Elmore James Jr. Blog

CD Review: The Acorn Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

2008-06-15T01:26:00.002-05:00

A new review of Elmo's new CD caught my attention -- this from Doc's Juke Joint, a great blues-focused blog from Rochester, NY, maintained by a former radio jock. Here's an excerpt: "Elmore James, Jr.’s “Daddy Gave Me The Blues” on JSP Records is a great blues record. Forget about the name of the performer, this album, recorded in August of 2007, is a down and dirty grind of Chicago club blues

Bringing Authentic Chicago Blues to Michigan

2008-05-18T19:53:00.004-05:00

We're making another trip from Chicago to our neighbor to the east, Michigan, in a couple of weeks. The band will hit the Jackson Blues Festival stage at 9:30pm on Friday, June 6 at the Jackson County Airport (a.k.a. Reynolds Airfield). Jackson is a small town, just off Interstate 94, about 35 miles west of Ann Arbor. It's birthplace of the republican party and superbowl coach, Tony Dungy. The

How to Tune a Guitar With a Tuner... Accurately & Reliably

2008-05-04T23:09:00.004-05:00

This post is for you guitarists out there. After all these years -- decades actually -- I finally learned how to use my electronic tuner pedals. Trouble in TunerlandI don't know about you, but I've always had trouble getting my pedal tuners to lock in with my Strat. Especially the lower strings. I strike the string, the tuner thinks a bit, and then flashes the string it thinks I'm playing. Nope.

The Blues as a "Great National Resource"

2008-04-29T22:32:00.004-05:00

A recent post today on the 30 Days Out blog reminds us of the tremendous influence the blues has had on other genres. They call it "our great national resource." At the same time, the popularity and interest in the blues has declined to where you can't hardly hear a lick of it on radio. So a little attention to our favorite music style is in order. Popular music owes much to the musicians who

Articles & Reviews in Blues Magazines

2008-04-20T12:30:00.006-05:00

Just want to mention a couple of nice Elmore James Jr. feature articles recently appearing in well-known blues magazines. The first is from Blues & Rhythm, a UK-based publication. This is all the more appropriate given that Elmo's latest CD, Daddy Gave Me the Blues, is handled by JSP Records of London. Here's a link to the review in their Archives section (not sure how long they'll keep the

Elmore James Jr. Video from Tamms Show at the Hideout

2008-03-28T20:40:00.008-05:00

Here's a video from our March 15 show at the Hideout in Chicago. It was shot by videographer/filmmaker Gretchen Hasse and a Loyola University student to promote the Tamms Prison protest mission, championed by yearten.org. Ms. Hasse was quite inspired by the evening, saying she "thought the music was so powerful and appropriate to the Tamms cause - the whole blues philosophy of finding beauty in

Elmo Raises the Roof at the Hideout for Prison Protesters

2008-03-23T13:04:00.005-05:00

Well, it's been a week since our March 15 show at the Hideout in Chicago. Better get some thoughts down while I can still remember it! Kent Lambert of the TAMMS Prison Coalition organized a great event, and from what I understand, it was a great fund raising success for the group whose mission is to dramatically turn around or ultimately shut down the maximum security prison in downstate

CD Review: Rousing Album of Traditional Electric Blues

2008-03-08T13:35:00.005-06:00

(March 6, 2008) I spotted a review of Elmore James Jr.'s "Daddy Gave Me the Blues" CD on the Jazz & Blues Music Reviews blog. Here's a teaser... "Billing himself as the 'undisputed son of the legendary blues great', Junior proves that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree with a rousing album of traditional electric blues, that is rooted in the past without being an exercise in sheer

Chicago Blues Hall of Fame Videos

2008-02-22T21:41:00.004-06:00

The Chicago Blues Hall of Fame website has a few cool videos worth watching. You'll find a couple by Elmore James Jr., recorded a few years back at The Big O bar and the Keynote Lounge (Chicago Southside clubs). Also Sexie Jamie, a featured artist with the Broomdusters Blues band, singing Wang Dang Doodle. Plus, vids with Vance Kelly and Magic Slim. They're pretty good quality -- decent sound

Blues Benefits Tamms Prison Protest Group

2008-02-17T13:38:00.004-06:00

On Saturday, March 15 2007, The Hideout, one of Chicago’s best kept entertainment secrets, will host a benefit for the Tamms Year Ten Coalition. Music includes our own Elmore James Jr. and Rupert. Tamms Ten Year Campaign is a coalition to publicize and protest the conditions at Tamms C-MAX prison in Illinois. To mark the tenth anniversary of the prison’s opening in downstate Illinois, the group

Mississippi Blues Musicians

2008-02-08T01:31:00.000-06:00

Elmore James Jr. was born in Richland, Mississippi, the same Delta town in which his dad, Elmore James, was born. The Mississippi Delta region was the source of so many blues and R&B musicians, many of whom migrated to Chicago, just as Elmo and Elmo Jr. Influential characters like Carey Bell, Howlin' Wolf, Eddie Clearwater, Tyrone Davis, Magic Slim, Hubert Sumlin, Muddy Waters -- to name a few.

Growing up Elmore James Jr.

2008-01-26T21:09:00.001-06:00

The Kalamazoo Gazette ran an article just before we performed in their fine town on Jan. 18. The article is based on a telephone interview the writer did with Elmo, so there's some good, personal material to enjoy.Elmo talked about his childhood, what Elmore James was like as a father, and his life after moving from Mississippi to Chicago (There's some exclusive stuff here that we haven't heard

Liner Notes from "Daddy Gave Me the Blues" - Elmore James Jr.

2008-01-26T16:35:00.000-06:00

The liner notes from Elmore James Jr.'s latest CD also tell a pretty good story about the artist's history. (Written by noted blues journalist & author, David Whiteis.) It's pretty difficult to get diehard blues aficionados to agree about anything, but few dispute the genius of Elmore James. Born in Richland, Mississippi in 1918, he was the rootsy yet forward-looking guitar innovator who updated

New CD: Daddy Gave Me the Blues

2008-01-26T14:10:00.001-06:00

Elmo's new CD, "Daddy Gave Me the Blues," will be released soon. Elmo traveled to California this past summer to record it with Cadillac Zack. I got an early release copy, and it's fantastic -- can't stop playing it! We'll be adding the new tunes into our performances, so please come out and catch the new material. More Info About the New Recording:

Kalamazoo State Theater - January 2008

2008-01-26T13:22:00.001-06:00

On Friday, January 18, we were honored to appear at the Kalamazoo State Theater in Kalamazoo, MI. The headliner was Larry McCray, who was absolutely fantastic! The venue seats about 1,500, and it looked pretty full, although it's hard to see the audience clearly with all those stage lights shining down. The crowd was enthusiastic, friendly and very

Welcome

2008-01-26T12:46:00.000-06:00

I'm Dave Lenef, guitarist for the Elmore James Jr. & the Broom Dusters band. I'll be posting to and moderating this blog. Look here for news, event announcements, opinions, comments related to Elmo and our world of deep Chicago blues.