Byther Smith, Rockin' Johnny at Buddy Guy's Legends

Last night I met some out-of-town friends at Buddy Guy's Legends. They arrived early enough for the regular weekend acoustic set, which featured Diamond Jim Greene, but I was detained by another commitment and didn't get there until shortly before the Rockin' Johnny Band took the stage.

Since his return to the blues scene in January, Rockin' Johnny has played at numerous clubs around Chicago and performed with Mary Lane at the Chicago Blues Festival. He started with a slide instrumental and played several songs he said were from his CDs, which include Straight out of Chicago and Man's Temptation. I also recall a Magic Sam tune.


The great thing about Rockin' Johnny is that his sound is fully rooted in the old-style Chicago blues sound, but his approach is original and contemporary. Legends was packed, but a group of (mostly) women found a space in the back of the club and had fun dancing to the upbeat, energetic music.

Late in the set, Johnny broke a string and switched guitars. Take a look at the photo. Have you ever seen a guitar like this before? I'm not familiar with this brand or style.

On rhythm guitar for the Rockin' Johnny Band was Rick Kreher. I did not catch the names of the bass player and drummer.

Byther Smith had been warming up by playing pool in the back and was raring to go when it was time for the main show. The 76-year-old Mississippi-born bluesman plays much the same way he did in the 1960s when he first started on the Chicago blues scene.

One of his first songs was an instrumental version of "Ain't No Sunshine." Soon we heard the familiar opening riff of "Messing with the Kid," and I thought of Smith's playing with Junior Wells on the Delmark CD, Live at Theresa's 1975. In the 1970s, Smith often played with Junior Wells, as well as Otis Rush, George "Harmonica" Smith and many others.



Later, as I was watching Smith perform, I was thinking how much he reminded me of B.B. King with his gestures and facial expressions. Just then Smith started playing "The Thrill is Gone."

The band was tight with plenty of funk on songs like Howlin' Wolf's "Three Hundred Pounds of Joy" and "Just a Little Bit."

I swear, the drummer was the happiest drummer I've ever seen. I didn't know his name, or the name of the second guitarist (whom I know I've seen before, but his name escapes me). On bass was E.G. McDaniel. Edited to add: The drummer is Brian Parker, who also played with Koko Taylor's Blues Machine and was injured in the van wreck last year. (Thank you to Blues Machine guitarist Shun Kikuta for the information.)


Smith recorded a DVD for Delmark, released in 2008, called Byther Smith: Blues On The Moon - Live at Natural Rhythm Social Club.

Delmark DVD Screening and Live Performances July 24 at Buddy Guy's Legends

Delmark Records is throwing another big musical bash at Buddy Guy's Legends on July 24.

The party will feature live music and a screening of the DVD, It Ain't Over: Delmark Celebrates 55 Years of Blues, which was videotaped a year ago March at Buddy Guy's Legends.

Here's what you can expect in the DVD, according to Delmark:

Delmark's 55th Anniversary Blues Bash at Buddy Guy's Legends featured most of Delmark's local blues roster, a Delmark Day proclamation from Mayor Daley, and a Grammy Hall of Fame Award for the groundbreaking Hoodoo Man Blues album from Junior Wells and Buddy Guy. Live performances by Lurrie Bell, Tail Dragger, Zora Young, Jimmy Johnson with Dave Specter, Aaron Moore, Eddie Shaw, Shirley Johnson, and the late Little Arthur Duncan (his last recorded performances!) - sizzling live Chicago blues - there was truly something magic in the air that night! This historic blues party was thankfully captured live at Legends on March 7, 2008. The featured band most of the night was Lurrie Bell (guitar) Bob Stroger (bass) Roosevelt "Mad Hatter" Purifoy (keys) and Kenny Smith (drums).

Here's the schedule for the evening:

5:30 to 6:30 p.m. - Aaron Moore will play a solo piano acoustic set.

7 to 8:30 p.m. - Screening of the Delmark DVD, It Ain't Over ! 55 Years of Blues.

9 to 10 p.m. - Quintus McCormick will perform. McCormick's new CD, Hey Jodie!, will soon be released on Delmark.

10:30 to close - Michael Coleman, master of funky blues and soul, will play, with special guest stars Zora Young, Shirley Johnson and Jimmy Johnson.

The rhythm section will consist of Merle Perkins on drums, Roosevelt "The Mad Hatter" Purifoy on keys and Andre Howard on bass.

"Delta Blues" Follows in Footsteps of "Chicago Blues"

I like the blues, and I like to read, so I'm looking forward to the release this fall of Delta Blues, a collection of short fiction set in the Mississippi Delta.

