[lastfm link_type="artist_info"]John Lee Williamson[/lastfm]was born in 1914. He’s a country blues player credited with making the harmonica an important blues instrument. His most famous song is “Good Morning School Girl,” recorded by [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]the Yardbirds[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Rod Stewart[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Johnny Winter[/lastfm], the [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Grateful Dead[/lastfm], and others. He also recorded a popular version of [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Robert Johnson[/lastfm]‘s “Stop Breaking Down,” later covered by the [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Rolling Stones[/lastfm]. In 1948, Williamson was killed by a robber in Chicago.

Williamson’s popularity led another harmonica player, [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Rice Miller[/lastfm], to adopt Sonny Boy Williamson as his stage name. He did not release records under this name during the original Sonny Boy’s lifetime, although the two men are reported to have met in 1942. According to bluesman [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Robert Lockwood[/lastfm], “Rice Miller could play Sonny Boy’s stuff better than he could play it.” The man known as Sonny Boy Williamson II wrote several songs recorded by later rock bands, including “Eyesight to the Blind” ([lastfm link_type="artist_info"]the Who[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]B. B. King[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Aerosmith[/lastfm]) and “Don’t Start Me to Talkin’” (the[lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Doobie Brothers[/lastfm]). The [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Allman Brothers Band[/lastfm]‘s “One Way Out” was co-written by him, too. Miller died in 1965, aged about 53, although his birthdate is uncertain.

Here’s an early-’60s TV performance of “Your Funeral and My Trial” by Sonny Boy Williamson. But is it John Lee Williamson or Rice Miller? If you’ve been paying attention, you know.

Experience more Rock Flashbacks.

[lastfm link_type="artist_info"]John Lee Williamson[/lastfm]was born in 1914. He’s a country blues player credited with making the harmonica an important blues instrument. His most famous song is “Good Morning School Girl,” recorded by [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]the Yardbirds[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Rod Stewart[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Johnny Winter[/lastfm], the [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Grateful Dead[/lastfm], and others. He also recorded a popular version of [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Robert Johnson[/lastfm]‘s “Stop Breaking Down,” later covered by the [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Rolling Stones[/lastfm]. In 1948, Williamson was killed by a robber in Chicago.

Williamson’s popularity led another harmonica player, [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Rice Miller[/lastfm], to adopt Sonny Boy Williamson as his stage name. He did not release records under this name during the original Sonny Boy’s lifetime, although the two men are reported to have met in 1942. According to bluesman [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Robert Lockwood[/lastfm], “Rice Miller could play Sonny Boy’s stuff better than he could play it.” The man known as Sonny Boy Williamson II wrote several songs recorded by later rock bands, including “Eyesight to the Blind” ([lastfm link_type="artist_info"]the Who[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]B. B. King[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Aerosmith[/lastfm]) and “Don’t Start Me to Talkin’” (the[lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Doobie Brothers[/lastfm]). The [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Allman Brothers Band[/lastfm]‘s “One Way Out” was co-written by him, too. Miller died in 1965, aged about 53, although his birthdate is uncertain.

Here’s an early-’60s TV performance of “Your Funeral and My Trial” by Sonny Boy Williamson. But is it John Lee Williamson or Rice Miller? If you’ve been paying attention, you know.

Experience more Rock Flashbacks.

[lastfm link_type="artist_info"]John Lee Williamson[/lastfm]was born in 1914. He’s a country blues player credited with making the harmonica an important blues instrument. His most famous song is “Good Morning School Girl,” recorded by [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]the Yardbirds[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Rod Stewart[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Johnny Winter[/lastfm], the [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Grateful Dead[/lastfm], and others. He also recorded a popular version of [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Robert Johnson[/lastfm]‘s “Stop Breaking Down,” later covered by the [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Rolling Stones[/lastfm]. In 1948, Williamson was killed by a robber in Chicago.

