This Week In The Blues: Nov 3 - Nov 9, 2024

HEY BLUES FANS - Here's the latest episode of "This Week In The Blues" for the week of Nov 3 - Nov 9, 2024.

Some of the highlights include the blues standard "The Sky Is Crying" written by Elmore James, blues guitarist and singer "Rory" Block, and blues legend Bonnie Raitt.

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:

Elmore James - "The Sky Is Crying" - https://youtu.be/S788gj9vdp0?si=zxMQ6f-99P7KPh65

Rory Block - "Crossroads Blues" - https://youtu.be/aaK4x7TLQ3E?si=OZKm9JRtt2Q2tJp3

Bonnie Raitt, John Lee Hooker "In The Mood" - https://youtu.be/lE4P8r8FENY?si=YEnN-Eui9bcsKd9c


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 Nov 3 - Nov 9 2024

The blues standard "The Sky Is Crying" written by Elmore James was first recorded by him on November 3 or 4, 1959. It became a R&B record chart hit and has been covered by numerous artists. In 1969, Albert King recorded "The Sky Is Crying" for the album Years Gone By. Stevie Ray Vaughan performed and recorded the song regularly and it was finally released after his death as the title track on his 1991 album The Sky Is Crying.

delta blues pianist Willie Love was born November 4, 1906. He spent most of his active music career in Greenville, MS where he met Blues harp player Sonny Boy Williamson II in 1942. The pair played regularly on Nelson Street, the main drag of the Black section of Greenville. And it was Williamson who brought Love into the fold at Trumpet Records.

Memphis blues guitarist, harmonica player Memphis Willie B was born November 4, 1911. He was known for his work with Jack Kelly's Jug Busters and the Memphis Jug Band. After being discharged from the Army after world war 2, he discovered it hard to find work as a musician and eventually took up other employment. His career was revived for several years in the 1960s.  

blues singer and guitarist - Delbert McClinton was born on November 4, 1940. From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour or studio release, he has recorded albums for several major record labels and singles that have reached the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, Mainstream Rock Tracks, and Hot Country Songs charts. Four of his albums have been number 1 on the Blues chart, and another reached number 2.

blues guitarist and harmonica player Studebaker John was born November 5, 1952 in Chicago.  His father was an amateur musician who played early in life at the Maxwell Street flea market. Studebaker John began playing harmonica at age seven. In the 1970s he put together his band, the Hawks, and worked as a construction worker while recording and performing on the side. He recorded extensively for Blind Pig Records in the 1990s.

an underappreciated blues man by the name of ‘Blue Smitty’, was born on Nov 6, 1924. He was a powerful singer and guitarist who made a great contribution to the transformation of the Blues from acoustic to electric music in Chicago just after WWII. After a stint in the Army, he ended up in Chicago playing clubs with a couple of young men named Jimmy Rogers and Muddy Waters. 

November 6th is "National Saxophone Day" celebrated on the birthday ‘Adolphe’ Sax, who the inventor of the saxophone in 1841.  Some blues/R&B sax players you have heard of include Bull Moose Jackson, Louie Jordan, Grady Gaines, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, and Vanessa Collier.

This Chicago blues guitarist and singer Boston Blackie was born November 6 1943 in Panola, Alabama. He began playing guitar by age six and in 1962 he moved to Chicago where three of his brothers had already relocated and formed a band. He backed Johnny B. Moore and Lee "Shot" Williams at the Majestic Lounge, Little Milton at Pepper's Lounge, and played at various times with Magic Sam, Otis Rush, Freddie King, Kansas City Red, Hubert Sumlin, and Homesick James.

blues guitarist and singer "Rory" Block was born November 6, 1949, in Princeton, New Jersey and grew up in Manhattan. At the age of 14, she met guitarist Stefan Grossman, who introduced her to the music of Mississippi Delta blues guitarists. Rory Block has won numerous blues and music awards including best "Traditional Blues Female Artist" best "Acoustic Blues Album of the Year" and "Acoustic Artist of the Year". 

blues legend Bonnie Raitt was born November 8, 1949! After picking up the guitar at the age of 12, Raitt felt an immediate affinity for the blues. She dropped out of college to begin playing the Boston folk and blues club circuit. She was soon performing alongside the likes of Howlin' Wolf, Sippie Wallace, and Mississippi Fred McDowell. Raitt has received 10 Grammy Awards and is listed as number 50 in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" and number 89 on the magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

This week marks the trifecta for great blues women. Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Susan Tedeschi was born November 9, she is a multiple Grammy Award nominee, and is a member of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a conglomeration of her band, her husband Derek Trucks's the Derek Trucks Band, and other musicians. She is part of the new generation of blues musicians looking for ways to keep the form exciting, vital, and evolving.

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!