Podcasts about blues festival

This performance used with permission from Theron Brown. If you're a frequent lister to this program we mention often that Theron Brown is the hardest working performer in show business. From his work as Artistic Director with the I Promise School to his role overseeing the annual Rubber City Jazz and Blues Festival, Theron is intimately involved with making Northeast Ohio a magnet for musical talent. For this performance, Theron brings the Fender Rhodes Mk II to life with his trio. While the Hammond B3 gets the accolades for being the center of Soul Jazz, The Fender Rhodes might not get the credit it deserves for the warmth, authenticity and versatility it delivered to audiences. At least, the ones built before 1983.  If you like what you hear today and are looking for more jazz records focused around the Fender Rhodes, All About Jazz has an excellent article on this topic, written by Chris May. For now, though, featuring Zaire Darden on Drums, Jordan McBride on Bass and Theron Brown on Piano and Fender Rhodes and from a sold out April 26th, 2024 performance, it's the Theron Brown Trio – Live at the Bop Stop. There is No Greater Love - Jones Who Shot John? - Wilson Feel Like Making Love - McDaniels Swingin' at the Haven - Marsalis For more information on the program, click on the Live at the Bop Stop Radio Show link at thebopstop.org.

In this months show Joff Lacey and Geoff Wootton discuss a whole smorgasbord of topics including Social Media, The Pope, Artificial Intelligence and Football. Geoff plugs the Petersfield Jazz & Blues Festival which he is compering and they also send out a plea for a guest for their next recording.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 At the April 28th Fort Bragg City Council meeting, the City's independent auditor gave Fort Bragg the highest rating for audits.  Whippy's annual financial report was also good news.  The city spent less than it took in for 2024, resulting in a 2-million-dollar surplus.Council approved debt financing for the broadband project totaling 6.93 million.  Economic Devwelopment Manager, Sarah McCormick explained how residents can track the project, including ongoing press releases and a city web page.  She also explained why the contractor hit a water main in the first week of construction and the City's plans to mitigate this type of disruption going forward.  Assistant Director of Engineering, Chantell O'Neal presented on four upcoming construction projects at Fort Bragg city facilities that will disrupt public access.  A new floor is being installed at the city offices on Franklin.  Efforts will be made to accommodate public needs, but there may be some inconveniences. The long-promised upgrade of Bainbridge Park will disrupt its use through November.  The children's play area should remain open most of that time. At Town Hall, the public restrooms will close through July to be remodeled.  During this time, Town Hall will not be available for rentals, however, official meetings will continue to be held there.   At the police station, a security upgrade in the lobby will restrict public access.   Mayor Godeke provided an update from the ad hoc culture and education committee, highlighting the ongoing improvements of the old Fort building on Franklin.  The building will be an educational resource about local tribes and their culture.  It will have rotating displays and will host the public.  The Council approved a land acknowledgement that addresses the original Pomo tribe's loss of their land.  The Executive Director of the Noyo Center for Marine Science, Sheila Seimans, updated the council on the aquaculture program and the la bonatory. The la bonatory is scheduled to break ground on the headlands this summer.  The aquaculture program, which is part of the city's blue economy initiative, is still a work in progress.  Permitting issues have held up some studies, but Seimans remains hopeful that they will be able to grow bull kelp and abalone at the Noyo Harbor field station.Under consent, the Fort Bragg City Council authorized the donation of surplus IT equipment to local non-profits.  Approved a change order to Akeff Construction for the EV installations at the police station, increasing the approximately $160,000 contract to $182,000.  And they approved a 1-year contract with Lumos and Associates for on-call engineering and surveying for up to $72,000.  Finally, Whippy announced that the CV Starr Center will now be open on Sundays starting May 18th and that the first annual Blues Festival, which the City sponsored, is sold out, netting the City $40,000.  A free concert is planned for Saturday, May 3rd, on Laurel at Franklin from 10:30 am - 12:30 pm. 

On tonight's show, I'll have Kathy Stokes, Director of Fraud Prevention Programs, AARP Fraud Watch Network. Kathy Stokes leads AARP's efforts in helping members and other consumers protect themselves and their families from scams and fraud and she will be sharing her expertise. In the second segment, Van Sykes with Bob Sykes Bar B Q to share about the Bob Sykes BBQ & Blues Festival coming up on April 26th in Bessemer, Alabama.

On tonight's show, we are going to highlight Paigey's Helper effort for a service dog with Paige's mom, Sylvia Pollard & Van Sykes with Bob Sykes Bar B Q as he shares about the upcoming Bob Sykes BBQ & Blues Festival.

Honoring Athens Bible School's George Williams & Van Sykes with Bob Sykes Bar B Q & Blues Festival by Mark White

Lahden Blues Mafia järjestää Grand Blues Festivalin Opiston Kunkussa lauantaina 5. huhtikuuta. Mitä kaikkea on luvassa? Siitä kertoo Sara Perttusen haastattelussa lisää järjestäjätahon, Lahden Blues Mafian, puheenjohtaja Ismo Haavisto. Hän on mukana myös kansainvälisessä the Hustlers kokoonpanossa, joka tekee ensiesiintymisen Suomessa. Haastattelussa myös the Hustlers -kokoonpanosta laulaja Gregory Boyd. Hän kertoo esimerkiksi rakkaudestaan blues -musiikkiin.Haavisto soittaa itsekansainvälisessä The Hustlers -kokoonpanossa. Luvassa on soulahtavaa,funkahtavaa

On this edition of TMWS, Dr. Omar Noor & Patient Mark are sharing about psoriasis and the impact that it has on so many lives. After that, I have Van Sykes with Bob Sykes Bar B Q to share about the 14th Annual Bob Sykes Bar B Q & Blues Festival! Listen & share.

On this edition of TMWS, we are starting out at Central State Bank in Alexander City, Alabama, with Bill "Bubba" Bussey! Bubba will be sharing about his radio career and his new podcast venture, Bubba on the Lake! After that, we'll have Van Sykes of Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q as he shares about the upcoming 14th Annual Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q & Blues Festival.

In this spirited episode, dive into the world of event production and community influence with Jeff Hocker, the visionary behind Hocker Productions. Known for his exceptional work in Palm Springs, including the Palm Springs Food and Wine Festival, Palm Springs Health Run & Wellness Festival, and Halloween on Arenas, Jeff shares intriguing stories of his career path from media to event production. Discover insights into his dedication to creating captivating experiences, the importance of music in events, and his commitment to supporting local charities. Jeff also discusses his exciting plans and visions for future events in the Coachella Valley while reminiscing about his vibrant history in San Francisco. Don't miss his reflections on legacy, the unending passion for what he does, and an entertaining look at the joyful chaos of bringing large-scale celebrations to life. Full of lively banter and engaging topics, this episode uncovers the unseen work behind some of the Coachella Valley's most beloved happenings.Takeaways:• The Essence of Event Production: Jeff's journey from media to becoming an influential figure in the Palm Springs events scene.• Music as a Core Element: How Jeff incorporates music into all his events to enhance the guest experience.• Community and Charity Focus: Jeff's deep involvement in local philanthropy and his initiatives for supporting Coachella Valley charities.• Effective Event Planning Tips: Importance of having a precise run of show and attention to detail for smooth event execution.• Lessons in Public Relations and Marketing: Insight from Jeff's experience on building meaningful community partnerships and innovative promotions.• Memorable Event Experiences: Creating impactful and engaging events that captivate audiences and leave participants wondering about next year's offerings.• Upcoming Projects and Aspirations: Exciting plans for a Rhythm and Blues Festival and the drive to produce unmatched event experiences.• Personal Insights on Slowing Down: Jeff's passion and plans for future relaxation after building a longstanding event legacy in the Valley.#BigConversationsLittleBarPodcast #PatrickEvans #RandyFlorence #JeffHocker #HockerProductions #PalmSpringsFoodAndWineFestival #PalmSpringsHealthRunBikeRideAndWellnessFestival #HalloweenOnArenas #PSGMC #SkipsLittleBar #McCallumTheatre #MutualBroadcastingSystem #CoachellaValleyResidents #CommunityImpact #EventProduction #Philanthropy #PalmSpringsEvents #PRInsights #MusicAtFestivals #FuturePlans #LegacyBuilding #NonProfitSupport #CoachellaValleyEvents

Cultura em Pauta #918 17/03/2025

As part of the 2025 Jazz and Blues Festival the Friends of Kiama Library hosted an interview with Author Jeff Apter about his latest book Carl Perkins; The King of Rockabilly.Jeff Apter lives in Wollongong with his family and is a former Rolling Stone journalist and author of more than 30 books about music and musicians including biographies of Neil Finn, The Bee Gees, Marc Hunter, Shirley Strachan, Silverchair, Keith Urban, John Farnham and a number 1 Australian bestseller, High Voltage: The Life of Angus Young AC/DC's Last Man Standing. Jeff was interviewed by comedian Marty Bright and the talk was introduced by Robyn Dorney from the Friends of Kiama Library. Recorded 8.3.25

02/07/25: Joel Heitkamp and Jack Michaels are joined in the KFGO studio by the President of the FM Redhawks, Brad Thom. Brad announces the lineup for the Fargo Blues Festival this summer and tells you where to buy your tickets. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A glimpse of gospel, jazz, and soul from the great legends is what inspires the sound of pianist Theron Brown's music. But the reason he plays is to encourage and influence people through his talents. Originally from Zanesville, Ohio, Theron currently resides in Akron, Ohio, where he is Professor of Practice at The University of Akron teaching jazz piano, and the program coordinator for Curated Storefront's Artist Residency Program at the ‘I Promise School'. Theron also serves as an educator for the interactive piano learning app, Playground Sessions. He is heavily involved in the music community as the founder and artistic director of the Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival, which takes place annually in Akron, Ohio's downtown historic district. Theron performs and tours regularly with his trio that includes Zaire Darden on drums and Jordan McBride on bass. He is currently working on his second album. Series: "Arts Channel " [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40259]

Tab Benoit performs live at the 2024 Boca Blues Festival on Edition 679 of Blues Radio International, with Etta James and Eric Lindell.Find more at BluesRadioInternational.net

A glimpse of gospel, jazz, and soul from the great legends is what inspires the sound of pianist Theron Brown's music. But the reason he plays is to encourage and influence people through his talents. Originally from Zanesville, Ohio, Theron currently resides in Akron, Ohio, where he is Professor of Practice at The University of Akron teaching jazz piano, and the program coordinator for Curated Storefront's Artist Residency Program at the ‘I Promise School'. Theron also serves as an educator for the interactive piano learning app, Playground Sessions. He is heavily involved in the music community as the founder and artistic director of the Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival, which takes place annually in Akron, Ohio's downtown historic district. Theron performs and tours regularly with his trio that includes Zaire Darden on drums and Jordan McBride on bass. He is currently working on his second album. Series: "Arts Channel " [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40259]

