Kings Of The Blues Blog

Bo Diddley Is Dead

2008-06-03T06:34:00.000-07:00

Best wishes to family and friends of the late, great Bo Diddley.

He will be missed and remembered forever as one of the founding pioneers of rock and roll. Before Elvis, and many others, there was Bo Diddley. Elvis said he saw Bo gyrating during a performance and incorporated it into his stage moves. He is also known not only for the "Bo Diddley beat" and countless songs such as "Before You Accuse Me" and "Who Do You Love" - but for playing his signature rectangular guitar and having designed the widely popular and futuristic guitar the Billy Bo in 1959.

Eric Clapton and countless others owe this guy more than just respect, in fact - it's been claimed by Bo Diddley himself he was still owed a lifetime of payments on royalties to songs he never was paid for...

RIP brother...

Albert King

2008-05-18T14:13:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite blues guitarists is Albert King - one of the three "Kings of the Blues." Haven't heard Albert King? Listen to Albert King

Why is he one of my favorites and why is he one of the Kings? Well, he is the man who brought us songs such as Born Under A Bad Sign and if you really want to see something magical check out his "In Session" performance with Stevie Ray Vaughn.

A few more recommended tracks such as "As The Years Go Passing By" and the popular "Laundromat Blues" can be found here - King of the Blues Guitar - And you can listen to his classic song "I'll Play The Blues For You" here - The Very Best of Albert King. He is known for playing a Gibson Flying V but since he is left-handed he flipped the guitar around and re-strung it, similar to the way Jimi Hendrix did.

I am in the process of changing this site around and will be updating it more often so check back as often as you can... - Rick

Kings of the blues

2007-03-24T13:02:00.001-07:00

We've been on a long blues vacation, but we'll be back for more Kings of the Blues action shortly.

Bobby Blue Bland

2005-12-30T11:52:00.000-08:00

"Bobby Blue Bland - Greatest Hits, Vol. 1: The Duke Recordings"

Bobby Bland's purr-to-a-scream vocals quickly made him an R&B star in an era when rougher-hewn blues masters such as Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf had fallen from the charts. Bland, a former valet for B.B. King, established himself with both up-tempo workouts ("Farther Up the Road," "I Pity the Fool") and devastatingly subtle ballad readings ("I'll Take Care of You," "Stormy Monday Blues"). Greatest Hits, Vol. One is a generous sampling of the discs that made him a steady seller throughout the '60s. A second CD chronicles his work in the '70s after Duke Records, his longtime label, was sold to ABC. --Rickey Wright

1. Farther Up The Road
2. I'll Take Care Of You
3. I Pity The Fool
4. Cry, Cry, Cry
5. Don't Cry No More
6. Ain't That Lovin' You
7. Who Will The Next Fool Be?
8. Turn On Your Love Light
9. Stormy Monday Blues
10. Yeild Not To Temptation
11. That's The Way Love Is
12. Call On Me
13. These Hands (Small But Mighty)
14. That Did It
15. Good Time Charlie, Part One
16. Chains Of Love

"Bobby Blue Bland - Greatest Hits, Vol. 1: The Duke Recordings"

Jimi Hendrix Blues

2005-12-29T15:08:00.000-08:00

After the disorganized and often unlistenable Alan Douglas-produced reissues in the '70s and '80s, MCA has been releasing the vast Hendrix archives in an intelligent and methodical manner. Blues is a perfect example, making the case that--on top of everything else--Jimi Hendrix was one fine blues guitarist. Combining the fluid lines of B.B. King with the spikiness of Hubert Sumlin and the crying tone of Elmore James with his usual synapse-frying intensity, Hendrix manages to both honor the music tradition while remaining uniquely himself. These studio outtakes and warm-ups (plus one previously released track, the magnificent "Hear My Train a Comin'") include a playful "Mannish Boy," the slow burn of "Once I Had A Woman," and a metallic "Bleeding Heart." --Steven Mirkin

1. Hear My Train A Comin'
2. Born Under A Bad Sign
3. Red House
4. Catfish Blues
5. Voodoo Chile Blues
6. Mannish Boy
7. Once I Had A Woman
8. Bleeding Heart
9. Jelly 292
10. Electric Church Red House
11. Hear My Train A Comin' (Electric)

