Etheyl Mae here is showing off her new guitar, a Christmas present according to the scribble on the back of the photo. Date and place unknown. Someplace snowy for you blind readers. I love this photo, for no particular reason. Perhaps it's the proto-mullet hair-do? Do you think she became a country singer or a rocker?
JB Lenoir (the JB doesn't stand for anything, the last name pronounced len-Or), was born in Monticello, Mississippi, March 5, 1929. Sometimes his name was spelled Lenore on record labels. He spent some time in New Orleans, where he picked up guitar tips from Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, and played with Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) and Elmore James. He moved to Chicago in 1949 and was mentored by Big Bill Broonzy. Playing the clubs in Chicago he came to the attention of some small labels, on his first session he was backed by Snooky Pryor on harp, Sunnyland Slim on piano and Eddie Taylor on guitar, the two songs recorded -- In The Evening and Please Don't Go Away were issued on the Negro Rhythm label on an LP that appeared in 1950 and is incredibly rare.
The same year he recorded a session for Joe Brown's tiny, JOB label, the results which were leased out to Chess who issued them in 1950. One of these -- Korea Blues was a minor hit. He recorded sides for JOB in 51-52, then moved to Al Benson's Parrot label in 1954 where he recorded another minor hit-- I'm In Korea b/w Eisenhower Blues, giving him a reputation of something of an early "protest" singer, although the summation of his "protest" songs were the aforementioned two tunes, he wouldn't bother with such material for another decade. His next Parrot single--Mama Talk To Your Daughter b/w Man Watch Your Woman came out in October of 1954 and showed some signs of real genius. The a-side was a mid-tempo rocker that featured J.B. Brown (from Elmore James' Broomdusters) blaring, out of tune saxophone, while JB's guitar solo, heard almost near the end of the song is one of the most incredible things I've ever heard. He simply thwonks the same chord exactly twenty times in a row with no variation in tone or timing, then plays a short turn-around. Brilliant! The first time I heard it, it made me laugh out loud. It's rare to hear a musician with a sense of humor in their playing. His next Parrot session produced a sound alike single- Mama, Your Daughter's Going To Miss Me b/w What Have I Done, along with the wonderful Give Me One More Shot which would later appear on a Chess LP. His final Parrot disc--Fine Girls b/w I Lost My Baby appeared in late '55, the same year he was signed by the Chess brothers to their Checker label. His first Checker single which was issued at the end of '56 was a real winner-- Don't Touch My Head b/w I've Been Down So Long. The a-side is one of the best protest songs ever written about a hair-do ("Don't touch my head/cause I just got a bad process"). When I Am Drinking, one of his best booze tunes was also recorded at this session although it sat in the vault until issued in the 70's. Checker issued two more singles with Lenoir-- (Mama) What About Your Daughter b/w Five Long Years ('56) and over a year later Daddy Talk To Your Son b/w I Don't Know. Both a-sides are re-writes of Mama, Talk To Your Daughter, but not quite as good. Chess didn't issue most of what they recorded on Lenoir until the 1970s when they issued a two record set of his best recordings (here scroll down, the URL and password are in the comments section). Sides like Voodoo Boogie and JB's Rock are solid blues rockers and would have sounded great on 78 RPM blasting out of juke boxes but these discs would go un-heard until after JB's death. By the end of the 50's, Chess cut him loose. For most artists, their time on Chess was the high spot of the career both musically and commercially, but Lenoir was just coming into his own.
After leaving Chess he recorded a single in 1959 for Shad-- Louella b/w Back Door, and another for Vee Jay in 1960, the rocker Do What I Say b/w Oh Baby, an interesting attempt at re-writing Ray Charles' What'd I Say. JB Lenoir really starts developing his unique sound with an unusual session for USA in 1962 billed to JB Lenoir and His African Hunch Rhythm which produced the incredible I Sing 'Em The Way I Feel b/w I Feel So Good. The African inflected rhythm section added another dimension to his music, with the primitive drumming on I Sing 'Em The Way I Feel, he pioneered a sound that the rest of the world would eventually know under the marketing moniker of "world beat". This sound was familiar in the Mississippi hill country for two hundred years, maybe more, and would sound familiar to anyone who has heard the music of Otha Turner or Sid Hemphill, men who carried on the tradition of African-American fife and drum music (Turner playing well into the 21st century). Where Lenoir first heard it is anyone's guess.
