“He was a happy-go-lucky nihilist…. he took things exactly as they were. No more, no less.”
~Matthew Johnson, the founder of Mr. Burnside’s record label, Fat Possum.“I didn’t mean to kill nobody … I just meant to shoot the sonofabitch in the head. Him dying was between him and the Lord.”
― R.L. Burnside
Continue reading “November 23: The late R. L. Burnside was born in 1926”
I never saw music in terms of men and women or black and white. There was just cool and uncool.
~Bonnie RaittReligion is for people who are scared to go to hell. Spirituality is for people who have already been there.
~Bonnie RaittI would rather feel things in extreme than not at all.
~Bonnie Raitt
Melissa Etheridge inducts Bonnie Raitt Inductions 2000:
| Birth name | Bonnie Lynn Raitt |
|---|---|
| Born | November 8, 1949 (age 66) Burbank, California, United States |
| Genres | Blues, country, folk-rock |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, musician, political activist, philanthropist |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, slide guitar |
| Years active | 1971–present |
| Labels | Warner, Capitol |
| Website | bonnieraitt.com |
Bonnie Lynn Raitt (born November 8, 1949) is a renowned American blues singer-songwriter and slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially accessible recordings in the 1990s including “Nick of Time”, “Something to Talk About”, “Love Sneakin’ Up on You”, and the slow ballad “I Can’t Make You Love Me”. Raitt has received nine Grammy Awards in her career and is a lifelong political activist.
Love Like A Man (live):
“Bonnie Raitt does something with a lyric no one else can do; she bends it and twists it right into your heart.”
-Graeme Connors
Give It Up (1972):
From allmusic.com – STE:
Bonnie Raitt may have switched producers for her second album Give It Up, hiring Michael Cuscuna, but she hasn’t switched her style, sticking with the thoroughly engaging blend of folk, blues, R&B, and Californian soft rock. If anything, she’s strengthened her formula here, making the divisions between the genres nearly indistinguishable. Take the title track, for instance. It opens with a bluesy acoustic guitar before kicking into a New Orleans brass band about halfway through — and the great thing about it is that Raitt makes the switch sound natural, even inevitable, never forced. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg here, since Give It Up is filled with great songs, delivered in familiar, yet always surprising, ways by Raitt and her skilled band. For those that want to pigeonhole her as a white blues singer, she delivers the lovely “Nothing Seems to Matter,” a gentle mid-tempo number that’s as mellow as Linda Ronstadt and far more seductive. That’s the key to Give It Up: Yes, Raitt can be earthy and sexy, but she balances it with an inviting sensuality that makes the record glow.
…read more over @ allmusic.com
-Egil
Artwork by the legendary Robert Crumb
It ain’t but the one thing,
That give a man the blues.
He ain’t got no bottom
In his last pair of shoes.
But someday baby,
You ain’t worry my mind any more.
~Someday Baby Blues (trad) first recorded by Sleepy John Estes
Someday Baby Blues (audio):
Continue reading “June 5: Blues legend Sleepy John Estes passed away in 1977”
I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees
I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees
Asked the Lord above “Have mercy, save poor Bob, if you please”
Yeoo, standin’ at the crossroad, I tried to flag a ride
Standin’ at The Crossroads, I tried to flag a ride
Ain’t nobody seem to know me, everybody pass me by
—-Favorite album? I think the Robert Johnson album. I listen to that quite a bit still.
~Bob Dylan (Rockline Interview June 1985)You want to know how good the blues can get? Well, this is it.
~Keith Richards (about Robert Johnson)
Wikipedia:
“Cross Road Blues” is a blues song written and recorded by American blues artist Robert Johnson in 1936. It is a solo performance in the Delta blues-style with Johnson’s vocal accompanied by his acoustic slide guitar. Although its lyrics do not contain any specific references, the song has become part of the Robert Johnson mythology as referring to the place where he supposedly sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his musical talents
Continue reading “Blues classics: Robert Johnson – Cross Road Blues”
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
– Revelation 1:1-3
John the Revelator is a traditional gospel blues call and response song. Music critic Thomas Ward describes it as “one of the most powerful songs in all of pre-war acoustic music … [which] has been hugely influential to blues performers”. Blind Willie Johnson recorded John the Revelator in 1929 (or 1930) and is the first known recording (at least to me) and subsequently a variety of artists have recorded their renditions of the song, often with variations in the verses and music.
The song’s title refers to John of Patmos (or traditionally John the Apostle) in his role as the author of the Book of Revelation. A portion of that book focuses on the opening of seven seals and the resulting apocalyptic events. In its various versions, the song quotes several passages from the Bible in the tradition of American spirituals.
This is a dark and brooding masterpiece!
Blind Willie Johnson recorded the song on April 20, 1929 (or 1930) in Atlanta (his second (1929) or his fifth and final recording session for Columbia Records (1930)). He is accompanied by his first wife (probably), Willie B. Harris. Johnson was a gospel blues singer and guitarist. While the lyrics of his songs were usually religious, his music drew from both sacred and blues traditions. It is characterized by his slide guitar accompaniment and tenor voice, and his frequent use of a lower-register ‘growl’ or false bass voice.
Blind Willie Johnson – John The Revelator:
Jazz is a white term to define black people. My music is black classical music.
~Nina SimoneOnce I understood Bach’s music, I wanted to be a concert pianist. Bach made me dedicate my life to music, and it was that teacher who introduced me to his world.
~Nina SimoneNina Simone was one of the most gifted vocalists of her generation, and also one of the most eclectic.
~Mark Deming (allmusic.com)
Ain’t Got No…I’ve Got Life: