Filed under: New Music , You Oughta Know , Canada The music industry has always had a hard time dealing with eclectic artists, but luckily the internet has made it easier for artists to stay true to their identity. That's what the soulful and uniquely talented Saidah Baba Talibah has seized upon to build her career -- enlisting fans to help finance the recording process. This summer, Talibah's website asked supporters to "Choose Your Own Adventure" and contribute money -- starting at $15 and [...]
A bar in Spain has come up with an unusual marketing plan for these recessionary times. Customers at the Casa Pocho bar in Cullera, southern Spain, are encouraged to come in for a drink and to insult the staff while they're at it. Free drinks will be given to patrons who can come up with novel or humorous ways of verbally abusing the bar staff. To be frank, I experience this every time I go to The Abbey Bar in Galbally , Co Limerick. The customers are often quite explicit and forthright in their criticisms and demands [...]
Ball n' Chain please click image for info @Amazon.com Several online friends who regularly send me YouTube clips and other music info have been sending Big Mama Thornton clips. She was so cool back in her day and had a great stage presence. My favorite thing about her is that she played the harmonica and drums. If you have read my blog for long, you have probably read about my affection for women harmonica players. She is a memeber of the Blues Hall of Fame, she had a [...]
Why was Rufus Thomas obsessed with animals? I have looked and looked, and I come to you today with no answers, only questions. And that's the thing about Rufus. Born in 1917 but not famous outside Memphis until the early 1960s, and a major factor in the early successes on Sun and Stax Records, two of the most influential labels in American history, Rufus Thomas bridged two eras in popular music, but never truly became a star in either. The first of the two "Honky Tonk Heroes" in Guralnick's book to have worked exclusively outside the [...]
I usually tend to stay away from blues songs on Mondays: I spend so much time with "Stagger Lee", and so many blues songs have been recorded by literally hundreds of people. But apparently people loved the post with Janis covering Etta James , so I thought I'd let Etta return the favor, and while we're at it you can all learn about Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton ( Wiki ). Those of you who are rock geeks will already know that she recorded "Hound Dog" three years before Elvis, and you may even know [...]
Download From: Blues ( Disky , 2006) Buy: Amazon Learn: AllMusic | Musician Guide | Wikipedia Posted in Big Mama Thornton
Founded in Houston in 1948, ACA Recording Studios was first known for its R&B recordings, a place where Johnny Ace and Lightnin' Hopkins cut a number of their sides along side lesser known artists who appeared on the Peacock and Duke labels. Within 10 years, Ray Doggett, Royce Porter and assorted country and rockabilly artists began to cut their records on ACA's Ampex mono recorder. The studio's founder, Bill Holford, continued to work into his seventies, mastering records on a home four-track long after ACA closed. Here's a sampling of some of the artists who recorded [...]
Jimmy Reed Download (Right-Click Save As): MP3: Elmore James - Dust My Blues MP3: Big Mama Thornton - Sweet Little Angel MP3: R.L. Burnside - Poor Black Mattie MP3: Robert Johnson - Cross Road Blues MP3: Jimmy Reed - Hi Yellow Good Lovin' Download: Jimmy Reed - The Very Best of Jimmy Reed (iTunes) Big Mama Thornton - Hound Dog: [...]
Wikipedia: Laughter Laughter is an audible expression or appearance of merriment or happiness or an inward feeling of joy and pleasure (laughing on the inside). It may ensue (as a physiological reaction) from jokes, tickling and other stimuli. Inhaling nitrous oxide can also induce laughter; other drugs, such as cannabis, can also induce episodes of strong laughter. Strong laughter can sometimes bring an onset of tears or even moderate muscular pain. Laughter is a part of human behavior regulated by the brain. It helps humans clarify their intentions in social interaction and provides an emotional [...]