A glimpse of gospel, jazz, and soul from the great legends is what inspires the sound of pianist Theron Brown's music. But the reason he plays is to encourage and influence people through his talents. Originally from Zanesville, Ohio, Theron currently resides in Akron, Ohio, where he is Professor of Practice at The University of Akron teaching jazz piano, and the program coordinator for Curated Storefront's Artist Residency Program at the ‘I Promise School'. Theron also serves as an educator for the interactive piano learning app, Playground Sessions. He is heavily involved in the music community as the founder and artistic director of the Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival, which takes place annually in Akron, Ohio's downtown historic district. Theron performs and tours regularly with his trio that includes Zaire Darden on drums and Jordan McBride on bass. He is currently working on his second album. Series: "Arts Channel " [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40261]

A glimpse of gospel, jazz, and soul from the great legends is what inspires the sound of pianist Theron Brown's music. But the reason he plays is to encourage and influence people through his talents. Originally from Zanesville, Ohio, Theron currently resides in Akron, Ohio, where he is Professor of Practice at The University of Akron teaching jazz piano, and the program coordinator for Curated Storefront's Artist Residency Program at the ‘I Promise School'. Theron also serves as an educator for the interactive piano learning app, Playground Sessions. He is heavily involved in the music community as the founder and artistic director of the Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival, which takes place annually in Akron, Ohio's downtown historic district. Theron performs and tours regularly with his trio that includes Zaire Darden on drums and Jordan McBride on bass. He is currently working on his second album. Series: "Arts Channel " [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40261]

All Music Used by Permission From Theron Brown You could argue at this point that Theron Brown is the glue that holds the Akron, Ohio jazz scene together. Between his work as the founder and director of the annual Rubber City Jazz and Blues Festival, the artistic director of the I Promise School, the artist coordinator for the Curated Storefront and his heavy involvement with the Jazz Education program at the University of Akron, he's arguably the hardest working man in show business. So we were lucky to manage to snag his trio for this performance, which features a guest appearance from Cleveland Jazz Orchestra saxophonist Johnny Chochran. Featuring Johnny, in his first Bop Stop appearance in two years, Zaire Darden on Drums, Jordan McBride on Bass and Theron Brown on Piano – and from a December 8th, 2023 performance – it's the Theron Brown Trio – Featuring Johnny Cochran – Live at the Bop Stop.

A glimpse of gospel, jazz, and soul from the great legends is what inspires the sound of pianist Theron Brown's music. But the reason he plays is to encourage and influence people through his talents. Originally from Zanesville, Ohio, Theron currently resides in Akron, Ohio, where he is Professor of Practice at The University of Akron teaching jazz piano, and the program coordinator for Curated Storefront's Artist Residency Program at the ‘I Promise School'. Theron also serves as an educator for the interactive piano learning app, Playground Sessions. He is heavily involved in the music community as the founder and artistic director of the Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival, which takes place annually in Akron, Ohio's downtown historic district. Theron performs and tours regularly with his trio that includes Zaire Darden on drums and Jordan McBride on bass. He is currently working on his second album. Series: "Arts Channel " [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40260]

A glimpse of gospel, jazz, and soul from the great legends is what inspires the sound of pianist Theron Brown's music. But the reason he plays is to encourage and influence people through his talents. Originally from Zanesville, Ohio, Theron currently resides in Akron, Ohio, where he is Professor of Practice at The University of Akron teaching jazz piano, and the program coordinator for Curated Storefront's Artist Residency Program at the ‘I Promise School'. Theron also serves as an educator for the interactive piano learning app, Playground Sessions. He is heavily involved in the music community as the founder and artistic director of the Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival, which takes place annually in Akron, Ohio's downtown historic district. Theron performs and tours regularly with his trio that includes Zaire Darden on drums and Jordan McBride on bass. He is currently working on his second album. Series: "Arts Channel " [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40023]

A glimpse of gospel, jazz, and soul from the great legends is what inspires the sound of pianist Theron Brown's music. But the reason he plays is to encourage and influence people through his talents. Originally from Zanesville, Ohio, Theron currently resides in Akron, Ohio, where he is Professor of Practice at The University of Akron teaching jazz piano, and the program coordinator for Curated Storefront's Artist Residency Program at the ‘I Promise School'. Theron also serves as an educator for the interactive piano learning app, Playground Sessions. He is heavily involved in the music community as the founder and artistic director of the Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival, which takes place annually in Akron, Ohio's downtown historic district. Theron performs and tours regularly with his trio that includes Zaire Darden on drums and Jordan McBride on bass. He is currently working on his second album. Series: "Arts Channel " [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40023]

A glimpse of gospel, jazz, and soul from the great legends is what inspires the sound of pianist Theron Brown's music. But the reason he plays is to encourage and influence people through his talents. Originally from Zanesville, Ohio, Theron currently resides in Akron, Ohio, where he is Professor of Practice at The University of Akron teaching jazz piano, and the program coordinator for Curated Storefront's Artist Residency Program at the ‘I Promise School'. Theron also serves as an educator for the interactive piano learning app, Playground Sessions. He is heavily involved in the music community as the founder and artistic director of the Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival, which takes place annually in Akron, Ohio's downtown historic district. Theron performs and tours regularly with his trio that includes Zaire Darden on drums and Jordan McBride on bass. He is currently working on his second album. Series: "Arts Channel " [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40023]

Blues Disciples interviews Ms. Augusta Palmer on her film "The Blues Society," exploring the Memphis Blues Festivals' legacy and rare 1969 footage. Blues Disciples City: Maplewood Address: 1858 Springfield Ave Website: https://www.bluesdisciples.org Phone: +1 908 510 9539 Email: jamie@bluesdisciples.org

The October 28th Fort Bragg City Council meeting was mostly uneventful.  Two items drew interest from the public.  The council approved the use of $20,000 in special funding for the purchase of a freezer and gave a nod to City Manager Isaac Whippy to hire Pam Bell to develop a Blues Festival in 2025 in conjunction with the Visit Fort Bragg Committee.Under the consent calendar, the council approved agreements with PG&E for relocation and upgrade to facilitate the solar project at the CV Starr Center, authorized change orders for the City Hall roof replacement, accepted federal funding in the amount of 10.3 million for the municipal broadband project, and approved a professional services contract for administration services of the broadband project.

Augusta Palmer is a documentary filmmaker and scholar. Her newest film is “The Blues Society”, about the 1960s Memphis Country Blues Festival and the blues revival in Americal. The film won Best Feature Documentary at the Oxford Film Festival. She also directed the short film “Order My Steps” about an incarcerated woman reaching out to her estranged daughter. The film debuted in Rwanda at the Women Deliver Film & Culture Festival. And she's a professor at St. Francis College in NYC.My featured song is my reimagined version of the Skip James classic “I'm So Glad” by my band Project Grand Slam. Spotify link.---------------------------------------------The Follow Your Dream Podcast:Top 1% of all podcasts with Listeners in 200 countries!For more information and other episodes of the podcast click here. To subscribe to the podcast click here .To subscribe to our weekly Follow Your Dream Podcast email click here.To Rate and Review the podcast click here.“Dream With Robert”. Click here.—----------------------------------------“THE GIFT” is Robert's new single featuring his song arranged by Grammy winning arranger Michael Abene. Praised by David Amram, John Helliwell, Joe La Barbera, Tony Carey, Fay Claassen, Antonio Farao, Danny Gottlieb and Leslie Mandoki.Click HERE for all links.—-------------------------------------“LOU'S BLUES” is Robert's recent single. Called “Fantastic! Great playing and production!” (Mark Egan - Pat Metheny Group/Elements) and “Digging it!” (Peter Erskine - Weather Report)!Click HERE for all links.—----------------------------------------“THE RICH ONES”. Robert's recent single. With guest artist Randy Brecker (Blood Sweat & Tears) on flugelhorn. Click HERE for all links.—---------------------------------------“MILES BEHIND”, Robert's debut album, recorded in 1994, was “lost” for the last 30 years. It's now been released for streaming. Featuring Randy Brecker (Blood Sweat & Tears), Anton Fig (The David Letterman Show), Al Foster (Miles Davis), Tim Ries (The Rolling Stones), Jon Lucien and many more. Called “Hip, Tight and Edgy!” Click here for all links.—--------------------------------------“IT'S ALIVE!” is Robert's latest Project Grand Slam album. Featuring 13 of the band's Greatest Hits performed “live” at festivals in Pennsylvania and Serbia.Reviews:"An instant classic!" (Melody Maker)"Amazing record...Another win for the one and only Robert Miller!" (Hollywood Digest)"Close to perfect!" (Pop Icon)"A Masterpiece!" (Big Celebrity Buzz)"Sterling effort!" (Indie Pulse)"Another fusion wonder for Project Grand Slam!" (MobYorkCity)Click here for all links.Click here for song videos—-----------------------------------------Audio production:Jimmy RavenscroftKymera Films Connect with Augusta at:Website - www.thebluessocietyfilm.comInstagram - www.instagram.com/thebluessocietyfilm/Facebook - www.facebook.com/thebluessocietyfilm/ Connect with the Follow Your Dream Podcast:Website - www.followyourdreampodcast.comEmail Robert - robert@followyourdreampodcast.com Follow Robert's band, Project Grand Slam, and his music:Website - www.projectgrandslam.comYouTubeSpotify MusicApple MusicEmail - pgs@projectgrandslam.com

The Dreadful Snakes kick-off this episode of the Back Porch Bluegrass Show, and then we've got Balsam Range, Jeremy Stephens, Dr Pete Wernick (playing some pretty way-out sounding banjo licks), Longview and Ramona Church. I've got Dale Jett & Hello Stranger back this week, and the Trenwiths (previewing their appearance at the Raglan Country & Blues Festival), and a classic from Flatt & Scruggs ( because it IS a bluegrass show!)

Terry David Mulligan joins Blues lifer Robert Finley in the media tent at the Edmonton Folk Festival. Robert spins the stories of how he went from losing most of his sight to becoming the hot new voice in the blues. Inviting himself to do a cold walk-on at the Blues Festival in St Helena. It's quite a story he tells.  The crowd loved him and that set things in motion. The Music Maker Relief Foundation, a non-profit blues support system,  heard him busking in the streets and offered to help. Finley released his first album “Age Don't Mean a Thing” in 2016. Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys heard him and they started recording together – with Dan as producer. They've now done 4 albums together. Each one is bigger and better. The latest is Black Bayou. There will be no more busking for Robert Finley. He's 70 years old and an overnight sensation!!

