Friday, February 19, 2010

First Friday

Welcome to the first "official" installment of Friday Blues Fix. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Since I'm still trying to figure out how to do audio, let's look at a video I found on YouTube of Otis Rush performing one of his classics, "So Many Roads." Rush was one of the first blues artists I discovered when I started listening to the blues, and he's still one of my favorites. I even made the trip up to Philadelphia, MS a couple years ago when his Blues Marker was dedicated just to see him in person. It was a very nice ceremony and he seemed to be truly honored that his hometown area (he was born in nearby Neshoba) would remember him. Sadly, he hasn't fully recovered from a stroke he suffered several years ago and is no longer playing, but he has some great recordings out there that deserve to be heard. Enjoy!


Living Blues Magazine is celebrating its 40th year of publication in 2010. As part of their celebration, they will feature a different decade each issue, culminating in an issue that will catch up with many of the artists featured over the magazine's existence....sort of a "Where Are They Now" issue. The latest issue (#205, John Primer on the cover) features the decade of the 70's, and there are lots of interesting pictures and a pair of lists that should pique interest. One list highlights 30 of the best blues albums of the 70's and the other highlights 30 that you might have missed. Let the debate begin.






The February/March issue of Blues Bytes should be up by this weekend. One of the new releases reviewed is a great CD/DVD release by Luther Allison from Ruf Records. It's a recording of one of his last performances, in Montreal, given just days before he received his terminal cancer diagnosis. If you're a fan, you'll want to own it. If not, buy it anyway and you'll become a fan, guaranteed. Also look for a review of the new Nighthawks' CD, a live unplugged effort recorded for XM Radio, and a Flashback review of one of my all time favorite albums.




Sad news this week.....Mississippi bluesman David "Lil' Dave" Thompson was killed in an auto accident in Georgia while returning to his hometown of Greenville from a gig in South Carolina on Sunday morning. I've seen several different ages listed so far, but his website indicates that he was 40 years old. Thompson joined Booba Barnes' band as a 15 year old (appearing with Barnes in the movie Deep Blues), and recorded with David Malone (now David Kimbrough, son of Junior Kimbrough) for Fat Possum in the early 90's. He also released several discs of his own from 1995's Little Dave & Big Love to 2008's Deep In The Night. From all accounts, he was a really nice guy with plenty of great things still ahead of him.

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