American Folk Blues Festival 1967/ The complete sessions

 

AFBF 1967/ The Complete Sessions

 

           In 1967 the American Folk Blues Festival tours of Europe were well established and much sought after by blues buffs all over many countries of Western and even Eastern Europe. The 1967 edition – which wasn't advised by Willie Dixon anymore – took the task to expose some of the major "rediscovered" Delta blues legends who, thanks to bold researchers, had been lifted from retirement and obscurity directly to major American acoustic blues festivals of the early 1960's. Son House, Bukka White and Skip James were proudly announced at the top of this very exciting lineup of the 1967 tour.

If Bukka was great (as always), an extraverted showman, Skip James was a little bit shy and with his high-pitched voice not always well received, Son House was the great winner of the shows. Utterly and deeply involved in his blues, shouting, sweating, lost somewhere between the Delta and Europe, he appeared to the European audiences as an unbelievable blues giant. In the Paris concert, the PA system went down at a time while Son was still preaching his blues. He didn't seem to notice the fact his microphone didn't work anymore and, the eyes closed, torturing his guitar with his slide, he shouted his blues the same way he would have been in a Delta juke joint 20 years ago.

            The country blues part of the Festival was rounded professionally by old favorites Brownie & Sonny. Unfortunately the other half of the show that was dedicated to the electric Chicago blues was very weak and even an unexpected major flop! The main mistake of course had to enrolled Hound Dog Taylor who was of course a fine bluesman of his own, impersonating Elmore James's style but absolutely unable to be the lead guitarist of the show. The previous years had featured major lead guitar players like M.T. Murphy, T-Bone Walker, Hubert Sumlin, Buddy Guy and Otis Rush and the comparison was dreadful for Hound Dog. He also had never appeared on a concert hall and, in Paris, he played almost all the time looking towards the curtains and showing his back to the audience! Add a clumsy and non blues bass player with Dillard Crum plus Little Walter who was angry at everyone and seemed to dislike the fact he was backed by musicians for whom he had no great consideration (I've heard that for some shows Walter rather played unaccompanied!), a very young and very shy Koko Taylor who also was unsettled with this backing band.

            Anyway, the tapes I've been able to gather from this tour feature some great moments and also historic performances.

                                                                       Gérard HERZHAFT

 

(Thanks a lot to my brother Cisco and Lise Brière de l'Isle for their remembrances of the Paris concert)

 

All titles recorded october-november 1967 over Europe, mainly in Germany

Brownie Mc Ghee, vcl/g; Sonny Terry, hca/vcls.

01. Born with the blues

02. I'm gonna move

Sonny Terry, vcl/hca; Brownie Mc Ghee, g/vcls.

03. Rock Island line

Bukka White, vcl/g.

04. Aberdeen blues

05. Aberdeen, Ms. blues

06. Got sick and tired

Skip James, vcl/g.

07. Hard luck child

08. Hard times killing floor blues

Son House, vcl/g.

09. Death letter

10. Got a letter this morning

11. Preaching the blues

Hound Dog Taylor, vcl/g; Little Walter, hca; Dillard Crume, bs; Odie Payne, dms.

12. Shake your moneymaker

13. The sky is crying

Koko Taylor, vcl; Little Walter, hca; Hound Dog Taylor, g; Dillard Crume, bs; Odie Payne, dms.

14. Wang dang doodle n°1

15. Wang dang doodle n°2

16. What kind of man is this? n°1

17. What kind of man is this n°2

18. Will my man be home tonight?

Little Walter, vcl/hca; Hound Dog Taylor, g; Dillard Crume, bs; Odie Payne, dms.

19. Berlin shuffle

20. Mean old world

21. My babe

22. You're so fine

Brownie Mc Ghee, vcl/g; Sonny Terry, hca/vcls.

23. Walk on

All photos are from my programme of the AFBF 1967 by Lippmann, Ambor, Dabrwosky, Dick Waterman

 

 

 Odie Payne and Dillard Crum

BOBBY "Guitar" BENNETT/ Blues Guitar Masters Vol. 9

 

BOBBY "GUITAR" BENNETT/ Blues Guitar Masters Volume 9

 

           

Bobby "Guitar" Bennett has long been a mystery figure among blues buffs, gaining a great reputation from his masterpiece When girls do it but very often being confused with another Bobby Bennett, a singer from James Brown's Famous Flames who also made a solo career under this name.

