Interview

Johnny Rawls

Johnny Rawls

Johnny Rawls calls his new record label "Deep South Soul" and other than adding the words "and Blues" there could be no better description for the music he continues to produce. This should come as no surprise since Rawls received tutelage from none other than O.V. Wright as part of Wright's band until the singer's premature death in 1980. Rawls draws on that 60s Deep Soul Blues tradition, only with his own modern rhythmic shimmy to it. With today's Southern Soul dominated by machine programming he's one of the few living pillars still performing 100% organic music.

Born in 1951 in Purvis, Rawls began playing clarinet and saxophone in third grade but by the age of twelve he switched to guitar. Still a teen, he turned pro to back singers like Joe Tex, Little Johnny Taylor, Willie Hitower and Z.Z. Hill. Eventually he was playing behind one of his idols, O.V. Wright. Despite Wright's death the O.V. Wright Band stayed alive for over a decade with Rawls at the head.

Determined to work under his own name he cut a 45 for the tiny Rainbow label in 1985 . Working with guitarist L.C. Luckett, Rawls recorded several more singles for his own label, Touch Records, and a hard to find LP called "You're The One". But it would take another 9 years for the next LP to materialize. Blues harp legend Willie Cobbs hooked Rawls & Luckett up with Jim O'Neal of Rooster Blues, which lead to the acclaimed "Can't Sleep At Night"  in 1994. Rawls also produced Cobbs' "Down To Earth" for the label.

Starting in 1996 Rawls entered a prodigious period with JSP Records. Serving as producer and A & R rep for the label he helmed albums for artists like Lonnie Shields, Phil Guy, Eddie Kirkland, Johnnie Marshall, Kenny Edwards, George Stancell and Percy Strother. During this time he dropped four records of his own, developing his own disparate sound- a Southern Soul melody template with a heavy rhythmic pulse. When that deal ended he was back on his own label, then named Deep South Sound. In no short order he produced records for old friends Blues Boy Willie & Chick Willis, as well as his own "Lucky Man" and a project on his daughter Destini.

Despite his impressive resume Rawls is just now hitting his peak. After one acclaimed disc for Topcat ("No Boundaries") Rawls' has re-titled his label Deep South Soul and released his best record to date, "Heart & Soul".

Interview

BC = Blues Critic

JR = Johnny Rawls

BC = O.V. Wright's one of the greatest Deep Soul singers of all time. Tell us about your experience as part of his band in the 70s.

O.V. Wright O.V. Wright

JR = Oh it was great you know I was with him 'til the day he died. I was with him when he died, when he took his last breath. We was on our way from Mobile back to Georgia and he couldn't take it no more. He couldn't breath no more so we forced him into the hospital. They couldn't do nothing with him so we took him back to Mobile and he died.

BC = What did you do after his death?

Rawls & Luckett Rawls & Luckett

JR = After that I went on my own and started my solo career. Well I played with the O.V. Wright band for a while and then went solo. I had a label called Touch records and did that first record as Rawls & Luckett, "You're The One". I got a real good pressing plant and I'm thinking of releasing that on CD and call it the "The First CD" or something like that.

BC = The second "Can't Sleep At Night" is one of my favorite albums. You did that on Rooster?

JR = Yeah before I did that I produced three Gospel records for the (Fabulous) Luckett Brothers in Nashville Tennessee. That was a treat working with those guys. L.C. was too young so they was his uncles. LC wanted to play with he. He was like a little kid who followed me everywhere and wouldn't take no for an answer (laughs). So me and (Rooster label owner) Jim O'Neal produced that and the one for Willie Cobbs, 2 on Super Chicken and some others.

BC = You next signed with JSP Records. The music you made there has a certain production sound. Very slick, cavernous, heavy bass. Is that a sound you went for or was that just the studio?

JR = Yeah we produced like 30 records. You know I brought Soul music to JSP Records. The sound was a combination of both. It was a duo thing of the particular way I was feeling and that particular studio and musicians. John Stedman mixed it. John's a real good guy but he didn't have a clue 'cuz he never really mixed Soul music before. I feel real good about those albums but what I'm doing now is the real Johnny Rawls

BC = One of your more famous songs from those years is that "Lucy". Do you get a lot requests for that one?

JR = Oh man that song is one of the reasons I left JSP right there. Listen here, wherever I went in the United States people wanted to hear "Lucy". Even today. I musta sold at least ten thousand copies of "Lucy" ya know what I'm saying? I told them that instead of me recording five or more Blues singles that ain't gonna tour this one here is a club hit so why don't y'all put some money behind "Lucy" and I was told that Bruce (Feiner) wasn't gonna do it. And I felt if all you gonna do is record me and that's all, I can do that myself.

BC = So you feel there wasn't enough promotion for those records?

JR = Naw man. It was a missed opportunity. Yeah you know even last night they wanted to hear it ("Lucy") twice. So I'm taking advantage of that now I put it on my "Live In Montana" CD you know. Instead of giving them six dollars a CD...it ain't about the money but what they could've done...

Johnny Rawls Lucky Man blues boy willie back again.jpg Chick Willis "I Won't Give Up" (Deep South Sounds 2002) Destinii Rawls

BC = Following your last JSP disc you started your own label Deep South Sound and brought some friends along...

JR = Yeah, Chick Willis, Blues Boy Willie, my daughter Destini. It was good but if you got an artist that's not touring and selling records it's totally worthless. You know Chick, Blues Boy they do shows once in awhile, when they can, but they don't do it like me. I turn up every rock to get out there. So now it's just me, Deep South Soul.

BC = I though "Lucky Man" was a very good album...

JR = Yeah but the production wasn't what I wanted. The songs were good but it's not like it is now. I've finally found the right place to record, the right people.

Roy Roberts & Johnny Rawls Johnny Rawls & The Rays "No Boundaries" (Catfood/Topcat/Deep South)

BC = Whose idea was it, you or Roy, to do the album "Partners & Friends" together?

JR = It was together. You know I was down there in Carolina to show Roy how to really do the Shag (laughs). And I went down there and kicked it with him and he just said we should do an album together and I thought it was a pretty good album. You know Roy has a real good record out right now...

BC = Oh yeah, I know, "Sicily Moon". I did an interview with I'm too. He's a cool cat. So now I've read about the story concerning your next album, "No Boundaries". You produced an album for the Rays...

JR = Yeah, well Bob (Trenchard) is a real good friend of mine and I knew his wife. They were married thirty years she died of breast cancer. That's what that whole CD is about. He wrote all those songs about her. That's why it sounds like it sounds. So I recorded those songs for him and the CD did really well but it really wasn't my kind of music. It was good for me and it was good for Bob as a release. I didn't put any of my songs 'cuz I wanted to get Bob's songs he wrote about her out there.

BC = How do you rank yourself as a guitarist?

JR = Well, as a guitar slinger I'm not. Sometimes I get off loud but you know who I like on guitar? Steve Cropper. You know chords, sweet Soul playing. I don't like the screaming guitar.

Johnny Rawls Heart & Soul

BC = So you've said the new "Heart & Soul" is the real Johnny Rawls?

JR = It's just me, Johnny Rawls, when it comes to the way it sounds. No interference. No input. Just Johnny Rawls period. Nobody trying to mix it somewhere else they way they wanted it. I was even there for the mix. This is my best work. I know people always say that but this really is my best work. I'm really excited about it.

BC = Now this song "Damn Cocaine". Is that about somebody in particular?

JR = That's a real true story. All those songs are true stories.

BC = I like how you added a little harmonica to your Soul. But you still got those horns!

JR = What do you think of a harmonica in Soul music?

BC = Hey, as long as it works I'm all for it! But I like them horns too.