Today, our 1st stop combines 3 arts of storytelling at Pacesetter Gallery in Flowood, during Open Mic Poetry & Blues Night, happening 9/6, with Owner, Keri Davis, Poet, Jason Ervin, and Musician, Brian Ballou, for a show and tell, then we're off to check out what's happening around your neck of the woods, before a final stop in Clarkdale at this year's Red's Old-Timers Blues Festival, happening 8/31, and Delta Blues Museum Panel Discussion, happening 8/30, honoring the late Red Paden, Owner of Red's Lounge, and in with us is his son, & MS House District 26 Rep., Orlando Paden to tell us more! Stay tuned, buckle up and hold on tight for your Next Stop MS!A Night At Red's Juke Joint In The Mississippi Delta Is A True Blues Experience - NPR 4-Mintue Listen"What's Happening Around Your Neck of the Woods" Event Listing:Less Work, S'more Camping WeekendSecond Chance Day @ The Library5th Annual Booker Fest!46th Annual Prairie Arts FestivalDat Delta Hot Wing Jubilee FestivalMPBTV Highlights the 2024 'YG&E Awards'Labor Day Weekend All White Boat PartyDemocratic Labor Day Salute to Working People!MPB Learning Presents: 'Day of da Vinci' in ColumbusNext Stop, Mississippi is your #1 on-air source for information about upcoming events and attractions across the state. Get to know the real Mississippi! Each week the show's hosts, Germaine Flood and Kamel King, Tourism Development Bureau Manger with Visit Mississippi, highlight well-known and unknown places in Mississippi with the best food, parks, music and arts. Check out our Sipp Events calendar to help plan your next trip! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Randy and Caly come to you from the 27th Annual Briggs Farm Blues Festival, and talk to coordinators Donny Shields and Dena Briggs about the exciting acts, convenient camping, and family-friendly atmosphere of this unique northeast Pennsylvania music festival.Subscribe to RV Destinations Magazine at https://RVDestinationsmagazine.comCheck out the 28th Annual Briggs Farm Blues Festival on July 10, 11, and 12, 2025. Tickets go on sale on October 1, 2024 at https://briggsfarm.com

We're talking about The Cooking Studio at the Harbor Park Jazz Rhythm & Blues Festival coming up this Saturday in Kenosha. We speak with Teri Jacobson (Kenosha County Treasurer) who is captain of the Cooking Studio ..... and with two chefs from Bartolotta Restaurants in the Milwaukee area: Aaron Bickham, Corporate Executive Chef, and Connor McNeil, Executive Chef at Joey Gerard's, a Bartolotta Super Club in Greendale. McNeil will be the special guest chef for this year's festival. Tim Mahone joins us for part of the conversation as well.

Grammy-nominated jazz musician Jonathan Butler is the headliner for this Saturday's Harbor Park Jazz Rhythm & Blues Festival in Kenosha. He was born in South Africa in abject poverty at a time when Apartheid was in full effect - but managed to break through in an unprecedented way- becoming the first Black musician to have their work played on white radio. His music was an inspiration and comfort to Nelson Mandela during the last years of his imprisonment. After the interview, I play several of his songs in their entirety.

Bryan Shinn is in studio on Afternoons Live with Tyler Axness to tell you everything you need to know about the upcoming Fargo Blues Festival.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

La tercera edición de Bilbao Blues Festival se celebrará del 25 al 28 de julio con una programación gratuita repleta de conciertos. Se desarrollarán en el Arenal, ese será el escenario principal, pero también habrá actividades para todos los públicos en distintos puntos de la Villa. En este 'Hoy por Hoy Bilbao-Bizkaia' conocemos las novedades de este año

THE BLUES SOCIETY is a re-evaluation of the 1960s seen through the lens of the Memphis Country Blues Festival (1966-1969). It's the story of Blues masters like Furry Lewis and Robert Wilkins, who had attained fame in the 1920s but were living in obscurity by the 1960s. It's also the story of a group of white artists from the North and the South who created a celebration of African American music in a highly segregated city. THE BLUES SOCIETY follows the festival from its start in 1966 as an impromptu happening, through a period of cross-pollinization with New York's East Village scene, and up to the 1969 Festival, which mushroomed into a 3-day event and garnered substantial print and television coverage including an appearance on Steve Allen's national PBS show, Sounds of Summer. Festival co-founder and legendary music Executive Nancy Jeffries says, “Everyone remembers the 60s as a party, but there was a seriousness of purpose to what we were doing.” Furry Lewis worked for decades sweeping the city streets, so the efforts to recognize his musical accomplishments echo the 1968 Sanitation Strike, where each worker's sign proclaimed “I AM A MAN,” underlining theracist refusal to honor African Americans' basic humanity. Reaching into the present, the film ends in a 2017 concert where Rev. John Wilkins returns to the stage he last shared with his father 48 years earlier. What is the legacy of the Memphis Country Blues Festival, and who do the blues belong to in 2020?   On this episode, I will speak to Filmmaker and Scholar Augusta Palmer, daughter of Robert Palmer, one of the founding members of the Memphis Country Blues Society, who, with her team, worked relentlessly to get this film to the public. Joining Augusta in this episode will be The American Songster Don Flemons, who is featured in the film.

Speaking of Travel continues the LEAF Global Arts Series with Melissa McKinney, International Blues Star, LEAF teaching artist, and member of the popular band, Mama and the Ruckus, and Lucho Serapio of Asheville Multicultural. Melissa curated the artist lineup for the Black Mountain Blues inaugural festival taking place in downtown Black Mountain, NC, with hundreds of musicians and true Blues music.  Black Mountain Blues Festival is a collaborative event between LEAF Global Arts and White Horse Black Mountain, two non-profit organizations dedicated to connecting communities through music and culture-keeping initiatives. Melissa shares how the festival unfolded and the excitement in launching a new festival. Also, Lucho Serapio was born in Mexico and later created Asheville Multicultural, the first bilingual online platform highlighting the vibrant and international culinary scene in Asheville, NC.Lucho shares his experience as an entrepreneur, his involvement with LEAF Global Arts, and his vision to connect the people and voices of Western North Carolina.Save the date for the LEAF Global Arts Festival: October 17-20, 2024 Tune in! Only on Speaking of Travel.Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Sharon chatted with Errol Johnson about the events and the long history of helping out. www.westislandbluesfestival.com 

Hi. Tom D'Antoni back in The Artichoke for another OMN Coffeeshop Conversation. Next time our guest will be Yvonne Lerch, director of the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival which is coming up soon. Also upcoming right here will be bass player Kenny Goldstein, who is also an ace car mechanic. And you'll be happy to hear that OMN National Editor Art Levine has completed his mammoth story, not for us…and it turns out his appearance on this podcast is a double- header, half on UFO's and half on AI. Today, an old friend from our days and nights at the Waterfront Blues Festival. Amanda Gresham will introduce us to a new EP from United By Music and we'll get the lowdown on it and the wonderful work that organization does. So right now, once again, let's meet Amanda Gresham.

Join me, Matt, and Amy McWilliams as we go through the Columbia Pike Blues Festival, hour by hour. Thank you to everyone who helped to make the day so special, to all the sponsors, volunteers, workers, planners, and residents of the Pike! Support The Conner & Smith Show on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/ConnerandSmith --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/connerandsmithshow/message

On this episode of GTK', we explore the rich history and vibrant atmosphere of the Briggs Farm Blues Festival, a beloved event in Nescopeck, PA for the past 27 years. We sat down with owner, Dena Briggs, and marketing director, Donny Shields, to learn about the festival's diverse blues lineup, camping amenities, and family-friendly vibe. We covered everything, up to and including private port-a-potties! Yeah, you heard that right!If you or someone you know wants to be featured in our next podcast, message us on Facebook!

There's a type of blues music that is native to Chicago. It can be characterized by its use of guitar, harmonica and rhythm sections. Between June 6-9, the largest free blues festival in the world is returning to Chicago. Legendary bluesman Buddy Guy will headline in one of his final performances. Reset checks in with three blues musicians to learn about the scene in Chicago and what to expect for the fest this year. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Every year at this time, we get together with Peter Dammann, Artistic Director of the Waterfront Blues Festival and ace guitar slinger to find out who's in the festival lineup. He's joining me in the Artichoke Music Café. Next week Lo Steele will be here and coming up guitarist Eddie Martinez and also OMN's National Editor Art Levine will be talking to us from Washington D.C. But now lets turn our attention to the fourth of July and the shores of the Willamette where tens of thousands of fans gather at the Waterfront Blues Festival. Here's Peter Dammann to let you in on who's playing this time around.

In the first segment, I am talking with Officer Lane Harper after his receiving the National Life Group Do Good Heroes Award. After that, I am coming to you from Bob Sykes Bar B Q as I talk with Van Sykes about the upcoming 13th Annual BBQ & Blues Festival. I hope you will listen and share.

On this MADM, Van Sykes is sharing where his love of blues music began as we get ready for the 13th Annual BBQ & Blues Festival on April 20th in Bessemer, Alabama! Sponsor: MarMac Real Estate www.marmac.us

In the first segment, I am talking with Officer Lane Harper after his receiving the National Life Group Do Good Heroes Award. After that, I am coming to you from Bob Sykes Bar B Q as I talk with Van Sykes about the upcoming 13th Annual BBQ & Blues Festival. I hope you will listen and share.

We're not at the Café at Artichoke Music this time. We're in Seaside Oregon at the Seaside Jazz and Blues Festival on March 16rh for a very special occasion . We told composer/pianist Gordon Lee that we wanted to talk to him onstage about the set he was about to play and also his new album. In reality we were going to present to him the first annual award in the name of the late beloved drummer and teacher Carlton Jackson for Excellence in Musical Education and Musicianship. Gordon, a friend and long-time musical collaborator with Carlton did not know anything about it. We surprised him. It was quite a moment.

Jam out with Randy and Caly as they preview the 2024 Briggs Farm Blues Festival in Briggsville, Pennsylvania, and speak with festival organizers Dena Briggs and Donnie Shields about the festival's lineup, vendors, and camping and RV facilities.Subscribe to RV Destinations Magazine at www.RVDestinationsmagazine.com .Learn more about the Briggs Farm Blues Festival at www.briggsfarm.com.

On tonight's show, I'm coming to you from Bob Sykes Bar B Q as I have special guests Darryl Fuhrman with Lettermen of the U.S.A & Van Sykes owner of Bob Sykes Bar B Q! We'll be talking with Darryl about the upcoming One Yard at a Time Gala for LOTUSA & Van about the upcoming Bob Sykes BBQ & Blues Festival.

