” is a slow-burning, churning urn of burning blues, with Castro’s pleading vocals about being “a fool for misery” are tangled up in fierce fretwork. A cover of Rick Cain’s “Woke Up and Smelled the Coffee” struts in with another crisp guitar solo (they’re becoming a feature throughout as Castro shines on every take). A sly cover of Gary Michael Duke and Joe New’s lively “Keep Your Dog Inside” features Deanna Bogart sharing the vocals. Emerson adds tasty barrelhouse piano.

Watson’s “She Moves Me” is the next cover, an upbeat R&B-flavored track with Bogart on tenor sax. The original “Ain’t Worth the Heartache” features Branch swinging hard on harp, leading into the sensuous strains of Ray Charles early hit, “A Fool for You,” with another scorching guitar solo. Castro’s steamy slide and tough vocals drive Thompson’s “Freight Train (Let Me Ride).”

Painkiller bass player McDonald rocks hard on his own composition, “Everywhere I Go,” followed by the classic, “Bloodshot Eyes,” a country song probably best known for the Wynonie Harris jump blues version. Estrin adds his harp to Taylor’s shuffling “Stroll Out West.” Everything wraps up with Jim Pugh’s organ licks kicking Hole in the Wall,” recorded by Magic Slim, and ridden hard by Castro’s vocals. It’s tough, swelling rhythms punctuate the climax to this terrific blues album.

“Closer to the Bone” is filled with Castro’s authentic vocals and steamy guitar licks. His backers are razor sharp and the arrangements are first class. It’s music blues that is exactly what it says it is — closer to the bone, but still meaty enough to satisfy the blusiest appetite. Don’t wait till the next blues ship gets into port — enjoy it now.

Here’s “Can’t Catch a Break” from the album:

Tracklist:
1. Can’t Catch A Break
2. One More Night
3. The Way You Do
4. Woke Up And Smelled The Coffee
5. Crazy Woman Blues
6. She Moves Me
7. Keep Your Dog Inside
8. A Fool For You
9. Ain’t Worth The Heartache
10. Bloodshot Eyes
11. Everywhere I Go
12. Freight Train (Let Me Ride)
13. Hole In The Wall
14. Stroll Out West

Roadhouse Blues News: Here’s the 2025 group of inductees into the Blues Hall of Fame

Jim WhiteLeave a comment

The Blues Foundation has announced its inductees for the 2025 class of the Blues Hall of Fame.

Bob Stroger

Since 1980, The Blues Foundation has inducted new members annually into its Blues Hall of Fame, based on their historical contribution, impact, and overall influence on the blues, or, as the Foundation states: “Those who have made the blues timeless.”

Members are inducted in five categories: Performers, Individuals, Classic of Blues Literature, Classic of Blues Recording (Song), and Classic of Blues Recording (Album). Since its founding, the Foundation has inducted over four hundred industry professionals, recordings, and literature into the Blues Hall of Fame. The Foundation has inducted over 400 industry professionals, recordings, and literature into the Hall of Fame.

The Blues Hall Of Fame Class Of 2025 inductees include Bob Stroger, William Bell, Blind Willie Johnson, Henry Townsend, and Jessie Mae Hemphill.

Entering the Hall for Classic of Blues Recording – Album is Lightnin’ Hopkins, for the Gold Star Sessions. Classic of Blues Recording – Singles recipients include Irma Thomas, Sylvester Weaver, Bessie Smith, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and B.B. King. For Classic of Blues Literature its Woman With Guitar: Memphis Minnie’s Blues. Individuals – Business/Production/Media/Academic honors go to Bob Geddins.

The Blues Foundation honors The Blues Hall Of Fame Class Of 2025 (45th class) with an Induction Ceremony taking place May 7, 2025, at the Cannon Center For The Performing Arts, Memphis, the night before the annual Blues Music Awards.

This year the inductees include:

Landmark recordings by: 
Lightnin’ Hopkins, Irma Thomas, Sylvester Weaver, Bessie Smith, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and B.B. King
Individuals – Business, Production, Media, Academic:
Bob Geddins
Classic of Blues Literature:
Woman with Guitar: Memphis Minnie’s Blues by Beth and Paul Garon (1992)
Classic of Blues Literature:
Woman with Guitar: Memphis Minnie’s Blues by Beth and Paul Garon (1992)
Classic of Blues Recording – Album:
Lightnin’ Hopkins: Gold Star Sessions (Arhoolie CDs, 1990-91, originally released on Arhoolie LPs as Early Recordings, 1963, and Early Recordings Vol 2, 1971)
Classics of Blues Recording – Single or Album Track
Bessie Smith: “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out” (Columbia, 1923)
Sylvester Weaver: “Guitar Rag” (OKeh, 1923)
Irma Thomas: “Don’t Mess With My Man” (Ron, 1959)
B.B. King: “Why I Sing The Blues” (ABC BluesWay, 1969)
Blind Lemon Jefferson: “See That My Grave’s Kept Clean” (Paramount, 1927)