JR = Yeah definitely got the horns but the harmonica I wanted to try something different like what John Mellencamp did with the harmonica and violins, you know, add that to Soul music. I got a strong feeling about this record. I think people gonna love it. You know what Little Johnny Taylor told me? he said "true live stories is what make hit records. He said that when he did that "Open House At My House" he said it was true. When he would leave home he said he would call and they would be partying like a mutha--- (laughs). True real stories is what make hit records.

Johnny Rawls Heart & Soul "Heart And Soul" (Deep South Soul 2006) LISTEN

**** 1/2 You can't re-invent the wheel but you can still make top of the line tires. Mr. Johnny Rawls has not invented a new genre of music but he's doing it as good as anyone ever has. With an impressive catalog of 9 studio albums full of original Soul Blues ranging from his classic "Can't Sleep At Night" thru his critically-acclaimed 2005 outing, "No Boundaries" Rawls has never succumbed to fads or flavor-of-the-month production tricks. He just makes Deep Soul Blues like they did in the 60s.

"Heart & Soul" is his same mix of midtempo Southern Soul & Blues, laced with horns, Cropper-esque guitar licks and raspy singing but it's as fresh and stirring as it was in the 60s. In fact the knockout "Missing You" is on par with Clarence Carter's "Slip Away", an obvious influence. The addition of sweet harmonica (Michael Kakuk) is an extra hook to what is already aq three and a half minute ear massage. "You're My Girl" is a quick booty shakin' romp featuring an extended guitar solo by Mike Killeen. "Still A Woman" is a classic Deep Soul ballad highlighting the earnest ache to Rawls seasoned voice. Perhaps the cut that'll garner the most attention is the driving "true real story" song "Damn Cocaine". A  bass heavy chugger with a perfectly timed stop and start that describes a friend's descent into addiction. "You can have fortune and fame and still get hooked on cocaine". Fortunately the song has a happy ending.

Rawls has made plenty good music throughout his career but as he himself says: "This is the real Johnny Rawls".

 

 Bigg Robb Unmasked!

BC = Blues Critic

ROBB = Bigg Robb

BC = Now you started your radio career at the age of 12?!?

ROBB: I started off with a guy named Tom Knox on this thing called Radio Workshop (WAIF 88.3) and that was 1980 . I was playing nothing but old school and when I first started my voice was like this: "Hey how you doin'? This is Sugar Daddy from Cincinnati" (Robb does a voice that's a cross between Michael Jackson and Mike Tyson) 'cuz I was a little kid. But as I got a little older and cockier I didn't know why I had to play this old stuff. And then came Grandmaster Flash, Sugarhill Gang, you know so I went off and started my own radio show.

BC = Before you became "Bigg Robb" your handle was "Sugar Daddy from Cincinnati"? Is that when you met Roger?

 Bootsy Collins  Roger Troutman

ROBB: Yeah that was in the 80s. To make my radio show more interesting I went around and interviewed people and one of those was Roger Troutman. Now before we talk about Roger I want to say the biggest influence at first was Bootsy Collins. He came to the radio station and did an interview with me at 6 in the morning and people swarmed to the radio station for this interview with Bootsy. And Bootsy came looking like you've always seen him look. Star glasses, spikes, the clothes and, dude, I was stunned! That was the moment. The defining point and I knew I wanted to be an entertainer. Whatever Bootsy does that's what I wanted to do. Be an entertainer! Then I saw Roger and once I saw Roger perform I was, like, "It's a wrap! I'm going to be up in this music thang!".

BC = Is that when you became "Bigg Robb"?

ROBB: Not yet. All the while on the radio I was Sugar Daddy from Cincinnati. The radio thang lasted from 1980 to 1987. After that I became "Robbamania" from '88 to '91 or '92 or something like that. Then I became Bigg Robb because it seemed it was too hard for people to say "Robbamania". They would say, "Hey Big guy. Big boy. Fat Robb. Ah, chubby man". So I was like alright it was easier for the people to just be Bigg Robb. Around the same time I started performing with the Zapp Band.

BC = How did that come about? How did you join the group?

ROBB: Well, you know, ever since I knew those guys I was always hanging around them. Both Roger and Bootsy recorded at a studio in Cincinnati and I found this secret spot and I was always hanging around with them. I'd do whatever, skip school, whatever it took to be around them and the music thang. After about 6 months Roger opened up his own studio in Dayton and my cousin would bring me up to Dayton so we could hang around there and we just became friends. Once I was eighteen and old enough to go on the road Roger invited me on the road with im. I was in a group called Microwave and Booty produced us but that wasn't going nowhere. Shirley Murdock had a big hit record called "As We Lay" and all the original Zapp guys went on the road to support her. So that left Roger to have to rebuild his band. I basically became Roger's personal assistant. Like his valet. That's how I really got my lessons in the studio- just being around him.

BC = When did you first record with Roger?

ROBB: First time was on "Zapp V" on a song called "I Play The Talkbox" and keep in mind back them I'm still a Hip Hop guy and all I'm thinking about was rapping. So I rapped on that record. I was with Roger from 1987 all the way to his death in 1999.

 

BC = Speaking of Hip Hop your first record, "Cheddar Cheddar" was a rap record, right? It almost seems that's been written out of your catalogue. When did it come out?

ROBB: That was '97. It was the first full thing I ever did. It's a rap record as you say so it's not something I go around and advertise in the Southern Soul market 'cuz it's a Rap record. Around the same time I did some Ice Cube remixes, Some Rebbie Jackson remixes a bunch of things. You know people do request "Cheddar" every now and then.

BC = You also remixed that Mel Waiters song "Hole In The Wall".

ROBB: Yeah, what happened was after Roger passed away we were blessed to continue on as the Zapp Band. We were doing a show in Greenwood, Mississippi and that's the first time I met Mel Waiters. I was in the dressing and wondering who was it on the stage killing 'em like that? He was the star of the show! And they said, "That's Mel Waiters" and I had never heard of him. After the show I introduced myself and he knew who I was from my work with Zapp and so I did the "Hole In The Wall" remixes and we tried to follow it up on his next album with Johnny 'Guitar' Watson's "Real Mutha For Ya"

 

BC = So when it came time for your first non-Rap record you showed the Zapp influence and brought the Funk on "Grown Folks Muzik".

ROBB: Well even back on "Cheddar Cheddar" you can hear me trying to bring the Funk. I mean it's got mini moves and handclaps. It's got voicebox on it and stuff. I'm a Funk disciple at heart you know.

BC = What was your first hit under the name "Bigg Robb"?

ROBB: The first hit to be honest is "The Bigg Woman Song". That brought on the "Bigg Woman CD" which is basically a bunch of remixes of that song.

   

BC = Up next was the Da Problem Solvas album. But, basically, this is another Bigg Robb cd.

ROBB: Right I created the group 'cuz me and Sure 2 B are making the music but I'm no singer and Sure 2 B doesn't want to sing so were like, "Alright let's go find a singer". Bigg Woo was in a little band in Toledo and they was opening up for us so we had the guys come over and audition. Bigg Woo was the most talented so me and Sure 2 B decided to write some songs and put him upfront and that's how Da Problem Solvas came about. But I kind of messed up. When I put it out I should've made it Bigg Robb & Da Problem Solvas but I was trying to have total separation. You know like Zapp & Roger. It's all Roger. Parliment and Funkadelic. it's just George Clinton but it's different vehicles.

