:: Saturday, January 03, 2004 ::

Legendary Air Personality E.Rodney Jones Passes

This just in from my friends at The Boogie Report:

Legendary radio personalityE. Rodney Jones past away Friday at his home in Baton Rouge . E.Rodney was a member of the Black Radio Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame. His half century of broadcast excellence' included two decades at Chicago's WVON, a station owned by the famous blues and rock 'n' roll record label, Chess, plus many years at Baton Rouge's WXOK-AM.

Throughout his career, Rodney broke, as they say in the music business, countless hits. He knew all the artist that made our music popular Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, Wilson Pickett and many more -- weren't just business associates, they were friends. When asked about his key to success recently Rodney said, "all I tried to do, man, was help the people, try and give them a break, especially all of the people in the area where I am now." Chicago hasn't forgotten about him either, Jones stated that. he get calls periodically during the week from people who remember and just want to say, 'Hello and how are you doing?' It was in Chicago that Jones dubbed himself The Bluesologist. "Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, I knew them all and worked with them all," he said. "That's why they call me The Bluesologist. I advocated the blues when nobody else would and I was successful at it." Blues, Jones explained, "that was like bread and butter to me. All the radio stations in the Chicago area were moving in a different direction. But here was a chance for me to excel without trying to compete with these people. I didn't play the blues all day. I had a special section for the blues. We did it like every hour for 16 hours a day and it worked. In fact, I had about 16 different blues records that I was playing at least three times a day on that radio station. Hey, man, it was bigger than bubble gum." Following 20 cold winters in Chicago, Jones migrated to New Orleans, but then didn't see eye to eye with his employers there.

After what was intended to be a two-week visit to Baton Rouge to help an old friend, Jones stayed. Following a stint at WTKL he became a fixture at WXOK. "The blues has been very good to me," he said. "Radio has been better. Radio gave me the chance to do the blues thing and I'll always be grateful. It gave me the chance to do what E. Rodney Jones can do. It give me a name that people remember in Chicago, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, St. Louis. Everywhere I have been, people still remember me. That's what I love about radio." Besides breaking hits for recording artists, Jones is a mentor to other broadcast personalities, including Soul Train host and producer Don Cornelius and local radio personality Guy Brody. "Don Cornelius told me straight up where he learned radio," Brody said. "Don was a cop in Chicago and part-time news man. He learned radio from E. Rodney Jones. Here's a guy who patterned himself after E. Rodney and he's a multi-millionaire. E. Rodney's nowhere near a multi-millionaire. It doesn't even seem fair."

Brody's early memories of Jones date to radio conventions he attended as a child. "I remember getting off the elevator and hearing E. Rodney in the lobbies of these hotels," Brody said. "I'm talking about a lobby full of people, all these voices, but I can hear E. Rodney Jones above everybody." Jones, Brody said, is the epitome of personality in radio, something increasingly absent from computer-generated contemporary radio. "They're taking the human element out," Brody lamented. "A good radio personality," Jones said, "is being yourself and being versatile. When I say being yourself, I'm talking about personality. Be a personality and you'll win in radio. That's all I was, man. I was me, nobody else. That's what the people enjoyed. That's what they will forever enjoy me.

Photo shows Joe Louis, left, and E.Rodney Jones

:: Les Coles Saturday, January 03, 2004 [+] ::

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Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame & Museum Announces Exhibits For 2004

CLEVELAND – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is pleased to announce exhibit plans for 2004. The Cleveland-based museum, dedicated to educating its audiences on the history and significance of rock and roll, unveiled plans for three new exhibits in 2004. The Museum's 2004 schedule will feature new exhibits exploring the contributions of Les Paul, the Supremes and renowned rock photographer, Annie Leibovitz.

"Our 2004 exhibits look at three legends who, in their own way, were important to making rock and roll a part of modern cultural history: Les Paul, The Supremes and Annie Leibovitz," said Terry Stewart, President and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. "Les Paul's influence as a musician, inventor and technical innovator is unequaled," added Stewart, "and the Supremes' soulful music transcended gender and racial barriers like no other music before them."

"Les Paul and the Supremes are two giants of popular music," noted Jim Henke, Chief Curator at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. "We're also excited about showing another facet of rock in the Annie Leibovitz exhibition. Leibovitz's photos have become icons of the rock world and her images are deeply engrained in the psyche of our culture."