More Information:

Bob Geddins:
Robert Lee Geddins was born on February 6, 1913, in Highbank, Texas, near Marlin (the onetime home of fellow 2025 Blues Hall of Fame inductee Blind Willie Johnson). He had heard the blues on records and at Saturday night suppers before he hopped a westbound train in the 1930s. He saw an opportunity to market music in the Bay Area after starting out in Los Angeles, where he worked at a drug store and for the city’s streets department before opening a record store.  

Bob Geddins produced a treasure trove of records that defined the down-home blues and gospel sounds of the San Francisco/Oakland area in the post-World War II years. While West Coast blues is often associated with smoother, polished urban styles, Geddins’ most memorable records often were raw excursions into desolation and gloom — “Tin Pan Alley” by Roy Hawkins being a prime example. His productions reflected the influences and tastes of many Black workers and musicians who migrated to the Bay Area for jobs during and after the war from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

Most of Lowell Fulson’s early records were cut for Geddins, who also recorded Jimmy McCracklin, Roy Hawkins, K.C. Douglas, Johnny Fuller, L.C. “Good Rockin’” Robinson, Mercy Dee Walton, Juke Boy Bonner, Saunders King, Sugar Pie DeSanto, Big Mama Thornton, and many gospel groups. The records often spotlighted the guitar exploits of Lafayette Thomas, Ulysses James, or Johnny Heartsman.


Woman with Guitar: Memphis Minnie’s Blues by Beth and Paul Garon (1992)
Paul and Beth Garon saluted Memphis Minnie’s iconic status as a premier blues artist and symbolic feminist figure in the initial publication of “Woman With Guitar: Memphis Minnie’s Blues” in 1992 by Da Capo Press. A revised edition from City Lights Books in 2014 added considerably to the chapters on her life and career that begin the book, with a foreword by Jim O’Neal and more detailed appendices and documentation based largely on various contributors’ online research into sources not available in 1992.

The biographical section brought research up to date on Lizzie Douglas, whose nom du disque became Memphis Minnie when she began recording in 1929. Often teamed with her first husband, Kansas Joe McCoy, or her second, Ernest “Little Son Joe” Lawlars, in Memphis and Chicago, she became one of the most prolific and accomplished blues artists of the 1930s and ‘40s. Famed both for her skills on guitar and her song lyrics, she was a tough, pugnacious, and independent force who held her own in the very male-dominated blues world of her time.

Lightnin’ Hopkins: Gold Star Sessions (Arhoolie CDs, 1990-91, originally released on Arhoolie LPs as Early Recordings, 1963, and Early Recordings Vol 2, 1971)
Lightnin’ Hopkins was recording at a furious pace for various companies in the early 1960s, utilizing his uncanny ability to improvise new songs and adapt old ones on the spot. He had no bigger fan than Chris Strachwitz, owner of Arhoolie Records, who joined the fray, not only recording Hopkins anew but reissuing classic sides recorded for Bill Quinn’s Gold Star label in Houston from 1947 to 1950.

Most of the sides, featuring Hopkins alone on guitar, were first issued on Gold Star 78s but several tracks on the 1963 “Early Recordings” LP and the second 1971 volume had never been released before. Hopkins also took a seat at the organ in one session. Each volume contained 16 tracks, expanded to 24 when later issued on CD (now available from Smithsonian Folkways). Strachwitz’s liner notes illuminated Hopkins’ music and his ways, which included going to Quinn’s studio to cut a few sides when he needed cash.
Bessie Smith: “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out” (Columbia, 1923)
Blues empress Bessie Smith delivered one of her finest, most expressive performances on “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out,” a classic hard times blues recorded for Columbia in New York on May 15, 1929. Smith evocatively hummed some of the lines with a band including cornetist Ed Allen and pianist Clarence Williams. The song had been recorded earlier by Pine Top Smith and Bobby Leecan, but it was Smith’s rendition that became an influential classic.

Sylvester Weaver: “Guitar Rag” (OKeh, 1923)
Sylvester Weaver was the Louisville musician who introduced the guitar to blues recording in 1923, first accompanying singer Sara Martin and then on his own solo sides, promoted with a flurry of fanfare about his innovative technique from OKeh Records. He recorded “Guitar Rag” at his first session on November 2, 1923, and again on April 1, 1927, for OKeh in Chicago. Martin received a co-writer credit.
The smooth bottleneck/slide number has lived on as a Western swing and country music standard, “Steel Guitar Rag,” after Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys recorded it in 1936 with Leon McAuliffe on steel guitar.