Listen to Jimi Hendrix Blues

The Definitive Otis Redding

2005-12-20T15:02:00.000-08:00

Having died at age 26, Otis Redding gave only a glimpse--albeit a well-documented one--of what he was capable of doing. These four CDs capture Redding's best moments and give a depth that is essential to Redding and Stax-era R&B fans. Redding shaped Stax's signature soul sound, in part by further livening up already high-powered horn charts and heavy rhythms, and in part by simply singing his heart out to a ringing degree. His early, heavily showy stuff is featured here in the form of "Shout Bamalama," but very quickly this set begins to boast just how categorically awe-inspiring Redding's vocal powers were. He made the heart hurt on scorching love-lost tunes ("That's What My Heart Needs") and then could jar the floor with bursting tempi, complex horn charts and unflagging passion on a tune like "Mr. Pitiful." By the time he was churning out tracks with the estimable instrumental outfit Booker T. & the MG's, Redding's dramatic delivery and awesome power were evenly keeled, ensuring at least an unforgettable performance--many of which are on these four CDs. The first three collect catalog material, from the early tunes (a great vantage on Redding's forming talent) to "Tramp," his erstwhile hit with Carla Thomas, to the jump-out-of-your-seat energy of Sam Cooke's "Chain Gang." The last CD collects live performances, each of which is distinctly unforgettable. Then there's the sure sign of Redding's ascendance, "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," recorded within days of this Macon, Georgia, native's tragic early death. For those looking for something more compact than this set, try the anthology Dreams to Remember. Be prepared, however, to feel teased by just two CDs when you could have four. --Andrew Bartlett

The Definitive Otis Redding

Damn Right, I've Got The Blues

2005-12-19T07:25:00.000-08:00

This guest-studded CD relaunched Buddy Guy's career and set him toward the pinnacle of contemporary blues. Despite turns from Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, and others, it's Guy who burns brightest--and loudest. He delivers roaring, exuberant performances of classic R&B ("Mustang Sally"), old-time blues ("Black Night"), and house rockers ("Where Is the Next One Coming From"). Most poignant, though, is his seven-minute instrumental "Rememberin' Stevie," which not only rekindles the fiery spirit of his own youth, but pays sensitive tribute to his late friend and admirer Stevie Ray Vaughan. This is the blueprint for Guy's current performing style. --Ted Drozdowski

About the Artist

One of the most respected and lauded blues artists of our time, Buddy Guy is the greatest living exponent of classic Chicago electric blues. He is a thrillingly inventive guitarist, a passionately soulful singer, and a peerless showman. In the course of a 45-year professional career, he has sold over two million albums; earned four Grammy Awards; and won nineteen W.C. Handy Blues Awards — more than any other single artist.

2005 INDUCTEE TO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME!

BRAND NEW, EXPANDED EDITION OF BUDDY’S GRAMMY-WINNING, GOLD-CERTIFIED RELEASE!

To celebrate Buddy Guy’s newest and bluest accolade, Silvertone Records is pleased to announce the Expanded Edition of his breakthrough Grammy-winning, gold-certified release, Damn Right, I’ve Got The Blues (Best Contemporary Blues Album). This special edition includes 2 tracks previously unavailable in the U.S. – in fact, formerly released as b-sides in the U.K. The album cover will be true to the original, but beautifully enhanced with a special silver background. As another added bonus, Damn Right, I’ve Got The Blues, Expanded Edition will feature brand new liner notes from none other than Anthony DeCurtis, the Rolling Stone editor and writer at large.

Damn Right, I've Got The Blues

Tags: Music | Entertainment | Culture | Art | Guitar | Blues | Lyrics | Song | BB King | Books | Life | Buddy Guy

The B. B. King Treasures : Photos, Mementos & Music from B. B. King's Collection

2005-12-18T18:51:00.000-08:00

While true blues lovers may scoff at the opulence of such a coffee-table volume, they may change their minds when they discover the treat this work has tucked under its front cover: an hour-long audio CD of conversations with the "Chairman of the Board" of blues, B.B. King (b. 1925). The book itself is a stylishly packaged retelling of King's life from Mississippi sharecropping cabin dweller to White House honoree, with King's reminiscences intercut with comments from his friends. In addition to pages of gorgeously reproduced photos, eight parchment sleeves hold facsimiles of King memorabilia: first, his sharecropping account from 1940, and then mostly tickets, programs and posters for his shows. Still, the real "treasure" is the CD: 16 tracks of King talking about how and why he makes music, sometimes accompanied by riffs on Lucille (his guitar), plus two previously unreleased recordings. King gives a bluesman's take on race relations in the 20th century: how white radio stations started playing black music and how British stars (the Beatles, the Stones, Clapton, etc.) revived the careers of black bluesmen and then how white "folkies" picked up on the music, too. This will be a tasty gift for any blues fan. 116 illus. (Sept. 16)Correction: The agent for Robert Oxnam's A Fractured Mind (Reviews, Aug. 8) is Wendy Strothman. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

More: The B. B. King Treasures

The King of the Blues turns 80 on September 16: cause for celebration, indeed. Already, on February 15, 2005, Mississippi honored its world-famous son in a ceremony at the state capitol. Now comes this spectacular oral-history-cum-scrapbook that should draw browsers as if it were the cure for the common cold. It is certainly good for what ails you, what with its scads of great photos and blues-biz paraphernalia (posters, record labels, etc.) reproductions, its immaculately proofread text, its high production values (heavy stock, visually textured pages in several colors, clean layout), and its--libraries, beware!--removable bonus attractions (CD of interview outtakes and previously unreleased old recordings, eight translucent envelopes containing excellent reproductions of such memorabilia as a portrait-postcard a teenage King sent a girlfriend, backstage passes, business cards, booking sheets, concert handouts, etc.). On top of all that, it's an interesting read, especially about King's early life and pre-stardom career. If there are a few tangential errors (blues organist Mark Naftalin's father was mayor of Minneapolis, not Milwaukee), who cares? Ray Olson Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

