Hey, I Was on King Biscuit Time at the Delta Cultural Center

After meeting with a friend in Memphis the first night, we went on to West Helena, Arkansas to the Delta Cultural Center, also home of the King Biscuit Time radio show.

Helena-West Helena is a tiny, sleepy town just over the Mississippi River. The Delta Cultural Center is located on the main drag, Cherry Street, which once upon a time in the 1930s was teeming with businesses, shops, restaurants and night club - at least for white people. Jim Crow laws limited African Americans to Walnut Street, a separate business district that we can probably say was not quite equivalent. Still, West Helena served as a regional magnet for top blues musicians, in large part due to the King Biscuit Time radio show, whose signal could be heard for hundreds of miles throughout the Delta.


The King Biscuit Time show's history is well known among blues fans. The little museum on site contains many souvenirs from the days of Sonny Boy Williamson, Robert Lockwood Jr., David "Honeyboy" Edwards and others who played with the in-studio band through the 1940s.




I had to take a photo of this display showing a hat belonging to Pinetop Perkins. I swear I've seen him wear that hat before.

The Delta Cultural Center holds educational events periodically and also has traveling displays. At the time I visited there was a photo collection of juke joints.

While there's no longer an in-studio band, the King Biscuit Time show is still being broadcast daily on KFFA, and the host is still "Sunshine" Sonny Payne, who began working full-time on the program in 1951 and has hosted the great majority of the show's 15,000+ broadcasts.

Payne's studio is entirely open in the Cultural Center building. People kept telling me, arrive before the show and he'll put you on the air. Yeah, right. Well, Sonny's a quiet, mild-mannered guy, but before I knew it, he had directed me inside his booth and in front of a microphone. Next to me sat a young man from Vancouver, B.C., a blues musician who had a tape to share with Sonny.

Sonny started the show with Sonny Boy Williamson's Eyesight To The Blind. Then he talked to each of us a bit, then played the fellow's recording, which I believe was "Killing Floor." Then he talked to us more, read his sponsorships, and ended the show with a song by Chicago's Patricia Scott from the compilation Mojo Mamas, featuring vocalists from the Blue Chicago club.

Before I knew it, it was all over. I had been on King Biscuit Time!

Now I will warn you about future posts. The next day after this was when I started to get sick. I have only a few photos and now I'm finding my memory is fuzzy for those days. But I will report, as promised.

I Had the Bronchitis Blues on My Mississippi Blues Trip

By my third day in Mississippi, I had developed a horrible cough and it soon became clear I was sick. As you can imagine, this put a big kink in my plans. Instead of spending the evenings searching for Mississippi juke joints, I was huddled in motel beds with fever and chills. This was definitely not in my plans.

But while my trip was shortened and altered due to illness, I did manage to visit a few places, and I will report on those within the next day or so. I actually got back Monday but this (Saturday) is the first day I've been able to think straight.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I'm sad to say I wasn't able to follow up on them. But at least I am returning to the land of the living ::whew::

2009 Chicago Blues Festival Lineup Headlines Eddie C. Campbell, Bettye LeVette & Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings

Eddie C. Campbell will mark his 70th birthday by headlining the Chicago Blues Festival on Friday night. Bettye LaVette, "The Great Lady of Soul," will be featured Saturday night, while the soul group Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings will close out the festival on Sunday.

The festival will take place June 12-14 in Grant Park. This year's theme is "And This Is Free."

But the headliners are just the tip of the iceberg. The free festival, though pared down to three from four days, is nevertheless packed with talent. Here's the lineup:

Friday, June 12 - "Prowling Nighthawk"

Front Porch

• 12:00-1:00 pm - Blues in the Schools
• 1:30-2:30 pm - Gloria Thompson Rogers
• 3:00-4:30 pm - Big Bill and Mud Morganfield with special guests Pinetop Perkins and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith
• 5:00-6:00 pm - Andrew Jr. Boy Jones
• 6:30-8:00 pm - Charlie Musselwhite Band

Gibson Crossroads Stage

• 1:00-2:00 pm - Chicago Blues Experience featuring Vince Agwada and Russ Green
• 2:30-3:30 pm - Mary Lane’s Blues All Stars
• 4:00-5:30 pm - Sherman Moody Thomas and the Lee’s Unleaded Revue
• 6:00-7:00 pm - Grana’ Louise