As the "folk blues" world began providing better paying work for musicians deemed "folk" by white college students, JB traded in his electric guitar for an acoustic, and got a record deal with Polydor's Crusade subsidiary for whom he cut two LP's, the first Vietnam Blues is an attempt to market Lenoir as a "protest singer" to the folk audience, the second LP JB Lenoir (re-issued as Born Dead and Down In Mississippi) is something of a minor masterpiece. Issued in '66, this discs shows Lenoir really getting into his "African Hunch rhythm", a fact belayed by the name of his publishing company-- Ghana Music. His guitar playing is full of subtlety, deceptively simple and effective. Like Jimmy Reed his playing was both percussive and hypnotic. Even the move to acoustic guitar didn't remove his edge. This is the album that really gave the white college audience it's first glimpse of JB Lenoir. From that LP, there are some re-makes of earlier material-- Feel So Good, Mojo Boogie, Talk To Your Daughter, Feelin' Good, as well as newer tunes like Down In Mississippi, Born Dead, and If I Get Lucky. This record also foreshadows the sound of Ali Toure Faraka, the guitarist from Mali who was influenced by John Lee Hooker. Sadly, it would be his last recording session.
JB Lenoir's career was slowly but surely moving forward, each record deal was with a larger, better distributed company, and he had toured Europe in 1965 where he was developing a good following. John Mayall had become something of a mentor for him in the U.K. giving him great cache with blues fans. Things were looking good for JB Lenoir career wise, the white blues audience was just starting to develop in the U.S. and he was in excellent field position to capitalize on the situation. Unfortunately a 1967 car accident killed him, he was only 38 when he died. In the years after his death, virtually every session he ever recorded, alternate takes and all would eventually become available around the world, kicked off by the Checker LP Natural Man in 68 and the aforementioned two disc set from Chess in '72. The Checker, Parrot and JOB sides are easier to find (on re-issue CD) now than when he was alive. Two interesting pieces of JB Lenoir ephemera also surfaced in recent years. First is the short film made in the early 60's by photographer Peter Amft, a Swedish fan who made a brief color film on JB in his Zebra striped jacket (second from bottom), this was later included in the Wim Wenders part of the stupid PBS TV documentary Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues (which included Tom Jones but didn't mention Jimmy Reed, although I must admit prejudice since the book that was released to cash in on the TV show carried an article I wrote but was never paid for, ripped off by the bug-eyed freak Holly Warren whose name is on the contract that she had no intention of honoring). Another interesting recording was issued in 2003 on the obscure Fuel label, it was from a tape made in 1963 at a small club called Nina's Lounge in Chicago and features JB Lenoir playing live to a tiny crowd (the CD's eighteen tunes are split between Lenoir, Sunnyland Slim and JohnLee Granderson with a teenage Mike Bloomfield).Some highlights are I Want To Know, I Had My Touble, Louise, and Mojo Boogie, all done pretty much solo, and he sounds great. There just aren't many live recordings of the great blues men in their prime, so this one is quite a find. Notice how his guitar sounds exactly like it does on the Parrot and Checker singles. Had he lived, JB Lenoir would have no doubt developed a larger (white) following and maybe even made a few bucks. It was not to be. There just wasn't many happy endings for blues singers.
Billy Lee Riley ... one of the remaining original Sun Records artists, Is in VERY bad need of help! Billy has had his share of health problems, and is now battling Stage FOUR bone cancer. Although musicares is helping with house payment, car and such, He and Joyce are totally out of money and can barely afford to eat. This is a CALL FOR HELP to all musicians and fans. Please remember, twenty bucks from all of us would make a HUGE difference in Billy's life! What if this was you? Let's all get together and send something today to Billy and Joyce and show them that he means alot to us. If you have a website, a facebook or myspace, please post this need for help on it! We can't save the world, but it will mean alot in Billy Lee's life! His Address is: Billy Lee Riley 723 Crest Drive Jonesboro, Arkansas 72401
The above was re-printed from Rockabilly Hall Of Fame site. Billy Lee Riley's Flyin' Saucers Rock and Roll was one of the first rockabilly 45's I ever heard, it totally changed my life. Some of his other classic Sun 45's were Red Hot (this is an alternate take), and his first record, one of my very favorites-- Rock With Me Baby b/w Trouble Bound. I saw him play at the Circle Bar Christmas Party in 2003 and he was incredible. If anyone of these old guys had the whole package to make it, it was Billy Lee Riley, unfortunately Sam Phillips only had the money to promote a couple of artists, so he chose Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis, leaving Riley on the back burner. He managed to stay in music as a session man, then gradually staged a comeback and was a big draw on the international rockabilly circuit. Give the poor fella a hand.