BC = Then of course Hurricane Katrina hit and you were inspired to write a song, "Everything's Gonna Be Alight"

ROBB: Yeah we had a show in Baton Rouge six or seven days after the hurricane and we checked into the hotel and we saw all these people displaced.  The punchline of Big Robb is I wanted to be a ministry behind the music. So even when we write a song like the "Macaroni & Cheese" song the punchline of that song is "Dear Lord please forgive us" and I'm just hoping someone would hear that song and find a positive outlook rather than come in like T.D. Jakes and "Man, God is gonna burn you..!" and all those things. Instead I'm saying, "Just think about what your doing dude. That might not be the smartest thing. You know. "She Thought I Was Home..." same thing. You know I'm saying in that song I felt stupid for doing this. I'm not glorifying what's in songs like that I'm just trying to be the big brother. I'm just trying to reach them where they at instead of making a record like "Baby pull off your clothes and let's go to the motel" and just leave it there. We know people gonna go to the motel. People are going to cheat but I'm also trying to give them a positive solution to get out of what it is they do.

BC = There seemed to be an uncharacteristically long period for you between the "Southern Soul Cares" thing and "8 Tracks & 45s"

ROBB: Well we did the Special record around the same time as the Christmas record in between there. I was going to put together a group called the Brydes Of Bigg Robb but one of the girls who brought Special to me didn't want to sing no more but she wanted me to help her friend so we tried to duplicate the success we had with Da Problem Solvas with Special in the lead.

BC = Now "8 Tracks & 45s" has a retro thing going for it. But your biggest success has come in the so-called Southern Soul market. Do you find some DJs who think your music is too R & B?

ROBB: Not really the brickwall I keep running into musically is in R & B. It's a young folks market no matter what. It's about A-Kon. It's about Chris Brown. That's what the kids are listening to. So here comes Bigg Robb and it's hard to categorize Bigg Robb. I mean on the album cover he's got a big afro standing next to a record player. But what I was trying achieve as an artist was that everybody over 35 that walked into the record store would relate to the afro and say "I remember that!". Then they'd also see the record player and the title of the record and they would relate. But you know "8 Tracks" is engineered for Bigg Robb/Zapp fans. Bigg Robb fans are different from Sir Charles fans. There are a couple things on there designed for Southern Soul like "Keep On Swinging" and "I'm Ready To Party". I played the original of thatsong for Mel Waiters and he told me I should take all the Zapp effects off to make it more commercial for this market. And I'd like to say something about "8 Tracks & 45s". It's the most unheard of album out there. Never before have you had a Southern Soul/R & B artist collaborate with Rock & Roll legend  Sugarfoot of the Ohio Players, Shirley Murdock, Charlie Wilson of the Gap Band. I'm trying to take Southern Soul to the next level. That's why I'm happy to see the Simeo and Charles Wilson album covers. When I see stuff like that- keep in mind that six years ago when Bigg Robb first hit the scene folks were standing up with Polaroid pictures for their album covers. I'm not being arrogant but production has come up and people are being more daring since Bigg Robb came on the scene. You know when me and Sure 2 B sit down in the booth we aren't comparing ourselves to Ms Jody or these other artists we're trying to figure out how our record's gonna sound next to the mainstream records. You know like Quincy Jones. Bootsy. I want to be Teddy Riley. Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis you know what I mean. It needs to go to the next level if we're ever going to sell records. But if we are going to survive with this music we got to get the young people involved.

BC = Now the project, "Blues Soul & Old School" how'd that come about?

ROBB: What happened was God gave m the vision to do "Blues Soul & Old School" . The vision was it started out with a guy from Michigan named Napoleon who's been beepin' around for years looking for a record deal. I wanted to do something with him. Then Boogie urged me to listen to Pat Cooley and she asked me to write a song for her. And one day it came to me. Then I called Wade over at Gonzales and asked him what was the hottest record and he told me Carl Marshall's "Good Lovin' Will Make You Cry". I called Carl and wanted to put the song on the compilation but instead we did a remix on it. Actually we redid the whole track. So the album was coming together. I called Sir Charles and asked him to be on the remix with Da Problem Solvas after another singer totally flaked out. And we also have a track coming out on Sir Charles' next record called "Can You Shake It Mama" which is gonna be off the chain! To be honest the original idea for Da Problem Solvas was going to be Sir Charles, me and Sure 2 B but he was already signed up.

BC = You mentioned Jerry 'Boogie" Mason. He's been a big supporter of your music. Is there anyone cooler than Boogie?

ROBB: Only Bigg Robb (laughs). Yeah Boogie's my man. He's been with me for years and he's always been there. He's the kind of guy I'd call up at 3 in the morning and say "I can't go no further". And he's say "Don't give up! We got 'em surrounded on all sides. We about to breakthrough". Also let me say this without Boogie bringing Pat Cooley, Dre T to the table the record might now even be here yet.

Bigg Robb jamming with Boogie courtesy of CC Sweet

BC = On the inside tray card of the CD you have an advertisement for your next project, "Jeri Curls & Roller Skates". What can you tell us about that?

ROBB: "Jeri Curls" is gonna be interesting. I want to have something for everybody from 12-bar blues for fun like one of those "Mannish Boy" or "Hoochie Coochie Man"-type songs. I also want to go back and get some early-80s sounding rap sh** too like Newcleus or whatever. It's got to be classic Bigg Robb whatever that means (laughs). I'm just thrilled people are asking me questions about my art now. I can remember asking these same questions to others who made records. While I was asking them I never thought one day someone would be asking me so I'm really just kinda tripped on that to be totally honest with you. No matter how many interviews I do or how many times people ask me... You know "Jeri Curls" will be a party record. I want to be known as "Mr. Grown Folks" You know the guy who when you put the needle on the record or put the disc in and press play it makes you feel good.

 Bigg Robb Presents "Blues Soul & Old School" (Over 25 Sound) LISTEN

Reviews by Calvin Lee Hill (edited by Blues Critic)

**** 1/2 Everything Biiiiiiiiiigg Robb touches turns to gold. Midas touch fo' sure. The brutha is busy too! This is the third release this year. His "8 Tracks & 45s" then "Best Of Da Problem Solvas" are already out there and now this party in a box! Good news for those who want to get Pat Cooley's "Younger Man, Older Woman". It's in there. (like Ragu). Bigg Robb's new version of Carl Marshall "Good Lovin' Will Make You Cry". It's in there. "Grown And Sexy", the one with Sir Charles? Yuuuup in there! You get it cuzzin. But that's not all! If you order now you also get the Zappified slow jam "Old School Lovin" by Sure 2 B. Wait! That's not all. We'll also throw in new tracks by Napoleon ("Party Like The Rich Folks"), Special ("Put Your Hands On Me"), Da Problem Solvas ("Pot Liquor N' Cornbread" but too close to "Mississippi Boy"!) remixes Bigg Robb on Bigg Robb ("Keep On Swingin", "I'm Ready To Party") and...sound like a commercial. Sorry Bigg Robb does that to me. Buy this CD. Period. No bad tracks.

 click on photos  

 

Swamp Dogg

The Interview

Jerry Williams, aka, "Swamp Dogg", is truly one of a kind. Nearly as eccentric as Salvador Dali. More idiosyncratic than Prince. And always provocative. An underground hero with a cult following whose first LP, the masterpiece "Total Destruction Of Your Mind", came out 37 years ago! Despite never placing an LP of his own on one of Billboard's charts he's still living large.

Initially Jerry Williams was a conventional R & B songwriter, producer, engineer for Atlantic Records under the helm of Jerry Wexler and Phil Walden in the 1960s. He also recorded under the name Little Jerry Williams, scoring a few charters with "I'm The Lover Man" (1964), "Baby You're My Everything" (1965) and "Baby Bunny Sugar Honey" (1966). He had more success writing or producing For other artists. Gene Pitney hit #16 on the Billboard Pop Chart in 1968 with "She's A Heartbreaker" for example but these successes did not portend the transformation about to happen.