Zone Perfect Route 66 Roadhouse

• 12:30-2:00 pm - Charles Wsir Johnson
• 2:30-3:30 pm - Donna Herula
• 4:00-5:00 pm - Remembering Nighthawk
• 5:30-6:30 pm - Beginning Blue Progression Workshop
• 7:00-8:00 pm - East of the Edens Soul Express

Mississippi Juke Joint

• 12:30-1:30 pm - Eddie Taylor Jr. with Harmonica Hinds
• 2:00-3:00 pm - Maxwell Street Revisited: featuring Dancin’ Perkins, Iceman Robinson, Smilin’ Bobby, Bobby Too Tough and Frank “Lil Sonny” Scott Jr.
• 3:30-4:30 pm - Sam Lay
• 5:00-6:00 pm - Fernando Jones and the Columbia College Blues Ensemble
• 6:30-8:00 pm - Festival Jam Session

Petrillo Band Shell

• 7:00-8:10 pm - Shirley Johnson

• 8:20-9:30 pm - Eddie C. Campbell-70th Birthday Celebration

Saturday, June 13 - "Sweet Black Angel"

Front Porch

• 12:00-1:30 pm - Earwig Record’s Tribute to Sunnyland featuring Aaron Moore, Allen Batts and Dennis Binder
• 2:00-3:00 pm - Holle Thee Maxwell
• 3:30-4:30 pm - Ray Allison
• 5:00-6:00 pm - Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials
• 6:30-8:00 pm - Nolan Struck with King Edward and special guests

Gibson Crossroads Stage

• 12:00-1:15 pm - Lurrie Bell
• 1:45-3:00 pm - Cyrus Hayes and Lady Lee
• 3:30-5:00 pm - Travis “Moonchild” Haddix

Zone Perfect Route 66 Roadhouse

• 12:30-2:00 pm - Charles Wsir Johnson
• 2:30-4:00 pm - The Art of the Slide Workshop: Elmore James Jr., Jeremy Spencer, Lil’ Ed, and John Primer
• 4:30-5:30 pm - Samuel James
• 6:30-8:00 pm - East of the Edens Soul Express

Mississippi Juke Joint

• 12:30-1:30 pm - Terry Harmonica Bean
• 2:00-3:00 pm - Eden Brent
• 3:30-4:30 pm - Little Dave Thompson
• 5:00-6:00 pm - John Primer and the Real Deal Blues Band
• 6:30-8:00 pm - Festival Jam Session-hosted by Demetria Taylor

Petrillo Band Shell

• 5:00-6:30 pm - Walter Scott hosts Southside Angels featuring Miss Peaches, Claudette, and Miss Jessie
• 6:40-8:10 pm - Trudy Lynn with the Chicago Rhythm and Blues Kings featuring “Daddy G”
• 8:20-9:30 pm - Bettye LaVette

Sunday, June 14 - "Every Day and Night"

Front Porch Stage

• 12:00-1:00 pm - Lee Boys
• 1:30-2:30 pm - Christland Singers
• 3:00-4:15 pm - Lou Pride and the Blues Disciples
• 4:45-6:00 pm - Rabbit Factory Soul Revue
• 6:30-8:00 pm - Vernon Harrington and the Atomic Blues Band

Gibson Crossroads Stage

• 12:00-1:15 pm - Tre’ and the BlueKnights with Lady Kat
• 1:45-3:00 pm - Ernest Lane and the Kings of Rhythm
• 3:30-5:00 pm - Lee Boys

Zone Perfect Route 66 Roadhouse

• 12:30-2:00 pm - Charles Wsir Johnson
• 2:30-4:00 pm - Eden and John’s East River Band with special guests Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton and Dom Flemons
• 4:30-6:00 pm - Change Blues Films to Record Collecting through the Ages
• 6:30-8:00 pm - East of the Edens Soul Express

Mississippi Juke Joint

• 12:30-1:30 pm - Ben Payton
• 2:00-3:00 pm - Big Jack Johnson
• 3:30-4:30 pm - David Honeyboy Edwards and with Devil in a Woodpile
• 5:00-6:00 pm - Grady Champion
• 6:30-8:00 pm - Blues Festival Pro Blues Jam-Gary Gand

Petrillo Band Shell

• 5:00-6:00 pm - Johnny Drummer and the Starlighters
• 6:10-7:10 pm - Big Jack Johnson and the Oilers
• 7:20-8:20 pm - Jeremy Spencer
• 8:30-9:30 pm - Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings

Birthday Party for Li'l Scotty March 28

I'm on the road in Mississippi (I'll report my trip when I get the chance!), but I wanted to report this item I received from Steve Balkin:

Birthday Celebration for Lil Scotty Saturday, March 28, 3-6 PM

Legendary Maxwell Street Bluesman and community activist, Clarence
'Lil Scotty' Scott, is going to have a birthday celebration with live
Blues music and many well known Blues artists at Las Americas Building
in Pilsen, 1611 S. Racine Ave., (Racine and 16th Street).