Final resting place, Cheltenham. Dressed to kill..... Brian and Anita, the perfect couple....
After the Beatles came the Stones and of the Stones one could never have ignored Brian Jones with his puffed up Pisces, all-knowing, all suffering fish eyes, his incredible clothes, those magnificent scarves, Brian always ahead of style, perfect Brian. How could Brian have asthma, a psychological disease (we're told) and certainly something strange for a member of a rock and roll group. We read in interviews that Brian saw himself as the original lead Stone, a position he held until their American tour singled out Mick for the honor in the hearts of the American female.
Can you remember 1964 when the Stones were called homosexual for long hair? (Were you?) Brian with two fourteen year old girls draped on each arm, must have laughed. And yet, the center of attention was drifting. In a group the attention may be evenly distributed (we all knew and loved John, Paul, George and Ringo) but in the Stones it was to be Mick. Now normally in a group an instrumentalist can never overshadow a lead singer (Exception: The Yardbirds where Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page did just that to poor Keith Relf). In the Stones there was Mick, the pivotal center. Charlie and Bill were for gourmets. That left Keith and Brian. Lead guitar always beats rhythm guitar for popularity, so that left Brian, who one assumes therefore turned to more and more exotic instruments to establish his presence to both himself and others. This is what I'm worth. Let me see you play the damn thing....but the great mass looked to Mick not Brian to be their leader through this Fall From Grace. And how can you take that? "But I started the thing," you might say. "It was my records in the first place, I turned them on, must I be a damn singer to turn on the world?" Yes, Or the champion of the guitar.
Then, of course, there are more problems, the drug arrests, the constant mental turmoil. What if they tour without me? Financial. Could I starve? (He died well in debt). If they play without me I shall be disgraced and have nothing where as if I leave and strike out on my own I'm out before they get me (how sad! how inevitable!), and I create my own myth, style, voice, the eyes will be on me, I have a future, there's so much I know, music, music, music, who would know it from THAT, I can do it, I have to do it, I will do it.
And of course the disorientation, am I backwards, forwards, the asthma attack (I am going to choke), the fall (where is the pool?!) and everything settles like a quiet bubble coming in spurts and then thin streams until finally the last one has popped itself right out of earthly existence.
-- Lou Reed excerpt from Fallen Knights and Fallen Ladies from the book Nobody Waved Goodbye (a casualty report on rock and roll) edited by Robert Somma, Fusion Books, 1971.
Not a mention in the press, upstaged by Jacko mania, does any one care anymore? July 3 was forty years since Brian Jones died, pulled out his swimming pool, "death by misadventure" it said on the paperwork. Asthma attack? Murdered by a thug laborer? Just got too damn loaded? Does it matter? Brian Jones was not built to last, he was never meant to be an old man. Had he lived, what would he have been?
As a non-singer, non-writer, his options were limited. If Brian handled fame badly, he certainly would have handled the lack of it worse. He could never have lived the life of Mick Taylor, whom most of us wouldn't recognize if he was sitting on the next bar stool. An old Brian? A fat Brian? A bald Brian? It could never have been. Mick may look like Don Knotts these days and Keith could adorn an iodine bottle, but Brian is etched in our memory, forever young, forever perfect. Of course he was an asshole, what rock star isn't? A monster even, what kind of cretin would hit a woman? Blacken beautiful Anita's mysterious eyes. Unthinkable.