            Thanks to all-time great researcher and producer Dick Shurman who finally located and made possible an interview by the man, we now may know better our Bobby "Guitar" Bennett.

           

Courtesy Bobby Bennett

Clinton "Bobby" Bennett was born 24 February 1942 at Raeford, NC. He Learned guitar at a very early age with one of his uncle who was a staunch Jimmy Reed's fan. In 1957, Bobby Bennett was living in Dunn, NC. where a local DJ hired him to help him programming blues music on his radio show. The subsequent years saw Bobby playing guitar and singing blues and rock'n'roll on many clubs and radio programmes in Norfolk, Va. and Philadelphia where he gathered his first own band, performing in many clubs and venues and signing his first recording contract on the V-Tone label, waxing his first single The plea/ She's my girl in 1960. For a couple of years, Bobby was also a member of the Bandits, the band of Philadelphia drummer Pancho Villa (real name Charles Miller), recording at least one single with them for the Arliss label (Bobby's guitar). It is unsure if Bennett is present on the rest of Pancho Villa's 45s.

           

During the 1960's, Bobby Bennett was quite often on the studios, recording several singles between blues, Soul and Rock'n'roll and being constantly in-demand for live shows a little bit everywhere around Philly. When hired by bandleader Chuck Jackson, he added the tag "Guitar" between his first name and name, recording in 1964 the famous When girls do it with his terrific guitar solos and licks.

            During the early 1970's he seemed to disappear from the radars, just when the anthology When girls do it published in England and comprising this title gained a lot of interest towards the singer and guitarist Bobby "Guitar" Bennett. It's pretty sure he had been located at that time, Bobby "Guitar" Bennett would have toured Europe and recorded albums... But Philadelphia wasn't a town for blues researchers at that time.

            In fact, Bobby had to make a living out of music, playing only sporadically his brand of Soul and blues, mostly for private parties. In 1985, he turned himself almost exclusively to Gospel.

            This article is almost entirely based on Bobby Bennett's interview by Dick Shurman ad Gene Tomko and the subsequent article published in Living Blues 240. Thanks to those two brave researchers as well as Peter Sturman for his help with this comp.

                                          Gérard HERZHAFT

 

Bobby "Guitar" Bennett, vcl/g; Pancho Villa, dms; band. Philadelphia, PA. 1960

01. The plea

02. She's my girl

Bobby "Guitar" Bennett, vcl/g; Pancho Villa, dms; band. Philadelphia, PA. 1961

03. Bobby's guitar

04. Baby's cakes hunch (as Pancho Villa)

Bobby "Guitar" Bennett, vcl/g; Helen Way Singers, vcls; band. New York City, january 1962

05. The boss turn

06. Show me

Bobby "Guitar" Bennett, vcl/g; Pancho Villa, dms; band. Philadelphia, PA. march 1962

07. Alone with my tears

08. Never going to let you go

Bobby "Guitar" Bennett, vcl/g; band. New York City, 1963

09. Before I blow my stack

10. You don't love me true

11. You don't love me true (alt.)

Bobby "Guitar" Bennett, vcl/g; band. New York City, february 1965

12. When girls do it

13. She's so fine

Bobby "Guitar" Bennett, vcl/g; band. Philadelphia, PA. october 1965

14. Goin' home

15. Lawdy Miss Clawdy

16. Evol (Love spelled backwards)

17. You did it again

Bobby "Guitar" Bennett, vcl/g; band. Philadelphia, PA. 1966

18. Big New York

19. Baby try me

Bobby "Guitar" Bennett, vcl/g; band. Philadelphia, PA. 1970

20. Days go by

21. Bumble bee (Sting me)

 

 

AFBF 1966/ The Complete Sessions

 

AFBF 1966/ The complete sessions

 

All tracks recorded all over Europe during october 1966

To my great dismay, I couldn’t attend the Paris concert of this AFBF 1966 (october 1966). In fact, Uncle Charles (De Gaulle) had called me and I was drafted in September 1966. I made a two year military duty in the French West Indies. But my (little) brother Cisco with whom I shared the same love for folk and blues attended the show and made me a complete and detailed account what happened this very evening. He also sent me the programme and recordings of the concert that a French radio (Europe 1) had recorded and broadcasted during that month. I have included some of those recordings in this compilation despite a rather poor sound. 

