Kelly Rucker to Eslöv!

Blues in Eslöv was given the chance to engage Kelly Rucker for a concert within short notice! On Feb 6 Kelly will appear at Eslov Civic Hall backed up by Ralph & the big bang group. Trombone player Fredrik John will also appear at the gig. The constellation did a weekend in Januari with gigs in Copenhagen and Lund, it worked out so well so they decided to do one more gig before Kelly return home to USA again. Trombone player Fredrik John will also appear at the concert. The concert starts at seven...

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The 29th Annual Chicago Blues Festival,

the largest free blues festival in the world, will be held June 8–10 in Grant Park. Listeners, over 500,000 of them, will be treated to the legendary lungs of Grammy-winner, Mavis Staples, the guitar talents of Texas Johnny Brown and soulful crooning of Floyd Taylor. The three-day, five-stage festival of blues music honors both past and present legends of the blues...

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US soul singer Etta James

best known for the tracks At Last and for I'd Rather Go Blind, has died aged 73. It was announced last year that the singer had been diagnosed with leukaemia and was undergoing treatment. The star began singing in a group aged 14, before she embarked upon a solo career where she signed to the legendary Chess Records label. She went on to win six Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Johnny Otis 

pioneering rhythm-and-blues singer, songwriter, drummer, bandleader and disc jockey died January 17 at the age of 90. He is most known for his hit song "Willie and the Hand Jive" also recorded by other artists such as Eric Clapton in 1974. Otis produced the early records with Little Richard, did the drumming on "Hound Dog" with Big Mama Thornton and had his own jazz hit with "Harlem Nocturne". 1994 he was inducted in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...

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The Blues Foundation presents

the Keeping the Blues Alive (KBA) Awards to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the Blues world.

The 2012 Keeping the Blues Alive Awards recipients are:

Agent: Rodgers Redding
Club: Red's Lounge
Education: Dan Treanor
Festival-US: White Mountain Boogie 'N Blues Festival
Festival-International: Rawa Blues Festival
Film, Television and Video: Treme, David Simon and Eric Overmyer,
Journalism: Scott Barretta
Literature: Life by Keith Richards
Manager: Toni Ann Mamary
Organization: Blues Society of Western New York
Photography: Aigars Lapsa
Print Media: Soul Bag
Promoter: George Wein
Radio: Commercial: Ted Todd-KKZX-FM
Radio: Public: Harvey Stauffer-WVPE-FM
Record Label: Severn Records

Congratulations to all!

The Blues Foundation will present the 2012 KBA Awards during a recognition brunch Saturday, February 4, 2012, at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. The KBA ceremony will be part of the International Blues Challenge (IBC) weekend of events.

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What does our music say about us?

When it comes to food, it says we have dirty minds. For example, Elvis cut “Milk Cow Blues Boogie” in 1955. It was his third record. Several country artists had already recorded the song, which is credited to a bootlegger and bluesman named Kokomo Arnold. “Milk Cow Blues” works perfectly as a blues, country and rock number, which illustrates how much the three types of music have in common when it comes to sentiment:

If you see my milk cow, lord, lord, send her home …
Since my milk cow left me I’ve been treated wrong …
I ain’t had no milk and butter since my cow’s been gone …

The portrayal of women as livestock and sex as butter is pretty typical of the blues tradition, so perhaps it’s not surprising that the lyrics reverberated up through American music over the course of the 20th century: The song has been recorded by everyone from Bob Dylan and the Kinks to Aerosmith, George Strait and Dead Moon (by Felisa Rogers)...

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The Blues App

introduce the world's first comic book that tells the story of blues music designed for iPhone and iPad. The Blues app sets out to explain all about the blues in an attractive comic book style rather than a more staid historical app. Along the way, amongst the history, is a fascinating discourse of how blues songs are created and what they require to be ‘true’ blues. This full-color adventure is brought to life with music, sound effects, and beautiful illustrations. It features Otis, a young boy from the Mississippi Delta in the 1930s, as he discovers the blues and follows it throughout his life...

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Blues Revue goes

digital! Now you can get the latest blues news right in your computer. The first issue is free, after that you have to be a subscriber...

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Hubert Sumlin dies

at the age of  80. As understated a singer as his mentor was an exuberant one, Mr. Sumlin made more than a dozen albums under his own name; the first was recorded in Europe in 1964, and the last, “Treblemaker,” was released in 2007. His 2004 collection, “About Them Shoes,” featured guest appearances from musical admirers including Mr. Clapton, Keith Richards, David Johansen and Levon Helm. Another admirer was reportedly Jimi Hendrix, who was said to have been influenced by Mr. Sumlin’s use of distortion on recordings from the late ’50s. The musician with whom Mr. Sumlin will always be most closely associated, however, was Howlin’ Wolf, with whom he had a combative but productive relationship...

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Freddie King (1934-1976)

is now a member of Rock´n Roll Hall o Fame 2012. His ’60s classics, “Have You Ever Loved A Woman,” “Hide Away,” “You’ve Got To Love Her With A Feeling” and “The Stumble” are part of the DNA of modern electric blues.

Born in Texas Freddie arrived in Chicago with his family in 1950, a perfect moment to start learning from Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Jimmy Rogers and all of the legendary post-war bluesmen. In 1961, he charted six R&B Top 30 hits on the King/Federal label that were heard from coast-to-coast and were profoundly influential on both sides of the Atlantic.
Right up through his death, all too soon at age 42, Freddie influenced Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughan, and the next generation of disciples who would take electric blues into the ’80s, ’90s and beyond. (Source: Blues Festival E-guide)
 

Dan Aykroyd is working

to bring "The Blues Brothers" back to the small screen with a new TV series based on the comedy music duo he formed with late funnyman John Belushi. Now Aykroyd is trying to pitch fresh plans for "The Blues Brothers" to TV executives with the help of Belushi's ex-wife, Judy, who co-owns the rights, according to trade paper Daily Variety. She says, "I think these are great American characters. We want to keep them alive. We chose to introduce them as new characters but do it in a way that they have some history, have some life behind them." 

Classic Blues Videos

is a web site we really would like to recommend! Except from a lot of concert takes ther´s also many full length documentaries and artist bios. A "must" web site created by enthusiast Mosse Moore...

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We Juke Up In Here

is the title of a film which is set for release in April 2012 but you can have a preview already now. It´s the team behind the award winning film "M For Mississippi" that has produced and the story is about the life at juke joints, especially one, Red´s Lounge...

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Actor Wendell Pierce

will be starring as B.B. King the "King of Blues" in an upcoming film, "B.B. King and I". It's based on an encounter that aspiring drummer Michael Zanetis had with B.B. King at the back stage of Huntington Beach venue Golden Bear, after which he became lifelong friends with the king. Pierce established his acting career through popular television show dramas like The Wire on HBO, including movies like The Fighting Temptations and Hackers. Pierces' most recent role is that of a trombone player on HBO's television series, Treme. On May 18th, Pierce made an official statement on Twitter about his role in the upcoming film: "I am set to play BB King in the movie "BB King and I". Just got my Lucille. Production dates aren't set yet."It is said that Patrick Fugit will carry on the role of ambitious drummer Zanetis. According to collider.com, Michael Schroder will most likely direct the film with a potential movie release date of 2012. Zanetis himself is also lined up to produce the independent film which he co-wrote with Melora Donoghue.