From the introduction by actor and blues lover Morgan Freeman:

This collection of short fiction captures both the art of the tale and the power of the blues, and is a nod at the human condition that often inspires musicians to write and sing the blues. These stories tell about bad men and bad women who sometimes do good--or sometimes follow their true nature. Some of these characters know all about the dangers of making a bargain with the devil. And some know the power of redemption. These are characters who would not be out of place in a Honeyboy Edwards tune, and would be right at home alongside the desolate wail of Clarksdale, Mississippi, native Son House.

The short story authors are all well acquainted with the blues and Mississippi. They include (among others) Ace Atkins, author of Crossroad Blues (Nick Travers Series)
; John Grisham, best-selling author who lives in Oxford; and my favorite southern writer, James Lee Burke, whose crime-fighting protagonist Dave Robicheaux has a soft spot for Guitar Slim. The book is edited by Carolyn Haines.

Delta Blues will be published by Bleak House books, the same company that produced Chicago Blues, a similar collection of short fiction edited by Libby Fischer Hellman. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, not only for the blues references but for the varied offerings of mystery/crime by well-known authors such as Sara Paretsky and Barbara D'Amato I also had the opportunity to become acquainted with authors new to me, like J.A. Konrath.

The book release party will take place at Morgan Freeman's Ground Zero blues club in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on Oct. 3.

Is it too early to start making a Christmas list?

Farewell to Manuel Arrington, Entertainer Extraordinaire

I'd like to say a few words of remembrance for Manuel Arrington, a Chicago MC, singer, and comedian who passed away in April, a week before his 64th birthday.

Born in Mississippi, Arrington was a familiar face and voice in Chicago blues clubs. He MC'ed at Pepper's Lounge, joined the legendary Herb "The Cool Gent" Kent on WVON, and worked with such blues luminaries as Johnny Taylor, Tyrone Davis, Otis Clay, and B.B. King.

If that's not enough, he was a friend to everyone and a true gentleman. When I was researching at the Genesis Lounge in Country Club Hills for Today's Chicago Blues, Manual took time to sit and talk with me about the old days in Chicago blues and introduced me to many people there, including Phil Guy.

The concept of the MC is an honored tradition in African American blues culture, and nobody did it quite like Manual. He sang, told jokes, interacted with the crowd, and made sure everybody had a good time. He will be missed.

Blues Exhibit Now at DuSable Museum

The DuSable Museum of African American History is hosting an exhibit about the blues from now through Dec. 13.

The exhibit, titled "The Soul of Bronzeville The Regal, Club DeLisa, and the Blues," comes courtesy of the Chicago Blues Museum, which owns an impressive collection of blues memorabilia and audio/visual material. The museum has been in development for many years and does not have a permanent location. However, you can now see a part of the collection at the DuSable Museum.

According to the Chicago Reader, the exhibit includes a booth from the Checkerboard Lounge and Howlin' Wolf's guitar, as well as memorabilia from artists like Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed and Little Walter and clubs like Smitty's Corner and the 7o8 Club.

New York Times Profiles Bob Koester of Delmark & Jazz Record Mart

The New York Times has a nice profile of Bob Koester of Delmark Records and Jazz Record Mart. 

(That's Bob with Buddy Guy at the Delmark Records 55th Anniversary party at Legends.)

In the article, Buddy talks about the recording of Hoodoo Man Blues with Junior Wells. Charlie Musselwhite and Bruce Iglauer of Alligator Records are also interviewed. 

Click here to read the article.

Michael Jackson: A Chicago Blues Connection

As the world is reeling with the shock of Michael Jackson's death, I'm thinking of the King of Pop's humble beginnings in Gary, Indiana, just east of Chicago.

Before the Jackson Five became a household name, the group and a very young MJ were gigging around black clubs in Gary and Chicago. I learned something about these days from Chicago blues-R&B artist Johnny Drummer.When I was interviewing Johnny for my book, Today's Chicago Blues, he told me this story:

For a time back in the 1960s, Johnny Drummer had an unusual opening act: a group of young brothers from Gary, Ind. called the Jackson Five. Drummer was headlining at the Club Paradise on the West Side. On Sunday afternoons, the club held a matinee featuring the Jackson Five. Michael Jackson was just a little boy at the time. Drummer remembers little kids running around as he was bringing in his gear, but he never paid much attention to the kids. “They would just play until we got there,” he says.

I'm thinking it might have been better in the long run if Michael Jackson had more time to run around like a little kid.