Today in Music History – 1943 – Happy Birthday Steve Miller!

Born on this day in 1943, was Steve  Miller aka .”The Gangster of Love”. I became a Steve Miller fan with his second album Sailor and followed his career on vinyl until the album six Rock Love which was released in 1971. I think I had The Joker on 8-track! After that, I followed his career on the radio, until his 2010 and 2011 releases Bingo and Let Your Hair Down, which are both really fine albums! From Steve’s Press Release Biography Born October 5, 1943 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Steve Miller grew up in a musical family. His mother, Bertha, was…

Continue reading

Today in Music – 1948 – Happy Birthday, Duke Robillard!!

After reviewing a couple of the birthday lists, that I usually check in the morning, I didn’t see any names that really caught my attention, so I decided that I’d search for any “today in jazz’” birthday sites. I found a list at All About Jazz and as I scrolled down the list there weren’t many names that I recognized (Can anyone tell me if there’s someone I should check out on the list) until I arrived at the Ds and there I saw blues guitarist Duke Robillard‘s name! Now you may say what’s a blues artist doing on a…

Continue reading

“Into the Night” with more Canadian Music! – Some Blues from Steve Strongman!!!

I tried to get this post written before I went for my run, but that didn’t happen! So I will try to finish it while I’m cooling down, if I can keep the sweat out of my eyes long enough and my fingers can hit the right keys! (writer pauses to wipe sweat out of his eyes} Last night, as I was researching the Supercrawl in Hamilton, I saw that one of the performers was Blues guitarist Steve Strongman and I thought I remember him I listened to him about a year ago and one of his albums is on…

Continue reading

Today in Music – 1932 – Albert Collins “The Iceman” and “The Master of the Telecaster” was born

So aside from it being my birthday today (we’ll get to that later) the name on the birthday list that caught my eye was bluesman, Albert Collins…..Albert Collins…. ….’was born October 1, 1932, in Leona, TX. His family moved to Houston when he was seven. Growing up in the city’s Third Ward area with the likes of Johnny “Guitar” Watson and Johnny “Clyde” Copeland, Collins started out taking keyboard lessons.   Albert Collins, “The Master of the Telecaster,” “The Iceman,” and “The Razor Blade” was robbed of his best years as a blues performer by a bout with liver cancer that ended with his premature…

Continue reading

Today in Music – 1937 – Bluesman – Joe “Guitar” Hughes was born!

When I saw that, Joe “Guitar” Hughes was born on this day in 1937 in Houston, Texas. I thought ok any artist that puts “Guitar” in their name is usually pretty damn good and since I had never heard of Mr. Hughes I thought I’d see what I could find out… at Wikipedia I read: Joe “Guitar” Hughes (September 29, 1937 – May 20, 2003[1]) was an American blues musician, from Houston, Texas, United States. Hughes was an inventive and versatile performer who was equally adept at playing a slow blues or Texas shuffle as well as R&B hits. Hughes…

Continue reading

Today in Music – 1893 – “Blind” Lemon Jefferson was born!!

So aside from his name, I don’t know much about the man, who many label “The Father of Texas Blues” Blind Lemon Jefferson. Since today is his birthday, I figure it’s a good day to find out a little about the man! From Wikipedia Blind” Lemon Jefferson (Lemon Henry Jefferson; September 24, 1893 – December 19, 1929) was an American blues singer and guitarist from Texas. He was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920s, and has been titled “Father of the Texas Blues”.[2]   Jefferson’s singing and self-accompaniment were distinctive as a result of his high-pitched…

Continue reading

“Into the Night” with some Blues from Mike Zito – Gone to Texas!

Mike Zito and the Wheel’s latest album  Gone to Texas was released on Ruf Records back in June of this year, and has occupied a spot at the top of the Roots Music Report’s Blues Chart for most of the summer. For the last two weeks it has held steady at No. 7! From Mike’s biography at his website: Mike Zito couldn’t help but be great. It was either that, probably, or end up on a wanted poster in the post office. There is something deep down in Zito’s soul that will not stop screaming, pushing him to take life to…

Continue reading

2013 Blues from Phil Gates – Live at the Hermosa Saloon

So this afternoon I listened to some blues from Phil Gates and his band. I had put their new album Live at the Hermosa Saloon on the iPhone the other day and never had a chance to listen to it! Boy did I like what I heard! I’m off to work at Target tonight, and will listen on the way there and back, and can tell you more about the album tomorrow!! Here’s some background from Phil’s website: Phil Gates was born in Chicago Ill., into a family of musicians that helped form his music style, and ability. Phil began…

Continue reading

Life’s Soundtrack – Running’s Easier with Blues from Lisa Mann’s Satisfied!!

So I ran last night, but I didn’t write a post about the run. I ended up spending the evening  transferring my iTunes library from the desktop to my laptop, because I use the laptop more than the desktop now, while I watched the Phils lose, By the time I was ready to write, I was too tired! I think the trick is to write the post as soon after the run as possible!! Anyway  I still am running a lot slower than I was in the  spring, but the run last night was the easiest since I’ve started up…

Continue reading

A Good Run with a New App and The CD Woodbury Band!

So after two runs last week and then not being able to run this weekend because of Elizabeth’s move, and work at Target, I was determined to run last night. On the last two runs, I had used my work Windows phone and an app called Run the Map. It worked ok but for some reason the phone would only play half of the songs on the album I was listening to, so the headphones came off about mid-way in the run, which actually wasn’t that bad because I was struggling at the end of the runs so I really…

Continue reading