In a stroke of genius, Swamp Dogg was born in 1970 with "Total Destruction Of Your Mind",  unfurling his disparate musical style (a crazier version of the kind of material Solomon Burke and the like were doing) and outspoken worldview. It was funky, it was catchy at times but only the single, "Mama's Baby, Daddy's Maybe" charted (#33 R & B). The surreal "Rat On", featuring the unflinching "God Bless America For What?" followed. The brilliance continued with equally "out there" LPs like "Cuffed, Collared, Tagged & Gassed"  (1972), "Gag A Maggot" (1973) but began tapering off for the remainder of the 70s. All the while he started his own label Mankind Records, produced Doris Duke ("I'm A Loser" 1970, "Legend In Her Own Time" 1975), Freddie North ("Friend" 1972) and Z.Z. Hill ("The Brand New ZZ Hill").

In the 80s Swamp did more work for other artists than on himself, having released only a handful of records that decade. Starting his own label, S.D.E.G. (Swamp Dogg Entertainment Group), SDEG dropped records by himself ("I Asked For A Rope And They Trhew Me A Rock"), Bobby McClure ("The Cherry LP"), Tommy Hunt ("Until My Arms Fall Off") . He also produced acclaimed records by Billy Price ("Can I Change My Mind"), Ruby Andrews ("Kiss This"), Irma Thomas ("Inbetween Tears") and Ruth Brown ("Black, Brown & Beautiful").

The 90s were even more sparse for new Swamp sides with only one new LP in the decade ("Surfin' In Harlem"). Fortunately he's cranked things up in the 00's. Following the middling "Re-Invention Of Swamp Dogg" (2000), Swamp made an impact in the Southern Soul market with "If I Ever Kiss He Can Kiss It Goodbye".

But it's in 2007 Swamp finally recorded and released an album that ranks with his classic material, "Resurrection".
 

BC = Blues Critic

SD = Swamp Dogg

BC = The cover of "Resurrection" naturally has the potential of being controversial for some. Why did you choose this particular cover?

SD = Because, basically what the cover is depicting that I'll fight and die for what I believe in. And in this case my music and the context of my music and lyrics and that's why I'm nailed to the cross. I do liken it to Christ because he died for what he believed in. I'm not saying I'm Christ or trying to be Christ. It's a symbol to make my point that's all. It's interesting. Nobody else has asked me about the cover. It's like they don't want to comment on it or talk about it.

BC = This album is a mixture of politics and love songs. The song "They Crowned An Idiot King"... I'll ask you point blank: Is that about George W. Bush?

SD = Of course (laughs). I should've got Alberto Gonzales to write me another verse. I'm sure he could've put a great one in there.

(editor's note: On the day we conducted this interview Alberto Gonzales announced his resignation as Attorney General amid allegations of perjury)

BC = How do you feel about our country's climate right now?

SD = Well it's about 102 out here right now (laughs). No, seriously it's scary. It's frightening. It makes you anxious to see what's happening with the house market. It's like all kinds of schemes have been hashed in order to spin John or Jane Q. Public into this web of financial ruin. Somebody's got to step in and keep everything from going down the toilet.

BC =  I reckon all this was the inspiration for "America Is Bleeding".

SD = Yeah. A few people have made comments about "America is Bleeding". They think I'm anti-abortion. Which I'm not. It's a misunderstanding. And there's another line in there. I had two lesbian women accost me and they thought I was against gays and I said, "No. I said these issues are being used as a smokescreen. They throw that up to take everyone's attention away from what's really going on with the country".

BC = Another song on the CD is "In A Time Of War Who Wins". Now it's obvious you're anti-war. Or atleast the current war. Now be honest: When all this first was going down did you support the invading of Iraq and later flip-flopped when the tide turned like so many have or have you always felt this way?

SD = Yeah Bob Jones co-wrote that with me. I'm not anti-war. Just this bulls--- war. I was against it from the beginning because I never believed what Bush was saying. Number one I couldn't understand why he let Bin Laden's family leave Massachusetts and fly out of the country. In my understanding they flew out on an air force plane! I also couldn't understand why he went after Hussein. Now I know Sadam Hussein was abusing and killing his people and that wasn't right. But Bush went after him all of sudden when he should've gotten Bin Laden. I'm not anti-war but I'm thinking of people like Roosevelt who would've gotten Bin Laden by now 'cuz he would've warned everybody in that area to get out and he would've sent bombers over there and when he finished Bin Laden would be somewhere in millions of pieces. There would be none of this sh--. All these dead soldiers. If you're gonna fight a war- fight a war! No inbetween.

BC = The centerpiece of the record is the epic title track, which deals with black history in America. You've always been bold and outspoken in exposing racism. How do you feel about the racial climate right now?

SD = Well at this time in life. I think black people are their own worst enemy. We are our own worst enemy. I don't think it's no longer the white man or any other color man. I think it's us and we have to get our sh-- together. We have enough going for us to make things happen and we don't utilize it. We'll go get on welfare and say the white man put us there. Man he didn't put us in a car and drive us down there and sign them f---ing papers (laughs). Blacks travel all over the world looking for the best welfare system. You know like New York. I think California is suppose to be great for people who want to freeload for the rest of their f----ing life and want to pass it on to the next generation. They throw their hands up and don't do sh-- but f--- and have babies and what have you. We're not being repressed. I refuse to buy into that we're being suppressed now because anything we want to do we are strong enough to get it done!

BC = But of course the song "Resurrection" also properly praises the perseverance of black Americans. Like the refrain, "Still we rise (we rise!)"

SD = Yeah. Even the slaves! A lot of them ran away before the emancipation. They didn't take the attitude, "Well. Can't go nowhere. Mr Charlie got us here now." No some of 'em said "F--- that! I'm outta here I'm gone!" But then another one would find out when a slave would run away and ran and told Mr. Charlie. "Now Mr. Charlie he done trying to run away" and told on him and Mr Charlie would give him a piece of fatback and whoop that other nig--- into a drunken stupor.

BC = I feel funny asking such a question but, based on what you said, what do you think black people need to do to not be their 'own worst enemy'?

SD = Have respect for themselves and have respect for others. Not only as people but eachother's property. For example. One black was moving into a house and he moves all his sh-- in and goes to work the next day some of the blacks who were standing around watching him went in and took all his sh--! I mean just preying on eachother. You cannot accomplish anything fighting amongst yourselves, hating eachother and doing things to hold eachother back.

BC = Now going back to your new CD. The other half of the songs are lovely, romantic soul songs.

SD = Yeah my wife got a chance to show off her writing. You know we're writing together. You know when I met her a few years ago she said she was a songwriter and you know I'm thinking, "Yeah riiiiight" (laughs). But you know right then you go along with anything you know. "Oh yeah, well let me look over your songs...and I want to see more than that too. Just take your bra off" (laughs). But she had some damn good stuff so we collaborated on songs and she's really a genius songwriter.

BC = Now looking back on your career. You started off as Little Jerry Williams and was more of a conventional musician. So what was the turning point? How did you come up with brilliant creation called 'Swamp Dogg"?

SD = Well I don't know how brilliant it is (laughs). It hasn't really made me a fortune. Um, it was just an idea of me wanting to do musically and present myself anyway I wanted to present myself. Mentally it was easier on me to not have to be one particular person all the time. As Swamp Dogg I could be whoever I was at that particular time. You know it's like, if I wanna sing a love song. if I wanna sing about f---ing. If I want to sing about politics. Whatever I wanted to sing about I could do it as a dog since you expect a dog to do just about anything... and you're forgiven afterwards (laughs). So it's really the concept of what you let your dog do. It really relieved my mind to become Swamp Dogg and I could not be pigeonholed.

BC = What or where do you think you would be today if you had just stayed as Jerry Williams, the mainstream singer?

