This Week In The Blues: August 10 - August 17, 2025

HEY BLUES FANS - Here's the latest episode of "This Week In The Blues" for the week of August 10 - August 17, 2025.

Some of the highlights include innovator and inventor Leo Fender, Detroit blues and rhythm and blues singer Thornetta Davis, and blues guitar giant Son Seals.

Keep in mind that there's so much more that happened this week in the blues. 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:

Son Seals - "On My Knees" - https://youtu.be/dlaIdSD64T0?si=e8Av15fRc6v03Kww

Roy Gaines - "Too many miles between us" - https://youtu.be/1Qr7MZj9rWw?si=pjD8tsBEe-CRswAd

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: August 10 – August 16, 2025

The one and only Leo Fender was born on August 10 in 1909! Fender designed the company's early models, including the classic designs of the Fender Telecaster, Fender Precision Bass, and Fender Stratocaster. Leo Fender was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. Ironically, Fender never learned to play the instruments he designed and produced. However, his instruments were played by many Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

“Crazy Blues” by Mamie Smith was recorded on August 10, 1920. Very unusual for the time, it was recorded with a black band, the Jazz Hounds. This was the record that launched a new era for blues in the music business. Smith was not the first person to sing the blues on record, but up until “Crazy Blues,” almost all the others had been white, catering to a white clientele. Only when “Crazy Blues” created a sensation among African American buyers did the record companies realize the potential. By various news accounts, “Crazy Blues” sold anywhere from 10,000 to 2,000,000 copies, enough at any rate for record labels to look for more black women to sing the blues.

Blues pioneer singer and guitarist "Crying" Sam Collins was born on August 11 back in 1887. One of the earliest generation of blues performers, Collins developed his style in South Mississippi as opposed to the Delta. His recording debut single in 1927 predated those of legendary Mississippians such as Charley Patton and Tommy Johnson and was advertised as “Crying Sam Collins and his Git-Fiddle.” One blues historian wrote that his bottleneck guitar "seemed to literally weep".

Detroit blues and rhythm and blues singer Thornetta Davis was born on August 11, 1963. She has opened for Bonnie Raitt, Gladys Knight, and Etta James, and sang backing vocals on Bob Seger's 1991 album, The Fire Inside. She’s also released several solo albums. In 1992, Davis appeared at the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival and sang on stage with Bonnie Raitt and Katie Webster. She also had a guest appearance on Alberta Adams' 2008 album Detroit is My Home. In 2014, Davis performed at the Concert of Colors in Detroit with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Blues guitar great Roy Gaines was born on August 12 in 1937. Growing up in Houston, Texas, he was a protege of the legendary T-Bone Walker. At 14 Gaines met T-Bone Walker at a local performance and was even invited to back Walker onstage. After that, he was nicknamed “T-Bone Jr.” He worked primarily as a sideman, but he released a solo album, Gainelining, in 1982. He also played a small part in the 1985 film The Color Purple. Gaines co-wrote the song "No Use Crying", which was recorded by George Jones and Ray Charles.

The ever-talented blues singer and performer Mississippi Slim was born on August 13 in 1943. He was born in Shelby, Mississippi and in the early 1960s he worked as a tractor driver while singing in local clubs. In 1968 he moved to Chicago to pursue a singing career. Using the name Mississippi Slim, he performed in clubs in Chicago where he became known for his multicolored hair and mismatched clothing. He returned to live in Mississippi in 1994, continuing to perform in local clubs and at festivals, and becoming active in Mississippi's "Blues In Schools" Project. 

West Coast blues and Jump blues pianist Jimmy McCracklin was born August 13, 1921. His birth name is James David Walker Jr. His style contained West Coast blues, Jump blues, and R&B. Over a career that spanned seven decades, he said he had written almost a thousand songs and had recorded hundreds of them. McCracklin recorded over 30 albums and earned four gold records. McCracklin continued to write, record, and perform into the 21st century until his passing at the age of 91.

Blues guitar giant Son Seals, born August 14, 1942 in Osceola, Arkansas. His father owned a small juke joint, called the Dipsy Doodle Club. He began performing professionally by the age of 13, first as a drummer with Robert Nighthawk and later as a guitarist. At age 16, he began to play at the T-99, a local upper-echelon club, with his brother-in-law Walter "Little Walter" Jefferson. He played there with prominent blues musicians, including Albert King, Rufus Thomas, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, and Rosco Gordon.

Influential blues singer Buster Brown was born August 15, 1911 in Cordele, Georgia. In the 1930s and 1940s he played harmonica at local clubs and made a few non-commercial recordings. In later years he recorded for Checker Records and for numerous small record labels. He also co-wrote the song "Doctor Brown" with J. T. Brown, which was later covered by Fleetwood Mac on their 1968 album, Mr. Wonderful.

Blues great Melvin "Lil' Son" Jackson was born on August 16 in 1915. He was a contemporary of Lightnin' Hopkins. Jackson's mother played gospel guitar, and he played early on in a gospel group, the Blue Eagle Four. He became a mechanic and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After that he pursued a career as a blues musician. He recorded a demo and sent it to Gold Star Records in 1946. He was signed to a recording contract and released "Freedom Train Blues" in 1948, which became a nationwide hit in the U.S.

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 and we’ll cover The King of the Boogie John Lee Hooker and blues guitar player Luther Allison – we’ll see you then!