Today in Music – 1930 – The Greatest Harmonica Player Ever is Born!

Today in 1930, one of the greatest, no the greatest harmonica player was born, Little Walter. Little Walter influenced all the great harp players that came after him, just like Hendrix! He was also the first musician to amplify the harmonica! From Wikipedia: Little Walter, born Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), was an American blues harmonica player, whose revolutionary approach to his instrument has earned him comparisons to Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix,[1] for innovation and impact on succeeding generations. His virtuosity and musical innovations fundamentally altered many listeners’ expectations of what was possible on…

Continue reading

Today in Music -1934 – Happy Birthday, Otis Rush!

So born on this day in 1935 was a very influential blues musician Mr. Otis Rush. Rush is a native of Philadelphia… Mississippi that is! Wikipedia has this to say about Rush… … His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes. With similar qualities to Magic Sam and Buddy Guy, his sound became known as West Side Chicago blues and became an influence on many musicians including Michael Bloomfield and Eric Clapton. Rush is left-handed and, unlike many other left-handed guitarists, plays a left-handed instrument strung upside-down with the low E string at the bottom….

Continue reading

Ana Popovic – Can You Stand the Heat

Today I traveled over the Burlington-Bristol Bridge and out Street Road to the Costco in Warminster,Pa. The reason I traveled all that way today was to see about getting new hearing aids! Why go to Costco? – well their cost for hearing aids is one-half price of their competitors! I will be getting two aids for less than the price I paid for one! Not only do I get a great deal but it’s from a company that pays their employees a decent wage and makes money!! The soundtrack for the trip was the new album from Serbian born Ana…

Continue reading

Life’s Soundtrack – New Blues from Ana Popovic – Can You Stand the Heat

Today I traveled over the Burlington-Bristol Bridge and out Street Road to the Costco in Warminster,Pa. The reason I traveled all that way today was to see about getting new hearing aids! Why go to Costco? – well their cost for hearing aids is one-half price of their competitors! I will be getting two aids for less than the price I paid for one! Not only do I get a great deal but it’s from a company that pays their employees a decent wage and makes money!! The soundtrack for the trip was the new album from Serbian born Ana…

Continue reading

Today in Music – 1923 – Blues Great Albert King was born!

So on this date in 1923, alphabetically the first of the “Three Kings” of Blues was born, Albert King.Albert had a major impact on the blues and rock music. On December 11th, 2012, it was announced that King would be posthumously inducted into the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.From Wikipedia: One of the “Three Kings of the Blues Guitar” (along with B.B. King and Freddie King), Albert King stood 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) (some reports say 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)) and weighed 250 pounds (110 kg)[2] and was known as “The Velvet Bulldozer”. He…

Continue reading

Lunchtime Music – Johnny & the Mo-Tones – Shake It!

So the soundtrack for the trip back from the New Gretna exist of the Garden State Parkway was the new album Shake It from the Wisconsin based blues group Johnny & the Mo-Tones. The other day in the first listen I thought what great jump blues, songs that really get you moving! Today, as I listened, I classified the music as both jump blues and jazz-blues (if there is such a sub-genre), so when I came home and saw that the leader of the band “piano & keyboard player, songwriter and founder of the MoTones; John Altenburgh has been recording albums since…

Continue reading

Exploring the word “One” and some morning music from Tab Benoit!

So yesterday I was thinking about being ordinary. The first song wanted to listen to “Ordinary Town” from Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer. So I scrolled down through the list of songs on the iPod until I got to it. Along the way, I must have passed thirty songs that had the word One in the title! So after listening to “Ordinary Town” I went back and listened for a while to those “One” songs. Here’s the play list! “The One” – Cabinet – a bluegrass, Americana band that I don’t listen to enough! “One” – Dreamscape – some Prog…

Continue reading

Blues for the Week of April 15, 2013 – looks like a good week!

So this morning I recapped my musical week and listed some of the bands that may be listened to in the coming week. So why don’t I tell you about some of the blues albums that have debuted on this week’s Roots Music Report  that I look forward to listening to this week! 9   Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters – Just for Today – I have listened to an enjoyed Ronnie Earl and his band mates and look forward to this album! 12. Tinsley Ellis – Get It – I have enjoyed several of Tinsley’s album and his great…

Continue reading

“Into the Night” with the Blues Harp of Brandon Santini

So the other day I listened to the latest album from Memphis Blues Harp player Brandon Santini, This Time Another Year I really liked it, both his harp playing and his vocals were great, at times he reminds me of Leon Russell and at other times Dr. John. From his website: There are many different opinions as to what the future of the blues harmonica will be. Memphis vocalist and harmonica player Brandon Santini is undeniably a worthy player to keep an eye on as the latest surge of young blues artists leave their footprint in blues history. His name…

Continue reading

New Blues – Bex Marshall – The House of Mercy

Bex Marshall’s album The House of Mercy caught my eye a couple of weeks ago and I had no idea how he artist was, so I went to MOG put on the album and was blown away by the title track!! So after being sufficiently impressed by the first listen to the album I went the Bex’s website and discovered that Bex was born in Devonshire England and now lives in London. She is the offspring of a diverse family one side being blue blooded landed gentry, the other Irish Romany. She’s been playing guitar since her Uncle Dave presented…

Continue reading