Hear about travel to the Charente region of southwest France as the Amateur Traveler talks to Kylie Lang from LifeInRuralFrance.com about her adopted home. https://amateurtraveler.com/travel-to-the-charente-region-of-france/ The Charente region, part of Nouvelle Aquitaine in southwest France, is known for its charming sunflower fields, historical chateaux, and rich history. Visitors to the Charente can explore picturesque vineyards, taste world-renowned cognac, and indulge in fresh oysters. The region hosts daily markets offering fresh produce throughout the year, providing an authentic taste of French life. Its quaint villages appear almost frozen in time, creating a sense of stepping back to the 15th century. Eleanor of Aquitaine, a prominent historical figure, played a significant role in this region. She was the only woman to be queen of two countries, France and England. The Charente, which was under English rule for about 300 years, now has a diverse community of English-speaking expatriates. Angoulême, one of the notable towns in the Poitou Charente region, sits on a hill with ancient roots dating back to Roman times. The city is also known as the European capital of comics, hosting an International Comic Festival annually. It features impressive murals and a well-known automobile race. Kylie suggests exploring the Hotel de Ville, which offers insightful tours about its history, and walking the city's ramparts. Angoulême's strategic location allows easy access to Bordeaux, which is just under 90 minutes away. Bordeaux, often referred to as the capital of wine in France, provides a great day trip opportunity. Visitors can explore the Cité du Vin, a modern wine museum offering immersive experiences and a panoramic view of Bordeaux. She also recommends the unusual Bassins des Lumières which is a digital art museum in an old German submarine base. Cognac, another jewel in the Charente's crown, is renowned for its historical significance and world-famous cognac houses such as Hennessy, Martell, and Remy Martin. Kylie recommends the Hennessy tour, a three-hour experience that delves into the cognac-making process, and a river cruise to witness the scenic beauty of the region. The Chateau Royal de Cognac, built in the 11th century, offers historical insights and a glimpse into the past. Cognac also hosts events like the Blues Festival, attracting big-name musicians and creating a vibrant atmosphere. Moving toward La Rochelle, it was a significant port and stronghold for the Knights Templar and later for the Huguenots. The city is known as the "jewel of the Atlantic coast" and offers historic sites like the towers of Saint Nicolas and La Chaîne. La Rochelle has a vibrant maritime history that influences its present identity as a popular tourist destination. The islands of Île de Ré and Île d'Oléron, connected by bridges, are known for their oyster and salt beds. These islands have stunning beaches, making them perfect destinations for beach lovers. Kylie mentions the Battle of Tours, a pivotal event during the Middle Ages which happened outside Poitiers. Poitiers also has connections with Eleanor of Aquitaine and offers historical sites such as the Palace du Duc, which is now the local courts.  Futuroscope, located near Poitiers, is a digital theme park that offers a unique and futuristic experience. It is home to various thrilling rides and attractions. Additionally, the Valley of the Monkeys (Vallée des Singes) near Poitiers is a 44-hectare reserve where monkeys roam freely. The park offers an up-close experience with various monkeys and primate species. Aubeterre-Sur-Dronne is a picturesque village with a fascinating monolithic church known as the Eglise Saint-Jean. The church, carved into a limestone cliff, showcases remarkable ancient craftsmanship. The village is classified as one of the "Plus Beaux Villages de France," recognizing its scenic beauty and historical significance. Kylie recommends a visit to La Rochefoucauld Chateau, a historic chateau open to the public. The chateau has a rich history, and the La Rochefoucauld family was closely connected to royalty and was involved in World War II resistance. The chateau features a spiral staircase, said to be designed by Leonardo da Vinci. When you are eating in a local restaurant, try a "plat de jour" for a value-packed meal. Also, try the local goat's cheese which is a specialty of the Charente and an unexpected bonus from the Battle of Tours. In addition to trying Cognac, she also recommends Pinot de Charente, a fortified wine in the region, which is akin to port or sherry. Kylie encourages visitors to explore the stunning landscapes of sunflower fields and enjoy cognac, pinot, and the unique atmosphere of line dancing. 