SD= I would've most likely started drinking and become an alcoholic and had been running around singing one big hit whatever that would be and just bored with life myself singing that same piece of sh--...I'm glad I didn't make it back in the day. I was unhappy back then about it but I'm glad I didn't succeed as Little Jerry Williams. I really wasn't that unhappy 'cuz I didn't get into music for the money but because I love the music. You can see by the sh-- I put out I don't care too much for the brass ring.

BC = Your last CD, "If I Ever Kiss He Can Kiss It Goodbye" was aimed at and did quite well in the Southern Soul market.

SD = Right. I did that deliberately. And I'm still selling that real good. To me it was almost like a satire on what's happening down in the South

BC = You've never fit any particular format throughout your career. What about today? Where would you market your new stuff? Blues, Southern Soul...

SD = My only problem is...black people go to bed and wake up the next day and their address has been changed. Like we went to bed one night as Rhythm & Blues artists and we woke up and we were no longer. Then it's Soul then now it's R & B and that's someone like Usher. But it's not really Rhythm & Blues. We were Rock & Roll in the early 50s. You had white Rock & Rollers. Black Rock & Rollers. Like Chuck Berry. Little Richard. Then one day Rock & Roll became all white and our category keeps changing around. But in the meantime you get someone like Neil Young who, say doesn't cut a record in like ten years and he come back with a record just like the last one twenty years ago and Warner Brothers or whomever will take out nineteen pages in Billboard and say "the long awaited f---ing album".

  

BC = If you were to make a definitive Swamp Dogg sampler what songs would you put on there. The ones that say who Swamp Dogg is?

SD = "Total Destruction To Your Mind" for sure. "Mama's Baby, Daddy's Maybe", "God Bless America For What?", "Sam Stone", I dunno there's so many. But from the new album I'd have to got with "I Need Some Money" and "Resurrection".

BC = So what's next for the Dogg?

SD = So much going on. I'm going to be releasing "Swamp Dogg Volumes 3 & 4" (Editor's note: currently SDEG Records has Swamp Dogg's first four albums as 2 on 1 cds called "The Excellent Sides Of Swamp Dogg" Vol. 1 & 2 on the market.). I got this album on Irma Thomas called "In Between Tears". Ruth Brown. Then there's Doris Duke & Sandra Phillips on one album together. I'm putting out that "Beatle Barker" album. The one with dogs, cats and cattle doing Beatles songs. I can't tell you how often people ask me for that one. So I'm gonna put it out and see what happens. I'm also....

Swamp went on to list an eclectic and long lost array of re-issue CDs too numerous to recall by memory. Visit his site swampdogg.net to learn more . One thing's for sure Swamp Dogg still has a lot of bark along with his trademark bite. And who would want it any other way?

 

CD Review

  Swamp Dogg "Resurrection" (SDEG) LISTEN

**** 1/2 The iconoclast Swamp Dogg is simply hard to categorize. Though vocally you can hear echoes of Jackie Wilson and Van Morrison his musical style is one of the most distinctive in the R & B world- R & B, Funk, Blues, Rock & Roll, Soul, Folk and so on. Initially he was hired by Atlantic Records as a producer and sometimes songwriter to create more basic Soul music in the 60s before Jerry Williams (given name) transformed into the incomparable Swamp Dogg. He achieved sheer brilliance (and wild eccentricity) right from the bat with 1970's "Total Destruction To Your Mind" which featured the classic "Synthetic World" and his one-and-only nationally charting record "Mama's Baby Daddy's Maybe" (R & B #33). He followed this up with a series of equally creative LPs ("Rat On", "Gag A Maggot", "Cuffed Collared & Tagged") featuring politically and racially charged gems like "Sam Stone", "God Bless America For What?", "Redneck", etc... Despite a decline in popularity with the mainstream he remained a cult figure and champion of afro-centric concerns up to the present day.

"Resurrection"  is his most provocative (and best) offering in decades (and not just for the crucifixion photo that dons the cover). The protesting "In Time Of War Who Wins" opens the record at a time in American history where anti-war sentiments are high. Despite the message the track is a winding, horn-heavy slice of energetic Soul- that Swamp Dogg sound. Even more so the catchy "No Deposit No Return", a great first single choice while "They Crowned An Idiot King" is a thinly veiled diatribe against the current rulership. Sample lyric: "Your mama told you about good and evil/The preacher told you about greed/But the biggest power you have to bear is stupidity/They crowned an idiot king/They kissed his ring". Perhaps more direct is the funky "America Is Bleeding" that looks with a jaundiced eye at the state of his country. Swamp says abortion/politics/homosexuality/race/religion/war distracts the people as the culture is dying. Still the centerpiece of the record is the twelve minute titled track, an unflinching treatise on the history of Black folk in America. "The notion of 'resurrection' is Biblical. We will rise from the death imposed on us by the evil events of history...we will restore our communities to the peaceful oasis of yesterday.". Deep messages are fine but if the music isn't just as inspired...fortunately it is. The only complaint is it's placement smack dab in the middle of the record.

Not all of "Resurrection" is dire and serious being half the record consists of lovely Soul songs reflecting Swamp's feelings for his new wife ("Today I Got Married", "Soul To Blessed Soul", "Love Song 4 U")- which balance this record out. When I spoke to Swamp about the LP he called it "The best thing I've done since "Total Destruction"". He may just be right.

Interview with T.K. SOUL

 

Still buzzing from the terrific news (for T.K. Soul and the Southern Soul genre overall) of his latest CD, "Undisputed (The Album)", reaching #85 on Billboard's Top 100 R & B/Hip Hop Albums and #9 on the magazine's Blues Album charts, not to mention #1 on the official Southern Soul albums chart, TK spoke to Blues Critic about Southern Soul, "T.K. Soul", his love for people and the future.

Short Biography:

Louisiana born Terence Kimble August, aka "T.K. Soul, went from school choir to church choir to playing with local bands before getting his break with a local group called Under 21, which changed it's name to Profyle. Soul was discovered by R & B group H-Town who hired him for keyboards.  Soul worked primarily on the road with he group before doing the same for fellow Southern Soul artist Willie Clayton. Soul even wrote two hits for Clayton ("Wiggle", "Party Like Back In The Day") before starting his own label, Soulful Records. After two Pop/R & B albums Soul scored a huge hit album called "Love Games" on the Chitlin' Circuit featuring the hit single "Cheating & Lying". Since then he's positioned himself as one of the stars of the genre. His latest CD, "Undisputed: The Album", is his most successful yet.

The Interview

BC = Blues Critic

TK = T.K. Soul

BC = First I want to say congratulations for cracking the Billboard charts. Not many Southern Soul/Blues artists do so. How does it feel to be on top?

TK = (laughs) Well you know I'm a working artist in progress. Never on top for me. I'm always striving for progress. I really don't know how to answer that (laughs). I don't feel I'm there yet. The Billboard thing I thought was a prank from one of my friends. Somebody left a message and said they were from New York and told me I charted and I played it off like, one of my friends playing a joke on me, you know, "ha ha". So I didn't return the call but then the guy emailed me and that's when I knew it was real. You know my thing is to bring others with me. I want to see this music succeed, to help carry the whole genre.

BC = What do you think of the "Southern Soul" term? Good or bad for the industry?

TK = I think "Southern Soul" is a way to get attention but I know mainstream, once they're ready to accept you they give you a name so I really don't care what they call it. You know the words "Southern Soul" are really used to separate it from "Blues" because anybody who's not into Blues might not pay attention if you just say you're a Blues singer because there's a difference and that way people can call it all "Blues" or "Soul" but can also separate it.

BC = I understand you do an annual "TK Soul Blues Cruise" thing. How'd you start that?

TK = I'm from Louisiana and there's a lot of cool people there in the South and I saw the way others are doing like Tom Joyner so I thought someone from Southern Soul should step up to the plate. With help from my friend we started to do it. From the fan club we had a lot of true fans that came along. I didn't think they'd follow me out on the water but they're true fans, man (laughs). They come through for you.