But we forgive him even that, he left us a lot, he left us the Stones. It's hard to fathom that in the five short years Brian was in the Rolling Stones just how much great music they made. Depending on if you count the UK or US version (I'm still astounded the UK versions of most Stones LP's have never been re-issued, since they're much better)
they recorded either eight or ten albums, non counting the 45's and b-sides that never made it to LP. Brian's last performance with the Stones-- No Expectations was in '68, they no longer needed him once they got through their extremely under rated psychedelic phase. Everyone wanted to play with the Stones from Gene Pitney to Phil Spector to Al Kooper, it was easy to find players to fill out the recordings, not so easy for Brian to find something to replace the Stones in his life. We've all seen Godard's One Plus One with an out of it Brian attempting to make himself useful. "What can I play?", "What can you play?" Mick retorts, even his musicianship has failed him. He stopped showing up for sessions about that time. By Let It Bleed Keith had mastered the slide, with a few tuning tips from Ry Cooder (I find it hilarious when Cooder claims the Stones ripped off his riffs, he stole 'em from Blind Willie Johnson). Brian was no longer needed, and more trouble than he was worth. It was the era of the superstar lead guitarist and "Clapton Is God", a role Keith could have filled if he wanted to, but he chose to move into Brian's role-- rhythm and slide, and they brought in a hotshot young lead player, with the prerequisite John Mayall resume. Mick Taylor couldn't play rhythm guitar to shave his wife, listen to Get Your Ya-Ya's Out, when Keith takes a solo (Sympathy For The Devil, Little Queenie) the rhythm falls out. But rhythm guitar was the perfect place for Keith to drive from. Ron Asheton told me when the Stones were rehearsing in the next studio down from the Stooges only Charlie, Keith and Mick Jagger rehearsed, as long as Charlie followed Keith, the rest would fall in place. Poor Brian.
One thing that is rarely discussed is how good the Stones were at making records, they took to the studio like a preacher to a Cadillac and while the Keith was basically in charge in the studio, Brian's contributions are undeniable, whether it was as the world's greatest rhythm guitarist (The Last Time, Not Fade Away, Mona), or harmonica player (Spider & the Fly) or slide player (I Wanna Be Your Man) the early Stones records couldn't have been without him. As they moved into pop and psychedelia, Brian became the ultimate utility man-- Aftermath, Flowers, Between The Buttons (was Miss Amanda Jones about him?), Satanic Majesties Request are full of his flourishes-- the synth playing on Please Go Home, the sitar on Paint It Black and Mother's Little Helper, marimbas on Out Of Time, recorder on Ruby Tuesday and Citadel, mellotron on 2000 Light Years From Home, clarinet on She's A Rainbow. He knew just what to play, and what not to play. Listen to this alternate take of the basic track to Satisfaction. It was said Brian hated the song, and often would play the riff to "I'm Popeye The Sailor-Man" (no one could hear 'em over the screams at that point anyway), but listen to how he and Keith lock together-- perfect. Or Empty Heart, the greatest tune they never played live. Sloppy, out of tune and wonderful. Some rarities: Down In The Bottom (Chess version)-- Brian on slide!, Key To The Highway (another Chess outtake), Crackin' Up, Fanny Mae (BBC), Diddley Daddy, I Wanna Be Loved, Road Runner (these three from their 1963 demo), I Know (this is actually a Metamorphosis era Mick and Keith outtake, but I really like it and it's hard to find, Brian's probably not even on it). I was ten when Brian died, I'll always remember where I was when I heard the news (at the beach). He was the first person I would ever miss. I still miss him. Brian Jones, forty years gone, and we're still wondering about him. As John Ford said-- He was expendable.
Pete "Guitar" Lewis, far right with the Johnny Otis Show, early 50's
Our subject today: Pete "Guitar" Lewis, is another man of mystery. A brilliant guitar player whose style could be primitive and aggressive or subtle and jazzy, he sounded like himself and no one else. His sound is immediately recognizable, his touch was immaculate, and today, nobody except his one time boss Johnny Otis even remembers that he even existed.