The B. B. King Treasures : Photos, Mementos & Music from B. B. King's Collection

Prowling With the Nighthawk

2005-12-17T14:33:00.000-08:00

Nighthawk was born Robert Lee McCollum in Helena, Arkansas on November 30th, 1909 and raised in a farming community. Nighthawk came from a musical family as he relates in a 1964 interview:

"Well all my people played music. Mother and Dad and sister and brother and all. My brother played guitar. My brother helped me in all kinds of ways. (My family)...mostly played dances, parties, picnics and all that."

In many ways Nighthawk went onto become the archetype of the classic bluesman, spending his entire adult life rambling all over the South with frequent trips to the North playing a never ending string of one-nighters punctuated by sporadic recording dates. Nighthawks recording dates brought him only limited success but he remained popular in the South his entire life. It seems that every blues musician of consequence who emerged from the Delta from the 30's through to the 60's recalls running across Nighthawk.

For all his visibility Nighthawk remains a shadowy figure; for one he never stayed in Chicago long enough to establish himself, he was interviewed only briefly and unlike many artists didn't appreciably benefit from the blues boom of the 1960's. Above all it was his ceaseless wandering that likely stopped him from achieving greater fame:

"Well, that's about all i been doin' all my life. I was down in Florida about 3 years and back up in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri and Iowa, New York and some other places."

Check out this highly recommended album:

As well as playing guitar (taught by Houston Stackhouse in 1931), he played in the orchestra of the Dan Hildrege Show, ran with singer Laura Dukes and even fronted a jug band in Memphis. He also met and played with musicians such as Sleepy John Estes, Yank Rachell, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Joe Williams, Hammie Nixon, Big Bill Broonzy, Memphis Slim and John Lee Hooker.

Nighthawk continued to play and record into the 1960's. His final recording session was fittingly with Stackhouse, performing the songs of Tommy Johnson one final time. Nighthawk died less than 2 months after these recordings on Nov. 5th, 1967.

The tracks on this Document CD range from 1937 to 1952 and Nighthawk is accompanied by such blues luminaries as Sonny Boy Williamson, Joe Williams and Roosevelt Sykes. This complilation of recordings by Robert Nighthawk is not available anywhere else and shows us that he was one of the premier blues slide guitarists. This release comes with informative booklet notes written by Jeff Harris and full discographical details.

Otis Redding

2005-12-12T09:43:00.000-08:00

At this time of the year, we should remember one of the greatest and most inluential deep soul singers ever: Otis Redding.

Otis Redding was an influential American soul singer probably best known for his passionate delivery of Sittin On The Dock Of The Bay.

Redding was born in a small town in Georgia, called Dawson. At age 5 he moved with his family to Macon, Georgia where he sang in the Vineville Baptist Church and became something of a local celebrity as a teenager after winning a local Sunday night talent show 15 weeks in a row.

Read more about Otis Redding

Here is a verse from one of his songs that we will remember him for.

"I've been missing you for so many days,
I keep wanting you in so many ways,
I can't get you off my mind,
But true love is so hard to find."

R.I.P. Otis.

Charley Patton Lyrics Poor Me

2005-12-09T13:14:00.000-08:00

Charley Patton was the Father Of The Delta Blues and here are the lyrics to a great song he did.

Yes on me, it's poor me, you must take pity on poor me
I ain't got nobody, take pity on poor me
You may go, you may stay, but she'll come back some sweet day
By and by, sweet mama, by and by

Don't the moon look pretty shinin' down through the tree?
Oh, I can see Bertha Lee1, Lord, but she can't see me
You may go, you may stay, but she'll come back some sweet day
By and by, sweet mama, baby won't you, by and by

You may go, you may stay, but she'll come back some sweet day
By and by, sweet mama, by and by
Yes on me, it's poor me, you must have pity on poor me
I ain't got nobody, take pity on poor me

Don't the moon look pretty shinin' down through the tree?
Oh, I can see Bertha Lee, but she can't see me
You may go, you may stay, but she'll come back some sweet day
By and by, sweet mama, oh baby, won't you, by and by

Charley Patton lyrics for Poor Me

Tags: Music | Entertainment | Culture | Art | Guitar | Blues | Lyrics | Song

Kings Of The Blues Blog

2005-12-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

Kings Of The Blues is a website dedicated to the great blues men and the virtuosos who brought us the music genre we now know as "The Blues."

This site aims to archive the lyrics, music, and images of some of these kings of the blues. Some played harmonica, some played guitar, but they all sang the blues. We hope you find this site educational and useful on your quest past the crossroads and down those dirt roads that lead to the blues.

Tags: Music | Entertainment | Culture | Art | Guitar