Blues America

Kenny Neal stands tall among the younger generation of blues players. His trademark brand of blues, featuring a combination of Louisiana swamp blues, funky rhythms and soul-deep vocals, powered by his slashing guitar playing and--on his solo albums--loping harmonica, puts him at the forefront of contemporary blues players. He’s the second-generation bluesman under the Neal brand following in his father’s footsteps, the great late Raful Neal. Slim Harpo gave him his first harmonica and by the time he was 17, he was performing with his dad and Buddy Guy. He’s recorded extensively since 1987; including 9 albums with Alligator Records and 3 for Telarc. His latest effort is Bloodline on Cleopatra Records produced by Tom Hambridge and features several generations of family blues musicians.

Walkin’ Cane Mark has been an established harmonica player on the vibrant Phoenix Blues scene for over 20 years with several albums under his belt. He was discovered in part by Chico Chism (the Howlin’ Wolfs last drummer). He got his first harmonica lesson from Snooky Pryor. Willie Dixon gave him his nickname and the title track for his first effort, Gravedigger. Junior Wells taught him how to put funk in the blues and co-wrote the title track to his fourth album, Tryin’ to Make You Understand. Mark has toured heavily with Nappy Brown and Wayne Cochran.

The Brooks family is known for the business of blues. Their patriarch is the legendary Lonnie Brooks, formerly known as Guitar Jr whose two sons Ronnie Baker Brooks and Wayne Baker Brooks are receiving the torch; not just for the family legacy but the blues as a whole. Ronnie Baker Brooks has three successful contemporary blues albums under his belt produced by the legendary Minnesota based Jellybean Johnson, a veteran collaborator for Prince and Janet Jackson. His recent project pairs him with Mud Morganfield, Billy Branch and Erica Brown as a member of the Big Head Blues Club created by Todd Park Mohr who leads the popular Denver based rock band, Big Head Todd and the Monsters. Their album is called Way Down Inside and pays tribute to the late Willie Dixon.

Authors Steve Bergsman and R. Gary Patterson discuss the mysterious death of Johnny Ace. Johnny Ace was considered one of the first African-American pop stars with a string of eight consecutive hits on the R&B Charts and becoming the most radio programmed artist of his day. Before launching his solo career, he was a member of the Beale Streeters with some of the biggest artist of the time, including B.B. King, Junior Parker, Willie Nix, Rosco Gordon and Earl Forest. At the height of his career, on Christmas evening, Johnny mysteriously died backstage from a single gunshot wound to the head. The cause of death was reported as Russian roulette and one police detective stated he succumbed to “pistolitis.”

Billy Boy Arnold is one of a handful of musicians still standing to talk about the vibrant and important Chicago blues scene of the 1950’s. He was first inspired by John Lee Sonny Boy Williamson who he considered to be the most important purveyor of modern blues harmonica. After several meetings with Sonny Boy, while only a teenager, he cut his first two sides for the cool label before meeting Ellas McDaniel. Soon after, Arnold was in the studio with McDaniel cutting the two-sided smash “Bo Diddley/I'm a Man” for Checker which forever branded McDaniel with the moniker, Bo Diddley. This session led to Arnolds own hits for Veejay Records, “I Wish You Would” and “I Ain’t Got You.” Both hits put Arnold on the map and were later covered by British rockers the Yardbirds. “I Wish You Would” was covered by David Bowie.

Grammy-nominated harmonica ace, Sugar Ray Norcia fine-tuned his chops with Ronnie Earl backing Roomful of Blues and some of the greatest legends like Big Walter Horton, Big Mama Thornton, Roosevelt Sykes and Big Joe Turner. Today he is recognized as one of the world’s finest blues singers who has recorded on nearly 50 albums and has led New England’s most notorious hallmark band, The Bluetones for 35 years. They are as tight as it gets and have the unique distinction of being one of the few bands where each member has been nominated for a Blues Music award. Their latest effort, Seeing Is Believing, is just the latest in the group’s highly praised collection of work over the last 35 years.

Kim Wilson is the charismatic frontman for America’s quintessential contemporary blues band, the Fabulous Thunderbirds and author of the top 40 barnburner hit “Tuff Enuff.” More importantly, Wilson is a great student and historian of classic blues who was mentored at the feet of legends such as Muddy Waters, Albert Collins, Eddie Taylor, Jimmy Rogers and more. Today, the multi-Grammy nominated star is recognized as one the top harmonica players in the business and managed to produce a brilliant solo career when he’s not touring with his famous band. The Fabulous Thunderbirds released their newest incarnation for Severn, “Strong Like That.”