Williamson’s popularity led another harmonica player, [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Rice Miller[/lastfm], to adopt Sonny Boy Williamson as his stage name. He did not release records under this name during the original Sonny Boy’s lifetime, although the two men are reported to have met in 1942. According to bluesman [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Robert Lockwood[/lastfm], “Rice Miller could play Sonny Boy’s stuff better than he could play it.” The man known as Sonny Boy Williamson II wrote several songs recorded by later rock bands, including “Eyesight to the Blind” ([lastfm link_type="artist_info"]the Who[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]B. B. King[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Aerosmith[/lastfm]) and “Don’t Start Me to Talkin’” (the[lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Doobie Brothers[/lastfm]). The [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Allman Brothers Band[/lastfm]‘s “One Way Out” was co-written by him, too. Miller died in 1965, aged about 53, although his birthdate is uncertain.

Here’s an early-’60s TV performance of “Your Funeral and My Trial” by Sonny Boy Williamson. But is it John Lee Williamson or Rice Miller? If you’ve been paying attention, you know.

Experience more Rock Flashbacks.

1. Sonny Boy Williamson – Good Evening Everybody
2. Snooky Pryor – Crosstown Blues
3. Jimmy Reed – Honest I Do
4. Elmore James – The Sky Is Crying
5. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble – The Sky Is Crying
6. Son House – Pearline
7. Johnny Young – Money Talking Woman
8. Howlin’ Wolf – Evil
9. Rev. Gary Davis – How Happy I Am
10. Tony Hollins – I’ll Get A Break
11. Jimmy Smith – Hoochie Coochie Man
12. Washboard Sam – Barbecue
13. Muddy Waters – Turn The Lamp Down Low
14. Jimmy Rogers – Out On The Road

Link to archived shows.

but… baby… PUT THAT PISTOL DOWN!!!

Bring It On Home: 

1. T-Bone Walker – Blues is a Woman
2. Al Hibbler – Fat and Forty
3. Albert King – Bad Luck Blues
4. Alabama Red – Driving Wheel
5. Big Mama Thornton – They Call Me Big Mama
6. Bessie Smith – Empty Bed Blues
7. Memphis Minnie – Me and My Chauffeur Blues
8. Bil Boy Arnold – She Fooled Me
9. Sonny Boy Williamson – Don’t Start Me Talkin’
10. Jimmy Reed – I Found My Baby
11. Tampa Red – Big Stars Falling
12. Earl Hooker – Two Bugs & A Roach
13. Memphis Slim – Wish Me Well
14. Sam Chatman – Sam’s Rag

Link to all archived shows

A superb new 4CD box set, titled 100 Years of the Blues, has been released to celebrate the centenary of Robert Johnson’s birth, and also to mark the 60th anniversary of Muddy Waters’ first recording sessions on Stovall’s Cotton Plantation in Mississippi.

The set comprises 91 tracks and traces the story of the blues from the early 20th century right up to the present day.

It comes with a 126-page book and detailed liner notes that describe each stage in the evolution of the blues.

Each CD covers a different era of the blues: Pre War Blues, Urban Blues, The Sixties and Modern Day Blues.

Watch a video and READ THE FULL STORY HERE…

# # # #

Check out our SH-BOOM! digital magazine. It’s FREE! You can read a sample HERE…

If you’d like to receive a FREE personal copy of each issue, simply SIGN UP at http://www.sh-boommagazine.com/.

Tell your friends about us too!