Roosevelt Sykes, vcl/pno; Jack Myers, bs; Fred Below, dms.

01. Running the boogie

02. Sail on

03. Tall heavy woman

04. Boot that thing

05. Night time is the right time

Sleepy John Estes, vcl/g; Yank Rachell, mdln/vcls.

06. You shouldn’t do it

07. Tan little daddy

08. Yellow yam blues (vcl: Yank Rachell)

Junior Wells, vcl/hca; Otis Rush, g; Jack Myers, bs; Fred Below, dms.

09. Hoodoo man blues

10. Checkin’ upon my baby

11. Over yonder walls

12. Shake my hand

13. A tribute to Sonny Boy Williamson

14. Vietnam blues

15. What’d I say

Little Brother Montgomery, vcl/pno; Jack Myers, bs; Fred Below, dms.

16. I keep on drinking

Robert Pete Williams, vcl/g.

17. Louise

18. Don’t the moon lokk lonesome

Sippie Wallace, vcl; Little Brother Montgomery, pno; Jack Myers, bs; Fred Below, dms.

19. Suitcase blues

20. Up the country

21. Woman be wise

Otis Rush, vcl/g; Little Brother Montgomery, pno; Jack Myers, bs; Fred Below, dms.

22. All your love

23. It takes time

24. Sweet little angel

Big Joe Turner, vcl; Otis Rush, g; Little Brother Montgomery, pno; Jack Myers, bs; Fred Below, dms.

25. Well, oh well!

26. Chains of love

27. Flip flop and fly

Big Joe Turner, vcl; Otis Rush, g; Roosevelt Sykes, pno; Jack Myers, bs; Fred Below, dms.

28. Roll’em Pete

 

         

All photos come from my AFBF 1966 programme by Ray Flerlage, Horst Lippman, Valerie Wilmer, Stephanie Wiesand, Gunther Kieser

A lot of thanks to Xyros for his help.

Les Rolls Royce de l'harmonica se trouvent sur Harmonicaland 

The Rolls Royces of the harmonica are at Harmonicaland

BLOWIN' IN THE SOUTH

 

BLOWING IN THE SOUTH

 

           

Une anthologie qui sort de l'ordinaire pour cette fois! Blues et Country Music ont, dans les Etats du Sud, toujours été très liés, pratiquement deux faces d'un même arbre musical. Les titres que nous proposons ici sont presque tous fortement ancrés dans le blues et joués à l'harmonica, bien que les musiciens soient des noms connus surtout dans la Country Music.

            On commence avec une séance - jamais rééditée - réalisée par le bluesman Jerry Mc Cain à Nashville en 1962, entouré de certains des musiciens de studio les plus réputés d'alors, notamment le grand guitariste Grady Martin, le saxophoniste Boots Randolph, le pianiste Floyd Cramer et même les Anita Kerr's singers qui représentaient alors le prototype du Nashville Sound. Mc Cain est parfaitement à l'aise dans ce contexte et nous donne plusieurs instrumentaux juteux à souhait qu'il serait dommage de laisser dans l'ombre.

             Barefoot Beefus est devenu presque une icône du mouvement dit "popcorn" et bien des chroniques (notamment sur la Toile) en parlent encore comme d'un bluesman noir. On a parfois avancé l'idée qu'il s'agissait du chanteur de Country Mack Vickery mais on a aujourd'hui la certitude que Beefus était un pseudonyme (afin de vendre vers le public afro-américain) pour le chanteur et guitariste de Rockabilly Al Jones dont nous joignons ici son succès Loretta, réalisé quelques années auparavant.

             Il n'est plus nécessaire de présenter Billy Lee Riley (1933-2009), un des grands créateurs du Rockabilly. Après ses célèbres séances pour Sun, Billy a joué et enregistré jusqu'à sa mort. Guitariste, chanteur, compositeur, arrangeur (il a arrangé et produit un des plus gros succès du blues You don't love me par Willie Cobbs), Billy a gravé de nombreux titres à l'harmonica et certains sous le nom de Lightnin' Leon qui, pendant très longtemps, fut considéré par la critique - notamment britannique - comme un bluesman noir.

