Blues

:((((
Johnnie zapisyvalsya na novom albome Styx `Big Bang Theory'

И ещё про дедушку из газеты "родного города":
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/2C866FD4E5101...

Chuck Berry remembers Johnnie Johnson

By CHERYL WITTENAUER


UNIVERSITY CITY, Missouri (AP) - Rock 'n roll legend Chuck Berry had just returned from a European tour when he learned at Chicago's O'Hare Airport that his longtime friend and collaborator Johnnie Johnson was dead at age 80.

He went directly to Blueberry Hill nightclub in this St. Louis suburb, where Berry and Johnson had played together as recently as a year ago, to remember "the man with a dynamite right hand" with whom he shared a half-century of music and memories.

A master of boogie-woogie, Johnson was "my piano player who no one else has come near," said Berry, 78, still spry and dapper in a royal blue shirt, a silver bolo tie, pleated charcoal slacks and mariner's cap.

Through 50-plus years of riffs and syncopation, late-night jams - and later a painful lawsuit - Berry and Johnson's relationship grew in mutual admiration and respect.

"Johnnie and I have always been friends," said Berry late Wednesday. He teamed up with Johnson for hits like Roll Over Beethoven and No Particular Place to Go.

Johnson died Wednesday at his St. Louis home; the cause of death was not immediately known.

Johnson, a self-taught pianist with a low-key persona, never won the fame heaped upon Berry. But he eventually became known as the Father of Rock 'N' Roll Piano and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 in the "sidemen" category.

Johnson's and Berry's long collaboration helped define early rock 'n' roll and put St. Louis on the music map along with the budding team of Ike and Tina Turner. Each performed at clubs on both sides of the nearby Mississippi River.

On New Year's Eve 1952 at The Cosmopolitan in East St. Louis, Illinois, Johnson called Berry to fill in for an ailing saxophonist in his Sir John Trio.

The struggling and unknown Berry, who says he was playing more then for enjoyment than money, rushed over.

"He gave me a break" and his first commercial gig, Berry recalled. "I was excited. My best turned into a mess. I stole the group from Johnny."

Johnson never held it against him.

"Midway through the show, Chuck did a hillbilly country number with a bluesy vein, and it knocked people out," said Blueberry Hill club owner Joe Edwards, a friend of both men.

Johnson later recalled Berry had a car that allowed them to travel to more distant clubs - the Blue Flame, Blue Note and Club Imperial.

Berry played so well he became front man for the band, which took his name. Their long partnership, forged in the '50s, would run steadily for another 20 years. They still performed occasionally in the 1980s and '90s.

Edwards said their collaboration formed the bricks of rock 'n roll, and that the two stirred hillbilly and blues in one pot to create a unique sound.

Johnson often composed the music on piano, then Berry converted it to guitar and wrote the lyrics. Berry's Johnny B. Goode, was a tribute to Johnson.

After he and Berry parted ways, Johnson performed with Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, John Lee Hooker and Bo Diddley, among others.

Still, there were rough spots in the pair's collaboration. In 2000, Johnson sued Berry over royalties and credit he believed he was due for the songs they composed together. The lawsuit was dismissed two years later.

Berry said he always wondered who was behind the lawsuit, because "Johnnie would never initiate a complaint such as that. Johnnie would never have waited 40 years to sue."

Berry said he would perform a tribute concert in Johnson's honour, ideally at downtown St. Louis's roughly 70,000-seat Edward Jones Dome.

"We'll fill that sucker," he said.

Though Berry said he'll miss his friend and his music, he's not melancholy.

"My turn is coming very soon," he said. "Would you shed a tear for Chuck? I hope not, because I don't see why one should weep when something inevitable must come.

"At 78, I'm glad to be anywhere, anytime."

Unsung hero

Josh White was a very influential bluesman, protest folk singer and guitar maestro

JOHN CLEWLEY

Bluesman, protest folk singer and guitar maestro Josh White is one of the unsung heroes of the blues. Many people know Robert Johnson, particularly after he was championed by modern guitarists like Eric Clapton and Keith Richards; and some know Tampa Red, Lonnie Johnson, Son House and Blind Willie Johnson. Somehow, White slipped through the net, which is a shame as he was a very influential musician and one of the few black musicians to feature in the protest folk boom of the early 1960s in the US.

He was, by all accounts, the only bluesman to sing "political" blues. Very few bluesmen were as direct as White in his attacks on prejudice and poverty. Only a very few singers could tell it like White did; Leadbelly's Bourgeois Blues is an example of similar work.

