When singer/songwriter/guitarist/taxi driver Mem Shannon released his debut CD A Cab Driver’s Blues in 1995, it marked the arrival of a major talent in contemporary blues. Yes, the inclusion of audiotaped conversations from passengers in his cab gave the record a unique twist and earned Shannon a mountain of media coverage, but above all, it [...]
“We’re the brothers/We’re the funky four/funk to the Valence/from the Calliope/like to sing and dance/in the neighborhood/we’re bad as lightning/and we’re loud as thunder/When you hear the Brothers/your body got to move“–The Neville Brothers, “Real Funk” The Neville Brothers’ familial bonds have kept them together as the Funky Four, even as each Brother has nurtured [...]
It’s been over two decades since Lazy Lester left Louisiana for Michigan, but the timeless harmonica-driven sound he forged for Excello Records in the mid-’50s and early ’60s still courses through his veins. On January 23, Lazy Lester’s swamp-blues rise again with the release of All Over You (Antone’s Records), a powerful new cd that [...]
Where does the time go? Another year is coming to a close. Perhaps it’s a time for reflection, where we take a look at the last 364 days, and gaze forward to 1999, wondering what new experiences it may bring. Nah. There’s too much going on in December in New Orleans, let alone running around [...]
As one of the founding members of The Band, Levon Helm helped rewrite rock and roll history. In one stretch from 1965-1969, Helm and his bandmates broke all the musical rules of the era. They were the backing band for Bob Dylan’s famed transition from acoustic folk to electric rock, and then moved to Woodstock, [...]
“I’m now 73, and I’ve been in the business now over 50 years, so I’m still looking for things I haven’t done,” says B.B. King. Calling from a hotel in New York City, the King of the Blues is referring to his new MCA album, Blues on the Bayou, a back-to-basics recording that King produced [...]