BC = You used to play with the R & B group H Town? And backed other name acts?

TK = Yeah I played keyboards for them in the 90s and other touring bands. It was a great experience. You know I played keyboards for Willie Clayton and the group Under 21, that changed it's name to Profyle. I didn't step out on my own 'til my last year with Willie and then I started my solo career.

BC = You wrote Willie Clayton's hit "Party Like We Used To". Are there other songs you've written for others?

 

TK = I actually did "Wiggle", I wrote and produced that whole album, "The Little Giant Of Soul" and also that song "Scandalous" that got a lot of airplay from the same album that had "Party Like We Used To" on it.

BC = Are you really the "Bad Boy Southern Soul" like the title of your second album?

TK = (laughs) Well, you know there was another guy using that title (Reggie P) and I didn't know it at the time. He's a friend. I didn't mean to step on nobody's toes. I'm the nicest guy you wanna meet but I'm the undisputed "bad boy of Southern Soul" when I hit that stage! With a live show second to none in Soul/Blues, Southern Soul. But the title "bad boy of Southern Soul" it was a gimmick. I come on stage in my boxing robe that says "undisputed bad boy of Southern Soul", you know with a girl walking across the stage with little or nothing on (laughs) holding a sign saying "Round 1". You know basically it's just a gimmick I created a long time ago. I learned from the old school guys to have something to make you stand out.

BC = Now your first CD was called "One Woman Man". Now, is that true? Are you a "one woman man"?

TK = Uh, am I? Well as the song says, "I wanna be. If I can find one that satisfies all of me" (laughs). Basically, I'm a one woman man but publicly I still portray the single man you know, it seems to help my following. You know to sell records.

BC = Now on your new CD you have a song called "Love TK Soul" where you describe a woman loving you only for your name, the "TK Soul" persona, but not the real you. Is that a true story?

TK = Yes it is. Several times over as a matter of fact so that was an easy song to write. The song's not about any particular one person but just all of them over the last several years with that type of situation. Of course I didn't use any particular names (laughs). But the song's been in the making for over ten years. I always intended to use it at some point.

BC = The firs single from "Undisputed" had two songs on it, "Party Like Back In The Day" and "It Ain't Cheatin' 'Til You Get Caught". Weren't you worried they'd compete with eachother?

TK = No not really. But actually my former manager (Lee Parker) did that. That way we'd give the DJs a choice to play whichever one they choose. I was ecstatic that both of them did so well! I reached my goal even if one did at the end of the day.

T.K. Soul "Love Games" (Soulful)

BC = Your last CD, "Love Games", is still selling strong. Is that one of the reasons you delayed the new album?

TK = Yes it was. That and being an independent company your budget is very low. If I had a better budget "Love Games" could've peaked all in one year but it took two years. "Cheating & Lying" was on the chart for a full year!

BC = Do you really love your fans like you sing on the song "#1 Fan"?

TK = Oh yeah. I take pride in being a people person number 1. If I wasn't doing this I'd probably be doing something working with people, teaching music or something. People are number one and that's where I get my inspiration from. In the industry there's a certain role they want you to play or have to play if you're a known artist and so on but I have a problem remembering I'm a known artist so I just hang with the crowd. Some places I can and can't do that. Coming from my background as a friendly person I just wanna mingle with the crowd before I go on stage. But people tell me I gotta be careful.

BC = Now you don't have to answer but it's known you are no longer with your manager Lee Parker. Can you reveal what happened?

TK = Well, basically. You know I love what Lee Parker did for me. We had a good working relationship. But I guess I need someone of the "computer age" you know. The old school thing's okay but I need somebody running just as fast I'm running to get this thing done. A lot of things I'm trying to accomplish now I can do at my pace. I really don't want to get into it all that much. Lee was a great asset but he was hired to be a promotion man but the title "manager" was kinda thrust upon him because there was no one else... but he overstepped his boundaries trying to run my label- (pause), basically I needed to move at a quicker pace that's all.

BC = So is a T.K. Soul show as good live as on record?

TK = Certainly we do the songs the way people know them. I have one of the best bands on the circuit. The talent is there and they have the experience so right now I have the number one thing going. I'm blowing my own horn I know but sooner or late you gotta step up to the plate and say it. It's hard for me to brag on myself though.

BC = So how would you describe the "T.K. Soul" sound?

TK = It's hard and it's easy. I've been writing songs since I was in Jr High and it's funny the type of songs I was writing was the stuff I'm doing now. Back then they really didn't have a title for it. As an artist at first I did a guideline CD with the first album and then moved on to what I really wanted to do, which could be anything. You know I grew up watching everything from "Hee Haw" on TV to Elvis to Michael Jackson to James Brown to Frank Sinatra you name it so my history is wrapped around a lot styles but the "T.K. Soul" thing is really just me doing the music I love.

 

 T.K. Soul "Undisputed" (Soulful) LISTEN

*** T.K. Soul is currently the "king of Southern Soul". The first single, "Party Like Back In The Day", is sitting in the Top 5 on Southern Soul charts. It's interesting how things has come full circle for T.K. He once was in the background, playing keys for Willie Clayton on the road who scored a hit with a T.K. Soul original song called "Party Like We Used To"...but now that T.K. has risen to the upper echelon of the Southern Soul world (in popularity) he's hit with a similar but different song about partying like they used to!

"Undisputed" (the album) is a crowd pandering/pleasing set capitalizing on the momentum T.K. has built up over the years. Very much a "Pop Southern Soul" album similar to those released this past year by peers Wilson Meadows, Kenne' Wayne, Steve Perry and Sir Charles Jones- that's one foot in the South and one in mainstream R & B. This is both good and not so good news. The good news is he's bringing more much deserved attention to the Southern Soul world by creating commercial product. The not so great news is that he's capable of much more.

The disc is almost TKO'd early with a superfluous appearance by Bigg Robb on the overlong intro "Undisputed" (the song), which may be a replacement for an uncleared sample of boxing referee Michael Buffer's "Let's Get Ready To Rumble" (copywritten!). This is followed by the self indulgent lyrics of "Love T.K. Soul" where T.K., over a delicious bedroom groove, complains the ladies don't love the real him but rather love his "T.K. Soul" persona. My heart breaks for you man...not. But the ladies sure do love the man! One of T.K.'s biggest hits was "Cheating & Lying" from his CD "Love Games" so what's a modern Southern Soul album without a cheating song? (a rare one). "It Ain't Cheating 'Til You Get Caught" fills that role. It itself has already charted in the Top 5 on Southern Soul charts. It's followed by a couple of generic slowies (it's time to retire the vocoder) before we get to another standout track, "#1 Fan". It's super silky and TK has his croon on despite the unctuous message- thanking his fans for "making me who I am" cuz' you see he's "having much fun 'cuz you made me number one". This one has as much braggadocio as a Hip Hop joint! At the same time those in the know say he's actually humble and really means it. T.K. headlines an annual cruise where hundreds of his fans join him for the vacation. Another strong, slow creeper is "You're So Special" and the ode to moms, "Flowers", is truly gorgeous. Overall this has less for the clubs and more for the bedroom but it's easy on the ears for sure. Expect it to dominate Southern Soul for the rest of the year.

Stan Mosley

Soul singer extraordinaire Stan Mosley is a contender for the Soul-Blues throne vacated by Johnnie Taylor. After releasing three knockout discs on Malaco Records, and one for Mardi Gras, Mosley is set to make his mark with a new album called "Steppin' Out", which was produced by Earl Powell of Entune Recording.

