We came across this video of Big Joe Turner (1911-1985) performing on British TV in May 1965 backed by some first rate American and British musicians.
A 1971 Video Of Muddy Waters, Big Joe Turner, Big Mama Thornton and George “Harmonica” Smith – Filmed by the Crew of the TV Show “Gunsmoke”
We just came across this documentary video of Muddy Waters, Big Joe Turner, Big Mama Thornton and George “Harmonica” Smith performing in Eugene, Oregon in 1971.
Apparently the film crew of the TV show Gunsmoke took a break between episodes and shot this documentary. Well worth watching. Hope you enjoy it.
A Video of B.B. King and James Brown, 1985
Here’s a concert video on B.B. King performing with James Brown in 1985.
You might want to check out this B.B. King release…
1965 Painting By Carroll Cloar “Where The Southern Cross The Dog” In Moorhead, Mississippi
A reader has drawn our attention to a 1965 painting by Carroll Cloar entitled “Where The Southern Cross The Dog” which depicts a railway crossing in Moorhead, Mississippi. This railway crossing became part of the lyric in W.C. Handy‘s Yellow Dog Blues.
Our reader was wondering whether we knew where he could buy a print of this painting. We couldn’t find any available prints of this painting. If any of our readers know of any commercially available prints of this Carroll Cloar painting, please let us know via the dialog box below. We will pass the information along.
Here is how the same scene in Moorhead, Mississippi appears today.
For more information about this location in Moorhead, Mississippi see our page Going Where The Southern Cross The Dog, Moorhead, Mississippi.
Recommended Album – Royal Mint by the Cash Box Kings
Recommended Recordings
We are adding Royal Mint, a 2017 release by the Cash Box Kings, on Alligator Records, to our Recommended Recordings.
The Cash Box Kings are a Chicago based band which has put out some first rate recordings over the last several years.
Available through Amazon.com and these Amazon affiliates:
- Amazon.ca | CD |
- Amazon.com | Streaming | mp3 edition | CD |
See our page on the Cash Box Kings for more information on this band.
Continue reading Recommended Album – Royal Mint by the Cash Box Kings
Featured Blues Artist For September 2017 – B.B. KIng
B.B. KIng was born on 16 September 1925, so we are making B.B. King our featured blues artist for September 2017.
See our page on B.B. King here. Among the many sites associated with B.B. King in Mississippi is Club Ebony in Indianola.
Here is a video of B.B. King performing The Thrill Is Gone in 1993:
Continue reading Featured Blues Artist For September 2017 – B.B. KIng
Featured Blues Artist For August 2017 – Muddy Waters
Each month we feature a Blues Artist of the Month.
Our Featured Blues Artist For August 2017 is Muddy Waters.
The Mississippi Blues Trail has placed a marker at the site of Muddy Waters’ House at Stovall Farm, outside Clarksdale, Coahoma County, Mississippi. Our page on Muddy Waters’ House is one of most frequently read pages on our MississippiBluesTravellers.com website.
Stovall Farm was where Alan Lomax made the first recordings of Muddy Waters in 1941. The Alan Lomax recordings of Muddy Waters at Stovall Form in 1941-1942 are compiled on the Complete Plantation Recordings, which is one of our Recommended Recordings.
Continue reading Featured Blues Artist For August 2017 – Muddy Waters
Featured Blues Artist For June 2017 – Howlin’ Wolf
We are starting a monthly Blues Artist of the Month feature.
As our first Blues Artist of the Month we are featuring Howlin’ Wolf (1910-1975), who was born 10 June 1910 near West Point, Clay County, Mississippi.
The Mississippi Blues Trail marker for Howlin’ Wolf is in West Point, Clay County, Mississippi.
During the late 1920’s Howlin Wolf lived and worked on the Dockery Farm, the the Dockery Plantation, in Sunflower County, Mississippi.
Howlin’ Wolf made his first recordings for Sam Phillips at Memphis Recording Service (later Sun Recording Studio) in Memphis in 1951. Sam Phillips considered Howlin’ Wolf the most important artist he recorded.
Continue reading Featured Blues Artist For June 2017 – Howlin’ Wolf
Book Recommendation – Rising Tide by John M. Barry
As one of Our Recommendations and Recommended Books, we are recommending Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood Of 1927 And How It Changed America, by John M. Barry.
Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America, by John M. Barry – book cover
Continue reading Book Recommendation – Rising Tide by John M. Barry
Two Organizations Placing Markers On Blues Musicians’ Graves
There are two reputable organizations we are aware of which are placing markers on Blues Musicians’ Graves, often on unmarked graves.
One is the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund; the other is The Killer Blues Headstone Project.
Here is a video about The Killer Blues Headstone Project.
Here are a few of the grave stones placed by the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund which we have visited:
Memphis Minnie, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, Walls, Mississippi
Mississippi Fred McDowell, Hammond Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Como, Panola County, Mississippi
Click these links to see a list of the gravestones placed by The Killer Blues Headstone Project and by the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund.
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