We’d love to hear what you think in our ‘oldies music’ poll below:

Which artist do you find most uplifting? Leave a comment below and let us know…

Hugh and some lady friends

“Super Freak” by Rick James

“As Good As I Once Was” by Toby Keith

“My Girls” by Arcade Fire

“Good Morning Little School Girl” by Sonny Boy Williamson

“Girls, Girls, Girls” by Motley Crue

“I Like Big Tits” by Joe Walsh

“Not Dead Yet” by The Weepies

Happy creating people, that’s how you deal with the “RAINY BLUES BABAY’S”

The Sky Is Cryin’
Can you see the tears roll down the street
The Sky Is Cryin’
Can you see the tears roll down the street

I’ve been lookin’ for my baby
And I wonder where she can be
I saw may baby early one mornin’
She was walking on down the street

I saw may baby early this mornin’
She was walking on down the street
You known it hurt me… hurt me so bad
Made my poor heart skip a beat

INSTRUMENTALS

I’ve got a real, real, real, real bad feelin’… that my baby she don’t love me no more
I’ve got a real, real, real bad feelin’… that my baby don’t love me no more
You know the sky... the sky’s been cryin’ yah
Can you see the tears roll down my nose

‘What do ya do when you meet the Devil?’ (no, the answer is no longer Give Him Your Guitar To Tune Up). The question is shouted from the stage of the Plumpton Beer and Blues Festival, organised by the Plough Inn, which is why Beer comes first in the title. And loads of beer – a long row of barrels, my favourite being the coffee beer. Really.

Sadly the big field dwarfs a smattering of blues fans, or beer fans, probably both. When we’d arrived, there’d been a skiffle-kind of act in the beer tent, banjo and percussion and toys, who were really quirky and tight, but the blues band on the big stage reminds me of the Bonzo Dogs’ immortal question: ‘Can The Blue Men Sing the Whites?’ to which the answer is, Not Generally. It’s leaden and lumpen and loud. I can’t help but trot out my history (again!): watching Sonny Boy Williamson on stage, mean and menacing in shiny black suit and bowler, rolling his harmonica around in his mouth; Jimmy Reed, bouncing into the Bromel Club in ruffled shirt and bolero jacket, chunking out Big Boss Man; and John Lee Hooker leaving his English backing backing band adrift with his idiosyncratic changes. And yes, young man, I really did buy him a Scotch.

The blues was, is, a form: 12 bars, three chords, simple – eh? But it’s about feeling, intensity, space and swing. In Chicago in the 50′s they had little amplifiers, a double bass, small kit, and a rough sound. Listen to Buddy Guy’s ‘First Time I Met the Blues’ with his anguished yelps and frenetic guitar, or Howlin’ Wolf growling out ‘Goin’ Down Slow’ – and you get the picture.

Anyway – we (Ska Toons, that is – what were WE doing there?) are in the beer tent: local band. We go on after The Contenders finish their set with a driving version of Talking Heads’ ‘Life During Wartime’, still wondering what this crowd are going to make of an eight-piece jazz-ska band. And, extraordinarily, the beer’n'blues audience tap their feet, nod their heads, drink their beer, a few dance. All smiles. We finish and the sound man signals ‘Off’. We get off stage. The crowd are still calling for an encore. The sound man signals ‘All Right – Encore If You Like’. We blast through a fast ‘Monkey Man’ and leave. And yes, we did play a blues:  ‘Night Train’.

Chess Checkmate (NME012). Spring 1984.

1. Howlin’ Wolf – Smokestack Lightnin
2. John Lee Hooker – Walkin’ The Boogie
3. Little Walter – Juke
4. Muddy Waters – I Just Want To Make Love To You
5. Lowell Fulsom – Reconsider Baby
6. Jimmie Rogers – Chicago Bound
7. Sonny Boy Williamson – Help Me
8. Willie Mabon – I Don’t Know
9. Don & Bob – Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
10. Chuck Berry – Almost Grown
11. Bo Diddley – Bring It To Jerome
12. Ramsey Lewis Trio – Wade In The Water
13. Tony Clarke – Ain’t Love Good Ain’t Love Proud
14. Koko Taylor – Wang Dang Doodle
15. Sugar Pie DeSanto – Soulful Dress
16. Billy Stewart – Summertime
17. The Radiants – Voice Your Choice
18. Fontella Bass & Bobby McLure – Don’t You Mess Up A Good Thing
19. Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces – Searchin’ For My Love
20. Maurice & Mac – You Left The Water Running
21. Etta James – Tell Mama
22. Little Milton – Feel So Bad

Misja slaapt inmiddels. Vandaag is dus voorbij.
Dan hebben we gelukkig morgen en overmorgen nog samen.