             

Enfin, l'harmoniciste Jimmie Riddle est surtout connu pour avoir joué durant des décennies dans l'orchestre de Roy Acuff. Il n'a gravé sous son nom qu'une poignée de titres, notamment cet album de 1963 avec l’excellent guitariste Grady Martin, qui permettent d'apprécier ses talents d'harmoniciste.

                                                           Gérard HERZHAFT

 

            We are exploring some new territories with this post, where through harmonica led titles, Country Music meets the blues, two Southern genres that, in fact, are nothing but two branches of the same tree.

           

We start with Jerry Mc Cain's Nashville 1962 session that, to my knowledge, has never been reissued. We find Jerry at ease among some of the main musicians of the so-called Nashville Sound of the day: guitarist Grady Martin, sax-player Boots Randolph, piano pounder Floyd Cramer and even the Anita Kerr's Singers! Jerry delivers some very juicy harmonica numbers that are certainly too good to be forgotten.

            Barefoot Beefus was (and still is when you read some articles on the Web) for a long time considered a mysterious black bluesman. Some sources have then suggested he was Mack Vickery, a noted Country Musician but it is now well established that Barefoot Beefus was only a nickname (to sell towards black audiences) for white Rockabilly singer Al Jones (we have here also included Al's main hit, the excellent Loretta).

           

Rockabilly pioneer Billy Lee Riley (1933-2009) also recorded for the Rita label under different names, like Lightnin' Leon, a piece so downhome that most of the blues critics thought he was a black bluesman. Guitarist, singer, composer, arranger (he produced and arranged one of the most popular blues riffs of all time with You don't love me by Willie Cobbs), Billy was also an excellent harp player.

            At last, harmonicist Jimmie Riddle is mostly known for having played in Roy Acuff's band for years. But he has also recorded some tracks under his own name – particularly this album from 1963 - where one can appreciate his blowing talents.

                                               Gérard HERZHAFT

 

Les Rolls Royce de l'harmonica se trouvent sur Harmonicaland 

The Rolls Royces of the harmonica are at Harmonicaland

BLOWING IN THE SOUTH

Jerry Mc Cain, vcl/hca; Grady Martin, g; Henry Strzelcki, g; Joe Perkins, tpt; Boots Randolph, t-sax; Floyd Cramer, pno/og; bs; dms; Anita Kerr's singers, vcls. Nashville, Tn. December 1962

01. Red top

02. Twist 62

03. Jet stream

04. Popcorn twist

05. Run back home

06. Turn the lights on popeye

Al Jones, vcl/g; band. Nashville, Tn. 1959

07. Loretta

Al Jones (Barefoot Beefus), vcl/g; prob. Charlie Mc Coy, hca; band. Nashville, Tn. 1966

08. Go ahead on baby

09. Barefoot Beefus

Al Jones (Barefoot Beefus), vcl/g; band. Nashville, Tn. 1967

10. Hold on

11. Well, looka here

Billy Lee Riley (as Lightnin' Leon), vcl/g/hca; Larry Mohoberac, pno; Roland Janes, bs; Jimmy Van Eaton, dms. Jimmy Van Eaton, dms. Memphis, Tn. 1960

12. Reposession blues

13. Dark muddy bottom

Billy Lee Riley, vcl/g/hca; Roland Janes, g; Jimmy Wilson, pno; Jimmy Van Eaton, dms. Memphis, Tn. 1962

14. Honey girl

15. Long gone

16. Memphis blues

17. Willie's tune

18. Arkansas Traveler

19. Buster's theme

Jimmie Riddle, hca; prob; Grady Martin, g; band. Nashville, Tn. 12 December 1963

20. Coon hound

21. John Henry

22. Colombus Stockade blues

23. Careless love

24. Sally Goodin’

25. Bill Bailey

26. Stoney Point

27. Little Brown jug

28. Wildwood flower

29. Arkansas traveler

 

AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL 1965/ Complete Sessions

AMERICAN FOLK BLUES FESTIVAL 1965/ The Complete Sessions

 

    