The 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Exhibit Schedule includes:

LES PAUL

Opens March 2004, 2nd Floor, Permanent installation





The name Les Paul is synonymous with the electric guitar. As a player, inventor and recording artist, Paul has been an innovator from the early years of his life. In 1941, Paul built his first solid-body electric guitar, and he continued to make refinements to his prototype throughout the decade. He also worked on refining the technology of sound, developing revolutionary engineering techniques such as close miking, echo delay and multi-tracking. This exhibit will look at the development of the electric guitar, as well as Paul's inventions in the area of recording.

REFLECTIONS: THE MARY WILSON SUPREMES LEGACY COLLECTION

Open April - September 2004, 6th Floor

From left to right: Florence Ballard, Scherrie Payne, Diana Ross, Susaye Greene, Lynda Laurence, Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong, and Jean Terrell

The Supremes rose from the poverty of Detroit's Brewster housing project to become Motown's most consistent hit makers and the most popular female group of the Sixties, amassing a dozen Number One hits between 1964-69. The Supremes sang in a polished style that bridged the worlds of pop and soul. They were America's ingénues, exuding a stylish charm and soulfulness that appealed across the board to black and white listeners at a time when racial divides were coming down. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Supremes' first Number One hit, "Where Did Our Love Go," the Museum, in partnership with original Supreme member, Mary Wilson, will be displaying nearly 25 sets of Supreme's stage costumes from the period 1966 through 1977.

AMERICAN MUSIC: IMAGES FROM ANNIE LEIBOVITZ

Open June - September 2004, Floors 5 and 6





Photographs by renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz comprise a new exhibition dedicated to the many faces of American popular music. Leibovitz is one of the great photographic historians responsible for documenting rock and roll music as a cultural phenomenon. Numerous Leibovitz's images have become visual icons. The Leibovitz exhibition coincides with the publication of her new Random House monograph, American Music, and includes photographs (many of them previously unpublished) of Lucinda Williams, Eminem, Missy Elliott, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Jon Bon Jovi, the White Stripes, and many others. This is a traveling exhibition, organized by the Experience Music Project, Seattle.

About The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum exists to educate its visitors, fans and scholars from around the world about the history and significance of rock and roll music. The Museum carries out this mission through its efforts to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret this art form.

The Museum is open seven days a week from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. On Wednesdays the Museum is open until 9:00 p.m. Museum admission is $18.00 for adults, $14.00 for seniors (60+), $11 for children (9-12) and children under 8 and Museum members are free.

Les Paul Lagniappes

I have the same first name as Les Paul and I have an electric guitar, there the similarity ends. But a boy can dream. In tribute to Les Paul, The Blues Blog offers the following Les Paul Lagniappes:

Click on the thumbnail for a high-quality 577 px x 759 px high-quality JPEG of a '58 Les Paul		Click on the thumbnail to send an e-card of 16 Stunningly Beautiful Les Paul Flame Tops From '58 -'60 which went mainly to Japanese customers

:: Les Coles Saturday, January 03, 2004 [+] ::

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Blues Brothers are on a mission to Reno

The Partridge Family, Monkees and the Blues Brothers all have something in common. People often are confused whether the groups were, indeed, groups or spin-offs from television series or both.

In the case of the Blues Brothers, who give a rare performance Dec. 30 at the City Center Pavilion, it's a little of all three.

The Blues Brothers, aka Joliet Jake (John Belushi) and his brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd), started as a sketch in the 1970s on Saturday Night Live. The skit grew into a duo backed by professional musicians, hit records, sold-out concert tours and a feature film.

But before the skit was born, Aykroyd and Belushi were longtime followers of American blues. Although they never conceived of becoming a band-backed duo, it turns out that Saturday Night Live was the perfect vehicle to introduce their passion for blues. And, of course, comedy.

Read the rest of the story on The Reno Gazette-Journal Online

:: Les Coles Friday, January 02, 2004 [+] ::

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Gospel music's Vestal Goodman dies at age 74

CELEBRATION, Fla. -- Vestal Goodman, known as the "Queen of Gospel Music," died Dec. 27 in Celebration, Fla., near Orlando while visiting family members during the Christmas holidays.

"She had been ill with the flu and turned worse last evening," the Southern Gospel News reported Dec. 28. She was 74.

Goodman's career in gospel music began as part of the popular Happy Goodman Family in the 1940s and, in recent years, she had become a fixture in the Bill Gaither "Homecoming" concerts and videos.

The winner of numerous Grammy and Dove awards also was known for her trademark beehive hairdo, full-length gowns and a white handkerchief she often waved while singing.

Her husband, Howard, and singing partner for more than 50 years, died in 2002 at the age of 81. Howard's two brothers and former members of the Happy Goodman Family, Rusty and Sam Goodman, also preceded her in death.

