This Week In The Blues: January 14 - January 20, 2024

HEY BLUES FANS - Here's the latest episode of "This Week In The Blues" for the week of January 14  through January 20, 2024

Some of the highlights include Chicago blues slide guitar maestro Earl Hooker, blues vocalist, harmonica player, and drummer Willie Lee "Big Eyes" Smith , and the National Blues Museum in St. Louis, Missouri.

We just covered some of the highlights here. If you want to know more about these artists or other things that happened this week in the blues, be sure to visit our website or follow our Facebook page:
https://bigtrainblues.com
https://www.facebook.com/BigTrainBlues

Photo credits (if known) and past episodes are posted on our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@BigTrainBlues

Here are links to a few of the artists or songs we've referenced in this week's episode:

Lottie Kimbrough - "Rolling Log Blues" (1928) - https://youtu.be/aJbBjOjWm_w?si=A2b54VHgLK-mzac3

Henry Gray  - "Crescent City Blues & BBQ Fest" (2018) - https://youtu.be/Hs9nSpV9KtM?si=5XHP0AlnBZct9nbd

Willie "Big Eyes" Smith - "Live" (Spain 2010) - https://youtu.be/I447H_cBRUI?si=MjfHeB_bZgjimLUL

Lester "Mad Dog" Davenport  - "You so Sexy" - https://youtu.be/de2ojwTOuEc?si=bTFHpJGeFfVz2yyw


We’ll have a new episode next week – we’ll see you then!


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If you want to know more about these artists or other things that happened this week in the blues, be sure to visit our website or follow our Facebook page:

https://bigtrainblues.com

https://www.facebook.com/BigTrainBlues

Transcript

country blues singer Lottie Kimbrough was born on January 14 in either 1893 or 1900. The date of her death is unknown. She was a large woman and was nicknamed "The Kansas City Butterball". Her recording career lasted from 1924 to 1929. One music journalist wrote that Kimbrough's vocal power, and the unique arrangements of several of her best pieces, rank her as one of the sizable talents of the 1920s blues tradition.

Chicago blues slide guitar maestro Earl Hooker, born January 15, 1930 in Clarksdale Mississippi! Later that same year, his parents moved the family to Chicago. Hooker is considered a "musician's musician", and he performed with blues artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Junior Wells, and John Lee Hooker and fronted his own bands. An early player of the electric guitar, Hooker was a flamboyant showman and picked the guitar with his teeth or his feet or played it behind his neck or between his legs. 

Chicago blues harmonica player and singer Lester "Mad Dog" Davenport was born January 16, 1932 in Tchula, Mississippi. He moved to Chicago when he was 14. Davenport’s first claims to blues fame was the 1955 Bo Diddley Chess session he played harp on that produced “Pretty Thing” and “Bring It to Jerome”. He also played harmonica slot with the band, the Kinsey Report. 1992 saw his first solo effort that was followed by several others.

Chicago blues singer, guitarist and songwriter E.G. Kight was born January 17, 1966 in Dublin, Georgia. She’s worked with a who’s who list of country and blues stars including George Jones, Jerry Lee Lewis, Conway Twitty, Merle Haggard, Luther Allison, Hubert Sumlin, Pinetop Perkins, Taj Mahal, B.B. King, and Koko Taylor. Already a professional musician in her mid-teens, Kight moved away from playing country songs and began her career in Chicago blues after hearing a recording of Koko Taylor. Kight has received several nominations for Blues Music Awards.

Chicago blues piano player Henry Gray was born January 19, 1925 in Kenner, Louisiana. Growing up he began playing piano and organ in the local church, and his family eventually got a piano for the house. By the time he was 16 he was asked to play at a club near the family home. In 1956 Howlin' Wolf asked Gray to join his band. He quickly accepted the offer and stayed on until 1968. Gray also became a session player for Chess Records, and recorded or performed with Muddy Waters, Hubert Sumlin, Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Jimmy Reed, and Koko Taylor among others.

blues vocalist, harmonica player, and drummer Willie Lee "Big Eyes" Smith was born January 19, 1936 in Helena, Arkansas. Smith learned to play harmonica at age 17 after moving to Chicago, and the next year he formed a trio. In 1955 Smith played harmonica on Bo Diddley's recording of the Willie Dixon song "Diddy Wah Diddy" for the Checker label. Drummers were in more demand than harp players so Smith switched to drums and starting playing with Muddy Waters band, the first of several stints with Waters.

Chicago blues guitarist Luther Tucker was born January 20, 1936 in Memphis, and Tucker's family moved from Memphis to Chicago when he was nine years old. While soft-spoken and shy, Tucker made his presence known through his unique and clearly recognizable guitar style. Tucker helped to define the Chicago blues sound, and while never achieving the fame and notoriety of some of his contemporaries, he was considered one of the most prominent rhythm guitarists of Chicago blues along with Eddie Taylor, Jody Williams and Freddie Robinson.

The National Blues Museum in St. Louis, Missouri is filled with a rotating collection of interactive features and exhibits full of unforgettable artifacts. The museum opened in 2016. Surly King, the daughter of B.B. King, spoke at the museum opening. The museum does a great job of tracing through the origins of the blues and how each generation adopted, and ultimately changed it. There is plenty of exhibit space dedicated to the legends, as well as the unsung heroes, focusing on the musicians who brought the blues to life. In addition to preserving the history of the music, they also have a live music space that serves as host to local and touring acts, but also hosts a regular open mic complete with a house band.

Well blues fans, we just covered some of the highlights here. If you want to know more about these artists or other things that happened this week in the blues, be sure to follow our social media pages or visit our website at Big Train Blues.com. We’ll have a new episode next week – we’ll see you then!