James Cotton
James Cotton (called Cotton by his friends) was born on the first day of July,1935, in Tunica, Mississippi. He was the youngest of eight brothers and sisters who grew up in the cotton fields working beside their mother, Hattie, and their father, Mose. On Sundays Mose was the preacher in the area's Baptist church. Cotton's earliest memories include his mother playing chicken and train sounds on her harmonica and for a few years he thought those were the only two sounds the little instrument made. His Christmas present one year was a harmonica, it cost 15 cents, and it wasn't long before he mastered the chicken and the train.
King Biscuit Time, a 15-minute radio show, began broadcasting live on KFFA, a station just across the Mississippi River in Helena, Arkansas. The star of the show was the harmonica legend, Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller). The young Cotton pressed his little ear to the old radio speaker. He recognized the harmonica sound AND discovered something - the harp did more! Realizing this, a profound change came over him, and since that moment, Cotton and his harp have been inseparable - the love affair had begun. Soon he was able to play Sonny Boy's theme song from the radio show and, as he grew so did his repertoire of Sonny Boy's other songs. Mississippi summers are ghastly, the heat is unrelenting. He was too young to actually work in the cotton fields, so little Cotton would bring water to those who did. When it was time for him to take a break from his job, he would sit in the shadow of the plantation foreman's horse and play his harp. His music became a source of joy for his first audience. James Cotton's star began to shine brightly at a very early age.
Click Here to read more at his website
* James Cotton will be performing live Saturday, October 2nd at Amanda's Rollercoaster
King Biscuit Time, a 15-minute radio show, began broadcasting live on KFFA, a station just across the Mississippi River in Helena, Arkansas. The star of the show was the harmonica legend, Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller). The young Cotton pressed his little ear to the old radio speaker. He recognized the harmonica sound AND discovered something - the harp did more! Realizing this, a profound change came over him, and since that moment, Cotton and his harp have been inseparable - the love affair had begun. Soon he was able to play Sonny Boy's theme song from the radio show and, as he grew so did his repertoire of Sonny Boy's other songs. Mississippi summers are ghastly, the heat is unrelenting. He was too young to actually work in the cotton fields, so little Cotton would bring water to those who did. When it was time for him to take a break from his job, he would sit in the shadow of the plantation foreman's horse and play his harp. His music became a source of joy for his first audience. James Cotton's star began to shine brightly at a very early age.
Click Here to read more at his website
* James Cotton will be performing live Saturday, October 2nd at Amanda's Rollercoaster
Lazy Lester
Back when blues was king and South Louisiana was the breeding ground for a blast of some of the most memorable American music ever recorded, at the heart of it was Lazy Lester. Those days are gone, and so too are most of its luminaries. And yet Lester carries the tradition almost single-handedly around the world several times over each year. As a true living legend, his talents are as much in demand as ever.
After all, there aren’t many living bluesmen who’ve had major hits, as Lester did on Excello Records in the 1950s and ‘60s, and are still performing with the gusto and precision of their youth. Lester hasn’t lost a thing, and as his voice has richened with age, you could make a strong case for him being in his prime now.
Leslie Johnson was born June 20, 1933 in the small town of Torras, Louisiana near the Mississippi state border to Robert Johnson and Maggie Hartford.
Click Here to read more at his website.
* Lester will be performing live Sunday, October 3rd at Amanda's Rollercoaster
After all, there aren’t many living bluesmen who’ve had major hits, as Lester did on Excello Records in the 1950s and ‘60s, and are still performing with the gusto and precision of their youth. Lester hasn’t lost a thing, and as his voice has richened with age, you could make a strong case for him being in his prime now.
Leslie Johnson was born June 20, 1933 in the small town of Torras, Louisiana near the Mississippi state border to Robert Johnson and Maggie Hartford.
Click Here to read more at his website.
* Lester will be performing live Sunday, October 3rd at Amanda's Rollercoaster
Hubert Sumlin
When Hubert Sumlin plays guitar he takes you to his World of Blues Feeling -- from despair to ecstasy, from delicate grace to raw power, from lost to found. Though he’s influenced and inspired many of the most famous guitar players, Hubert owns the magic. His style is original and personal and instantly recognizable. What kind of man can make or break your heart with his guitar?