"Besides being talented, she loved people and people loved her," John Styll, president of the Gospel Music Association, told The Tennessean daily newspaper.

Styll added that "in her later years, she developed a kind of hipness -- even in the contemporary [Christian music] crowd. She was bigger than her genre."

"All the Happy Goodmans are together again," a fan wrote on the Southern Gospel News website. "And they can really sing about heaven now. And Jesus probably got a front row seat for this event."

"She was a spirit of optimism, a spirit of joy," Gaither told The Tennessean. Even in life's crises, "the glass was always half-full to Vestal."

She is survived by her son and daughter, Rick and Vicki, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

:: Les Coles Friday, January 02, 2004 [+] ::

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New blues radio station planned for East Central Illinois

DANVILLE, Ill. -- A Danville man is planning to bring the sounds of the blues, R&B and soul to the airwaves of East Central Illinois.

Gary Belt, president of nonprofit organization Blues Soul Inc,, said that the Federal Communications Commission has given the NPO a license to run a low-power FM radio station, WLBM 105.7.

"We hope to be on the air by the middle of February," he said, adding there will be six staffers, both full- and part-time. He said the station will play music by jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, blues legend BB King, groups such as the Isley Brothers, the Temptations and classic Motown artists.

The group would like to broadcast out of a building at 147 N. Walnut St., just north of the Danville Township's Walnut Street site. But first, it needs to get a special-use permit from the city.

The Danville Area Planning & Zoning Commission will review the request at its Jan. 8 hearing.

Belt said the building is owned by Jack Millikin. The group would rent the building from him.

:: Les Coles Friday, January 02, 2004 [+] ::

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Zydeco sax man John Hart dies

OPELOUSAS, La. -- Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Saturday in the Williams Funeral Home Chapel in Opelousas for John Hart, 71, a saxophone player who toured and recorded with well known Louisiana artists including Clifton Chenier, who died Dec. 26.

"He was a good dad and a good natured person," said his wife, Margie T. Hart.

Playing the saxophone took the musician all around the world, and back as he dazzled audiences with both jazz and zydeco music.

He attended Southern University for a short time before he was back on the road again.

Hart played for Lil' Bob and the Lollipops, Clifton Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band, Rockin' Doopsie and the Zydeco Twisters, and Nathan William and the Cha Chas

The saxophone player from Shreveport was raised by his grandmother Susie Thomas. He moved to Ville Platte in 1950s, according to his wife of 47 years,

"I met him at Soileau's Dinner Club in Opelousas where I worked in the 1950s," she said.

They married Nov. 12, 1956.

"We met while we were in our 20s, and we lived in Opelousas for most of the time," said Margie, who still resides in Opelousas.

Hart also played with King Charles from Ville Platte.

"He was the one who really brought my husband to this area," she said.

He began the major part of his musical career in 1948, shortly after he completed his studies at Southern University. He played Jazz for 10 years before meeting Clifton Chenier, who introduced him to zydeco.

"I went to Richard's Club and asked Cliff if my husband could play with him because Lil' Bob and the Lollipops were breaking up," the wife said.

Hart spent the highlight of his musical career playing background for Clifton Chenier as part of the Red Hot Louisiana Band in the 1960s.

Then he worked for Rockin' Dupsie for period of time.

The last band he played with before he retired in the 1990s, was Nathal William and the Cha Chas.

He retired in the 1990s and settled in Opelousas.

:: Les Coles Friday, January 02, 2004 [+] ::

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Put yo'self on the map

Looking at the SiteMeter stats for The Blues Blogs, I've noticed that Japan and North America account for about 90% of site visits, with the honors being pretty evenly split between the two. The other 10% come from a number of places ranging fron the South Americas, Europe through to the Antipodes.

The blues, of course, is worldwide, and so yesterday I added a GuestMap to let you put a pin on your little corner of it.

The first to put themselves on The Blues Blog May were Dave and Brad from the Big White. Thanks for dropping in and placing your pin guys.

I try and cover news on da blues from as many areas as possible, and definately rember have blogged about the blues in Canada lately (sortta have to with a blues-loving Canuck working opposite most shifts). If you have news about the blues in your country, please send it in to me.

Les

:: Les Coles Thursday, January 01, 2004 [+] ::

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Let The Good Times Roll

New radio series airs on Public Radio International Stations
beginning Dec. 30, 2003

In 26 thrilling hour-long programs -- thirteen new and thirteen encore episodes -- Let The Good Times Roll tells the stories behind the songs that have kept America singing and dancing for decades. Hosted by Chicago soul singer Jerry "The Iceman" Butler, Let the Good Times Roll profiles the lives, times, and creative output of artists who rocked the world, from Wilson Pickett to the O'Jays, Chuck Berry to Little Eva.

