Dear readers, it's time once again for Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue. This makes our 23nd edition. For a long time, this was one of our favorite themes and it dates back to FBF's early days as a weekly email sent to co-workers. It serves as a great way to introduce new and old tunes to new and old blues fans.
For those unfamiliar with the format, we offer a song from the early days of the blues (Something Old), a song from a recent blues artist (Something New), a blues artist covering a rock song or vice versa (Something Borrowed), and finally, someone who epitomizes the blues.....usually a legendary artist (Something Blue). Here we go......
For Something Old, let's go way back to 1929, with one of T-Bone Walker's first recordings. Recorded for Columbia Records, "Trinity River Blues" was the B-side of his recording debut ("Wichita Falls Blues" was the A-side). The 19-year old Walker was billed as "Oak Cliff T-Bone" on this record, Oak Cliff being the community in Dallas where he lived and T-Bone was a variation of his middle name (Aaron Thibeaux Walker). Walker, playing acoustic guitar, is backed by Douglas Fernell on piano. The youngster had already been a working performer on the blues circuit since the age of 15. Of course, he went on to become one of the most influential blues guitarists and performers with incredible recordings in the 40's and 50's with Black & Blue Records, Imperial Records, and Atlantic Records.
For Something New, meet Kirk Fletcher, guitarist extraordinaire. Fletcher has been recording since the late 90's as a solo artist, but he also spent four years with the Fabulous Thunderbirds and also appeared on T-Bird front man Kim Wilson's album Smokin' Joint. he also collaborated with Charlie Musselwhite, the Mannish Boys, Joe Bonamassa, and many others (including an appearance on William Shatner's blues album in 2020). He returned to his own recordings around 2010. He also developed into a very good singer and his recordings show he's a fine guitarist who's not afraid to branch out from the blues, mixing in funk, soul, rock, and jazz. Fletcher recovered from a stroke he suffered a couple of years ago, but his latest release, the dynamic Keep On Pushing (on the VizzTone Label Group), shows that he's still a wonderful guitarist. FBF recommends that blues fans track down this excellent release as soon as you can.
For Something Borrowed, we go to K.C. Douglas, born in 1913 in Sharon, MS. He played around the Jackson, MS area in the early 40's with Tommy Johnson and others, but migrated to Vellejo, California in his late 20's to work in the navy shipyards and was soon playing the blues around the San Francisco/Oakland area. He was strongly influenced by Johnson, recording several of his songs when he had the opportunity. His first recording, in 1948 as the K.C. Douglas Trio, was "Mercury Boogie," which was later renamed "Mercury Blues." Most music fans have heard this song played in one genre or another....David Lindley recorded a great version in the early 80's on his El-Rayo-X album. Others recording it were Steve Miller, Ry Cooder, and Alan Jackson, whose version hit #2 on the country charts in 1992. Even today, the Ford Motor Company bought the rights to the song and used it in their TV spots. Douglas, sadly, didn't get to see much success of royalties in his lifetime...he passed away in October of 1975 at the age of 61.
Finally, for Something Blue, we salute the King of the Blues, who was born 100 years ago on September 16. There's not much that we can say about B.B. King that hasn't already been said. He was the first blues artist I ever heard and over the years, I've come to appreciate him more and more. His incredible, distinctive guitar work and his powerful, gospel-influence vocals have inspired countless musicians since his earliest days. Every blues fan should visit his museum at Indianola, MS (where he's also buried) if you make a trip to the Mississippi delta. It's well worth your time. Happy Heavenly Birthday to B.B. King and thank you for all the great music!
