Happy Birthday : Elmore James

On January 27th back in 1918, Elmore James was born in Richland Mississippi.

From inauspicious beginnings, he went on to become one of the most influential blues guitarists of the 20th century. Legend has it that his family was so poor that Elmore had to improvise homemade instruments made of broomwires nailed to the frontporch.


James whiled away his early years playing on the Mississippi itinerent musician circuit alongside contemporaries like Howlin' Wolf, and Robert Johnson, before joining the military in WWII. After serving in the navy, where he was stationed in Guam, he came back to central Mississippi and resumed playing the juke joints, including a stint as sideman for the second Sonny Boy Williamson. Eventually a small label in Jackson owned by a lady named Lillian McMurry called Trumpet Records gave Elmore a chance to record. On August 5, 1951 he went into her furniture store at 309 Farrish St, played an old Robert Johnson tune he remembered called "Dust My Broom". Rumor has it that James was frightened of being electrocuted by the recording equipment's microphone that Mrs McMurry led him to believe it was only a rehearsal. Elmore was supposedly so angry at the deception that he refused to record anything more for her, but this event changed the course of his life when it became a surprise regional R&B hit. By 1952 it was in the top ten on the national charts.

Elmore James - Dust My Broom

The success of Dust My Broom led to more opportunities including more money for his favorite moonshine liquor, plus lots of touring with his band the Broomdusters and more recording contracts. Another Mississippi musician named Ike Turner soon hooked Elmore up with the Bihari Brothers' based on the West Coast. Elmore recorded another minor juke joint hit in 1952 called "I Believe" for the Bihari's Meteor label.
They then issued many sides under the Flair imprint. Elmore also recorded in the later 50's for Chicago's Chess Records, as well as Vee-Jay. Perhaps his best known work was done in the early 60's for Harlem based Fire records, including the stand out track "The Sky Is Crying".

Elmore James - The Sky Is Crying

Despite his fame, very few pictures of Elmore James seem to have survived, and no film clips that I know of.

Here's one hot number from a 1960 session for Chess

Elmore James - I Can't Hold Out (Talk To Me Baby)

Elmore was born with a heartt condition, and died of a heart attack at the age of 45 in Chicago in 1963 and is buried in Durant Mississippi.


He was specifically cited by many famed Brit rock n rollers as their top electric guitarist of choice, including kudos from Brian Jones & Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac's Jeremy Spencer and Eric Clapton. His wailing bottleneck slide style, gruff vocals and the general feel of his music was very influential for rockers like Robbie Roberston, Jimi Hendrix, as well as Stevie Ray Vaughn who often played sweltering versions of James' classic "The Sky Is Crying" in his sets. Other bands you may have heard of doing his music include Albert King, George Thorogood, The Allman Brothers and even Ike & Tina.

Elmore James - Standing At The Crossroads


pssst... if ya digging the Chicago blues

check out my post on Willie Dixon

Happy Django's Birthday

Happy Birthday Django...


On Jan 24th 1910, in a traveling gypsy camp in Belgium, Django Reinhardt was born. His father was an itinerent musician, and the wee Django accompanied him on trips throughout France, Italy and North Africa.

By the age of 12, he was a "professional" Parisian musician, who'd made the banjo/guitar his instruments of choice. Playing dancehalls by night, he'd made his first recordings under the moniker Jiango Reinhardt by the time he was in his late teens.

In 1928, at the age of 18, a fire destroyed the caravan he shared with his wife, badly burning his right hand, and severely limiting use of his left hand. During recuperation, he revised his technique and to the surprise of many, continued his career using only two fingers. After hearing sides of not new U.S jazz from contemporaries like Louis Armstrong's Hot Six, and players like Joe Venuti, and guitarist Eddie Lang, he was invigorated to join them in playing "Hot Jazz". His friend, Emile Savitry, who reportedly first introduced Django to jazz said that when Reinhardt heard the uniquely beautiful recordings of these influential artists,

“he took his head in his hands and began to sob.”

In 1934 he and his fellow guitarist brother Joeseph had a gig at the tony Parisain nightspot Le Hot Club, and formed the Quintette du Hot Club de France. Also in the group was violinist Stephane Grappelli joining Louis Vola on bass and Roger Chaput also on guitar.

Django Reinhardt Et Le Quinttte Du Hot Club De France - How High The Moon

Django Reinhardt Et Le Quintette Du Hot Club De France - Sweet Sue

Django Reinhardt Et Le Quinttte Du Hot Club De France - Limehouse Blues

The group were revolutionary in their approach, with a lead guitar backed by two rhythm guitars with Grappeli's violin and the guitars augmenting for the missing percussion parts. Their 78s swept the European continent, and the band began expanding their fan base to include fellow visiting jazz musicians like as Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, and Louis Armstrong who all jammed with the group.

Django Reinhardt ( w/ Coleman Hawkins) - What A Difference a Day Makes (1935)

The Hot Club were part of Paris famed nightlife, particularly in the quarter Saint-Germain. Reinhardt, once he became less hungry & better known, began displaying his eccentricities, such as occasionally skipping gig, or refusing to carry his own instrument.

As WWII began breaking out the group was on tour in the U.K, where the jewish Grappelli stayed and Django decided to return to France. The group continued with clarinetist Hubert Rostaing replacing the violin of Grappelli and toured as far from the Germans as they could. Even though thousands of his beleaguered gypsy people perished under Nazi rule, Django was rumored to be protected by a sympathetic Luftwaffe official Oberlieutenant Dietrich Schultz-Kohn aka Doktor Jazz, who appreciated the gypsy's remarkable talents.

Reinhardt wiled away the war and earned a living, despite Jazz being officially banned in Vichy France under Hitler's despotic rule. Reinhardt was a gambler, drinker, pool player, and ladies man and soon had hooked up with a second wife whom he had a child named Babik in 1944.