Irma Thomas: “Don’t Mess With My Man” (Ron, 1959)
“Don’t Mess With My Man,” Irma Thomas’ first record, hit the “Billboard” R&B charts in 1960 and not only established her but also provided plenty of women singers with a song to spice up their repertoire in the years to come. Recorded in 1959 for Joe Ruffino and Ron Records in New Orleans, the song was written by Dorothy LaBostrie, who wrote “Tutti Frutti” for Little Richard. Crescent City stalwarts Justin Adams, Robert Parker, and Eddie Bo played in the session.  The song has been recorded also known by its opening line, “You Can Have My Husband.”

B.B. King: “Why I Sing The Blues” (ABC BluesWay, 1969)
Under the production of Bill Szymczyk, B.B. King updated his blues in both style and subject matter on his March 5, 1969, rendering of “Why I Sing the Blues.”  In the pulsating performance, propelled by Gerry Jemmott’s bass, King traced the blues and African-American life back to slave ships and up through ghetto conditions and welfare. Dave Clark, better known for his promotional work with Malaco and other labels but a veteran journalist and songwriter as well, contributed to the opus as co-writer. The New York session band consisted of Jemmott, Paul Harris (piano), Hugh McCracken (rhythm guitar), and Herbie Lovelle (drums). King had recorded an unreleased version in Chicago in 1968 and did a different song with the same title in Los Angeles in 1956. His ABC BluesWay single spent 14 weeks on the “Billboard” R&B charts (15 on “Cash Box”) and generated some crossover pop action as well. The version of King’s “Live & Well” was five minutes longer than the three-and-a-half-minute 45 and featured additional verses and guitar solos by an inspired king of the blues.

Blind Lemon Jefferson: “See That My Grave’s Kept Clean” (Paramount, 1927)
Blind Lemon Jefferson recorded  “See That My Grave’s Kept Clean” for Paramount in Chicago in 1928, following up an earlier version that was issued under a religious pseudonym, Deacon L.J. Bates, 1927 “See That My Grave’s Kept Clean.” His moving performances affected both the secular and the sacred worlds for generations to come. Adding to the lyrical imagery of two white horses, a silver spade, and a golden chain, on one take the Texas blues master plucked a guitar string in imitation of a church bell.

Sometimes titled “One Kind Favor,” the song drew from an old folk spiritual and has been recorded by Bob Dylan, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Furry Lewis, Hank Williams Jr., B.B. King, the Grateful Dead, John Lee Hooker, Mavis Staples (who won a GRAMMY for her rendition), and many more.

In keeping with the favor Jefferson asked in the song, his grave is kept clean in Wortham, Texas. The first verse is engraved on his headstone and the graveyard is now known as Blind Lemon Memorial Cemetery. B.B. King felt so connected to the song that, per his wishes, his casket was drawn by two white horses.
 

Roadhouse Ramblings: Tampa Red deserves your consideration as one of America’s great blues artists

Jim WhiteLeave a comment

Let’s talk about Tampa Red.

This prolific, innovative and influential bluesman had a career that began as a Chicago street musician around 1925 and lasted more than three decades.

Because he was so innovative and influential, Tampa Red deserves much more general recognition than he usually gets, even though his name might not be a household word, like some of his contemporaries.

Although Red is commonly referred to as Hudson Whittaker, he was born Hudson Woodbridge in Smithville, Ga., sometime between 1900 and 1908, according to his own conflicting claims, although the date of birth on his death certificate is Jan. 8, 1904. His parents, John and Elizabeth Woodbridge, died when he was a child, and he moved to Tampa, Fla., to be raised by his aunt and grandmother and where he adopted their family name, Whittaker. By the time he moved to Chicago, Tampa had become part of his name, as had Red, usually attributed to his light skin color.

And so, Tampa Red was born.

He is said to have taken after his older brother, Eddie, who played the guitar around the Tampa area, and he was especially taken with an old street musician called Piccolo Pete, who first taught him to play blues licks on the guitar. Red also picked up on early recordings of female blues singers. He told interviewer Martin Williams “That [1920] record of “Crazy Blues” by Mamie Smith, it was one of the first blues records ever made. I said to myself, ‘I don’t know any music, but I can play that’.”[

And play he did.