Saturday, March 28, 2009, from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00p.m. The public is
invited and, in the spirit of old fashioned Maxwell Street economics,
the event has a $20 admission (rent party) fee but it includes free
food.

There is plenty of street parking nearby.

They said it could not be done, but though 'Lil Scotty' has a trachea
tube in his throat from surgery two years ago, he can still speak and
sing.

He is still Soulman of Chicago.

I'm Mississippi Bound - Stay Tuned!

Next week I'll be touring the Mississippi Delta and surrounding area in search of the roots of the blues. And, I'll be blogging about my adventures right here at Today's Chicago Blues.

If all goes well, I'll be leaving by car on Tuesday, March 17. I'll spend the first night in Memphis, and then the next day I'll be off to Helena, Arkansas to the Delta Cultural Center. Over the next several days, I'll also be visiting the Delta Blues Museum and the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale and the B.B. King Museum in Indianola. I'll also be visiting some of the markers along the Mississippi Blues Trail.

If you have other suggestions for me, please let me know!

CD Review: Shirley Johnson, Blues Attack

Shirley Johnson
Blues Attack
Delmark DE 798

If you want a picture of what Chicago blues sounds like these days, look no farther than Shirley Johnson, whose new CD, Blues Attack, presents a full-bodied, wide-ranging selection of traditional blues flavored with gospel, soul and R&B. Johnson's voice is strong yet tender as she sings her way through 14 songs of bad-lover blues, love-gone-wrong ballads and independent woman anthems.

The CD comes seven years after Johnson's first album for Delmark, Killer Diller. In the interim, Shirley's been performing regularly at the Blue Chicago club on Clark Street. According to liner notes by David Whiteis, Johnson has been singing at the North Side Club nearly weekly for 17 years.

Johnson grew up in Virginia and grew up listening to blues/soul artists like Etta James, Bobby "Blue" Bland and Ruth Brown. This musical foundation is evident in her musical, as her vocal style shines comfortably among the horns, back-up singers and easy rhythms of these songs.

The majority of songs on the CD are originals, several written in whole or part by Maurice John Vaughn, another frequent Blue Chicago performer. Outstanding among the covers is the classic "Unchain My Heart," which Johnson slows down and infuses with a gospel spirit.

Making up the band are some top-notch musicians deserving of their own spotlight. Roosevelt "Mad Hatter" Purifoy on piano and organ delivers tasty solos on both instruments, notably on the first track "You're Reckless," a classic shuffle about a no-good man, "My Baby Played Me for a Fool," a soul-style tune complete with back-up singers, and "Selfish Kind of Gal," an uptempo song you can dance to. Purifoy and lead guitarist Luke Pytel trade licks on the slow, sad blues, "Let It Rain." The horn section is also excellent, especially tenor saxophonist Lawrence Fields.

Female vocalists have always led the way with the blues, though they are often overshadowed by the louder, more aggressive guitar-centered blues. It's too bad. Shirley Johnson is a quality blues artist, both on this CD and in live performances.

Video: Chicago Blues Festival History by Barry Dolins

The Chicago Blues Festival this year will be June 12-14, 2009 in Grant Park. It has been cut back to three days, Friday through Sunday. The lineup will be announced in early April, and I'll post it here as soon as I know.

Piedmont Guitarist John Cephas Passes

Sad news today about Piedmont blues guitarist John Cephas, who died today of natural causes. He was 78.

Cephas, shown here with Phil Wiggins, his parter of 35 years, last played the Chicago Blues Festival in 2007.

Born in 1930 in Washington D.C., John Cephas was raised in Bowling Green, Virginia. He first learned at an early age to play blues guitar from an aunt, and then learned the fingerpicking style of the Piedmont blues from his cousin, David Taleofero. His music is influenced by early Piedmont artists such as Blind Boy Fuller, Blind Blake, Rev. Gary Davis, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Tampa Red.

Cephas and Wiggins played all over the world and in 1997, performed for President Bill Clinton. He was most recently honored by the Library of Virginia as a Trailblazer in a ceremony commemorating Black History Month.

Cephas and Wiggins' latest CD is Richmond Blues, released last year.