Mosley began singing in 1969 and joined the Sharpees in 1974. The band ended up backing the diva Shirley Brown and Stan sometimes sang backup. From there he began gigging around Chicago off and on for years but had yet to be signed let alone release a record. "At some point in time," Mosley recalls, "I have either opened for or performed in the same venue as just about every major soul or blues act in the business." His acclaim grew and, for two years running, he captured the important Chicago Music Award (in 1982 and 1983) for Best Male R & B Vocalist.

By 1986 Mosley was fed up with the music business and joined a music ministry known as 'The Company' in Chicago. But he came back in 1992 and returned to East St. Louis to team up with Gus Thornton to write several songs, which were released on his own Stand Up label as the LP "Standing Tall". "They're very good songs, but unfortunately I had no distribution," he said. Butler Records re-released his album in 1995. He was also touring as the opening act for Cicero Blake, while also serving as Blake's driver and valet. In 1997, he found Malaco Records. Composer William Payton, who had co-penned Tyrone Davis' 1997 hit single "Freak" on Malaco, introduced him to Tommy Couch Sr. for a fifteen minute meeting. Tommy agreed to hear Stan's demo tape "and fifteen minutes ended up being hours-and Mr. Couch signed me to his label!". Ace producers like Charles "Rich" Cason, Couch, Floyd Hamberlin & Wolf Stephenson helped craft three strong albums for the label that should've catapulted Stan to Soul Brother #1 in the Southern Soul/Soul Blues world. The records did well but Mosley left the label disenchanted.

Mosley headed to Mardis Gras Records for a one-off project before finding himself on the independent level. In late 2005 he sent out promos for his "upcoming" CD "Steppin' Out" and response was enthusiastic. Unfortunately, release of the CD was delayed and it wasn't until now, January 2007, that the album officially sees the light of day.


The interview:

BC = Blues Critic

Stan = Stan Mosley

BC: Well it's finally here! "Steppin' Out" is getting an official release! Give us an update on what's been going on this past year...

Stan: During the past year I've been blessed to have been on shows with The Chi-Lites, Midnight Star, Benny Lattimore, Denise Lasalle, B.B. King, Otis Clay, The Temptations, and the tour I'm most proud of has been Nellie (Tiger) Travis, Jo Jo Murray, Sydney Jo Quralls, Mr Lee and myself along with The Top Flight Band, also there are just too many artist to name. I've worked Mississippi, Alabama, Michigan, Indiana, Tenn, some clubs some arenas, I've pretty much been under the radar so to speak, but we plan to pick up strongly this upcoming year as we have a marketing plan that will enable us to achieve our goals.

BC: Many of the songs from the record have been extremely well received by radio over the past year. Were there a lot of people who were frustrated they couldn't buy this music?

Stan: Yes people were disappointed that it wasn't available other than when I was performing somewhere which certainly didn't cover a lot of areas, hopefully now that things are in place and I'm on the right track we'll cover a tremendous amount of ground. I've got a great support group that has embraced me in The Chi-Lites and some others that I can't reveal at the moment, but continue to be patient, the wait will be well worth it.

BC: I want to talk more about your great new CD "Steppin' Out", but first I want to lay some ground. When did you first sing in front of an audience?

SM: It was the year 1969, I actually thought I was a pro, but I wasn't, I had done a few talent shows around Chicago and got a little attention. My roots are in gospel. From way back as a child Billy Preston played at my church. You know, the "fifth Beatle" (laughs)

BC: Can you remember your first favorite song, or artist that influenced you?

SM: Wilson Pickett's "don't let the green grass fool you"

BC: Not surprising since vocally you resemble Wicked Pickett. You nailed "Don't Knock My Love" from "Soul Singer". You also evoke comparisons with Bobby Womack. How do you feel when people compare you to Pickett or a Bobby Womack?

SM: I love it. Bobby Womack's my hero. I don't mind it all. They were influential.

BC: Bobby hasn't done much lately and by the sound of your new record you may be taking his place!

SM: (laughs). Thanks. But, naw, you can't take anything away from the legend. I'm just trying to be Stan Mosley, ya know? Get in where you fit in.

BC: What was the first thing released under the name 'Stan Mosley'?

SM: My first record was "Standing Tall" on my own label Stand Up Records. That was in 1995. It was a really good record. I ended up giving it to James Butler who re-released it on Butler Records. It got a little attention. A turntable hit, ya know?

BC: You were then signed by Malaco? What was the road like to get there?

SM: I got lucky with the opportunity to sign with Malaco. It wasn't a good experience in terms of getting work or having my music promoted, Tommy Couch Jr and I didn't see eye to eye on anything. I didn't want to be there. If you listen to the music that was recorded at Malaco you'll see that it was just as good if not better than the other things that were promoted, unfortunately for me I had no support at all, but I have no regrets about the experience.

BC: Those three records you did ("Soul Singer", "Souled Out" & "Do Right") are all terrific in my estimation. The production was immaculate. What was it like working with Frederick Knight on "Souled Out"?

SM: Fantastic. He did "Anybody Seen My Boo", "I Just Want To Thank You" and "I'm Not The Man I Used To Be". Rich Cason too- he's one of the greatest producers I've worked with

BC: Like me are you surprised those records weren't bigger hits? I think "You Bring Out The Dog In Me" from "Do Right" was a monster jam.

SM: You know I didn't really like that song. I just didn't care for my vocals. I think I could've did it better but everything's rush rush rush with Malaco- get it out there quick. I felt like they didn't want me to succeed.  Let me tell you a little story. You remember "Sugar Daddy"?

BC: By Tyrone Davis?

SM: Yep. I originally recorded that song and it was better than Tyrone's. Nothing against Tyrone. He was actually sick when he cut it. They removed my vocals and had Tyrone sing over it. They said they'd make more money with Tyrone.

BC: So your version is still in the can?

SM: Oh, sure it is. They got a whole bunch in the can. My best Malaco stuff hasn't even been released.

BC: How did you end up on Mardi Gras?

SM: I had to get out of that contract with Malaco. I had enough. My manager got me an unconditional release and Floyd Hamberlin and I finished "Good Stuff". But you know what- the music that was released wasn't as good as the original album.

BC: What happened?

SM: I signed with them but being at Mardi Gras was almost a ghost type situation. I never met Warren Hildebrand (Mardi Gras) owner. To this date I don't even know what he looks like. Senator Jones wanted me to come up to his house in Bolton, Mississippi to redo it because he wanted to be listed as producer. Why? He wanted money of course.

BC: You weren't happy with "Good Stuff"?

Stan: It sucked. Senator Jones ruined it. I'd like to someday release the original version I did with Floyd. Senator replaced my backing vocals and the album stunk up the place. "Good Stuff", "Rockin' Slide" and "Til The Cops Come Knockin'" did pretty good, though

BC: You've been through a lot in this business. What advice would you give a newbie trying to break in?

Stan: Know who and what you are, working on and at your craft, being prepared when opportunity presents itself.

BC: I noticed on the new "Steppin' Out" you had a lot to do with writing the songs this time?

SM: Yeah, I wrote everything but the gospel track, "God Is Alive", "Dance Floor" and "You're Gonna Make Me Cheat".

BC: The disc has got serious hit potential. In my review I said they're "smooth like 50-year-old scotch". But, is it hard to get music out there without a big label?

SM: Its a little more difficult to do things on an independent level but its gratifying to know that for those that want to hear my music they still can, and I still work frequently. The stuff on Malaco is really good but I think this is my best work. I'm really excited about this album.

BC: "Let's Fall In Love Again", 'God Is Alive" and "I Want You" caught my attention.  What songs mean the most to you as a person on "Steppin Out"?

SM: All of them mean a lot, however being a person of faith "God Is Alive" has a more profound impact on and in my life. But we are sending out the whole album to radio. So people can play whatever they like. People like different things. I just want them to play it.

BC: I think "God Is Alive" is simply stunning. Are you a religious man? What are your views on the whole "Intelligent Design" vs. "evolution" debate?