In 1928, Red became the first black musician to play a National steel-bodied resonator guitar, the loudest and showiest guitar available before amplification, acquiring one in the first year in which they were available. This allowed him to develop his proficiency on bottleneck style, playing single-string runs instead of block chords, the forerunner of later blues and rock guitar solo work.

While in Chicago, he met Thomas A. Dorsey, also known as Georgia Tom, who was an accomplished pianist, composer and arranger who got Red his first Paramount Records session in 1928. Dorsey recorded with Red for a few years, performing rollicking little tunes known as hokum music, sometimes called the dirty blues, which favored humorous and risqué tunes like “It’s Tight Like That,” recorded in 1928. Dorsey left secular music for the church in 1932 to become a legendary gospel composer and often was called the father of modern gospel music. But that’s another story.

Red soon became known as the “guitar wizard” — the title of a later package of recordings on the Bluebird label. Bluebird was a subsidiary of RCA Victor, known for its blues, jazz and swing in the 1930s and 1940s. Red formed the Chicago Five, a group of session musicians who created what became known as the Bluebird sound, a precursor of small-group jump blues, R&B and rock ‘n’ roll. But that’s also another story.

Red was a friend of many of his contemporaries, including Big Bill Broonzy and Big Maceo Merriweather, with whom he also recorded. His Chicago home was a center for the blues community, providing rehearsal space, bookings, and lodgings for musicians who arrived in Chicago from the Mississippi Delta.

By the 1940s, Red was playing an electric guitar. In 1942, his “Let Me Play with Your Poodle”, was a number 4 hit on Billboard’s new “Harlem Hit Parade”, a forerunner of the R&B chart. His 1949 recording “When Things Go Wrong with You (It Hurts Me Too)” which was really early R&B, was covered by Elmore James, among others.

Red was one of the most prolific blues recording artists of his era. It has been estimated that he recorded 335 songs, with 251 recorded between 1928 and 1942, making him the blues artist with the most recordings during that period. He had four singles that placed in the R&B top ten between 1942 and 1951. Among his best-known recordings are “Anna Lou Blues”, “Black Angel Blues”, “Crying Won’t Help You”, “It Hurts Me Too”, and “Love Her with a Feeling”.

Tampa Red’s influence extended beyond his lifetime. His innovative guitar playing and pioneering use of the electric guitar laid the groundwork for later blues artists like Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and Jimmy Reed. As one of the first blues musicians to incorporate jazz elements into his work, he also had a lasting impact on the crossover between blues and jazz, influencing musicians in both genres. In 1959, Tampa Red was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. If you listen to some of his later recordings, you can hear the beginnings of what would much later be called rock ‘n’ roll. For example, listen to the pounding rhythms of “Evalina,” with Big Walter Horton (see sample below).

Like many early bluesmen, Red’s later life was filled with loss and pain. His wife, Frances died in 1953, and the loss began his decline into alcoholism. When Jim O’Neal, co-founded of Living Blues Magazine, discovered him living in Chicago in 1974, Red was reportedly in a much worse shape than in his earlier years. By January 1975, he was at a state hospital in Chicago. Red lived out his final years in Central Nursing Home, where he died from a heart attack on March 19, 1981. Red was 77.

The next time you think of great early blues artists, remember Hudson “Tampa Red” Whittaker. His legacy deserves much wider appreciation.

Note: I’ve culled most of this post from a variety of what I believe are reliable internet sources, adding my own thoughts.

Here’s a very small selection of Tampa Red’s music. You can find much more on YouTube and streaming services. It’ll be worth your time.

Roadhouse Blues News: The 2025 Grammy winners in blues categories

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Here are the 2025 Grammy nominees and winners in the two major blues categories, plus a pair of roots music awards that also consider blues recordings. The category definitions are taken from the Grammy descriptions. If you’re interested in all the Grammys, you can find them here.

Best Traditional Blues Album — For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental traditional blues recordings.

WINNER — Swingin’ Live at The Church in Tulsa — The Taj Mahal Sextet
Hill Country Love — Cedric Burnside
Struck Down — The Fabulous Thunderbirds
One Guitar Woman — Sue Foley
Sam’s Place — Little Feat

Best Contemporary Blues Album — For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental contemporary blues recordings.

 WINNER — Mileage — Ruthie Foster
Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 — Joe Bonamassa
Blame It On Eve — Shemekia Copeland
Friendlytown — Steve Cropper & The Midnight Hour
The Fury — Antonio Vergara

Best American Roots Performance — For new vocal or instrumental American Roots recordings. This is for performances in the style of any of the subgenres encompassed in the American Roots Music field including bluegrass, blues, folk or regional roots.

