ROBERTA'S STOKED

A couple of days ago I was listening to the jazz station, a weekly show called Saturday Night Fish Fry. If you know the song of the same name by Louis Jordan, you'd probably guess that the show featured jump blues and you'd be right. Also mixed in is pre-rock 'n' roll rhythm and blues. Good shit. The show is only a couple hours long and nearly every week I cut out early to post something else. Not this week. Fuggit, I thought. I was going to listen to the whole thing. What good is posting music if you don't allow yourself the time to actually listen undistracted? So I had me a rhythm and blues binge for the past two days and did little more than scratch the surface. Thought I might drag you along with me.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Ray Charles - Mess Around mp3 at Internet Archive
Jimmy Liggins - Drunk mp3 at Internet Archive
Bull Moose Jackson - I Know Who Threw the Whiskey mp3 at Internet Archive
Big Maceo - Chicago Breakdown mp3 at Internet Archive
Louis Jordan - Caldonia mp3 at Internet Archive
T Bone Walker - Sail on Boogie mp3 at Internet Archive
Sonny Boy Williamson - Shake That Boogie mp3 at Internet Archive
Bill Moore - We're Gonna Rock  mp3 at Internet Archive
Johnny Otis and His Orchestra - Harlem Nocturne mp3 at Internet Archive

BACK WHEN MULTI-TASKING WAS MULTI-TASKING

Man, I just love Rahsaan Roland Kirk. For starters, the guy could play multiple reed instruments at the same time. I don't know how many of you have tried blowing a clarinet or a sax, but getting even a note out of one takes quite a bit of wind. It's just crazy to play more than one and I've seen photos of him playing four at once. How does that work? You might have the wind, and a big enough mouth but you only have two hands. He was also known to play the flute with his nose. Say whaaaaa? This would be about the time that you run off to YouTube to see how he does it. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Another thing I dig about him is that more often than not, the beginning of what he's playing gives no indication of where the song, or his performance, is going. Particularly his live stuff. They'll start out one way, instruments added, some subtracted, and different sections morphing into another, and end completely different. They're engaging. He's really beyond jazz. Dude's a trip.

This first one below takes the WTF factor to another level. While Kirk's jamming all manner of reeds into his mouth, here comes Sonny Boy Williamson. Sonny Boy fucking Williamson. He's a blues harp player, Chicago blues. What the fuck he's doing sharing a stage with (pre-Rahsaan) Roland Kirk in 1963 in Copenhagen is anybody's guess.

Check out all of the Rashaan Roland Kirk posts over at Melting Pot. They love the guy over there. There's tons of stuff on YouTube as well. Never boring.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen

Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Monkey Thing mp3 at Melting Pot With Sonny Boy Williamson, 1963

Rahsaan Roland Kirk - The Seeker mp3 at Melting Pot 1970. 17 minutes, the mid-song full wig out is worth the wait.

Visit:

Much more Rahsaan Roland Kirk at Meting Pot.

YEAH, UH HUH, SURE...

Nice photo up there, no?  The full size version is something to behold. It may be the best studio photo of Sonny Boy Williamson that exists and it can be found here in all it's high resolution glory.  That's the real reason for this post, the music's just a little padding.

Williamson was, of course, a great harp player, but he was an even better bullshitter, so much so that no one actually knows when he was born. When he went to Europe in the sixties, towards the end of his career, he found appreciative new fans and wide acclaim courtesy of the British blues craze. Alas, his bullshitting was so known by then that when he returned many of his peers didn't believe that he went anywhere near Europe.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Sonny Boy Williamson - Eyesight to the Blind mp3 at Willy's New Joint
Sonny Boy Williamson - Dissatisfied mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu
Sonny Boy WillIamson - Don't Start Me Talkin' mp3 at Madison Amps (?)
Token oddball cover:
Bob Dylan - Don't Start Me Talkin' (live) mp3 at Nu Rave Brain Wave
Visit: 
Sonny Boy Willamson at Wikipedia
Full size Sonny Boy - high resolution version of the photo above here

A MESS OF BLUES

Here's a whole bunch of good blues. A lot of it may be familiar. There's some lesser known stuff here too. Check out the recommended sites at the bottom. You'll want to bookmark them, there's way more than one visits worth.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Son House - Levee Camp Moan mp3 at Dr. Mooney's 115th Dream
Robert Johnson - Ramblin' On My Mind mp3 at Hell Hound On My Trail
Robert Johnson - Crossroads mp3 at Big American Night
Irene Scruggs - Voice of the Blues mp3 at Honey, Where You Been So Long?
Jazz Gillum - Reefer Head Woman mp3 at Clumsy and Shy
Lightnin' Hopkins - She's Almost Dead mp3 at Clumsy and Shy
T-Bone Walker - Stormy Monday Blues mp3 at Star Maker Machine
Howlin' Wolf - Smokestack Lightning mp3 at Clumsy & Shy
Sonny Boy Williamson - Good Morning Little School Girl mp3 at Star Maker Machine
Little Walter - My Babe mp3 at Snuhthing Anything
Koko Taylor - Wang Dang Doodle mp3 at Dr. Mooney's 115th Dream
Muddy Waters - I Feel Like Going Home mp3 at Big American Night

Recommended, find blues here:
Honey, Where You Been So Long? (pre-war blues)
Hell Hound On My Trail (all vintage)
Clumsy & Shy (periodic blues posts)
Dr. Mooney's 115th Dream (periodic blues posts)

THIS WILL NOT BE MY LAST CHESS RECORDS POST.

There's far too much in the history of Chess Records to even entertain the thought of writing a short blurb worthy. In a nutshell, they just plain kicked ass. They've got to be in the top three rock n' roll related labels of all time. Like Sun and Stax, their roster was stellar and crossed multiple genres. Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, and John Lee Hooker, just to name a few. But you knew that (you'd better have).

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One of the most under-appreciated Chess alum is singer, writer and bass player, Willie Dixon. His contribution to rock n' roll, and Chicago blues, cannot be overstated. Beyond backing practically all of his big name labelmates, the songs Dixon wrote transcended Chess and have been played by every single rock band that ever existed (times infinity).

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This one, a duet with Koko Taylor, gives me goosebumps. It starts out slow, with an sparse, eery introduction. The arrangement and instrumentation just drip despair. Then, Dixon's low bellow slowly trods to a pause, just before Taylor's first verse. When she starts to wail (at 1:15 in the song), you will be committed. This is not an ordinary blues song.

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Wille Dixon and Koko Taylor - Insane Asylum mp3 and 20+ other songs about mental instability at Beware of the Blog

The Chess Story & Discography at Both Sides Now