Lewis was discovered by Johnny Otis at amateur night at the Club Alabam which Otis was the co-owner of, and was soon added to the Johnny Otis Show, appearing on all their recordings from 1951-55. Virtually all of his recordings (except his last) where done under Johnny Otis' tutelage, and when he left Otis' group in 1955 he returned to obscurity. We know he was born somewhere in the South, and that he died in L.A. in the early 70's, where and when he was born are unknown at this time. With Otis he made his mark in a big way, appearing on all his Regent/Savoy recordings, his guitar is featured most prominently on Harlem Nocturne, Boogie Guitar, and Hangover Blues, as well as sides for Peacock (Shake It being the best), and Mercury (more on those later). Working for Otis, who was then doing A&R and producing for Don Robey's Peacock label, he backed up Johnny Ace and Big Mama Thorton-- whose first session produced Hound Dog, Walking Blues, Nightmare and Hard Times, tunes which all feature Lewis' guitar front and center. Lieber and Stoller remember the original arrangment of Hound Dog being written around a riff that Lewis developed in the studio. He was recorded as a leader for Federal, eight titles recorded over two sessions in 1952 resulted in these four singles: Louisiana Hop b/w Crying With The Rising Sun, Raggedy Blues b/w Harmonica Boogie, The Blast b/w Chocolate Porkchop Man and Ooh, It's Midnight b/w Scratchin'. Peacock recorded him a year later and issued one single-- Goin' Crazy b/w Back Door Troubles (this one is so rare I've been looking for it for twenty years and still haven't seen a copy).
Perhaps the highlight of his career came when the Johnny Otis Show recorded a session for Mercury with the great tenor man Ben Webster, the Duke Ellington alumni
responsible for countless great jazz sides. The four song session includes two tunes where Pete Lewis trades off riffs with Webster-- One Nighter Blues and Goomp Blues,
stunning performances (the other tunes cut that day in '51-- three takes of Stardust,
Basie's One O'Clock Jump and a goofy novelty tunes called Oopy Doo don't have guitar solos). One might imagine that this session was a chance for Lewis to really prove himself as a musician, one able to hold his ground with the best of 'em, and Ben Webster was certainly the best of 'em. Listen to their exchange on One Nighter Blues-- Webster's warm fog of a tone sounds so good pitted against Lewis' jagged, distorted blues riffing. It's a shame they didn't record more together, or that this trend didn't catch on. Had this record been a hit, Lord knows what sax-guitar duets we might have seen-- Lester Young and Guitar Slim? Charlie Parker and Gatemouth Brown? The mind boggles. But it was not to be, it was an experiment whose time had not yet come, and we wouldn't hear anything remotely like it until Miles Davis' A Tribute To Jack Johnson eighteen years later (fans of peculiar jazz/rock fusion and/or guitar-sax duels might want to check out Albert Ayler's Drudgery where he jams out the blues with Henry Vestine of the Gamblers (Moondawg/LSD-25) and Canned Heat fame, a most perverse piece of trash which I love) .
Otis also recorded him for his own Dig label with Get Away From Here, a track that was un-issued until the 90's. He appears on other Johnny Otis Dig recordings like Midnight Creeper, Ali Baba's Boogie, and Groove Juice and Country Boogie, released under Preston Love's name. In late 1955 he left Johnny Otis after an argument (his replacement was Jimmy Nolen who was later replaced by Otis' son Shuggie Otis), Lewis recorded only one more time, backing up Willie Egan on the Vita label, he can be heard on the rocker Come On. From there, who knows? Johnny Otis said the last time he saw Pete Lewis was during the Watts riots in the summer of '66, he was a wino on the street. He hadn't worked in music in years. There ya go, another great one, lost to time, except for the incredible recordings he made. Pete "Guitar" Lewis was a monster.
ADDENDUM TO TODAY'S POST: Barry Soltz checked in to remind me of a great Pete Lewis solo that I forgot about--- Little Esther with the Dominoes on Federal-- The Deacon's Movin' In, and also that Ben Webster and Pete Lewis play together on Little Esther's Better Beware (also on Federal, I didn't realize that was Ben Webster)--- thanks Barry.
Etheyl Mae here is showing off her new guitar, a Christmas present according to the scribble on the back of the photo. Date and place unknown. Someplace snowy for you blind readers.
Billy Lee Riley ...
Brian, on a prospecting mission.
John Lennon reads the shocking news.
Brian At the Mellotron.
Rare sleeve.
Dressed to kill.....
Brian and Anita, the perfect couple.....jpg)
Pete "Guitar" Lewis, far right with the Johnny Otis Show, early 50's