Whilst the late sixties and seventies were kind to Paul Rodgers the eighties and early nineties were someting of a mixed bag. Bad Company stuttered to a halt in 1982 with the largely disappointing Rough Diamonds. A self indulgent solo album arrived the following year on which Rodgers played all the instruments himself and whilst it was pleasant enough it lacked the quality it would have had if some top notch musicians had been on board to back up Rodgers top quality vocals. The Firm was an experiment with Jimmy Page which never really worked and was hampered in live shows by the brave but questionable decision to totally disregard both Rodgers and Page’s back catalogue from Led Zeppelin, Free and Bad Company. Following that The Law was never really a band just a one album collaboration with Kenney Jones which featured mostly outside writers material and was a little too swamped in a middle of the road AOR production for most.

So when 1993′s “Muddy Water Blues” album came along Rodgers was really in need of a decent product to get him back up with the elite. A return to the blues roots, a collection of heavyweight special guests, and lengthy tours during which the Free and Bad Company back catalogue was heavily plundered did the trick though and Rodgers was back.

Rodgers assembled a pretty heavyweight outfit for the album and as well as the numerous legendary guitar players, most tracks feature a different six stringer, the main band was packed with talent too. Jason Bonham on drums, Ian Hatton on rhythm gutar and no less than Pino Palladino on bass. The album kicks off with the only original composition on the album, the Rodgers penned title track ‘Muddy Water Blues’. The song actually tops and tails the album and it is the acoustic version that starts proceedings. It has a real delta blues swamp feel with great backing vocals from Alexandra Brown, Carmen Carter and Jean McClain which along with Mark Williams bass drum give it a great old time feel. Buddy Guy is the guitarist for this one and he provides some great picked blues guitar. Rodgers himself plays some nylon guitar to go along with his easy laid back vocal. A vocal which he as usual manages to make sound effortless. ‘Louisiana Blues’ is the first of the hard hitting electric tracks and has a great chugging riff from Trevor Rabin and a nice harmonica solo from Jimmie Wood. Whilst ‘I Can’t Be Satisfied’ starts with a nice funky solo from Brian Setzer before the drums come in and then it turns into a classic mid tempo blues stomp before ending as it began with some nice funky guitar. ‘Rollin Stone’ is the first of the lengthy classic blues tunes and has Rodgers delivering a vocal in the same sort of style as he did on Mr Big when with Free. The steam train guitar is provided by Jeff Beck and the two share the limelight perfectly. A proper Beck / Rodgers collaboration would have been interesting if this is anything to go by. Beck stays on board for ‘Good Morning Little Schoolgirl’ which is probably not the most politically correct lyric for these times but is still a great track written by Sonny Boy Williamson. Rodgers totally nails the vocal as ever and Becks guitar provides some great colour both above and below the vocal. When it comes time to let rip with a solo it is a superb understated chugger of a solo full of atmosphere. Brilliant stuff. Mark Williams is back with his rhythmic bass drum and some brushes to give the track even more old time delta blues authenticity.