Episode 166 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Crossroads", Cream, the myth of Robert Johnson, and whether white men can sing the blues. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a forty-eight-minute bonus episode available, on “Tip-Toe Thru' the Tulips" by Tiny Tim. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Errata I talk about an interview with Clapton from 1967, I meant 1968. I mention a Graham Bond live recording from 1953, and of course meant 1963. I say Paul Jones was on vocals in the Powerhouse sessions. Steve Winwood was on vocals, and Jones was on harmonica. Resources As I say at the end, the main resource you need to get if you enjoyed this episode is Brother Robert by Annye Anderson, Robert Johnson's stepsister. There are three Mixcloud mixes this time. As there are so many songs by Cream, Robert Johnson, John Mayall, and Graham Bond excerpted, and Mixcloud won't allow more than four songs by the same artist in any mix, I've had to post the songs not in quite the same order in which they appear in the podcast. But the mixes are here -- one, two, three. This article on Mack McCormick gives a fuller explanation of the problems with his research and behaviour. The other books I used for the Robert Johnson sections were McCormick's Biography of a Phantom; Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson, by Bruce Conforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow; Searching for Robert Johnson by Peter Guralnick; and Escaping the Delta by Elijah Wald. I can recommend all of these subject to the caveats at the end of the episode. The information on the history and prehistory of the Delta blues mostly comes from Before Elvis by Larry Birnbaum, with some coming from Charley Patton by John Fahey. The information on Cream comes mostly from Cream: How Eric Clapton Took the World by Storm by Dave Thompson. I also used Ginger Baker: Hellraiser by Ginger Baker and Ginette Baker, Mr Showbiz by Stephen Dando-Collins, Motherless Child by Paul Scott, and  Alexis Korner: The Biography by Harry Shapiro. The best collection of Cream's work is the four-CD set Those Were the Days, which contains every track the group ever released while they were together (though only the stereo mixes of the albums, and a couple of tracks are in slightly different edits from the originals). You can get Johnson's music on many budget compilation records, as it's in the public domain in the EU, but the double CD collection produced by Steve LaVere for Sony in 2011 is, despite the problems that come from it being associated with LaVere, far and away the best option -- the remasters have a clarity that's worlds ahead of even the 1990s CD version it replaced. And for a good single-CD introduction to the Delta blues musicians and songsters who were Johnson's peers and inspirations, Back to the Crossroads: The Roots of Robert Johnson, compiled by Elijah Wald as a companion to his book on Johnson, can't be beaten, and contains many of the tracks excerpted in this episode. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript Before we start, a quick note that this episode contains discussion of racism, drug addiction, and early death. There's also a brief mention of death in childbirth and infant mortality. It's been a while since we looked at the British blues movement, and at the blues in general, so some of you may find some of what follows familiar, as we're going to look at some things we've talked about previously, but from a different angle. In 1968, the Bonzo Dog Band, a comedy musical band that have been described as the missing link between the Beatles and the Monty Python team, released a track called "Can Blue Men Sing the Whites?": [Excerpt: The Bonzo Dog Band, "Can Blue Men Sing the Whites?"] That track was mocking a discussion that was very prominent in Britain's music magazines around that time. 1968 saw the rise of a *lot* of British bands who started out as blues bands, though many of them went on to different styles of music -- Fleetwood Mac, Ten Years After, Jethro Tull, Chicken Shack and others were all becoming popular among the kind of people who read the music magazines, and so the question was being asked -- can white men sing the blues? Of course, the answer to that question was obvious. After all, white men *invented* the blues. Before we get any further at all, I have to make clear that I do *not* mean that white people created blues music. But "the blues" as a category, and particularly the idea of it as a music made largely by solo male performers playing guitar... that was created and shaped by the actions of white male record executives. There is no consensus as to when or how the blues as a genre started -- as we often say in this podcast "there is no first anything", but like every genre it seems to have come from multiple sources. In the case of the blues, there's probably some influence from African music by way of field chants sung by enslaved people, possibly some influence from Arabic music as well, definitely some influence from the Irish and British folk songs that by the late nineteenth century were developing into what we now call country music, a lot from ragtime, and a lot of influence from vaudeville and minstrel songs -- which in turn themselves were all very influenced by all those other things. Probably the first published composition to show any real influence of the blues is from 1904, a ragtime piano piece by James Chapman and Leroy Smith, "One O' Them Things": [Excerpt: "One O' Them Things"] That's not very recognisable as a blues piece yet, but it is more-or-less a twelve-bar blues. But the blues developed, and it developed as a result of a series of commercial waves. The first of these came in 1914, with the success of W.C. Handy's "Memphis Blues", which when it was recorded by the Victor Military Band for a phonograph cylinder became what is generally considered the first blues record proper: [Excerpt: The Victor Military Band, "Memphis Blues"] The famous dancers Vernon and Irene Castle came up with a dance, the foxtrot -- which Vernon Castle later admitted was largely inspired by Black dancers -- to be danced to the "Memphis Blues", and the foxtrot soon overtook the tango, which the Castles had introduced to the US the previous year, to become the most popular dance in America for the best part of three decades. And with that came an explosion in blues in the Handy style, cranked out by every music publisher. While the blues was a style largely created by Black performers and writers, the segregated nature of the American music industry at the time meant that most vocal performances of these early blues that were captured on record were by white performers, Black vocalists at this time only rarely getting the chance to record. The first blues record with a Black vocalist is also technically the first British blues record. A group of Black musicians, apparently mostly American but led by a Jamaican pianist, played at Ciro's Club in London, and recorded many tracks in Britain, under a name which I'm not going to say in full -- it started with Ciro's Club, and continued alliteratively with another word starting with C, a slur for Black people. In 1917 they recorded a vocal version of "St. Louis Blues", another W.C. Handy composition: [Excerpt: Ciro's Club C**n Orchestra, "St. Louis Blues"] The first American Black blues vocal didn't come until two years later, when Bert Williams, a Black minstrel-show performer who like many Black performers of his era performed in blackface even though he was Black, recorded “I'm Sorry I Ain't Got It You Could Have It If I Had It Blues,” [Excerpt: Bert Williams, "I'm Sorry I Ain't Got It You Could Have It If I Had It Blues,”] But it wasn't until 1920 that the second, bigger, wave of popularity started for the blues, and this time it started with the first record of a Black *woman* singing the blues -- Mamie Smith's "Crazy Blues": [Excerpt: Mamie Smith, "Crazy Blues"] You can hear the difference between that and anything we've heard up to that point -- that's the first record that anyone from our perspective, a hundred and three years later, would listen to and say that it bore any resemblance to what we think of as the blues -- so much so that many places still credit it as the first ever blues record. And there's a reason for that. "Crazy Blues" was one of those records that separates the music industry into before and after, like "Rock Around the Clock", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", Sgt Pepper, or "Rapper's Delight". It sold seventy-five thousand copies in its first month -- a massive number by the standards of 1920 -- and purportedly went on to sell over a million copies. Sales figures and market analysis weren't really a thing in the same way in 1920, but even so it became very obvious that "Crazy Blues" was a big hit, and that unlike pretty much any other previous records, it was a big hit among Black listeners, which meant that there was a market for music aimed at Black people that was going untapped. Soon all the major record labels were setting up subsidiaries devoted to what they called "race music", music made by and for Black people. And this sees the birth of what is now known as "classic blues", but at the time (and for decades after) was just what people thought of when they thought of "the blues" as a genre. This was music primarily sung by female vaudeville artists backed by jazz bands, people like Ma Rainey (whose earliest recordings featured Louis Armstrong in her backing band): [Excerpt: Ma Rainey, "See See Rider Blues"] And Bessie Smith, the "Empress of the Blues", who had a massive career in the 1920s before the Great Depression caused many of these "race record" labels to fold, but who carried on performing well into the 1930s -- her last recording was in 1933, produced by John Hammond, with a backing band including Benny Goodman and Jack Teagarden: [Excerpt: Bessie Smith, "Give Me a Pigfoot and a Bottle of Beer"] It wouldn't be until several years after the boom started by Mamie Smith that any record companies turned to recording Black men singing the blues accompanied by guitar or banjo. The first record of this type is probably "Norfolk Blues" by Reese DuPree from 1924: [Excerpt: Reese DuPree, "Norfolk Blues"] And there were occasional other records of this type, like "Airy Man Blues" by Papa Charlie Jackson, who was advertised as the “only man living who sings, self-accompanied, for Blues records.” [Excerpt: Papa Charlie Jackson, "Airy Man Blues"] But contrary to the way these are seen today, at the time they weren't seen as being in some way "authentic", or "folk music". Indeed, there are many quotes from folk-music collectors of the time (sadly all of them using so many slurs that it's impossible for me to accurately quote them) saying that when people sang the blues, that wasn't authentic Black folk music at all but an adulteration from commercial music -- they'd clearly, according to these folk-music scholars, learned the blues style from records and sheet music rather than as part of an oral tradition. Most of these performers were people who recorded blues as part of a wider range of material, like Blind Blake, who recorded some blues music but whose best work was his ragtime guitar instrumentals: [Excerpt: Blind Blake, "Southern Rag"] But it was when Blind Lemon Jefferson started recording for Paramount records in 1926 that the image of the blues as we now think of it took shape. His first record, "Got the Blues", was a massive success: [Excerpt: Blind Lemon Jefferson, "Got the Blues"] And this resulted in many labels, especially Paramount, signing up pretty much every Black man with a guitar they could find in the hopes of finding another Blind Lemon Jefferson. But the thing is, this generation of people making blues records, and the generation that followed them, didn't think of themselves as "blues singers" or "bluesmen". They were songsters. Songsters were entertainers, and their job was to sing and play whatever the audiences would want to hear. That included the blues, of course, but it also included... well, every song anyone would want to hear.  They'd perform old folk songs, vaudeville songs, songs that they'd heard on the radio or the jukebox -- whatever the audience wanted. Robert Johnson, for example, was known to particularly love playing polka music, and also adored the records of Jimmie Rodgers, the first country music superstar. In 1941, when Alan Lomax first recorded Muddy Waters, he asked Waters what kind of songs he normally played in performances, and he was given a list that included "Home on the Range", Gene Autry's "I've Got Spurs That Jingle Jangle Jingle", and Glenn Miller's "Chattanooga Choo-Choo". We have few recordings of these people performing this kind of song though. One of the few we have is Big Bill Broonzy, who was just about the only artist of this type not to get pigeonholed as just a blues singer, even though blues is what made him famous, and who later in his career managed to record songs like the Tin Pan Alley standard "The Glory of Love": [Excerpt: Big Bill Broonzy, "The Glory of Love"] But for the most part, the image we have of the blues comes down to one man, Arthur Laibley, a sales manager for the Wisconsin Chair Company. The Wisconsin Chair Company was, as the name would suggest, a company that started out making wooden chairs, but it had branched out into other forms of wooden furniture -- including, for a brief time, large wooden phonographs. And, like several other manufacturers, like the Radio Corporation of America -- RCA -- and the Gramophone Company, which became EMI, they realised that if they were going to sell the hardware it made sense to sell the software as well, and had started up Paramount Records, which bought up a small label, Black Swan, and soon became the biggest manufacturer of records for the Black market, putting out roughly a quarter of all "race records" released between 1922 and 1932. At first, most of these were produced by a Black talent scout, J. Mayo Williams, who had been the first person to record Ma Rainey, Papa Charlie Jackson, and Blind Lemon Jefferson, but in 1927 Williams left Paramount, and the job of supervising sessions went to Arthur Laibley, though according to some sources a lot of the actual production work was done by Aletha Dickerson, Williams' former assistant, who was almost certainly the first Black woman to be what we would now think of as a record producer. Williams had been interested in recording all kinds of music by Black performers, but when Laibley got a solo Black man into the studio, what he wanted more than anything was for him to record the blues, ideally in a style as close as possible to that of Blind Lemon Jefferson. Laibley didn't have a very hands-on approach to recording -- indeed Paramount had very little concern about the quality of their product anyway, and Paramount's records are notorious for having been put out on poor-quality shellac and recorded badly -- and he only occasionally made actual suggestions as to what kind of songs his performers should write -- for example he asked Son House to write something that sounded like Blind Lemon Jefferson, which led to House writing and recording "Mississippi County Farm Blues", which steals the tune of Jefferson's "See That My Grave is Kept Clean": [Excerpt: Son House, "Mississippi County Farm Blues"] When Skip James wanted to record a cover of James Wiggins' "Forty-Four Blues", Laibley suggested that instead he should do a song about a different gun, and so James recorded "Twenty-Two Twenty Blues": [Excerpt: Skip James, "Twenty-Two Twenty Blues"] And Laibley also suggested that James write a song about the Depression, which led to one of the greatest blues records ever, "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues": [Excerpt: Skip James, "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues"] These musicians knew that they were getting paid only for issued sides, and that Laibley wanted only blues from them, and so that's what they gave him. Even when it was a performer like Charlie Patton. (Incidentally, for those reading this as a transcript rather than listening to it, Patton's