WINNER — “Lighthouse” — Sierra Ferrell  
“Blame It On Eve” — Shemekia Copeland
“Nothing In Rambling” — The Fabulous Thunderbirds Featuring Bonnie Raitt, Keb’ Mo’, Taj Mahal & Mick Fleetwood
“The Ballad Of Sally Anne” — Rhiannon Giddens

Best American Roots Song — Includes Americana, bluegrass, traditional blues, contemporary blues, folk or regional roots songs. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names in parentheses.) Singles or tracks only.

WINNER” — American Dreaming” — Sierra Ferrell & Melody Walker, songwriters (Sierra Ferrell) 
“Ahead Of The Game” — Mark Knopfler, songwriter (Mark Knopfler)
“All In Good Time” — Sam Beam, songwriter (Iron & Wine Featuring Fiona Apple)
“All My Friends” — Aoife O’Donovan, songwriter (Aoife O’Donovan)
“Blame It On Eve” — John Hahn & Will Kimbrough, songwriters (Shemekia Copeland)

Roadhouse Blues News: Here are the nominees for the 2025 Blues Music Awards

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The Blues Foundation has announced the nominees for the 46th Annual Blues Music Awards, to be held in Memphis, Tenn., on May 8 at The Renasant Convention Center.

The BMAs are generally recognized as the highest honor given to blues musicians and are awarded by vote of Blues Foundation members.

Here are the nominees:

Acoustic Album
Naked Truth, Tinsley Ellis
One Guitar Woman, Sue Foley
Raw Blues 2, Doug Macleod
The Legend of Sugarbelly, Guy Davis
Things Done Changed, Jerron Paxton

Acoustic Artist
Doug MacLeod
Eric Bibb
Guy Davis
Keb’ Mo’
Kevin Burt

Album of the Year
Blame It On Eve, Shemekia Copeland
Fine By Me, Curtis Salgado
Hill Country Love, Cedric Burnside
Person of Interest, Billy Price
What Are You Waiting For?, Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra featuring Willy Jordan

B.B. King Entertainer
Duke Robillard
Mr. Sipp (Castro Coleman)
Rick Estrin
Shemekia Copeland
Sugaray Rayford

Band of the Year
Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra
John Nemeth and the Blue Dreamers
Nick Moss Band
Rick Estrin and the Nightcats
Southern Avenue

Best Emerging Artist Album
8000 Miles to the Crossroads, Prakash Slim
Carry On, Destini Rawls
Drifter, Jovin Webb
Go Be Free, Sonny Gullage
Revelation, Piper & The Hard Times

Blues Rock Album
About Time, Dennis Jones
Broken, Walter Trout
Life is Hard, Mike Zito
Righteous Souls, Albert Castiglia
Struck Down, The Fabulous Thunderbirds

Blues Rock Artist
Albert Castiglia
Mike Zito
Tab Benoit
Tommy Castro
Walter Trout

Contemporary Blues Album
Blame It On Eve, Shemekia Copeland
Blues In My DNA, Ronnie Baker Brooks
Do It My Own Way, Vanessa Collier
Good Intentions Gone Bad, Chris Cain
The Hits Keep Coming, Rick Estrin & the Nightcats

Contemporary Blues Female Artist
Beth Hart
Carolyn Wonderland
Danielle Nicole
Ruthie Foster
Vanessa Collier

Contemporary Blues Male Artist
Chris Cain
Johnny Sansone
Mike Zito
Mr. Sipp (Castro Coleman)
Ronnie Baker Brooks

Instrumentalist – Bass
Benny Turner
Bob Stroger
Jerry Jemmott
Michael ”Mudcat” Ward
Rodrigo Mantovani

Instrumentalist – Drums
Chris Peet
Derrick D’Mar Martin
June Core
Kenny ”Beedy Eyes” Smith
Tony Braunagel
Instrumentalist – Guitar
Chris Cain
Christoffer ”Kid” Andersen
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Eric Gales
Ronnie Baker Brooks

Instrumentalist – Harmonica
Billy Branch
Bob Corritore
Kim Wilson
Mark Hummel
Rick Estrin

Instrumentalist – Horn
Jimmy Carpenter
Doug James
Deanna Bogart
Trombone Shorty
Vanessa Collier

Instrumentalist – Pinetop Perkins Piano Player
Anthony Geraci
Ben Levin
Bruce Katz
Eden Brent
Mitch Woods

Instrumentalist – Vocals
Beth Hart
Billy Price
Curtis Salgado
Danielle Nicole
Ruthie Foster