Although it occurred 55 years ago (!), I vividly remember this show that I attended at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. The Salle Pleyel was a famous concert hall where mostly classical concerts were shown. For most of the artists featured on the American Folk Blues Festival 1965, the European experience was their very first and they were quite shy before an audience that certainly didn’t react the same way than on Chicago clubs, Mississippi juke joints or even a Newport Folk Festival. A very young Buddy Guy was particularly nervous although he played great guitar licks during all the show. J.B. Lenoir, coached by Willie Dixon, came as an acoustic solo act. But if in 1962, the French audiences (mostly then coming from the jazz circles) booed sometimes a T-Bone Walker whom they found too histrionic, too electric and too flashy for the idea they had of the “real” blues, the 1965 audiences were certainly not still in that mood. In three years, largely thanks to those AFBF tours, a growing number of hardcore blues fans formed a large amount of the audience and they had now records and fanzines exclusively dealing with the blues. And the poor J.B. Lenoir playing a restrained (and to my ears very emotional) country blues instead of the flashy Chicago, sax-lead, of his Chess records was booed by some! The great Eddie Boyd buried behind his too large piano seemed somewhat lost on this wide concert hall. Of course, a John Lee Hooker who was already a familiar figure on those shores and who had enjoyed a smash hit in France with his record of “Shake it baby” from the AFBF 1962 (I remember this 45 was on all the jukeboxes for years), handled very well the audience, playing solo and then backed by the band. And Big Mama took the audience by storm with a rocking set.

           

Well, 55 years after, the records made during this tour stand as pure classics by true blues greats and their music is the real blues of the 1950’s-60’s, before any rock-influence would somewhat change the beat and the solos as well as the music altogether.

            I don’t know why – in contrary to the other years – those tracks were recorded in studio instead of live in concert although I know for sure all the live performances – at least in France but I suppose almost everywhere in Europe as well – were recorded and broadcasted on French radio stations like Europe1. I heard them during those times. In which vaults those sessions are buried? It’s pretty sure that they still exist somewhere and maybe some hard researchers will find them and issue on records like it has been done by the Fremeaux label for the AFBF Paris sessions some years ago.

            I have tried to gather all the known tracks recorded in October 1965 by those fine bluesmen (and woman). Thanks a lot to Xyros for his help.

                                                                        Gérard HERZHAFT

 

All tracks recorded 7 october 1965, Hamburg, Germany.

J.B. Lenoir, vcl/g.

01. Everybody crying about Vietnam

02. If I get lucky

J.B. Lenoir, vcl/g; Fred Below, dms.

03. I feel so good

04. Down in Mississippi

J.B. Lenoir, vcl/g; Big Walter Horton, hca.

05. Slow down

Big Walter Horton, vcl/hca; Buddy Guy, g; Jimmy Lee Robinson, bs; Fred Below, dms.

06. Blues harp shuffle

07. Christine

08. Walter’s blues

Fred Mc Dowell, vcl/g.

09. Highway 61

10. Going down the river

11. Got a letter this morning

Roosevelt Sykes, vcl/pno; Buddy Guy, g; Jimmy Lee Robinson, bs; Fred Below, dms.

12. Come on back home

13. Sail on

Eddie Boyd, vcl/pno; Buddy Guy, g; Jimmy Lee Robinson, bs; Fred Below, dms.

14. Five long years

15. Five more long years

16. The big question

Jimmy Lee Robinson, g; Buddy Guy, bs; Fred Below, dms.

17. Rosalie

John Lee Hooker, vcl/g; Buddy Guy, bs; Fred Below, dms.

18. Della May

19. Della Mae

20. King of the world

Buddy Guy, vcl/g; Jimmy Lee Robinson, bs; Fred Below, dms.

21. First time I met the blues

22. Southside jump

Big Mama Thornton, vcl; Buddy Guy, g; Jimmy Lee Robinson, bs; Fred Below, dms.

23. Hound dog n°1

24. Hound dog n°2

Doctor Isaiah Ross, vcl/g/hca/dms.

25. Farewell baby

26. My black name is ringing

Everybody: Big Walter Horton, hca; Big Mama Thornton, hca; Dr Ross, hca; John Lee Hooker, hca; J.B. Lenoir, hca; Eddie Boyd, pno; Roosevelt Sykes, pno; Buddy Guy, g; Jimmy Lee Robinson, bs; Fred Below, dms.

27. Down home shakedown