name is more usually spelled ending in ey, but as far as I can tell ie was his preferred spelling and that's what I'm using). Charlie Patton was best known as an entertainer, first and foremost -- someone who would do song-and-dance routines, joke around, play guitar behind his head. He was a clown on stage, so much so that when Son House finally heard some of Patton's records, in the mid-sixties, decades after the fact, he was astonished that Patton could actually play well. Even though House had been in the room when some of the records were made, his memory of Patton was of someone who acted the fool on stage. That's definitely not the impression you get from the Charlie Patton on record: [Excerpt: Charlie Patton, "Poor Me"] Patton is, as far as can be discerned, the person who was most influential in creating the music that became called the "Delta blues". Not a lot is known about Patton's life, but he was almost certainly the half-brother of the Chatmon brothers, who made hundreds of records, most notably as members of the Mississippi Sheiks: [Excerpt: The Mississippi Sheiks, "Sitting on Top of the World"] In the 1890s, Patton's family moved to Sunflower County, Mississippi, and he lived in and around that county until his death in 1934. Patton learned to play guitar from a musician called Henry Sloan, and then Patton became a mentor figure to a *lot* of other musicians in and around the plantation on which his family lived. Some of the musicians who grew up in the immediate area around Patton included Tommy Johnson: [Excerpt: Tommy Johnson, "Big Road Blues"] Pops Staples: [Excerpt: The Staple Singers, "Will The Circle Be Unbroken"] Robert Johnson: [Excerpt: Robert Johnson, "Crossroads"] Willie Brown, a musician who didn't record much, but who played a lot with Patton, Son House, and Robert Johnson and who we just heard Johnson sing about: [Excerpt: Willie Brown, "M&O Blues"] And Chester Burnett, who went on to become known as Howlin' Wolf, and whose vocal style was equally inspired by Patton and by the country star Jimmie Rodgers: [Excerpt: Howlin' Wolf, "Smokestack Lightnin'"] Once Patton started his own recording career for Paramount, he also started working as a talent scout for them, and it was him who brought Son House to Paramount. Soon after the Depression hit, Paramount stopped recording, and so from 1930 through 1934 Patton didn't make any records. He was tracked down by an A&R man in January 1934 and recorded one final session: [Excerpt, Charlie Patton, "34 Blues"] But he died of heart failure two months later. But his influence spread through his proteges, and they themselves influenced other musicians from the area who came along a little after, like Robert Lockwood and Muddy Waters. This music -- or that portion of it that was considered worth recording by white record producers, only a tiny, unrepresentative, portion of their vast performing repertoires -- became known as the Delta Blues, and when some of these musicians moved to Chicago and started performing with electric instruments, it became Chicago Blues. And as far as people like John Mayall in Britain were concerned, Delta and Chicago Blues *were* the blues: [Excerpt: John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, "It Ain't Right"] John Mayall was one of the first of the British blues obsessives, and for a long time thought of himself as the only one. While we've looked before at the growth of the London blues scene, Mayall wasn't from London -- he was born in Macclesfield and grew up in Cheadle Hulme, both relatively well-off suburbs of Manchester, and after being conscripted and doing two years in the Army, he had become an art student at Manchester College of Art, what is now Manchester Metropolitan University. Mayall had been a blues fan from the late 1940s, writing off to the US to order records that hadn't been released in the UK, and by most accounts by the late fifties he'd put together the biggest blues collection in Britain by quite some way. Not only that, but he had one of the earliest home tape recorders, and every night he would record radio stations from Continental Europe which were broadcasting for American service personnel, so he'd amassed mountains of recordings, often unlabelled, of obscure blues records that nobody else in the UK knew about. He was also an accomplished pianist and guitar player, and in 1956 he and his drummer friend Peter Ward had put together a band called the Powerhouse Four (the other two members rotated on a regular basis) mostly to play lunchtime jazz sessions at the art college. Mayall also started putting on jam sessions at a youth club in Wythenshawe, where he met another drummer named Hughie Flint. Over the late fifties and into the early sixties, Mayall more or less by himself built up a small blues scene in Manchester. The Manchester blues scene was so enthusiastic, in fact, that when the American Folk Blues Festival, an annual European tour which initially featured Willie Dixon, Memhis Slim, T-Bone Walker, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, and John Lee Hooker, first toured Europe, the only UK date it played was at the Manchester Free Trade Hall, and people like Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones and Jimmy Page had to travel up from London to see it. But still, the number of blues fans in Manchester, while proportionally large, was objectively small enough that Mayall was captivated by an article in Melody Maker which talked about Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies' new band Blues Incorporated and how it was playing electric blues, the same music he was making in Manchester. He later talked about how the article had made him think that maybe now people would know what he was talking about. He started travelling down to London to play gigs for the London blues scene, and inviting Korner up to Manchester to play shows there. Soon Mayall had moved down to London. Korner introduced Mayall to Davey Graham, the great folk guitarist, with whom Korner had recently recorded as a duo: [Excerpt: Alexis Korner and Davey Graham, "3/4 AD"] Mayall and Graham performed together as a duo for a while, but Graham was a natural solo artist if ever there was one. Slowly Mayall put a band together in London. On drums was his old friend Peter Ward, who'd moved down from Manchester with him. On bass was John McVie, who at the time knew nothing about blues -- he'd been playing in a Shadows-style instrumental group -- but Mayall gave him a stack of blues records to listen to to get the feeling. And on guitar was Bernie Watson, who had previously played with Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages. In late 1963, Mike Vernon, a blues fan who had previously published a Yardbirds fanzine, got a job working for Decca records, and immediately started signing his favourite acts from the London blues circuit. The first act he signed was John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, and they recorded a single, "Crawling up a Hill": [Excerpt: John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, "Crawling up a Hill (45 version)"] Mayall later called that a "clumsy, half-witted attempt at autobiographical comment", and it sold only five hundred copies. It would be the only record the Bluesbreakers would make with Watson, who soon left the band to be replaced by Roger Dean (not the same Roger Dean who later went on to design prog rock album covers). The second group to be signed by Mike Vernon to Decca was the Graham Bond Organisation. We've talked about the Graham Bond Organisation in passing several times, but not for a while and not in any great detail, so it's worth pulling everything we've said about them so far together and going through it in a little more detail. The Graham Bond Organisation, like the Rolling Stones, grew out of Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated. As we heard in the episode on "I Wanna Be Your Man" a couple of years ago, Blues Incorporated had been started by Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies, and at the time we're joining them in 1962 featured a drummer called Charlie Watts, a pianist called Dave Stevens, and saxophone player Dick Heckstall-Smith, as well as frequent guest performers like a singer who called himself Mike Jagger, and another one, Roderick Stewart. That group finally found themselves the perfect bass player when Dick Heckstall-Smith put together a one-off group of jazz players to play an event at Cambridge University. At the gig, a little Scottish man came up to the group and told them he played bass and asked if he could sit in. They told him to bring along his instrument to their second set, that night, and he did actually bring along a double bass. Their bluff having been called, they decided to play the most complicated, difficult, piece they knew in order to throw the kid off -- the drummer, a trad jazz player named Ginger Baker, didn't like performing with random sit-in guests -- but astonishingly he turned out to be really good. Heckstall-Smith took down the bass player's name and phone number and invited him to a jam session with Blues Incorporated. After that jam session, Jack Bruce quickly became the group's full-time bass player. Bruce had started out as a classical cellist, but had switched to the double bass inspired by Bach, who he referred to as "the guv'nor of all bass players". His playing up to this point had mostly been in trad jazz bands, and he knew nothing of the blues, but he quickly got the hang of the genre. Bruce's first show with Blues Incorporated was a BBC recording: [Excerpt: Blues Incorporated, "Hoochie Coochie Man (BBC session)"] According to at least one source it was not being asked to take part in that session that made young Mike Jagger decide there was no future for him with Blues Incorporated and to spend more time with his other group, the Rollin' Stones. Soon after, Charlie Watts would join him, for almost the opposite reason -- Watts didn't want to be in a band that was getting as big as Blues Incorporated were. They were starting to do more BBC sessions and get more gigs, and having to join the Musicians' Union. That seemed like a lot of work. Far better to join a band like the Rollin' Stones that wasn't going anywhere. Because of Watts' decision to give up on potential stardom to become a Rollin' Stone, they needed a new drummer, and luckily the best drummer on the scene was available. But then the best drummer on the scene was *always* available. Ginger Baker had first played with Dick Heckstall-Smith several years earlier, in a trad group called the Storyville Jazzmen. There Baker had become obsessed with the New Orleans jazz drummer Baby Dodds, who had played with Louis Armstrong in the 1920s. Sadly because of 1920s recording technology, he hadn't been able to play a full kit on the recordings with Armstrong, being limited to percussion on just a woodblock, but you can hear his drumming style much better in this version of "At the Jazz Band Ball" from 1947, with Mugsy Spanier, Jack Teagarden, Cyrus St. Clair and Hank Duncan: [Excerpt: "At the Jazz Band Ball"] Baker had taken Dobbs' style and run with it, and had quickly become known as the single best player, bar none, on the London jazz scene -- he'd become an accomplished player in multiple styles, and was also fluent in reading music and arranging. He'd also, though, become known as the single person on the entire scene who was most difficult to get along with. He resigned from his first band onstage, shouting "You can stick your band up your arse", after the band's leader had had enough of him incorporating bebop influences into their trad style. Another time, when touring with Diz Disley's band, he was dumped in Germany with no money and no way to get home, because the band were so sick of him. Sometimes this was because of his temper and his unwillingness to suffer fools -- and he saw everyone else he ever met as a fool -- and sometimes it was because of his own rigorous musical ideas. He wanted to play music *his* way, and wouldn't listen to anyone who told him different. Both of these things got worse after he fell under the influence of a man named Phil Seaman, one of the only drummers that Baker respected at all. Seaman introduced Baker to African drumming, and Baker started incorporating complex polyrhythms into his playing as a result. Seaman also though introduced Baker to heroin, and while being a heroin addict in the UK in the 1960s was not as difficult as it later became -- both heroin and cocaine were available on prescription to registered addicts, and Baker got both, which meant that many of the problems that come from criminalisation of these drugs didn't affect addicts in the same way -- but it still did not, by all accounts, make him an easier person to get along with. But he *was* a fantastic drummer. As Dick Heckstall-Smith said "With the advent of Ginger, the classic Blues Incorporated line-up, one which I think could not be bettered, was set" But Alexis Korner decided that the group could be bettered, and he had some backers within the band. One of the other bands on the scene was the Don Rendell Quintet, a group that played soul jazz -- that style of jazz that bridged modern jazz and R&B, the kind of music that Ray Charles and Herbie Hancock played: [Excerpt: The Don Rendell Quintet, "Manumission"] The Don Rendell Quintet included a fantastic multi-instrumentalist, Graham Bond, who doubled on keyboards and saxophone, and Bond had been playing occasional experimental gigs with the Johnny Burch Octet -- a group led by another member of the Rendell Quartet featuring Heckstall-Smith, Bruce, Baker, and a few other musicians, doing wholly-improvised music. Heckstall-Smith, Bruce, and Baker all enjoyed playing with Bond, and when Korner decided to bring him into the band, they were all very keen. But Cyril Davies, the co-leader of the band with Korner, was furious at the idea. Davies wanted to play strict Chicago and Delta blues, and had no truck with other forms of music like R&B and jazz. To his mind it was bad enough that they had a sax player. But the idea that they would bring in Bond, who played sax and... *Hammond* organ? Well, that was practically blasphemy. Davies quit the group at the mere suggestion. Bond was soon in the band, and he, Bruce, and Baker were playing together a *lot*. As well as performing with Blues Incorporated, they continued playing in the Johnny Burch Octet, and they also started performing as the Graham Bond Trio. Sometimes the Graham Bond Trio would be Blues Incorporated's opening act, and on more than one occasion the Graham Bond Trio, Blues Incorporated, and the Johnny Burch Octet all had gigs in different parts of London on the same night and they'd have to frantically get from one to the other. The Graham Bond Trio also had fans in Manchester, thanks to the local blues scene there and their connection with Blues Incorporated, and one night in February 1963 the trio played a gig there. They realised afterwards that by playing as a trio they'd made £70, when they were lucky to make £20 from a gig with Blues Incorporated or the Octet, because there were so many members in those bands. Bond wanted to make real money, and at the next rehearsal of Blues Incorporated he announced to Korner that he, Bruce, and Baker were quitting the band -- which was news to Bruce and Baker, who he hadn't bothered consulting. Baker, indeed, was in the toilet when the announcement was made and came out to find it a done deal. He was going to kick up a fuss and say he hadn't been consulted, but Korner's reaction sealed the deal. As Baker later said "‘he said “it's really good you're doing this thing with Graham, and I wish you the best of luck” and all that. And it was a bit difficult to turn round and say, “Well, I don't really want to leave the band, you know.”'" The Graham Bond Trio struggled at first to get the gigs they were expecting, but that started to change when in April 1963 they became the Graham Bond Quartet, with the addition of virtuoso guitarist John McLaughlin. The Quartet soon became one of the hottest bands on the London R&B scene, and when Duffy Power, a Larry Parnes teen idol who wanted to move