After the war, Grappelli and Reinhardt continued their collaboration, culminating in a tour organized by Duke Ellington that ended with a 1946 performance at NYC's Carnegie Hall with Ellington's orchestra.

Despite being feted by critics, the music business itself was not kind to Django, and he grew impatient with the hustles & structures. At one point he was given an endorsement for Selmer guitars, but was forced to play electric which annoyed his old fans. Some say if Django had stayed in the US and learned to speak Anglais his life would have been far different. Yet, he was a gypsy and not prone to taking advice, following orders or schedules.

He stayed stateside for awhile, toured with Ellington a bit, but by 1948 returned to France. He immersed himself back into Gypsy culture, more or less fed up with the record industry's royalty games & lack of financial rewards thrown his way.

His last great recording was released under the title Djangology, featuring Reinhardt back on his acoustic Selmer-Maccaferri guitar. Joining him was Grappelli and the recording was true to his classic form.


After moving to a small riverside town outside of Paris, he died suddenly on the 16th May 1953 when Reinhardt suffered a massive brain hemmoredge and was pronounced dead.

For many years now, the town he lived in Samois du Seine has played tribute to this Romany hero each year with a music festival in his honor, and his music has brought joy to many millions over the years.

His legacy continues to be recalled for new generations in movies, including recent soundtrack uses in films like Chocolat, Sweet and Lowdown, The Aviator, The Matrix Revolutions, The Pallbearer, The Sopranos, and Gataca to name but a few.

Here is a brief and rare clip of Reinhardt playing from a French film from 1951, with some additional downloadable mp3 tracks below...





Django Reinhardt - Claire De Lune

Django Reinhardt - Three Little Words

Django Reinhardt - C Jam Blues

When Wednesday Comes, Bill's Asleep, Tuesdays Gone

Monday was a day off for a lot of Americans.

Apparently it's because some preacher got shot a long time ago trying to help out some striking sanitation workers.

Just goes to show you better stay out of other people's business, especially if it's garbage business.

My favorite MLK celebrant had to be the white guy smoking in the doorway of the copy shop I went to. All the machines & lights were on there yesterday, he just didn't feel like working I guess. Said he was on holiday. Wouldn't let me in out of the rain to copy a couple sheets of paper.

Dude if yer still at work, then that's not a holiday...



Looks like Bill Clinton could have used a day off Monday...

Apparently Bill's wife might be keeping him a little too busy...

What happened to all the pizza & b.j's?

So By Now, Tuesday Is Almost Gone...

Which was supposed to me some sort of U.S financial market meltdown, but that funky Bernanke cut the interest rate just enough to keep the bleeding in check.

Darn... I really wanted people to jump out windows, and that guy Cramer to blow a gasket or off himself on CNBC.

Remember last year when he aploogized for saying stock manipulation was easy, and that all the hedge funds were doing it?

Oh I guess he didn't "really" mean it...

well neither does anybody anymore...

Except our little Amy,

Despite the US financial markets escaping a serious meltdown, Ms. Winehouse seemed to suffer another PR blow as some skanko friends sold a cellphone video of her to the UK tabloid the Sun.

In the video, she babbles a bit in her thick cockney and pulls a few crack hits off some sort of glass pipe contraption. Nice...

Amy Winehouse, of course, has apparently refused any induction to a rehab.

here she is in another cellphone video, this one from her appearance less than a year ago in SF, opening with the prescient addicted.


And a local DJ's remix of her biggest hit...


Amy Winehouse - Rehab - Party Ben Remix Mash Up

And then as if that wasn't enough drama, some Australian Brokeback Joker dude named after a candy bar turned up dead of an O.D in New York.

Sounds like a good day for a song...

Hmm...

Being that I never paid to much attention to these classic shlock type things, all I know is this is the most mournful song ever composed for the day before hump day.

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Tuesday's Gone

Maybe Tuesday is the name of the chick... or something. The thing does go on and on a bit...

Tuesday's gone with the wind.
Tuesday's gone with the wind.
Tuesday's gone with the wind.
My baby's gone with the wind.
Train, roll on 'cause my baby's gone..
I'm riding my blues away, baby
turn around my blues
ride on, train, ride on, train
ridin' my blues, babe
come back to me, babe
come back to me
oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooh train...

oo-ooo, boo f*ing hoo ya big redneck galoots...

We know the rest of the story...

yer so sad to see yer baby bye bye that within minutes it's all "What's yer name little girl?"

Then there's something about the hassle of "Working for MCA". I know, Wasserman and them cats, they shoved all that blow, needles, spoons and groupies down yer throat.

We didn't exactly see ya reaching for any "Saturday Night Specials", and taking yer own life of misery did I ?

Like ya'll didn't just love it when yer woman was crying, and yer road manager was smacking around shyster club owners, and you were packing arenas, and stadiums and picking on Neil Young and getting in private plane crashes...



and suffering 30 more years of Tuesdays...

anyhow...

I'm a bit busy here...

So we'll leave it like this...

One more Tuesday track:

This one a Jagger/Richards composition from the soundtrack to Children of Men... ( a movie sitting on the DVR at home that I've sorta been meaning to watch, but have never gotten around to for one reason or another.)

Franco Battiato - Ruby Tuesday


And in honor of Wednesday...which is already here in many time zones...

Let's do these:


From a 1983 recording featuring the late Paula Pierce (later of The Pandoras)

Action Now - When Wednesday Comes

The Guthries are a rootsy combo that hail from Nova Scotia, and this was on their 2000 release "Off Windmill".

The Guthries
"Wednesday Night" (mp3)
from "Off Windmill"
(Hay Sale Records)

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