The first of the Wilie Dixon tracks is up next with ‘Hoochie Coochie Man’ a track which must have been recorded by just about everyone you’ve ever heard of but still manages to sound reasonably fresh in the hands of Rodgers and Steve Miller who is the guest guitarist this time around. Jimmie Wood is back with the obligatory harmonica.  A couple of false endings and some interplay betweem Miller and Rodgers bring the song to a nice close. ‘She’s Alright’ features some Hammond from Ronnie Foster, an instrument which I always feel works well with Rodgers’ voice but that he doesn’t use often enough. Trevor Rabin is back on the guitar but despite the Hammond it is still one of the weakest tracks on offer here. ‘Standing Around Crying’ on the other hand may just be one of the best. Done in a standard rock blues way it reminds me in feel of one of those early Led Zeppelin blues tracks. The guitar this time comes from David Gilmour who puts in a good solid performance with some nice touches and a great solo. Again the use of the Hammond organ, this time played by Paul Shaffer, gives the song an extra dimension. Vocally it is similar in delivery to the bluesier Free cuts such as ‘Goin Down Slow’ from their debut album ”Tons of Sobs”.  Slash makes an appearance on ‘The Hunter’ and despite his good performance it seems a pretty silly idea to include it here to me. Rodgers of course had already recorded this track in the Free days with Paul Kossoff on guitar and who is going to better a Kossoff version. If it is not the worst track on the album it is certainly the most pointless and I would have loved to see Slash given a different vehicle to collaborate with Rodgers on. As good as his solo is you just want it to be Koss. ‘She Moves Me’ is a slower track which features Gary Moore on guitar this time and is pleasant enough without being anything too special although Moore’s guitar is as ever top notch.

Full time swing comes to the fore with ‘I’m Ready’. It is interesting for me as I am more familiar with the Frankie Miller version. My two favourite singers covering the same track is interesting but in the same way as you can’t prefer one of your children over the other I have to call it a draw ……. at least publicly !!  Brian May provides some good funky swing time blues guitar and this led onto the ‘Reaching Out’ project and subsequently Rodgers collaboration with Queen. The third and final Willie Dixon track ‘I Just Wanna Make Love To You’ is another heavily covered track but Rodgers again lets rip with a belting vocal. As on the earlier track Jeff Beck’s guitar is the perfect foil to the vocal and as I said earlier it would surely have been nice to hear them make a complete album together. ‘Born under A Bad Sign’ doesn’t really fit with the rest of the album for me but is still a decent enough track, as you would expect with Neal Schon and Rodgers together. It just lacks the same blues feel as the rest of the album for me and is closer to Rodgers’ other solo output. The piano and Hammond help though but it would still be close to the albums low point. Part two of ‘Good Morning Little Scoolgirl’ is a more electric version and features Richie Sambora on guitar. It hasn’t got quite the same blues feel as the earlier one but this is done in a more straight up rock style and is not dis-similar to early Stones or Faces. The final track is a second version of the title track but this time done in an electric style rather than the acoustic version of the opener. The lyric is slightly different and the addition of the Hammond is a nice touch. Neal Schon provides the guitar and as well as he plays it still misses the blues picking that Buddy Guy provided on the acoustic version for me. Some sort of mixture of the two would have been my preference. Maybe the acoustic version to start turning into the electric version. There is no reason why Guy’s guitar couldn’t have contributed to the electric part as well although that could possibly have been seen as overkill I suppose. The piano under the vocal in places is a good touch and the song builds nicely to a climax before slowing down to end almost acoustically. Impossible to choose a favourite version I’m afraid. So maybe the decision to record two versions was justified after all.

The first pressings of the album also came with a bonus disc which featured Rodgers, Bonham. Palladino and Hatton revisiting some old Free and Bad Company tunes.  ‘All Right Now’, ‘Wishing Well’ and ‘Fire and Water’ from Free and ‘Feel Like Makin Love, Can’t Get Enough’ and the track ‘Bad Company’ from Bad Company. In truth they are pretty ordinary run throughs and are obviously nowhere near the quality of the originals but it is still interesting to hear them in slightly reworked form.

“Muddy Water Blues” was recorded at various studios due to the many guests on the album but producer Billy Sherwood managed to keep the sound pretty similar throughout and the album has a real feel of a live jam about it particularly on the lengthier numbers. The album was nominated for a Grammy and Rodgers was back on track. This is an essential album for not only lovers of Rodgers but also of good solid blues music.

© Martin Leedham. First published on RYM October 2011