Song of the Year
“Blues For My Dad”
performed and written by Chris Cain
“Blues In My DNA”
performed and written by Ronnie Baker Brooks
“Mama, I love you”
performed by Albert Castiglia and written by Albert Castiglia, Kevin Burt, & Jerry Jemmott
“Tough Mother”
performed by Shemekia Copeland and written by John Hahn & Will Kimbrough
“Mother Watch the World Go By”
performed by Eden Brent and written by Bob Dowell & Eden Brent

Soul Blues Album
Fine By Me, Curtis Salgado
Human Decency, Sugaray Rayford
Person of Interest, Billy Price
REVIVAL, Kat Riggins & her Blues Revival
What Are You Waiting For?, Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra featuring Willy Jordan

Soul Blues Female Artist
Annika Chambers
Candice Ivory
Kat Riggins
Thornetta Davis
Vaneese Thomas

Soul Blues Male Artist
Alabama Mike
Billy Price
Curtis Salgado
Johnny Rawls
William Bell

Traditional Blues Album
Crawlin’ ’Kingsnake, John Primer & Bob Corritore
Getaway Blues, Eden Brent
HAPPY HOUR, Mitch Woods
Hill Country Love, Cedric Burnside
Roll With Me, Duke Robillard

Koko Taylor Award (Traditional Blues Female Artist)
Diunna Greenleaf
Eden Brent
Rhiannon  Giddens
Sue Foley
Teeny Tucker

Traditional Blues Male Artist
Cedric Burnside
Duke Robillard
Jimmie Vaughan
John Primer
Jontavious Willis

Roadhouse Album Review: ‘Tomi’ Goluban and Crooked Eye Tommy take joyous blues ride on “Nashville Road”

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Tomislav Goluban / Crooked Eye Tommy — “Nashville Road” — Overton Music

It’s not very often that an old-school Croatian harp player hooks up with a West Coast blues band to create an album, but when they do, what else could it be called but “Nashville Road”?

Croatia-born Tomislav (Tomi) “Little Pigeon” Goluban says he owes his passion for the blues harp to the likes of Sonny Terry and Slim Harpo, which gives him a fine head start on the blues. (“Little Pigeon” just happens to be a translation of his last name.) The Crooked Eye Tommy band roars out of Ventura, Calif., with fierce blues-rock intentions. Together, they create a masterful blend, pulsating with music from both their worlds, driving hard on “Nashville Road.”

The album is filled with original material by Tomi, with an assist from Crooked Eye Tommy (Tommy Marsh) on “There Is A Train,” and lyrics by Anamarija Nekić on “Life Is Good.” They share the vocals, while Tommy adds guitar to the mix, with Tomi’s blues-inspired harp. The smartly crisp backers are Eric Robert on keys, Jasco Duende on guitar, Doug Seibert on bass, and Alphonso Wesby on drums.

The opening instrumental, “Hard Run,” lives up to its title, offering a taste of what’s to come with Tomi’s soaring harp runs kicked along by the crackling Crooked Eye band. Tommy opens the vocal duties on “Rock Dog,” chugging along over a percussive beat and wicked harp with an optimistic message: “When the world is dark as night I’ll be your light / When everything is wrong I’ll sing this rockin’ song.”

“Up Is Down” opens with a delicious pairing of harp and roadhouse piano before giving Tomi a gritty vocal turn to explain how “You can knock me down but I’ll get back up / I been through it all, you know I’ve had enough.”

An elegant, jazzy blend of harp and guitar opens “Bad Choices Make Good Stories,” handing the vocals back to Tommy for a philosophical turn: “Sometimes when I’m feeling down / I think about the road I’ve run / I been bad and I been good / But now I’m doing just what I should.”

“Hop Hop Shake” is a throbbing instrumental blues-rock that gives the band a chance to cook up something tasty as an ensemble, featuring a delicious piano break and searing harp lines. “Hard Candy” continues rocking with Marsh letting his sweet tooth do the talking: “Hard drivin’ and heavy drinkin’ / Hard candy, she’s a hard candy / Hard candy from the candy store.” Tomi returns to the mic for the bluesy “Keep On Moving On,” with sensuous harp: “I hope one day I’ll be far away / I don’t care what the people say / Cause I’m moving on, I’m moving on.”

Tommy offers a relaxed, easy-swinging vocal on “Life Is Good,” with a lyrical piano accent and some liquid guitar phrasing: “My days are beautiful, ’cause I’m not alone / And the nights are incredible when you love someone / Yeah life is good.” The closer is the ethereal “There Is A Train” with Tommy’s haunting vocals accented by his lap steel, Grady Clark’s slide guitar, and Bill Gilliam’s upright bass. The finale of this musical journey raises a fitting existential question: “Are you gonna live a life of love and spread good cheer? / Or will you choose he road of desolation? / This train gonna take you to heaven or to damnation.”