In the new episodes we'll profile several guitar greats who've left their mark on American music in "Kings of the Strings" take a musical journey to Memphis in "Beale Street Blues" tell the story of the TV debuts of Bo Diddley and "The Supremes" in "R&B in Black and White" visit a small cotton farming town in the heart of Alabama that produced some of the most soulful records of the Sixties and Seventies in "The Magic of Muscle Shoals" meet the African-American pioneers of the music biz who introduced artists from Little Richard to Etta James in "Profits and Pride" hear of the struggles of African-Americans to break into the country market in "R&B Goes Country" meet several classic soul crooners, including ex-prize fighter Jackie Wilson in "The Pillars of Soul" meet boogie woogie pianists Meade Lux Lewis and Pete Johnson in "Boogie Woogie Blues" hear the songs and life stories of the South's best-loved soul artists in "Southern Fried Soul" tell the stories of some classic R&B songs, in "The Poets of the Blues" hear "The Stax Story" profile some of the soulful groups of the sixties and seventies in "Soul Serenaders�; and explore the Philly sound of the 1970s in "Philly Soul".

Let the Good Times Roll offers an extraordinary review of a genre that drove America to the dance floor. The Producer is Lex Gillespie; the Conceptual Producer is Suzan Jenkins; the Sound Designer and Editor is Suraya Mohamed. Support for Let The Good Times Roll is provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts and Public Radio International. Check your local public radio station for details, or go to www.pri.org

For the new official Let The Good Times Roll website, go to www.goodtimesroll.org

Photo:

Jitterbugging in juke joint, Saturday evening, outside Clarksdale, Mississippi

Photo by Marion Post Walcott
Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

:: Les Coles Wednesday, December 31, 2003 [+] ::

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Hoppin' John -- Pass The Peas

Hoppin' John is a traditional African-American dish served on New Year's day for good luck.

There are almost as many theories as to how Hoppin' John got its name as there are ways to cook the dish. One story attributes the name to the custom of inviting guests to eat with, "Hop in, John." Another suggestion is that it is derived from an old ritual on New Year's Day in which the children of the house hopped once around the table before eating the dish. Whatever its origin, it was definitely a staple for many in the early South, and remains an important dish today.

The following recipe is one from Eric V. Copage's book, Kwanzaa, An African-American Celebration of Culture And Cooking. If you're up to the challenge, you might try adding the rice to the black-eyed pea mixture. If not, you might do as the cook suggests, "cheat" and cook the rice separately, then combine the two at serving time.

Hoppin' John

• 1 pound dried black-eyed peas


• 1 pound spicy bulk pork sausage


• 1 large onion, chopped


• 2 garlic cloves, minced


• 2 quarts water


• 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes


• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ground white pepper


• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt


• 4 cups beef broth, homemade or canned


• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter


• 3 cups long-grained rice

In a large saucepan, bring the peas and water to a boil over high heat. Boil for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat, cover tightly, and let stand for 1 hour. (Or in a large bowl, combine the peas with enough cold water to cover by 3 inches, and let stand overnight at room temperature.) Drain well.

In a 5-quart Dutch oven, cook the sausage, onion, and garlic over medium heat, stirring often to break up the sausage, until it loses its raw look, about 10 minutes. Pour off all excess fat.

Add the drained peas, water, and red and white peppers. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, covered, until the peas are tender, about 1 1/4 hours. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of the salt.

Meanwhile, bring the beef broth, butter, and remaining 1 teaspoon of salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the rice, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, covered, until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes. Fluff the rice and transfer it to a deep serving bowl.

Pour the peas over the rice, mix well, and serve immediately.

Pass the hot sauce.

:: Les Coles Wednesday, December 31, 2003 [+] ::

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Happy New Year

Countdown

Happy New Year to all Blues Bloggersl

:: Les Coles Wednesday, December 31, 2003 [+] ::

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I Went To The Crossroads

Back on Sat Aug 23, 01:38:10 PM I blogged about a self-styled Voodoo doctor who offerred -- for a price -- to take a budding young musician down to the crossroads to do the Robert Johnson deal with the devil. Doctor Snake offerred the deal on eBay, where else?

Apparently, Doctor Snake had already performed a similar service for a U.K. band in 2002.