into R&B, asked his record label to get him a good R&B band to back him on a Beatles cover, it was the Graham Bond Quartet who obliged: [Excerpt: Duffy Power, "I Saw Her Standing There"] The Quartet also backed Power on a package tour with other Parnes acts, but they were also still performing their own blend of hard jazz and blues, as can be heard in this recording of the group live in June 1953: [Excerpt: The Graham Bond Quartet, "Ho Ho Country Kicking Blues (Live at Klooks Kleek)"] But that lineup of the group didn't last very long. According to the way Baker told the story, he fired McLaughlin from the group, after being irritated by McLaughlin complaining about something on a day when Baker was out of cocaine and in no mood to hear anyone else's complaints. As Baker said "We lost a great guitar player and I lost a good friend." But the Trio soon became a Quartet again, as Dick Heckstall-Smith, who Baker had wanted in the band from the start, joined on saxophone to replace McLaughlin's guitar. But they were no longer called the Graham Bond Quartet. Partly because Heckstall-Smith joining allowed Bond to concentrate just on his keyboard playing, but one suspects partly to protect against any future lineup changes, the group were now The Graham Bond ORGANisation -- emphasis on the organ. The new lineup of the group got signed to Decca by Vernon, and were soon recording their first single, "Long Tall Shorty": [Excerpt: The Graham Bond Organisation, "Long Tall Shorty"] They recorded a few other songs which made their way onto an EP and an R&B compilation, and toured intensively in early 1964, as well as backing up Power on his follow-up to "I Saw Her Standing There", his version of "Parchman Farm": [Excerpt: Duffy Power, "Parchman Farm"] They also appeared in a film, just like the Beatles, though it was possibly not quite as artistically successful as "A Hard Day's Night": [Excerpt: Gonks Go Beat trailer] Gonks Go Beat is one of the most bizarre films of the sixties. It's a far-future remake of Romeo and Juliet. where the two star-crossed lovers are from opposing countries -- Beatland and Ballad Isle -- who only communicate once a year in an annual song contest which acts as their version of a war, and is overseen by "Mr. A&R", played by Frank Thornton, who would later star in Are You Being Served? Carry On star Kenneth Connor is sent by aliens to try to bring peace to the two warring countries, on pain of exile to Planet Gonk, a planet inhabited solely by Gonks (a kind of novelty toy for which there was a short-lived craze then). Along the way Connor encounters such luminaries of British light entertainment as Terry Scott and Arthur Mullard, as well as musical performances by Lulu, the Nashville Teens, and of course the Graham Bond Organisation, whose performance gets them a telling-off from a teacher: [Excerpt: Gonks Go Beat!] The group as a group only performed one song in this cinematic masterpiece, but Baker also made an appearance in a "drum battle" sequence where eight drummers played together: [Excerpt: Gonks Go Beat drum battle] The other drummers in that scene included, as well as some lesser-known players, Andy White who had played on the single version of "Love Me Do", Bobby Graham, who played on hits by the Kinks and the Dave Clark Five, and Ronnie Verrell, who did the drumming for Animal in the Muppet Show. Also in summer 1964, the group performed at the Fourth National Jazz & Blues Festival in Richmond -- the festival co-founded by Chris Barber that would evolve into the Reading Festival. The Yardbirds were on the bill, and at the end of their set they invited Bond, Baker, Bruce, Georgie Fame, and Mike Vernon onto the stage with them, making that the first time that Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Jack Bruce were all on stage together. Soon after that, the Graham Bond Organisation got a new manager, Robert Stigwood. Things hadn't been working out for them at Decca, and Stigwood soon got the group signed to EMI, and became their producer as well. Their first single under Stigwood's management was a cover version of the theme tune to the Debbie Reynolds film "Tammy". While that film had given Tamla records its name, the song was hardly an R&B classic: [Excerpt: The Graham Bond Organisation, "Tammy"] That record didn't chart, but Stigwood put the group out on the road as part of the disastrous Chuck Berry tour we heard about in the episode on "All You Need is Love", which led to the bankruptcy of  Robert Stigwood Associates. The Organisation moved over to Stigwood's new company, the Robert Stigwood Organisation, and Stigwood continued to be the credited producer of their records, though after the "Tammy" disaster they decided they were going to take charge themselves of the actual music. Their first album, The Sound of 65, was recorded in a single three-hour session, and they mostly ran through their standard set -- a mixture of the same songs everyone else on the circuit was playing, like "Hoochie Coochie Man", "Got My Mojo Working", and "Wade in the Water", and originals like Bruce's "Train Time": [Excerpt: The Graham Bond Organisation, "Train Time"] Through 1965 they kept working. They released a non-album single, "Lease on Love", which is generally considered to be the first pop record to feature a Mellotron: [Excerpt: The Graham Bond Organisation, "Lease on Love"] and Bond and Baker also backed another Stigwood act, Winston G, on his debut single: [Excerpt: Winston G, "Please Don't Say"] But the group were developing severe tensions. Bruce and Baker had started out friendly, but by this time they hated each other. Bruce said he couldn't hear his own playing over Baker's loud drumming, Baker thought that Bruce was far too fussy a player and should try to play simpler lines. They'd both try to throw each other during performances, altering arrangements on the fly and playing things that would trip the other player up. And *neither* of them were particularly keen on Bond's new love of the Mellotron, which was all over their second album, giving it a distinctly proto-prog feel at times: [Excerpt: The Graham Bond Organisation, "Baby Can it Be True?"] Eventually at a gig in Golders Green, Baker started throwing drumsticks at Bruce's head while Bruce was trying to play a bass solo. Bruce retaliated by throwing his bass at Baker, and then jumping on him and starting a fistfight which had to be broken up by the venue security. Baker fired Bruce from the band, but Bruce kept turning up to gigs anyway, arguing that Baker had no right to sack him as it was a democracy. Baker always claimed that in fact Bond had wanted to sack Bruce but hadn't wanted to get his hands dirty, and insisted that Baker do it, but neither Bond nor Heckstall-Smith objected when Bruce turned up for the next couple of gigs. So Baker took matters into his own hands, He pulled out a knife and told Bruce "If you show up at one more gig, this is going in you." Within days, Bruce was playing with John Mayall, whose Bluesbreakers had gone through some lineup changes by this point. Roger Dean had only played with the Bluesbreakers for a short time before Mayall had replaced him. Mayall had not been impressed with Eric Clapton's playing with the Yardbirds at first -- even though graffiti saying "Clapton is God" was already starting to appear around London -- but he had been *very* impressed with Clapton's playing on "Got to Hurry", the B-side to "For Your Love": [Excerpt: The Yardbirds, "Got to Hurry"] When he discovered that Clapton had quit the band, he sprang into action and quickly recruited him to replace Dean. Clapton knew he had made the right choice when a month after he'd joined, the group got the word that Bob Dylan had been so impressed with Mayall's single "Crawling up a Hill" -- the one that nobody liked, not even Mayall himself -- that he wanted to jam with Mayall and his band in the studio. Clapton of course went along: [Excerpt: Bob Dylan and the Bluesbreakers, "If You Gotta Go, Go Now"] That was, of course, the session we've talked about in the Velvet Underground episode and elsewhere of which little other than that survives, and which Nico attended. At this point, Mayall didn't have a record contract, his experience recording with Mike Vernon having been no more successful than the Bond group's had been. But soon he got a one-off deal -- as a solo artist, not with the Bluesbreakers -- with Immediate Records. Clapton was the only member of the group to play on the single, which was produced by Immediate's house producer Jimmy Page: [Excerpt: John Mayall, "I'm Your Witchdoctor"] Page was impressed enough with Clapton's playing that he invited him round to Page's house to jam together. But what Clapton didn't know was that Page was taping their jam sessions, and that he handed those tapes over to Immediate Records -- whether he was forced to by his contract with the label or whether that had been his plan all along depends on whose story you believe, but Clapton never truly forgave him. Page and Clapton's guitar-only jams had overdubs by Bill Wyman, Ian Stewart, and drummer Chris Winter, and have been endlessly repackaged on blues compilations ever since: [Excerpt: Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, "Draggin' My Tail"] But Mayall was having problems with John McVie, who had started to drink too much, and as soon as he found out that Jack Bruce was sacked by the Graham Bond Organisation, Mayall got in touch with Bruce and got him to join the band in McVie's place. Everyone was agreed that this lineup of the band -- Mayall, Clapton, Bruce, and Hughie Flint -- was going places: [Excerpt: John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Jack Bruce, "Hoochie Coochie Man"] Unfortunately, it wasn't going to last long. Clapton, while he thought that Bruce was the greatest bass player he'd ever worked with, had other plans. He was going to leave the country and travel the world as a peripatetic busker. He was off on his travels, never to return. Luckily, Mayall had someone even better waiting in the wings. A young man had, according to Mayall, "kept coming down to all the gigs and saying, “Hey, what are you doing with him?” – referring to whichever guitarist was onstage that night – “I'm much better than he is. Why don't you let me play guitar for you?” He got really quite nasty about it, so finally, I let him sit in. And he was brilliant." Peter Green was probably the best blues guitarist in London at that time, but this lineup of the Bluesbreakers only lasted a handful of gigs -- Clapton discovered that busking in Greece wasn't as much fun as being called God in London, and came back very soon after he'd left. Mayall had told him that he could have his old job back when he got back, and so Green was out and Clapton was back in. And soon the Bluesbreakers' revolving door revolved again. Manfred Mann had just had a big hit with "If You Gotta Go, Go Now", the same song we heard Dylan playing earlier: [Excerpt: Manfred Mann, "If You Gotta Go, Go Now"] But their guitarist, Mike Vickers, had quit. Tom McGuinness, their bass player, had taken the opportunity to switch back to guitar -- the instrument he'd played in his first band with his friend Eric Clapton -- but that left them short a bass player. Manfred Mann were essentially the same kind of band as the Graham Bond Organisation -- a Hammond-led group of virtuoso multi-instrumentalists who played everything from hardcore Delta blues to complex modern jazz -- but unlike the Bond group they also had a string of massive pop hits, and so made a lot more money. The combination was irresistible to Bruce, and he joined the band just before they recorded an EP of jazz instrumental versions of recent hits: [Excerpt: Manfred Mann, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"] Bruce had also been encouraged by Robert Stigwood to do a solo project, and so at the same time as he joined Manfred Mann, he also put out a solo single, "Drinkin' and Gamblin'" [Excerpt: Jack Bruce, "Drinkin' and Gamblin'"] But of course, the reason Bruce had joined Manfred Mann was that they were having pop hits as well as playing jazz, and soon they did just that, with Bruce playing on their number one hit "Pretty Flamingo": [Excerpt: Manfred Mann, "Pretty Flamingo"] So John McVie was back in the Bluesbreakers, promising to keep his drinking under control. Mike Vernon still thought that Mayall had potential, but the people at Decca didn't agree, so Vernon got Mayall and Clapton -- but not the other band members -- to record a single for a small indie label he ran as a side project: [Excerpt: John Mayall and Eric Clapton, "Bernard Jenkins"] That label normally only released records in print runs of ninety-nine copies, because once you hit a hundred copies you had to pay tax on them, but there was so much demand for that single that they ended up pressing up five hundred copies, making it the label's biggest seller ever. Vernon eventually convinced the heads at Decca that the Bluesbreakers could be truly big, and so he got the OK to record the album that would generally be considered the greatest British blues album of all time -- Blues Breakers, also known as the Beano album because of Clapton reading a copy of the British kids' comic The Beano in the group photo on the front. [Excerpt: John Mayall with Eric Clapton, "Ramblin' On My Mind"] The album was a mixture of originals by Mayall and the standard repertoire of every blues or R&B band on the circuit -- songs like "Parchman Farm" and "What'd I Say" -- but what made the album unique was Clapton's guitar tone. Much to the chagrin of Vernon, and of engineer Gus Dudgeon, Clapton insisted on playing at the same volume that he would on stage. Vernon later said of Dudgeon "I can remember seeing his face the very first time Clapton plugged into the Marshall stack and turned it up and started playing at the sort of volume he was going to play. You could almost see Gus's eyes meet over the middle of his nose, and it was almost like he was just going to fall over from the sheer power of it all. But after an enormous amount of fiddling around and moving amps around, we got a sound that worked." [Excerpt: John Mayall with Eric Clapton, "Hideaway"] But by the time the album cane out. Clapton was no longer with the Bluesbreakers. The Graham Bond Organisation had struggled on for a while after Bruce's departure. They brought in a trumpet player, Mike Falana, and even had a hit record -- or at least, the B-side of a hit record. The Who had just put out a hit single, "Substitute", on Robert Stigwood's record label, Reaction: [Excerpt: The Who, "Substitute"] But, as you'll hear in episode 183, they had moved to Reaction Records after a falling out with their previous label, and with Shel Talmy their previous producer. The problem was, when "Substitute" was released, it had as its B-side a song called "Circles" (also known as "Instant Party -- it's been released under both names). They'd recorded an earlier version of the song for Talmy, and just as "Substitute" was starting to chart, Talmy got an injunction against the record and it had to be pulled. Reaction couldn't afford to lose the big hit record they'd spent money promoting, so they needed to put it out with a new B-side. But the Who hadn't got any unreleased recordings. But the Graham Bond Organisation had, and indeed they had an unreleased *instrumental*. So "Waltz For a Pig" became the B-side to a top-five single, credited to The Who Orchestra: [Excerpt: The Who Orchestra, "Waltz For a Pig"] That record provided the catalyst for the formation of Cream, because Ginger Baker had written the song, and got £1,350 for it, which he used to buy a new car. Baker had, for some time, been wanting to get out of the Graham Bond Organisation. He was trying to get off heroin -- though he would make many efforts to get clean over the decades, with little success -- while Bond was starting to use it far more heavily, and was also using acid and getting heavily into mysticism, which Baker despised. Baker may have had the idea for what he did next from an article in one of the music papers. John Entwistle of the Who would often tell a story about an article in Melody Maker -- though I've not been able to