This Week In The Blues: May 19 - May 25, 2024

HEY BLUES FANS - Here's the latest episode of "This Week In The Blues" for the week of May 19 - May 25, 2024.

Some of the highlights include blues guitarist Jimmy Thackery, jump blues singer Billy Wright, blues and jazz pianist Abie “Boogaloo” Ames, and Muddy Waters records "Manish Boy” . 

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:

Jimmy Thackery - "Hobart's Blues" - https://youtu.be/zJZ7uWaMufE?si=_HfOWkcC5Jb3usiW

Billy Wright - "Don´t You Want a Man Like Me" - https://youtu.be/V0AVpR_XfZw?si=dx_tSRPDd4c0MXsf

Boogaloo Ames - "Boogie-Woogie" - https://youtu.be/vPhjkw8c7qM?si=i6cRTtptGcwHsB0Z

Muddy Waters - "Mannish Boy (Live)" - https://youtu.be/2QoBR-F3tp4?si=_VCoSAKLFBoSfszo


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

ARE YOU A FAN OF BLUES HISTORY? US TOO!

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

This Week In The Blues May 19 - May 25 2024

 May 19 is the birthday of blues guitarist Jimmy Thackery. He was born in Pittsburgh in 1953. Known for his gritty, blue-collar approach and marathon live shows, Thackery was for many years part of the Nighthawks, one of the hardest-working blues bar bands. By the late ’80s, he was touring and recording under his own name, and finding widespread acceptance on the festival circuit.

 Chuck Berry recorded his hit 'Maybellene' on May 21 in 1955 at Universal Recording Studios, Chicago, Illinois. The song adapted in part from the Western swing fiddle tune 'Ida Red' is considered to be one of the first rock and roll songs. The track became Berry's debut single release in July of this year where it peaked at No. 5 on the US chart.

 blues singer Lee "Shot" Williams was born May 21, 1938 in Lexington, Mississippi. He got the nickname "Shot" from his mother at a young age, owing to his fondness for wearing suits and dressing up as a "big shot." Williams moved to Chicago in 1958. A few years later joined Magic Sam's band as a vocalist. In 1962, Williams recorded his first singles "Hello Baby" and "I'm Trying". His 1964 recording "Welcome to the Club" was a hit in Chicago, and was later covered by Little Milton for Checker Records in 1965.

 jump blues singer Billy Wright was born May 21 in either 1918, 1928 or 1932. Yeah – I know, that’s a big date range. A flamboyant performer, he was known as the "Prince of the Blues" throughout his career. He was a key figure in Atlanta blues after World War II. His first record, "Blues for My Baby", rose to number 3 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1949. He had a major influence on the rock-and-roll pioneer Little Richard, whom he helped get his first recording contract in 1951. 

 Albert Collins started recording the album “Ice Pickin'” on May 22, 1978 for Alligator Records at Curtom Studios in Chicago. It was the album that sparked Albert Collins' belated rise to blues stardom, a full 20 years after the 'Master of the Telecaster' recorded the first of his incendiary 'cool' instrumentals, titled 'The Freeze.' It was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1979. In 1986 the album was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

 Blues pianist Aaron "Pinetop" Sparks was born May 22, 1910 in Corona, Mississippi. He got his nickname from playing Pinetop Smith's hit "Pine Top's Boogie Woogie". In 1920, the family moved to St. Louis, where he and his twin brother (Marion “Lindberg” Sparks) formed a group, with Aaron playing the piano in a boogie-woogie style and Marion singing. Their first recording session was in 1932, when they recorded a number of blues and boogie-woogie songs. Perhaps his most notable recording is "Every Day I Have the Blues", a song he wrote with his brother and was recorded in 1935.

 blues and jazz pianist Abie “Boogaloo” Ames was born on May 23, 1918 on the Big Egypt Plantation in Cruger, Mississippi. He began playing the piano at the age of five. When he was a teenager, his family moved to Detroit, and by the late 1940s, Ames was leading his own band there. Throughout the following decade, he performed with various big name musicians including Nat King Cole and Erroll Garner. Around this time he picked up the nickname "Boogaloo". In the early 1960s, Ames did session work at Berry Gordy's fledgling Motown studio. 

 Muddy Waters records "Manish Boy” on May 24, 1955. It was one of a series of Chess singles that featured Muddy Waters convincingly touting his own virility assisted by an all-star crew with Junior Wells filling the harmonica spot usually held by Little Walter on Muddy's sessions. It was a solid stop-time follow-up to Muddy's 'I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man' and Bo Diddley's 1955 hit 'I'm a Man.' The record hit the Top Ten in all three of the R&B charts Billboard magazine then published

 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, and who wouldn’t, 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!