Grady Champion has been captivating audiences for two decades with his high energy blues that represents who he is and where he’s from. Who he is, is a Grammy-award winning songwriter, Malaco recording artist who recently graced the cover of Living Blues Magazine and 2010 winner of the coveted International Blues Challenge. Where he’s from is the birthplace of the blues, Mississippi; the place where he was raised in a religious rural family as the youngest of 28 children. During his career as a rap artist, the blues came calling and he never looked back releasing several critically acclaimed albums which included notable songs with social commentary like “Police Man Blues” and “Children of the Corn.” He released his upbeat sophomore effort for famed Malaco records in September, “One of a Kind.”

Lil Ed Williams is one of a kind. With his trademark Fez hat which symbolizes an African crown and his torturous slide guitar, Lil Ed Williams embodies the spirit of his famous uncle, J.B. Hutto and has become one of the biggest names in the blues. He is an award winning artist who is set to release his ninth full-length recording for acclaimed Alligator records called ‘The Big Sound of Lil Ed & the Blues Imperials.’ When he hits the road to promote his new album, he’ll be greeted by mobs of devoted followers called “Ed Heads”; with popular late night talk-show host Conan O’Brien being their most high profile member.

Louisiana Red is a downhome blues master who performed with an unabashed energy of raw emotion. He led a remarkable life filled with struggles and tales of bad luck but also stories of worldly adventures and meetings with seminal blues figures such as Muddy Waters, Little Walter and Champion Jack Dupree. Along the way he recorded extensively, first as Rocky Fuller for Chess, later contributing to some of the best lowdown blues the genre has ever produced; like ‘Red’s Dream’, ‘Sweet Blood Call’, and ‘I’m Too Poor to Die.’ In total, he recorded almost 50 albums during a career spanning 65 years and received multiple awards internationally. He made a tremendous impact to the genre and the players he befriended like Paul Oscher, Bob Corritore and Sugar Blue who lend their comments to this tribute in memory of their longtime companion. This tribute also features an interview and two studio performances with Louisiana Red conducted shortly before his passing in 2012.

Eric Bibb’s father is 60’s folksinger and activist Leon Bibb, his uncle is the world-famous jazz pianist and composer of the Modern Jazz Quartet, John Lewis and his godfather is the legendary African-American icon Paul Robeson. He was mentored from his living room by family friends Bob Dylan and Pete Seegar. While his bloodline is rich in folk tradition his prolific songwriting and tremendous body of work that includes 40 years of performing and nearly 30 albums is what defines him as a great blues troubadour. In 2014 he released a critically acclaimed album for the Stony Plain label titled ‘Blues People’ that earned awards and the top position on several blues/roots charts and featured Taj Mahal, Ruthie Foster and the Blind Boys of Alabama. His latest album, ‘Happiest Man in the World’ is an upbeat collaboration with the North Country Far band and Danny Thompson.

Southpaw bassist Mac Arnold has a career in music going back 65 years including time spent in the bands of Muddy Waters, AC Reed and J. Floyd featuring James Brown on piano. Among his historical recordings include records cut with Otis Spann, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters. During the late 60’s he formed a band called the Soul Invaders that played behind BB King, Bill Withers, the Temptations and eventually became the house band for the Soul Train Television show. Mac returned to his beloved South Carolina country during the 90’s to take over the family farm where he grows organic crops which are used in his local restaurant and his annual Cornbread & Collard Greens Blues Festival. He released several critically acclaimed albums with his current band, Plate Full O’ Blues including ‘Give It Away’ which is offered as a free download on CD Baby as a dedication to service members.

The Jerry Lawson Legacy Project is an exclusive series for Blues America that explores the history of singing legend Jerry Lawson and the famed Persuasions in chronological order as explained in biographical commentary by Jerry Lawson and guest host Julie Lawson. Jerry Lawson was the lead singer for the Persuasions for 42 years before launching a solo career and appearing on the CBS hit show, the Sing Off. On this episode, Jerry completes the discussions about his experience during the making of the Persuasions sophomore album release on Capital Records, We Came to Play.

20 year old Jontavious Willis from Greenville, Georgia is a touring, unrecorded, self-taught mult-instrumentalist who can be seen belting out pre-war blues on Youtube like some kind of prodigy. He was recently seen in a two page feature as a break out artist in the April 2016 edition of Living Blues Magazine where he is described as a “rising star with an abundant stir of pride defying those who try to lock the blues in some museum vault.” Taj Mahal calls him a “Wonderboy who is a great new voice of the 21st century in acoustic blues with 50 years of good music ahead him.”

From struggles as a foster child in Detroit, to personal addictions as an adult, Janiva Magness has beat the odds to rise in the music industry and become what USA Today calls one of the biggest blues stars. Throughout her career, Janiva has earned numerous awards including 7 Blues Music Awards and the coveted BB King Entertainer of the Year in 2009, only the second woman to do so following Koko Taylor. She’s reached a larger and more diverse audience with each succeeding album and developed a reputation as a live entertainer that’s made her a staple of the international festival circuit. Her new album, Love Wins Again has peaked the Billboard charts and marks the 12th solo album of her career; 3 being with the Alligator Records Label.