Exploring The Places The Blues Came From
As one of Our Recommendations and Recommended Recordings, we recommend I’m A Lover Not A Fighter: Complete Excello Singles 1958-1962 by Lazy Lester, released on Jasmine Records.
Available through Amazon.com and these Amazon affiliates:
Here is a video of Lazy Lester performing in 2011:
Here is a video of Lazy Lester performing in 2014:
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We have had a request for assistance from Monty Deane, whose father, Wally Deane, recorded for Lillian McMurry at Trumpet Records in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1950s.
He is working on a history of his father’s recording career and is looking for photos of Trumpet Records and/or any other information about his father and Trumpet Records during the 1950s.
If you can help Monty Deane in this project, please contact him directly by email: tecboy696@yahoo.com
Here is the email Monty Deane sent us:
“My father Wally Deane (http://www.wallydeane.com) recorded for Lillian McMurry at Trumpet/Globe. I have been blessed to see all the great info donated to the U of Miss. I am wondering if anyone might have pictures of Trumpet Records back in the 50’s? There had to be some pictures, stories of the happenings going on at Trumpet Records. But pictures are the most memorable. Please, if there are, please let me know where. Thank you!
Monty Deane”
Here are some photos of the former Trumpet Records studio on N. Farish Street in Jackson, Mississippi.
Here are some Wally Deane recordings on YouTube:
This 4 CD box set on JSP Records contains the 1951-1954 recordings from Trumpet Records but does not include any Wally Deane recordings.
We came across this video of a New Musical Express concert in 1965. It’s not all blues but there are some great examples of 1960’s British bands doing blues covers.
Performers, in order of appearance are the Moody Blues (pre- Justin Hayward and John Lodge, when they were doing blues covers like Bo Diddley), Freddy and the Dreamers, Georgie Fame (covering Rufus Thomas‘ Walking The Dog), The Seekers, Herman’s Hermits, The Ivy League,
Merry Christmas to all our readers.
Here are some Christmas blues.
Chuck Berry – Run, Run Rudolph
Chuck Berry and Keith Richards – Run Run Rudolph
John Lee Hooker – Blues For Christmas
Lightnin’ Hopkins – Santa
Albert King – Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’
The Drifters – Santa’s Got The Blues
Denise Lasalle – Santa’s Got The Christmas Blues
Wanda Jackson & the Continentals – Merry Christmas Baby
Many of our readers may have already seen this video of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert King performing in a Hamilton, Ontario TV studio on 6 December 1983. For those who haven’t, this one is well worth watching and listening to.
We came across these videos of Jesse Fuller.
Jesse Fuller was born in Georgia and later moved to California so he’s not a Mississippi bluesman. But we thought our readers would enjoy these videos anyway.
The first two videos are from a 1968 Seattle TV station recording. We think these were made by the Seattle PBS station KCTS but we have to do more research before stating that conclusively.
In Part 1 notice that Jesse Fuller is using a folded pocket knife as a slide at about 4:00. This technique was described by W.C. Handy in his autobiography and Handy noted having seen an unnamed guitar player using it while waiting at the Tutwiler, Mississippi train station circa 1903. There is a Mississippi Blues Trail marker at the site of the now demolished train station in Tutwiler, Mississippi
This one is audio only. It’s a recording of a 1962 Jesse Fuller performance at the University of Chicago. The audio is good quality.
We will add some recommended recordings of Jesse Fuller in due time.
We came across this short documentary about Lightnin’ Hopkins, featuring Jimmie Vaughan and B.B. KIng.
Also see our webpage about Lightnin’ Hopkins.
We came across this video of Lightnin’ Hopkins doing Big Joe Williams’ Baby Please Don’t Go in the early 1960’s.
Here’s a lesson by Stefan Grossman on how to play this song:
We came across this video of John Mayall and Mick Taylor in 1968. The video is from a French TV show produced in 1968.
Here’s a video of Buddy Guy at Red Rocks in 2013