I have several classic vinyl efforts from White in my collection in the UK but I hadn't listened to the musician for many years, until, that is, I found a fabulous compilation of his work here in the Big Mango.

Born in Greenville, Mississippi around 1908 to a family of Baptists, White learnt gospel at home, before setting off in his early teens to learn the ropes as a travelling bluesman. He became something of a legend in the deep south when he worked as the "eyes" for blind itinerant bluesmen like Blind Lemon Jefferson and gospel singers like Blind Joe Taggert.

By the 1930s White had moved to New York. He had already recorded gospel related music under his real name and secular music under the names of Pinewood Tom and Tippy Barton, and his influence could be heard in the covers of his songs by bluesmen in the Southwest like Blind Boy Fuller and John Jackson.

But despite his success as a bluesman, White moved into vaudeville and stage musicals when he starred with Paul Robeson in the play John Henry (White played the part of the bluesman Blind Lemon Jefferson). He was self-confident enough to expand his repertoire from blues to country to cabaret and in the process transcended his social status as a black American to become a top-class cabaret entertainer. In many ways, he was the role model for other bluesmen like B. B. King and Muddy Waters, who also "crossed-over" to white audiences after falling out of favour with their own communities.

In New York, White found progressive political opinions and support from folk singers. He released several key albums, including the landmark Southern Exposure: An Album of Jim Crow Blues, which is considered to be the first civil rights record. His songs, written in collaboration with the Harlem poet William Cuney, dealt with segregation, plantation/sharecropper exploitation and poverty and the lyrics were hard-hitting: "Well, I work all the week in the blazin' sun/Can't buy my shoes, Lord, when my payday comes/I ain't treated no better than a mountain goat/Boss takes my crop and the poll takes my vote."

Within a short time, White was appearing on radio shows with protest singers like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie but, unfortunately, his co-operation with authorities during the '50s anti-communist witch-hunt saw him lose much credibility as a progressive musician. Perhaps this, coupled with his delicate finger-picking guitar style (in contrast to the driving, hard beats of Robert Johnson's guitar style), is the reason why he has been forgotten.

Roots of the Blues: Josh White does not contain all of those hard-hitting classics, notably missing are songs like Defence Factory Blues, Bad Housing Blues and Southern Exposure. That said, there are plenty of great (and moving) songs here in this 25-song collection. Silicosis Blues, a song about lung problems among miners, must surely be one of the first recorded environmental protest songs, for example. My own favourites include the haunting Hard Time Blues, Blood Red River Blues, the spiteful Black and Evil Blues the horizontally-inclined Lazy Black Snake Blues and the saucy Bed Spring Blues.

White's clear voice and sharp diction anchor this album, as does the finger picking guitar style that White championed. If you are curious about the early blues, then White provides a fascinating entry point. Uplifting and highly recommended.

I found my copy of White's album in the jazz section of the B2S book and music store at Central Chidlom. As with CD Warehouse stores, if you trawl through the jazz section you can find some soul, R'n'B and blues gems. I noticed some interesting Aretha Franklin and jazz diva releases in the B2S Chidlom jazz section.

"The Roots of Blues" series is part of a series of six early blues greats; in addition to the Josh White album, there are CD blues compilations by greats Tampa Red, Sleepy John Estes, Blind Willie McTell and Lonnie Johnson. For those wanting an overview of these wonderful musicians, there is also a 2CD compilation of all six musicians; a perfect place to start exploring early blues. The single CDs are budget priced at under 300 baht. More information from the Australia-based record label, Master Song, at: www.mraentertainment and www.mastersong.com.

Celebrity musicians expected at Johnson wake

CHERYL WITTENAUER

Associated Press


ST. LOUIS - In the course of his week, St. Louis funeral director Ronald Jones doesn't usually field calls from publicists for big-name musicians wanting directions from St. Louis' airport to his inner-city funeral chapel.

But since the April 13 death of boogie-woogie master Johnnie Johnson, and arrangements for his wake and funeral have firmed up, Jones said he's talked to publicists for Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir and the Kentucky Headhunters - as well as local bands wanting to pay tribute to Johnson.

"They're all saying they're not coming to upstage Johnnie, but to honor him," said Jones, who has provided a sound system, security and parking for one national group's road-tour buses.

A visitation service starting at 1 p.m. Thursday could extend into the wee hours as celebrity and lesser-known local musicians celebrate Johnson's life with a musical jam in the funeral home's parlor. Johnson will be buried in St. Louis on Friday.