Hubert’s website is where you’d expect to find the historical and professional facts of his life, but that kind of writing could easily miss Hubert’s gift to us and how he stirs our deepest emotions both musically and personally. I’m writing this from the perspective of a friend, a musician who sometimes performs with Hubert, and a Blues guitar player who appreciates him. This is neither an objective, journalistic biography nor promotional hype, but it will tell you who Hubert is.
Click Here to read more at his website.
* Hubert will be performing live Sunday, October 3rd at Amanda's Rollercoaster
Hubert’s website is where you’d expect to find the historical and professional facts of his life, but that kind of writing could easily miss Hubert’s gift to us and how he stirs our deepest emotions both musically and personally. I’m writing this from the perspective of a friend, a musician who sometimes performs with Hubert, and a Blues guitar player who appreciates him. This is neither an objective, journalistic biography nor promotional hype, but it will tell you who Hubert is.
Click Here to read more at his website.
* Hubert will be performing live Sunday, October 3rd at Amanda's Rollercoaster
Billy Boy Arnold
Born September 15th, 1935 in Chicago, William “Billy Boy” Arnold is best known as one of the prime architects of the Electric Chicago Blues sound of the 1950’s as well as a major influence on the British Blues revival of the 1960’s. He remains an active and vital Blues artist here in the 21st century both touring and recording on a regular basis.
As a youngster of thirteen he was captivated by the music of the Original Sonny Boy, John Lee Williamson and visited Sonny Boy at his home in Chicago for a series of informal harmonica lessons, just before Williamson’s untimely death in 1948. “That first visit was the most exciting day of my life, and made me determined to become a Bluesman” states Billy Boy. His 2008 Electro-Fi release “Billy Boy Sings Sonny Boy” is a heartfelt tribute to his musical mentor, released 60 years after their first meeting.
Billy Boy’s recording debut was a 45 rpm “Hello Stranger b/w I Ain’t Got No Money” released in 1952 on the local Chicago label Cool, who also gave him the nickname “Billy Boy”. After joining forces with street musician Ellas McDaniel a.k.a. Bo Diddley they made the move to Chess, where Billy Boy played harp on the March 1955 classic “I’m a Man”.
Click Here to read more at his website.
* Billy Boy will be performing live Friday, October 1st at Amanda's Rollercoaster
As a youngster of thirteen he was captivated by the music of the Original Sonny Boy, John Lee Williamson and visited Sonny Boy at his home in Chicago for a series of informal harmonica lessons, just before Williamson’s untimely death in 1948. “That first visit was the most exciting day of my life, and made me determined to become a Bluesman” states Billy Boy. His 2008 Electro-Fi release “Billy Boy Sings Sonny Boy” is a heartfelt tribute to his musical mentor, released 60 years after their first meeting.
Billy Boy’s recording debut was a 45 rpm “Hello Stranger b/w I Ain’t Got No Money” released in 1952 on the local Chicago label Cool, who also gave him the nickname “Billy Boy”. After joining forces with street musician Ellas McDaniel a.k.a. Bo Diddley they made the move to Chess, where Billy Boy played harp on the March 1955 classic “I’m a Man”.
Click Here to read more at his website.
* Billy Boy will be performing live Friday, October 1st at Amanda's Rollercoaster
Johnny Dyer
Johnny Dyer is one of those guys who is so steady, and has been doing what he does for so well for so long, that he's sometimes overlooked. But don't take Johnny for granted - he's one of the truly great harp players of his generation, the generation that came out of heyday of the blues harp in the 1950s. Born in Mississippi in 1938, and having spent some of his formative years on Stovall's Plantation in Rolling Fork (also home of Muddy Waters), early on Johnny absorbed the subtlety of phrasing and easy swinging chops that are at the core of all the great blues harp players.
These elemental qualities were ingrained so early that they're completely automatic and natural in Johnny's playing, but often take later generations of harp players a lifetime of study to get a handle on - if they ever grasp them at all. Add to that a voice as rich as Mississippi mud, and you've got a bluesman who is about as heavy as they come these days.
Click Here to read more at the delta groove website
* Johnny Dyer will be performing live Saturday, October 2nd at Amanda's Rollercoaster
These elemental qualities were ingrained so early that they're completely automatic and natural in Johnny's playing, but often take later generations of harp players a lifetime of study to get a handle on - if they ever grasp them at all. Add to that a voice as rich as Mississippi mud, and you've got a bluesman who is about as heavy as they come these days.
Click Here to read more at the delta groove website
* Johnny Dyer will be performing live Saturday, October 2nd at Amanda's Rollercoaster
