This Week In The Blues: Dec 15 - Dec 21, 2024

HEY BLUES FANS - Here's the latest episode of "This Week In The Blues" for the week of Dec 15 - Dec 21, 2024.

Some of the highlights include New Orleans piano legend Professor Longhair, the “Devil's Son In Law" Peetie Wheatstraw, and the one and only Lonnie Brooks.

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:

Professor Longhair & The Meters - "Big Chief" - https://youtu.be/I09FChrTDJw?si=OdrECanwZTXqt9Tj

Peetie Wheatstraw - "Devil's Son-In-Law" - https://youtu.be/F5Ac24bdUFM?si=59TT3u3Ha9wjrmxF

Join me every weekday from 12:15pm-12:45pm CT to watch a live stream on Facebook of the longest running blues radio show program. https://www.facebook.com/DeltaCulturalCenter

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 Dec 15 - Dec 21 2024

Golden "Big" Wheeler was born December 15, 1929. This Chicago blues singer, harp player and songwriter released two albums in his lifetime and is best known for his recordings of the songs "Damn Good Mojo" and "Bone Orchard". He was born Golden Wheeler in Baconton, Georgia (you know, I bet they have really good bacon there!) Anyway, he eventually settled in Chicago, Illinois, in 1954, where he became friends with harmonica player Little Walter. Wheeler fronted his own band by 1956, although he was a part-time musician, working for years as an auto mechanic to supplement his income and provide for his family.

Andrew "Big Voice" Odom was born December 15, 1936.  This Chicago blues singer and songwriter is best known for the close resemblance of his singing style to that of Bobby Bland and B.B. King. Odom was born in Denham Springs, LA and learned to sing at his family's church. In 1955, he relocated the St Louis area and began working with Albert King and Johnny Williams. In 1960, he moved to Chicago, and that was his home for the rest of his life, becoming a fixture in the local music scene until his death in 1991.

record producer, civil rights activist, and music critic John Henry Hammond was born December 15, 1910.  In his service as a talent scout, Hammond became one of the most influential figures in 20th-century popular music. He was instrumental in sparking or furthering numerous musical careers, including those of guitarist Charlie Christian, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Big Joe Turner, Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Mike Bloomfield. Hammond is also largely responsible for the revival of delta blues artist Robert Johnson's music.

Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top fame was born December 16, 1949. Born in Houston, TX, upon discovering Elvis Presley via an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, Gibbons became transfixed by rock & roll. He soon after discovered Little Richard and bluesmen Jimmy Reed via a local radio station. Gibbons began emulating his heroes -- forming his first band when he was 14. He began his career in the band Moving Sidewalks and opened four dates for the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Gibbons formed ZZ Top in late 1969. "that little ol' band from Texas" wound up as an enduring American musical institution

Chicago blues harmonica player James Joshua "Jimmie" Whiting who goes by the stage name “Sugar Blue” was born December 16, 1949! Blue played as a session musician on Johnny Shines' Too Wet to Plow and with Roosevelt Sykes. Through that connection he met Louisiana Red, and the two toured and recorded in 1978. Taking advice from Memphis Slim Blue traveled to Paris, France. Blue was found by Mick Jagger busking on the city streets. This led to him playing on several of the tracks on The Rolling Stones' Some Girls and Emotional Rescue albums.

On December 17, 1930 Lucille Bogan first records "Black Angel Blues". It became a blues standard and has been recorded by numerous other artists with slightly different titles. This included Tampa Red, Robert Nighthawk, and Earl Hooker. In 1956, B.B. King recorded a version with the revised title "Sweet Little Angel". King's version, which included a horn section, was a stylistic shift for the song and it became a hit, reaching number eight on the Billboard R&B chart. 

Chicago blues harp player Paul Butterfield was born Dec 17, 1942! Butterfield was the first white harmonica player to develop a style original and powerful enough to place him in among the true blues greats. Early on he explored the blues scene in Chicago, where he met Muddy Waters and other blues greats, who provided encouragement and opportunities for him to join in jam sessions. In 1963 he formed the Paul Butterfield Blues Band with Elvin Bishop, among others. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.

Blues guitarist and singer "Pee Wee" Crayton born December 18, 1914. It is thought he was the first blues guitarist to use a Fender Stratocaster, playing one given to him by Leo Fender. One of his first recordings in 1948 was the instrumental "Blues After Hours", which reached number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart late that year. On May 8, 2019, Crayton was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame by long-time friend Doug MacLeod in a ceremony held in Memphis, Tennessee by the Blues Foundation. 

The one and only Lonnie Brooks born December 18, 1933. Having forged a unique Louisiana/Chicago blues synthesis unlike anyone else's on the competitive Windy City scene, charismatic guitarist Lonnie Brooks long reigned as one of the town's top bluesmen. Interesting fact, His real name was Lee Baker, and he called himself “Guitar Junior” until he moved to Chicago where Luther Johnson was already using that name. So he went with the name Lonnie Brooks instead. Why he didn’t just use his real name of Lee Bakes, I really don’t know.

Ace Saxophone player Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson was born December 18, 1917.  He played jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto sax. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in which his hair was accidentally destroyed by lye contained in a hair straightening product, necessitating shaving it off. He really took to the look, and he maintained a shaved head thereafter. 

Peg Leg Sam was born on December 18, 1911. He was a blues harp player, singer and comedian. Early in his career he worked in medicine shows. He lost his leg in 1930, trying to hop a train. He made a peg out of a fencepost, bound it to his stub with a leather belt, and kept moving. Peg Leg Sam gave his last medicine-show performance in 1972 in North Carolina but continued to appear at music festivals in his final years. 

New Orleans piano legend Professor Longhair or "Fess" for short born December 19, 1918! He was born Henry Byrd in Bogalusa, Louisiana, and his distinctive style of piano playing was influenced by learning to play on an instrument that was missing some keys. Longhair grew up on the streets of the Big Easy, tap dancing for tips on Bourbon Street with his running partners. A natural-born card shark and gambler, Longhair began to take his playing seriously in 1948, earning a gig at the Caldonia Club. His piano style has been described as "instantly recognizable, combining rumba, mambo, and calypso".

The blues, boogie-woogie and jazz pianist, guitarist and singer Walter Roland was probably born December 20, 1902. I say probably because like so many of his time, record keeping was dodgy at best. Roland was born in Ralph, Alabama and is most noted for his association with Lucille Bogan, Josh White and Sonny Scott. He started playing on the Birmingham blues circuit in the 1920s. His range covered slow blues to upbeat, boogie-woogie numbers. Between 1933 and 1935, Roland traveled to New York on three occasions, recording around fifty songs under his own name for Banner Records.

The “Devil's Son In Law" Peetie Wheatstraw who was born December 21, 1902! He began recording in 1930 and was so popular that he continued to record through the Great Depression, when the number of blues records issued was drastically reduced. On December 21, 1941, which was his 39th birthday, he and some friends decided to take a drive to find some more liquor when the Buick they were riding in struck a freight train, killing all three.

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!