This Week In The Blues: December 7 - December 13, 2025

HEY BLUES FANS - Here's the latest episode of "This Week In The Blues" for the week of December 7 - December 13, 2025

Some of the highlights include the night Koko Taylor records “Wang Dang Doodle”, rhythm and blues drummer Soko Richardson, and harmonica legend Junior Wells.

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:

Koko Taylor w Little Walter 1967 - "Wang Dang Doodle" - https://youtu.be/qyUHkY0K8HE?si=nEVCQoTKuNnhL_SD

Junior Wells - "Hoodooman Blues" - https://youtu.be/47djAb6jVJk?si=MnQ0HJmQL_UCKxIh

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

Blind John Davis, a blues and boogie-woogie pianist, was born on December 7, 1913. He is best known for recordings like “A Little Every Day” and “Everybody’s Boogie.” Even though he was famous for blues piano, he was proud that he could also play ragtime, some jazz, and even Tin Pan Alley songs. Davis was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and his family moved to Chicago when he was two. He lost his eyesight at age nine after stepping on a nail, but he still learned to play piano as a teenager. He earned money by playing in his father’s “sporting houses.”

On December 7, 1965, Willie Dixon brought Koko Taylor to Chess Records to record “Wang Dang Doodle.” The story goes that Dixon called her at 1 a.m. and insisted she come to the studio immediately. Her version came out in early 1966, reaching number four on the Billboard Rhythm & Blues chart and number 58 on the Hot 100. The song was later inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame.

Texas blues pianist Thomas “Grey Ghost” Williams was born on December 7, 1903. His career lasted about 70 years, from the 1920s through the 1990s. He often traveled to dances and roadhouses by hopping empty boxcars. He got the nickname “Grey Ghost” because he always seemed to appear out of nowhere. People would check every train and bus for him, but he wasn’t on any of them, yet he always showed up to play. He said he would put overalls over his suit and tie to travel unnoticed.

Gregory Allman, better known as Gregg Allman, was born on December 8, 1947. He grew up loving rhythm and blues, and the Allman Brothers Band blended those sounds with rock, jazz, and country. He wrote some of the band’s best-known songs, including “Whipping Post,” “Melissa,” and “Midnight Rider.” Allman spent his early years in Nashville before moving to Daytona Beach, Florida, and later Richmond Hill, Georgia.

Rhythm and blues drummer Soko Richardson was born on December 8, 1939, in New Iberia, Louisiana. His career lasted almost 50 years, and he played with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, and many others. He began touring at age 16 with local bands. Soon after, Ike Turner heard him playing in Texas, hired him for the Kings of Rhythm, and later brought him into the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.

Harmonica legend Junior Wellswas born on December 9, 1934, in West Memphis, Arkansas. He’s best known for his signature song “Messin’ with the Kid” and his 1965 album Hoodoo Man Blues, considered one of the best blues albums of the 1960s. He was taught by his cousin Junior Parker and by Sonny Boy Williamson II, and he became skilled on the harmonica by age seven. He performed and recorded with major blues stars like Muddy Waters, Earl Hooker, and Buddy Guy, and later reached rock audiences by touring with the Rolling Stones.

Louisiana blues singer and songwriter Jessie Hill was born on December 9, 1932, in New Orleans. He is best known for the classic hit “Ooh Poo Pah Doo.” He was drumming in local bands by his teens and formed his own group, the House Rockers, in 1951. He also drummed for Professor Longhair and Huey “Piano” Smith. In 1958, he created a new version of the House Rockers so he could focus more on singing.

Blues guitarist Blind Roosevelt Graves was born on December 9, 1909. He played on all his recordings with his nearly blind brother, Uaroy, who played the tambourine. They were billed as “Blind Roosevelt Graves and Brother.” Their first recordings were made in 1929 for Paramount Records. They recorded the earliest known version of “Guitar Boogie” and delivered powerful gospel singing on tracks like “I’ll Be Rested.” Some researchers even suggest their 1929 song “Crazy About My Baby” might be the first rock ’n’ roll recording… although that debate gets heated very quickly!

Willie Monroe Vincent, better known as Polka Dot Slim, was born on December 9, 1926, in Woodville, Mississippi. He was a blues singer and harmonica player whose music mixed Delta blues with the rhythm of New Orleans R&B. He also recorded under names like Vince Monroe, Mr. Calhoun, and Poka-A-Dot Slim.

Here’s another “Delta Ghost Story,” this time about William “Casey Bill” Weldon, who was possibly born on December 10, 1909. Much of his life is unclear. He was likely born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and later lived and worked in Chicago. Weldon was an early slide guitar player. He played a National steel guitar on his lap in the Hawaiian style and became known as the “Hawaiian Guitar Wizard.”

Big Mama Thornton, the original “Hound Dog,” was born on December 11, 1926. Her nickname came from the manager of the Apollo Theater because of her powerful voice, size, and bold personality. She once said she was louder than any microphone and didn’t want one to ever be louder than her. She was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1984.

Cornelius Green III, better known as Lonesome Sundown, was born on December 12, 1928. His first hit was “Leave My Money Alone” in the mid-1950s. Over the next eight years he recorded swamp blues classics like “My Home Is a Prison,” “I’m a Mojo Man,” “I Stood By,” and “I’m a Samplin’ Man.” He retired from blues in 1965 to devote himself to the church, but finally returned in 1977 to record the album Been Gone Too Long.

Blues guitar master Wayne Bennett was born on December 13, 1931, in Sulphur, Oklahoma. He is best known for his guitar work with Bobby “Blue” Bland from the 1950s through the 1980s. Bennett started playing in his teens and performed in local bands before joining Amos Milburn’s band in 1950, which led to his first recordings. In the early 1950s he moved to Chicago and recorded with Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Reed, and Elmore James. In the late ’50s he joined Bobby Bland’s touring and recording band.

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 talk about Chicago harmonica great Paul Butterfield and the guitarist for ZZ Top Billy Gibbons. It’s going to be a great show, so…we’ll see you then!