Darkness Singer Sold Soul To Devil In Exchange For Fame And Fortune, Claims UK Voodoo Doctor

Lord of Darkness may have helped UK rockers rise to fame.

EASTERN ENGLAND (PRWEB) Dec.31 2003 --The meteoric rise to success of UK rock band The Darkness may not be all it seems. According to UK Voodoo doctor, Doktor Snake, they had a little help from the Lord of Darkness himself. Snake says the band's lead singer Justin Hawkins consulted him on making a pact with the Devil in exchange for fame and fortune.

Sometime during 2002, when the retro rockers were still unknowns playing in pubs, Norwich-based Snake claims he took Hawkins to a deserted crossroads and helped him make the Faustian pact.

"I took Justin out at midnight to a deserted crossroads in some marches near Lowestoft in Suffolk, where he grew up," says Snake. "He was pretty scared, but he wanted fame badly."

Apparently Hawkins contacted Snake after reading his book Doktor Snake's Voodoo Spellbook (St. Martins Press), which provides new insight into the legend of 1930s bluesman Robert Johnson, who reportedly sold his soul to the Devil in return for fame and guitar expertise.

Hawkins - desperate for fame after years of struggling - decided that he too might benefit from a walk on the darkside. The fact that Snake - a self-confessed Voodoo doctor - lived in the unlikely location of Norwich, only 25 miles from Lowestoft where Hawkins grew up, sealed it for him and he gave the Voodoo man a call.

"I knew straight away that Justin had star quality and that making the Pact would take him all the way," confides Snake. "It was written all over him. But no matter how talented you are, you often need the extra push. Making the pact with Satan gave it to him."

Hawkins himself recently reflected that, "This time last year I was a music nobody. Today I sit at the top of the music tree."

Whatever the truth, no-one can deny that the rise to fame of The Darkness has been nothing short of uncanny.

For more information on how Justin Hawkins sold his soul to the Devil with the help of Doktor Snake, visit http://www.doktorsnake.com/darkness.htm

Doktor Snake is the author of Doktor Snake's Voodoo Spellbook and describes himself as an "enigmatic rake and VooDevil." He recently hit the headlines when he auctioned his services on eBay to help musicians sell their souls to the Devil in exchange for fame and fortune.

I went to the crossroad
Fell down on my knees
I went to the crossroad
Fell down on my knees
Asked the Lord above "Have mercy now,
Save poor Bob, if you please"

Crossroad Blues - Robert Johnson

:: Les Coles Wednesday, December 31, 2003 [+] ::

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:: Les Coles Wednesday, December 31, 2003 [+] ::

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New Year's Eve

Countdown

It's New Year's Eve in Tokyo Y'all

I'd like to thank all Blues Bloggers for dropping by in 2003 -- The Year Of The Blues.

There's a couple of New Year's Eve shows on in Tokyo tonight, see the Tokyo-Blues Year-end Special for details. Go out and listen to some music and have a good time.

I captured some of Sanata's little elves and got them pounding out copy to make The Blues Blog better, better and badder for 2004.

See you then,

Les

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?
Written by: Frank Loesser
Performed by: Ella Fitzgerald

Maybe it's much too early in the game
Aah, but I thought I'd ask you just the same
What are you doing New Year's
New Year's eve?

Wonder whose arms will hold you good and tight
When it's exactly twelve o'clock that night
Welcoming in the New Year
New Year's eve

Maybe I'm crazy to suppose
I'd ever be the one you chose
Out of a thousand invitations
You received

Aah, but in case I stand one little chance
Here comes the jackpot question in advance:
What are you doing New Year's
New Year's Eve?

Send a Blues New Year's e-card from the tokyo-blues.com collection.

:: Les Coles Tuesday, December 30, 2003 [+] ::

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Bert Jansch Revisited

Bert Jansch was one of my childhood idols -- "Strolling Down The Highway," "Needle of Death". Recently I've been rediscovering him, so it was timely to happen across this article on him in the Scotsman.

Unusually for a musical legend, Bert Jansch is not one for a fuss. When the BBC celebrated his 60th birthday with a televised concert last year, the revolutionary folk guitarist felt a bit awkward more than anything else. "It was quite nerve-wracking for me," he says. "It’s taken the BBC a hell of a long time, why do I have to be 60 years old before they get round to it?"

Read on...

:: Les Coles Sunday, December 28, 2003 [+] ::

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Happy Holidays

Bottoms Up
Send a Blues New Year's e-card from the tokyo-blues.com collection.

:: Les Coles Sunday, December 28, 2003 [+] ::

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