The new Dresden Dolls album No, Virginia? showed up last week. I listened to it out of mindless curiousity, not because of any sort of affinity for the band. It?s not so much an ?album,? actually, so much as it is a disc of b-sides. So, rather than some sort ...
Muxtape is a new fun site for sharing music. It's very simple to use and seems to exist in the same magical legal precinct that most mp3 blogs and music podcasts reside. Since becoming aware of it, I've enjoyed rifling through a variety of trendsetters' muxtapes and it was certainly only a matter of time before I made my own. Most of the tunes I've chosen come from CDs I acquired over five years ago but the roots-of-rock pre-soul rhythm & blues jiving sound is one I'm digging right now. If you've made a muxtape or know of one I [...]
Watching that Memphis-Texas game last night was painful no matter which team you were rooting for. As somebody down the bar from me put it about Texas' last five minutes desperation hack-a-Tiger strategy, "It's like Hillary Clinton's campaign!" Let's go Tigers. Big Mama Thornton - Hound Dog
Looking back over the Monday Morning Blues posts I've been doing, I realized the women were getting shortchanged a bit in my selections. Today I'll even up the score a bit and let some of the lovely ladies of the blues serenade you this time around. MP3 : Hound Dog - Big Mama Thornton Buy Big Mama Thornton MP3 : Saffire - I Want My Money Back [...]
My second bite into the compilation apple was inspired by a visit to my good buddy, Delta Desmond's seaside abode. Des had recently become Dad to a little tiger named Ollie. He showed me how he likes to put on an animal song and, using a soft toy of that creature, teach Ollie all about the animal kingdom. Too cute. So this one's dedicated to Desi and all the recent parents, animal and music lovers of this world. To complete the educational smorgasboard, it's ordered alaphabetically by animal. The zip file contains all the tunes and cover artwork with a [...]
I've been wanting to do a Johnny Otis post here since I started this thing. However, I've concluded it's just too daunting a task. Among being a bandleader, DJ, civil rights activist, dad to Shuggie Otis, nightclub owner and A&R guy, Johnny Otis has been influential in nearly every kind of music posted here at the Flu. Well, maybe not the hillbilly stuff, but he did write "Crazy Country Hop." Instead, today we'll focus on one of his many great sidemen, Pete "Guitar" Lewis, a little celebrated but great guitar player who made way too [...]
Okay, sprite raises a fair issue: there is a dearth of women in my playlists. And I live with her, so she's well aware that I have a lot of music by women in my collection. But this challenge was really great, because it made me realize how much great music I have that features women: singing, rockin' out on instruments, writing some great licks and lyrics. From punk to folk, rock to blues, country to jazz, I have a lot of great women in my collection. So in this playlist, [...]
This is pretty much one of the coolest things I've ever seen: New York City's Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls provides instruction for girls aged 8-18 on how to be a kickass female rocker. Girls come from all over to learn how to play musical instruments, write songs, perform, learn about different types of music, and generally "rock out" in a way that too often eludes the fairer sex. I can only imagine the wonders that that does for their self-confidence. I know how invincible I felt the first [...]
DOWN ON ME Eddie Head and His Family Columbia : 1930 Available on: American Primitive v.1 Revenant : 1997 [Buy It] Janis Joplin: the greatest white blues singer of her generation or minstrel show train wreck? Here are some of the "obscure soul classics that Joplin made her own" (thank you, Rolling Stone). CRY BABY Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters United Artists : 1963 Available on: Cry Baby Collectables : 1991 [Buy It] [...]
Freddie Bell & The Bellboys -- Hound Dog Here's a new one on me. On Bob Dylan's radio show, he played a version of Hound Dog by a band I'd never even heard of. I always thought Elvis picked up Hound Dog directly from Big Mama Thornton. But according to Dylan (and confirmed by a Google search ), Elvis actually heard it performed live by Freddie Bell & The Bellboys in Las Vegas. Once you hear this track, you'll believe it. Elvis's arrangement is much closer to this than to the [...]
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