I miss Willie Dixon. I had the tremendous good fortune to sit and talk with him on several occasions during the 1980's, and he never failed to amaze, entertain and enlighten me. During those years you couldn't go into a Southern California club, blues venue or attend a music festival without seeing the man surrounded by an entourage of adoring friends and fans.
Primer has been amazingly productive over the years; he's recorded and toured with everyone from Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon to Junior Wells and James Cotton. I lost track of the number of albums he's listed on at around 87 or 88. John just smiles at me "probably more than that." From a sharecropping family to a legendary blues man, John Primer is the real deal so we started our conversation with his first instrument.
The 1993 Long Beach Blues Festival was a phenomenal tribute to the blues of the Delta. It featured Robert Jr. Lockwood and Pinetop Perkins on stage, recreating a live presentation of radio station KFFA’s ‘King Biscuit Time.’ There was also an outstanding homage to the work of Robert Johnson; brought to life by Lonnie Pitchford, Keb’ Mo, Rory Block, and …
Luther Tucker loved the blues. Born in Memphis in 1936 his path in life seemed pre-destined when he moved to Chicago in the early 1940s. His mother played piano and she would eventually introduce young Luther to some of Chicago’s most legendary bluesmen.
It’s been almost 30 years now since I ran into Carey Bell. He was touring through Europe and was gracious enough to sit down and talk for awhile about his friends, his life in music and the road he travelled. He was a remarkable talent and genuinely funny human being.
You may not be traveling to far-away places in the immediate future, but we can bring them to you. Here’s T-Boy’s third installment of virtual trips by our staff, and we hope you’ll be able to go there and to other distant destinations soon.