It’s most likely musical heaven, as Tomislav Goluban joins Crooked Eye Tommy with straight-ahead, hard-rocking blues on their international journey to “Nashville Road.” You’ll want to make sure you’re along for this joyous ride.

Here’s “Rock Dog” from the album:

Tracklist:
1.Hard Run/2:39
2.Rock Dog/4:03
3.Up Is Down/3:17
4.Bad Choices Make Good Stories/5:08
5.Hip Hop Shake/2:51
6.Hard Candy/3:07
7.Keep On Moving On 3:35
8.Life Is Good/3:27
9.There Is A Train/6:08

Roadhouse Album Review: Frank Bey’s soulful “Peace” is a joyous tribute to his musical life

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Frank Bey — “Peace” — Nola Blue Records (Jan. 17 release)

Some singers sing. And they do it well. Some pour their heart and soul into their vocals, creating magical musical moments — that’s the late Frank Bey.

Who is Frank Bey? He’s not exactly been a household word in blues circles. Although his regal vocals and soulful style should have certainly placed him there.

Bey’s backstory, like many of his contemporaries, began in gospel music, his in his native Millen Ga. At the age of four, Bey, his brother and two cousins formed “The Rising Sons” and toured the South. At 17, Bey joined the Otis Redding Revue as the opening act for several years. In the early 1970s, Bey formed a funk group, the Moorish Vanguard. A failed record deal and dispute with James Brown subsequently pushed Bey out of the music business for 17 years. He later opened a Philadelphia club called Smith’s, where Jeff Monjack and his jazz band were hired. Eventually, Monjack was recommended to put a band together when Bey decided to return to performing in 1996.

Bey’s debut album, “Steppin’ Out,” was released in 1998, but health issues interfered with his performing, and his second album, Blues In the Pocket,” came in 2007. Three more albums followed between 2013 and 2015: “You Don’t Know Nothing,” “Soul for Your Blues,” and “Not Goin’ Away.”

That brings us to Bey’s Nola Blue recording career — a revival of sorts, for his richly expressive vocals and impeccable singing style. This excellent posthumous collection, “Peace,” caps a pair of albums on the label: 2018’s “Back In Business,” which he certainly was, and 2020’s “All My Dues Are Paid,” which they certainly were, and which was nominated for a Grammy as Best Traditional Blues Album that year, shortly before Bey’s death at age 74.

“Peace” is filled with eleven tracks culled from Bey’s career that celebrate both its terrific musicality and Bey’s tremendous voice. The opener is Little Milton’s “That’s What Love Will Make You Do,” a tough and bluesy romp with the band crackling all around Bey’s deeply soulful vocals — it’s a 2015 recording, released here for the first time. “One Thing Every Day” is an upbeat ode to the joy of trying to make the world a better place. “Midnight and Day” adds a little funk to the mix.

“City Boy,” by Keb Mo’, is a gorgeous acoustic ballad, full of soul and the Frank Bey spirit, with an ethereal harp solo by Sark Damirjian. “Blues Comes Knockin'” is the first of a handful of songs created by Monjack, and this one deals with the blues directly — “When the blues come knockin’, don’t you let him in….”

“Walk With Me” is another enthusiastic blues that gives Bey more room to soar. “Bed For My Soul” is an acoustic gem with just Monjack on guitar behind Bey’s heartfelt vocals in a country blues throwback: “Got a bed for my body / but got no bed for my soul.” “If You Want Me” is a soul-stirring slow blues that simmers with emotion. “Blues in the Pocket” is tough and funky with a raunchy sax solo, then the mood shifts to a dramatic reading of Sam Cooke’s anthemic “Change Is Gonna Come.” The closer is a Bey favorite, his passionate rendering of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” It’s a fitting emotional finale to this outstanding tribute.

Monjack says of his years with Bey: “For over 25 years show after show, going on stage with Frank Bey was a joy. Frank’s connection to whatever that spiritual part of music is, was strong. His singing came straight from the depths of his ancestors and connected to the deepest part of everyone’s soul who was there. There were no wrong notes – it was beyond that. Pure music.”

Nola Blue president Sallie Bengston says of this album: “Peace was Frank’s vision. Peace was Frank’s mission. Peace is his legacy. And now, “Peace,” the Frank Bey compilation album, will be released on his birthday, January 17, 2025; an enduring tribute to The Southern Gentleman of the Blues.”

Give this album a serious listen. Add Frank Bey to your list of great blues singers. Imagine the possibilities.

