The King of the Jungle” is back and as always, Eddie C. Campbell delivers the goods. This one is a real finger popper from beginning to end. Like most of the better known blues guitarists from the west side of Chicago—Magic Sam and Otis Rush come to mind—Campbell’s got a sound all his own. (The [...]
2010 isn’t turning out to be a very good year for legendary Louisiana rock ’n’ rollers. Just last month we reported on the passing of Bobby Charles. Sadly, this month we must pass on the news of Dale Hawkins’ death on February 3. Hawkins died at a hospice facility in his adopted hometown of Little [...]
I won’t say who thought this looked like a pretty interesting Chicago blues anthology, but it’s pretty obvious they were wrong. Despite its south side origins, this is only marginally blues. Several song titles date this one—“I’m a Streaker,” “Women’s Lib,” “California Girl”—just as much as the overuse of wah-wah pedals, fuzz tones and distorted [...]
If they ever need another name for classic New Orleans rhythm and blues, they might consider calling it Smiley Lewis music. Overton Lemons, a.k.a. Smiley Lewis, belongs on the same pedestal with Fess, Fats, Slim and Bartholomew, but unfortunately, his career was dogged by buzzard luck. His best songs were often covered and sanitized by [...]
The blues world was much disturbed when they heard of last year’s passing of Atlanta guitarist extraordinaire Sean Costello, who, a day shy of his 29th birthday, was clearly one of the young lions of the genre. But like Magic Sam, Hollywood Fats, and to a lesser extent, Stevie Ray Vaughan, we are left [...]
Ned Theall, the noted saxophonist, arranger and bandleader of the Boogie Kings died in a Lafayette hospital January 8, 2010. He was 72. Theall had played with the group as recently as New Year’s Eve.
Born in Abbeville, Louisiana, and a long-time resident of New Iberia, Theall joined the group in the mid-1960s after a hitch [...]
This Black Top Records reissue takes us back to 1991 when Snooks Eaglin was at the apex of his career. The song list here reads like a set he would have played at the Rock ’n’ Bowl or Jazz Fest, and includes a stellar back-up group. Producer Hammond Scott surrounded Snooks with local heavy hitters, [...]
If you’re into the stripped down, North Mississippi/Fat Possum sound, then Boo Boo Davis might just be for you. Chord changes here are a rarity and entire songs can consist of one vocal line repeated over and over. Even in these narrow confines, Davis has a distinct style going on. He sings like he means [...]
Let’s face it, music is as much a part of Mardi Gras as Zulu, Rex and hangovers. Not surprisingly, the majority of classic Mardi Gras songs were recorded during the golden era of New Orleans rhythm and blues, roughly the late 1940s to mid-1960s. The brass band revival of the 1980s provided a few Carnival [...]
This is the return of a very good old friend as Hep Cat has reissued one of the earliest albums from the catalog of New Orleans’ Black Top label. Earl King and Roomful of Blues fit like a hand inside a glove and this is the proof. The New England-based band frequently played Tipitina’s in [...]