track down the article itself to get the full details -- in which musicians were asked to name which of their peers they'd put into a "super-group". He didn't remember the full details, but he did remember that the consensus choice had had Eric Clapton on lead guitar, himself on bass, and Ginger Baker on drums. As he said later "I don't remember who else was voted in, but a few months later, the Cream came along, and I did wonder if somebody was maybe believing too much of their own press". Incidentally, like The Buffalo Springfield and The Pink Floyd, Cream, the band we are about to meet, had releases both with and without the definite article, and Eric Clapton at least seems always to talk about them as "the Cream" even decades later, but they're primarily known as just Cream these days. Baker, having had enough of the Bond group, decided to drive up to Oxford to see Clapton playing with the Bluesbreakers. Clapton invited him to sit in for a couple of songs, and by all accounts the band sounded far better than they had previously. Clapton and Baker could obviously play well together, and Baker offered Clapton a lift back to London in his new car, and on the drive back asked Clapton if he wanted to form a new band. Clapton was as impressed by Baker's financial skills as he was by his musicianship. He said later "Musicians didn't have cars. You all got in a van." Clearly a musician who was *actually driving a new car he owned* was going places. He agreed to Baker's plan. But of course they needed a bass player, and Clapton thought he had the perfect solution -- "What about Jack?" Clapton knew that Bruce had been a member of the Graham Bond Organisation, but didn't know why he'd left the band -- he wasn't particularly clued in to what the wider music scene was doing, and all he knew was that Bruce had played with both him and Baker, and that he was the best bass player he'd ever played with. And Bruce *was* arguably the best bass player in London at that point, and he was starting to pick up session work as well as his work with Manfred Mann. For example it's him playing on the theme tune to "After The Fox" with Peter Sellers, the Hollies, and the song's composer Burt Bacharach: [Excerpt: The Hollies with Peter Sellers, "After the Fox"] Clapton was insistent. Baker's idea was that the band should be the best musicians around. That meant they needed the *best* musicians around, not the second best. If Jack Bruce wasn't joining, Eric Clapton wasn't joining either. Baker very reluctantly agreed, and went round to see Bruce the next day -- according to Baker it was in a spirit of generosity and giving Bruce one more chance, while according to Bruce he came round to eat humble pie and beg for forgiveness. Either way, Bruce agreed to join the band. The three met up for a rehearsal at Baker's home, and immediately Bruce and Baker started fighting, but also immediately they realised that they were great at playing together -- so great that they named themselves the Cream, as they were the cream of musicians on the scene. They knew they had something, but they didn't know what. At first they considered making their performances into Dada projects, inspired by the early-twentieth-century art movement. They liked a band that had just started to make waves, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band -- who had originally been called the Bonzo Dog Dada Band -- and they bought some props with the vague idea of using them on stage in the same way the Bonzos did. But as they played together they realised that they needed to do something different from that. At first, they thought they needed a fourth member -- a keyboard player. Graham Bond's name was brought up, but Clapton vetoed him. Clapton wanted Steve Winwood, the keyboard player and vocalist with the Spencer Davis Group. Indeed, Winwood was present at what was originally intended to be the first recording session the trio would play. Joe Boyd had asked Eric Clapton to round up a bunch of players to record some filler tracks for an Elektra blues compilation, and Clapton had asked Bruce and Baker to join him, Paul Jones on vocals, Winwood on Hammond and Clapton's friend Ben Palmer on piano for the session. Indeed, given that none of the original trio were keen on singing, that Paul Jones was just about to leave Manfred Mann, and that we know Clapton wanted Winwood in the band, one has to wonder if Clapton at least half-intended for this to be the eventual lineup of the band. If he did, that plan was foiled by Baker's refusal to take part in the session. Instead, this one-off band, named The Powerhouse, featured Pete York, the drummer from the Spencer Davis Group, on the session, which produced the first recording of Clapton playing on the Robert Johnson song originally titled "Cross Road Blues" but now generally better known just as "Crossroads": [Excerpt: The Powerhouse, "Crossroads"] We talked about Robert Johnson a little back in episode ninety-seven, but other than Bob Dylan, who was inspired by his lyrics, we had seen very little influence from Johnson up to this point, but he's going to be a major influence on rock guitar for the next few years, so we should talk about him a little here. It's often said that nobody knew anything about Robert Johnson, that he was almost a phantom other than his records which existed outside of any context as artefacts of their own. That's... not really the case. Johnson had died a little less than thirty years earlier, at only twenty-seven years old. Most of his half-siblings and step-siblings were alive, as were his son, his stepson, and dozens of musicians he'd played with over the years, women he'd had affairs with, and other assorted friends and relatives. What people mean is that information about Johnson's life was not yet known by people they consider important -- which is to say white blues scholars and musicians. Indeed, almost everything people like that -- people like *me* -- know of the facts of Johnson's life has only become known to us in the last four years. If, as some people had expected, I'd started this series with an episode on Johnson, I'd have had to redo the whole thing because of the information that's made its way to the public since then. But here's what was known -- or thought -- by white blues scholars in 1966. Johnson was, according to them, a field hand from somewhere in Mississippi, who played the guitar in between working on the cotton fields. He had done two recording sessions, in 1936 and 1937. One song from his first session, "Terraplane Blues", had been a very minor hit by blues standards: [Excerpt: Robert Johnson, "Terraplane Blues"] That had sold well -- nobody knows how well, but maybe as many as ten thousand copies, and it was certainly a record people knew in 1937 if they liked the Delta blues, but ten thousand copies total is nowhere near the sales of really successful records, and none of the follow-ups had sold anything like that much -- many of them had sold in the hundreds rather than the thousands. As Elijah Wald, one of Johnson's biographers put it "knowing about Johnson and Muddy Waters but not about Leroy Carr or Dinah Washington was like knowing about, say, the Sir Douglas Quintet but not knowing about the Beatles" -- though *I* would add that the Sir Douglas Quintet were much bigger during the sixties than Johnson was during his lifetime. One of the few white people who had noticed Johnson's existence at all was John Hammond, and he'd written a brief review of Johnson's first two singles under a pseudonym in a Communist newspaper. I'm going to quote it here, but the word he used to talk about Black people was considered correct then but isn't now, so I'll substitute Black for that word: "Before closing we cannot help but call your attention to the greatest [Black] blues singer who has cropped up in recent years, Robert Johnson. Recording them in deepest Mississippi, Vocalion has certainly done right by us and by the tunes "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" and "Terraplane Blues", to name only two of the four sides already released, sung to his own guitar accompaniment. Johnson makes Leadbelly sound like an accomplished poseur" Hammond had tried to get Johnson to perform at the Spirituals to Swing concerts we talked about in the very first episodes of the podcast, but he'd discovered that he'd died shortly before. He got Big Bill Broonzy instead, and played a couple of Johnson's records from a record player on the stage. Hammond introduced those recordings with a speech: "It is tragic that an American audience could not have been found seven or eight years ago for a concert of this kind. Bessie Smith was still at the height of her career and Joe Smith, probably the greatest trumpet player America ever knew, would still have been around to play obbligatos for her...dozens of other artists could have been there in the flesh. But that audience as well as this one would not have been able to hear Robert Johnson sing and play the blues on his guitar, for at that time Johnson was just an unknown hand on a Robinsonville, Mississippi plantation. Robert Johnson was going to be the big surprise of the evening for this audience at Carnegie Hall. I know him only from his Vocalion blues records and from the tall, exciting tales the recording engineers and supervisors used to bring about him from the improvised studios in Dallas and San Antonio. I don't believe Johnson had ever worked as a professional musician anywhere, and it still knocks me over when I think of how lucky it is that a talent like his ever found its way onto phonograph records. We will have to be content with playing two of his records, the old "Walkin' Blues" and the new, unreleased, "Preachin' Blues", because Robert Johnson died last week at the precise moment when Vocalion scouts finally reached him and told him that he was booked to appear at Carnegie Hall on December 23. He was in his middle twenties and nobody seems to know what caused his death." And that was, for the most part, the end of Robert Johnson's impact on the culture for a generation. The Lomaxes went down to Clarksdale, Mississippi a couple of years later -- reports vary as to whether this was to see if they could find Johnson, who they were unaware was dead, or to find information out about him, and they did end up recording a young singer named Muddy Waters for the Library of Congress, including Waters' rendition of "32-20 Blues", Johnson's reworking of Skip James' "Twenty-Two Twenty Blues": [Excerpt: Muddy Waters, "32-20 Blues"] But Johnson's records remained unavailable after their initial release until 1959, when the blues scholar Samuel Charters published the book The Country Blues, which was the first book-length treatment ever of Delta blues. Sixteen years later Charters said "I shouldn't have written The Country Blues when I did; since I really didn't know enough, but I felt I couldn't afford to wait. So The Country Blues was two things. It was a romanticization of certain aspects of black life in an effort to force the white society to reconsider some of its racial attitudes, and on the other hand it was a cry for help. I wanted hundreds of people to go out and interview the surviving blues artists. I wanted people to record them and document their lives, their environment, and their music, not only so that their story would be preserved but also so they'd get a little money and a little recognition in their last years." Charters talked about Johnson in the book, as one of the performers who played "minor roles in the story of the blues", and said that almost nothing was known about his life. He talked about how he had been poisoned by his common-law wife, about how his records were recorded in a pool hall, and said "The finest of Robert Johnson's blues have a brooding sense of torment and despair. The blues has become a personified figure of despondency." Along with Charters' book came a compilation album of the same name, and that included the first ever reissue of one of Johnson's tracks, "Preaching Blues": [Excerpt: Robert Johnson, "Preaching Blues"] Two years later, John Hammond, who had remained an ardent fan of Johnson, had Columbia put out the King of the Delta Blues Singers album. At the time no white blues scholars knew what Johnson looked like and they had no photos of him, so a generic painting of a poor-looking Black man with a guitar was used for the cover. The liner note to King of the Delta Blues Singers talked about how Johnson was seventeen or eighteen when he made his recordings, how he was "dead before he reached his twenty-first birthday, poisoned by a jealous girlfriend", how he had "seldom, if ever, been away from the plantation in Robinsville, Mississippi, where he was born and raised", and how he had had such stage fright that when he was asked to play in front of other musicians, he'd turned to face a wall so he couldn't see them. And that would be all that any of the members of the Powerhouse would know about Johnson. Maybe they'd also heard the rumours that were starting to spread that Johnson had got his guitar-playing skills by selling his soul to the devil at a crossroads at midnight, but that would have been all they knew when they recorded their filler track for Elektra: [Excerpt: The Powerhouse, "Crossroads"] Either way, the Powerhouse lineup only lasted for that one session -- the group eventually decided that a simple trio would be best for the music they wanted to play. Clapton had seen Buddy Guy touring with just a bass player and drummer a year earlier, and had liked the idea of the freedom that gave him as a guitarist. The group soon took on Robert Stigwood as a manager, which caused more arguments between Bruce and Baker. Bruce was convinced that if they were doing an all-for-one one-for-all thing they should also manage themselves, but Baker pointed out that that was a daft idea when they could get one of the biggest managers in the country to look after them. A bigger argument, which almost killed the group before it started, happened when Baker told journalist Chris Welch of the Melody Maker about their plans. In an echo of the way that he and Bruce had been resigned from Blues Incorporated without being consulted, now with no discussion Manfred Mann and John Mayall were reading in the papers that their band members were quitting before those members had bothered to mention it. Mayall was furious, especially since the album Clapton had played on hadn't yet come out. Clapton was supposed to work a month's notice while Mayall found another guitarist, but Mayall spent two weeks begging Peter Green to rejoin the band. Green was less than eager -- after all, he'd been fired pretty much straight away earlier -- but Mayall eventually persuaded him. The second he did, Mayall turned round to Clapton and told him he didn't have to work the rest of his notice -- he'd found another guitar player and Clapton was fired: [Excerpt: John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, "Dust My Blues"] Manfred Mann meanwhile took on the Beatles' friend Klaus Voorman to replace Bruce. Voorman would remain with the band until the end, and like Green was for Mayall, Voorman was in some ways a better fit for Manfred Mann than Bruce was. In particular he could double on flute, as he did for example on their hit version of Bob Dylan's "The Mighty Quinn": [Excerpt: Manfred Mann "The Mighty Quinn"] The new group, The Cream, were of course signed in the UK to Stigwood's Reaction label. Other than the Who, who only stuck around for one album, Reaction was not a very successful label. Its biggest signing was a former keyboard player for Screaming Lord Sutch, who recorded for them under the names Paul Dean and Oscar, but who later became known as Paul Nicholas and had a successful career in musical theatre and sitcom. Nicholas never had any hits for Reaction, but he did release one interesting record, in 1967: [Excerpt: Oscar, "Over the Wall We Go"] That was one of the earliest songwriting attempts by a young man who had recently named himself David Bowie. Now the group were public, they started inviting journalists to their rehearsals, which were mostly spent trying to combine their disparate musical influences --