Peace.

A 2012 live version of “Imagine”

Tracklist:

01. That’s What Love Will Make You Do
02. One Thing Every Day
03. Midnight and Day
04. City Boy
05. Blues Comes Knockin’
06. Walk With Me
07. Bed for My Soul
08. If You Want Me
09. Blues In the Pocket
10. Change is Gonna Come
11. Imagine

Roadhouse Album Review: Ed Alstrom takes a magical lyrical journey on “Flee Though None Pursue”

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Ed Alstrom — “Flee Though None Pursue” — Haywire

He calls himself an “itinerant musician and musical disaster relief specialist.” He’s performed with the likes of Chuck Berry, Leonard Bernstein, Bette Midler, Herbie Hancock, Steely Dan and, yes, even the New York Yankees, where he reigns as the stadium’s weekend organist.

He is Ed Alstrom, a veteran musician, singer and songwriter with unrivaled skills on the organ, and not incidentally, many other instruments. On his latest release, “Flee Though None Pursue,” Alstrom deftly handles lead and background vocals, Hammond/Farfisa/pipe organs, piano, Fender Rhodes, clavinet, synthesizers, guitars, bass, mandolin, melodica, alto sax, accordion, theremin and percussion, weaving them all into his original musical style, with a varied group of talented musicians. He’ll be representing the North Jersey Blues Society in the Solo/Duo competition at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in January.

The album is also filled with the wit and wisdom of Alstrom’s masterful songwriting, with an often otherworldly lyricism devoted to his eloquent storytelling in the 18 original tracks. The title cut illustrates that internal and eternal dilemma: “So i remain marooned with this insanely troubled mind / And try to map a future while I run from what’s behind / But what’s behind me is not there, so what is there left for me to do? / Face eternity uncertain and keep fleeing though none pursue.”

Other themes surface as a question in the sprightly opener, “Be Nice,” with Alstrom asking “I wonder what it might be like / If folks would just be nice.” As if in response to Little Milton’s classic “The Blues is Alright,” Alstrom takes a more introspective view with the organ-fueled “The Blues Ain’t All Right” – “Nobody’s blues are unimportant / Nobody’s misery is trite /

Nobody’s served right by sufferin’ – and the blues ain’t never all right.” A slashing slide guitar highlights the melancholy vocal of a deep “Slow Blues” – “MIsery has found you – and you just can’t be free / Until you hear these slow slow blues, and then you’re in mighty good company.”

The bouncy shuffle of “The Truth” serves as counterpoint to its message: “On the road to truth you take, there’s only two mistakes: don’t go all the way or don’t even start.” The hypnotic rhythm of “Sick” is reminiscent of the classic Doc Pomus song “Lonely Avenue” by Ray Charles, but adds its own lyrical strength: “Sick of livin’ and dyin’ all at the same time / Sick of tryin’ / Sick of cryin’ / Sick of this saga that’s nobody’s drag but mine.”

“Always Near” is a gorgeous, melodic love song with jazzy overtones and lyrics by Kay Murcer: “Hold my memory, make some new ones, take me on where you go.” “The Record People” is a bit of honky-tonk piano behind a whimsical complaint about the music business: “The record people came tonight,,. they came to dig my grave.” The uptempo “Sometimes” floats along, followed by the witty take of “Screwed” – “Bein’ a fool’s too expensive – I’m gonna stop gettin’ screwed.” A bit of optimism shows up in the clever wordplay of “H-O-P-E-L-E-S-S,” – “Gonna rise up from the depths and gonna grab that big brass ring.”

The easy-swinging “Great Notch” describes a favorite watering hole where “You can decompress or just plain debauch.” Then “Fruitcake” rolls in with some New Orleans piano, dedicated to a loopy girlfriend. “Yours Is a Place” is a delicate love song: “I long to live my lifetimes at your place.” More rollicking piano leads into “Success,” which, alas, “just can’t be achieved.” The “Crossfire” of love is a bittersweet ode to lost romance. “I Drunk You Drive” rocks hard with the message of its title. The closer, “Don’t Cry at My Funeral,” is a spiritually uplifting conclusion to an album overflowing with thoughtful lyrics: “Don’t cry for me, I’m happy, I’m free / And I won’t be cryin’ for you.”

With “Flee Though None Pursue,” Ed Alstrom has created a magical lyrical journey crafted with lively, imaginative storytelling that draws you in with his word wizardry and carries you along on his instrumental genius. You are hereby invited along for the joyous ride.

Here’s an interview with Ed Alstrom by Michael Limnios at Blues.gr

Here’s the album title track, “Flee Though None Pursue”

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