Johnson, a rock 'n' roll pioneer who teamed with Chuck Berry for hits like "Roll Over Beethoven" and "No Particular Place to Go," died at his St. Louis home last week at age 80.

Johnson, a self-taught pianist with a low-key persona, never won the fame heaped upon Berry, but he was considered a legend in blues and boogie-woogie, and his long collaboration with Berry helped define early rock 'n' roll and put St. Louis on the music map.

Johnson often composed the music on piano, then Berry converted it to guitar and wrote the lyrics.

Johnson eventually became known as the "Father of Rock 'N' Roll Piano" and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 in the "sidemen" category.

Later in life, Johnson performed and recorded with Richards, Clapton, Weir, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley and Bonnie Raitt, among others.

It wasn't clear if Berry planned to attend the visitation or funeral service. Berry was scheduled to perform his monthly concert Thursday night at Blueberry Hill nightclub in the St. Louis suburb of University City - where he and Johnson last performed about a year ago. Berry has scheduled a memorial concert for Johnson on April 29 at The Pageant in St. Louis, club owner Joe Edwards said.

Berry, 78, recalled last week he was playing for free when Johnson gave him his break for $4 a job half a century ago.

Johnson was born in Fairmont, W.Va., and by age 4 had taught himself to play the piano. He moved to Chicago after World War II, where he played jazz and blues in clubs. He moved to St. Louis in the early 1950s, forming his own R&B trio.

When a band member became ill on New Year's Eve 1952, Johnson hired Berry to fill in.

Berry soon became front man for the band, which took his name. Their long partnership, forged in the '50s, would run steadily for another 20 years. They still performed occasionally in the 1980s and '90s.

Johnson's performance in the 1987 rock documentary "Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll" spurred new interest in his music, and he spent his later years as a front man for his own band.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/11453524.htm

JJ and CB

Вчера докачал живой альбом Jimmy Witherspoon with The Duke Robillard Band. Уже третий раз слушаю. Сказать, что мне нравится - значит промолчать. Просто улёт!

УПУЩЕННАЯ НОВОСТЬ....

Legendary blues musicians (from right) Solomon Burke, Ike Turner and Robert Cray press there handprints into cement as they are inducted into Hollywood's Rockwalk at the Guitar Center in Los Angeles April 4, 2005.

The blues isn't about making yourself feel better, it's about making other people feel worse. And makin' a few bucks while you're at it."

-"Bleeding Gums" Murphy

Боб, гляньте почту....

2SergeK:

>УПУЩЕННАЯ НОВОСТЬ....
Вот интересно, Роберт Крэй каким туда боком-припёком??? Неуж-то заслужил?! :))))

2john lee hooker:
>Вот интересно, Роберт Крэй каким туда боком-припёком??? Неуж-то заслужил?! :))))
НАДЕЮСЬ ЭТО ШУТКА! Я её как-раз из-за него и постил...
РОБЕРТ - СУПЕР ЧЕЛОВЕК!

МММда? Тогда извиняюсь...Я его не очень-то...Недоблюз-пересоул какойта, причём искусственно раздутый (имха ессесна)

A "TOO MANY COOKS"?
А RAH BLUES NIGHTS?
А с Кингами и Коллинзом?

2SergeK:

>A "TOO MANY COOKS"?
>А RAH BLUES NIGHTS?
>А с Кингами и Коллинзом?
"Ту мэни куксом" переболел в 85-ом, причём сразу...
Вы, уважаемый Сергей, наверняка в курсе, что ему устроили разнос за эту работу :)) Хотя, она одна из самых интересных у него...Мне так более-менее ищё "Ай уоз уорнев" нравилась..."Шоудаун" - хороша, но не за счёт Крея (имхо), ну, а с бибиком --- бибик то по-харизматичнее буить :)))

Кста, Сергей, Вы не видели случаем фильм, где он сыграл глав. роль -- Чака Берри ?

Ай уоз уорнев = I Was Warned

Фильм не видел, но вот концерт о котором мы говорили -заказал...
Крэй мне нравится весь за исключением DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK.
На "разносы" критиков мне плевать! Пусть сами что-нибудь запишут, а потом советуют.

Сергей, у меня есть кассета вэ-ха-эсная с его видеоклипами, если вдруг у Вас нет, в чём я сомневаюсь, могу посодействовать :)))

Кстати, насчёт бибика, сегодня в "Легионе" промелькнул перед взором си-ди+ ди-ви-ди с концертом . Где-то периода 71-72. Черный ковер-арт. Времени не было посмотреть-почитать-купить. Что-нить можете сказать про него?