Stan: No I'm not "religious", I'm a Christian, that should answer both questions!

BC: Obviously as a singer I think you're head and shoulders above most out there but haven't gotten your props, so how do you feel about the state of soul music in general today? How about "Southern Soul"?

SM: The state of soul music today is sad because radio isn't as supportive of such a rich and incredible tradition, there are some wonderful artists out there. The term "Southern Soul" is something I can't understand. We don't get airplay except in the south. The song takes off in the nightclubs. But "Southern Soul" or whatever label people put on it- it's all the same. Soul music. There's really only two types of music- good and bad (laughs).

BC: What are the promotional plans for "Steppin Out"?

Stan: Team Airplay- Mike Austin, that says it all!

BC: I understand you also have your own nightclub?

Stan: That's right. "The New Club Paradise" at 4300 West Chermack in Chicago, Il. We've had a lot of great acts play there. Theodis Ealey, Otis Clay, Cicero Blake. It's doing really good.

BC: What have been some of your happiest moments in life?

Stan: My relationship with My Creator, sharing the gift He's given me, being able to survive even while being attacked, being at peace with who I am.

BC: As an artist what do you most want to convey to your audience?

Stan: Camaraderie, Warmth, Excitement, Pleasure, Satisfaction, Sincerity.

BC: What are some of your pet peaves?

Stan: Deceitfulness!

BC: I understand you're already working on the followup to this CD? Can you give us a few teasers on what to expect?

Stan: Lets just say that you haven't seen nor heard the best of Stan Mosley, get ready world "Ain't No Stoppin Now" thought I'd borrow that line from McFadden & Whitehead, its very relevant in my life.

stanmosleypromo1.jpg 

"Steppin' Out" (Double Duo 2006)

**** I've said repeatedly that Stan Mosley is one of the artists to watch in the new era of Southern Soul & Blues. Now that legends like Tyrone Davis, Johnnie Taylor & Little Milton have left us the genre needs some artists to grab the baton and run. Since Bobby Womack seems content to make sporadic appearances and collect fat checks, I'm starting to believe we may not need him. Why? Because we got Stan Mosley. Blessed with a gritty soul voice reminiscent of Wilson Pickett and Mr. Womack himself, Mosley has already released some of the finest soul sides of the last decade with Malaco Records ("Why Can't You Love Me", "Anybody Seen My Boo", "Kiss And Tell"), but various circumstances not to be discussed here have stunted the growth of his career. Well, phase two has begun and Mosley is poised to lead the pack. The 10-track opus "Steppin' Out" is a befitting showcase for his skills. Earl Powell (Public Announcement) is on board to produce 7 tracks like the sublime "Let's Fall In Love", featuring a laidback flow as smooth as fifty year-old scotch. To Stan's credit, he doesn't overpower the melody despite his potent tone. Instead he shows tasteful restraint that guarantees radio play in various formats. Meanwhile, the brooding " I Want You" is gracing radio with it's insidious creepin' groove and Stan's rasping roar. Powell's arrangement is immaculate. Piano, organ, percussion and sharp backing vocals (Theresa Davis & Diane Madison). A masterpiece. Powell is also responsible for the sexy "This Love Has Power" (definitely make-out music), the lovely "Can We Work It Out", plus two dancers, "Dance Floor" and Floyd Hamberlin's "You Gonna Make Me Cheat". The latter features Hamberlin's unmistakable programming. Mosley, who co-wrote 7 cuts on "Steppin' Out", is also credited with turning the knobs on three tracks. Most notable is the contemporary R & B "Together 4 Ever" featuring a terrific sax solo by Jerry Winston. This track, along with "Give me A Chance" and "Thank U" date back to Mosley's first album, the obscure "Standing Tall". After 9 tracks of silky soul serenades I'm already satisfied. But then comes the stunning gospel-inflected "God Is Alive". Stan is a Soul Man, folks.

Copyright 2006 by Dylann DeAnna/Blues Critic Media. All rights reserved.

 For Stan Mosley Discography

 

Interview with THEODIS EALEY

 

Sometimes no matter how much great work an artist produces there's one piece that just bursts thru the stratosphere and impacts an audience to the point that artist and the work become irreducible in the minds of folks. For Mr. Theodis Ealey that piece is "Stand Up In It". A good ole Southern Soul song with a cheeky message that's become one of the biggest hits to come out of the famed "chitlin' circuit" in the modern era. In fact it's revitalized the Southern Soul genre with countless response songs and ripoffs. But the truth is, it's not even close to the "Stand Up In It" Man's best work. Ealey is a terrific Blues guitarist and songwriter with an old school wit that defines the soul of the South.

Ealey was born 1947 in Natchez Mississippi into a musical family. He first picked up an instrument when his older brother Y Z Ealey first taught him how to play at the age of 4. Ten years later, Theodis on bass was playing at his first gig with brothers Y Z and Melwin Ealey in a group called Y Z Ealey and the Merrymakers. This brotherly trio made their debut in their hometown of Natchez at a local nightclub called Horseshoe Circle. One year later, Theodis traded his bass for a guitar and began performing with another Natchez group, Eugene Butler & the Rocking Royals.

Prior to his signing with Atlantas's Ichiban Records in 1991, Ealey's recording career consisted of scattered 45s. His first recording was a holiday tune called "A Christmas Wish" on Banshee Records. Ealey later found out the word Banshee refers to a figure related to occult mythology. "Isn't that ironic? I did a Christmas song for a label called Banshee Records!" Years later Ealey backed Little Richard's sax player Bill Hemmins and worked with producer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell for Chelan Records. The 45 was titled "Deepest Sympathy/Peace Of Mind is Hard To Find". Bill Parker recorded Ealey for his Optune label for the single "I Don't Wannna Talk About It/Was It Me?"

The first full length came in 1991, "Headed Back To Hurtsville", which was followed by three more LP's for Ichiban before Ealey started his own label IFGAM Records- an acronym meaning "I Feel Good About Myself". The acclaimed but commercially-ignored "It's A Real Good Thang" dropped in 2002.  Things changed drastically for Ealey in 2004 when a single called "Stand Up In It" began picking up steam in the Deep South. Despite it's risqué subject matter, the single became a runaway smash, reaching #68 on Billboard's Hot R & B/Hip Hop Tracks (#1 on the sale chart) and the resulting album managed #54 on the R & B Albums chart- a rare feat for a Southern Bluesman. A rash of answer songs and copies followed throughout the South as the cut still remains a classic. Ealey's credits also include work in the NBC Movie of the Week "A Kiss To Die For," which starred Mimi Rogers and Tim Matheson. Ealey appeared in a nightclub scene that featured two of his songs “Headed Back To Hurtsville” and “Lil’ Brown Eyes”.  Further instrumental credits include the Emmy-winning HBO special "Miss Evers' Boys”, where Lawrence Fishburne mimicked Ealey's guitar playing. Ealey & his band also make a brief cameo in the movie. The Standup In It Man also had a role in the major motion picture "The Fighting Temptations," appeared in commercials for Rooms To Go and the Cartoon Network and did some bona fide acting in a stage play called "Spunk".

He followed up "Stand Up In It" with lesser hits like "Move With The Motion", "Let Me Put The Head In It" and "Francine" but is now preparing to release his followup LP, "I'm The Man You Need", in November 2006. BluesCritic.com took the opportunity to interview Ealey, who was still recovering from recent heart surgery.

Despite his success and the risqué subject matter of some of his popular songs Theodis is a humble man, dedicated to his family and has strong religious conviction.

Theodis after surgery  click pic to enlarge


INTERVIEW with Theodis

BC = Blues Critic

Theodis = Theodis Ealey

BC = How you feeling? I know you had surgery recently.

Theodis = I'm feeling real good, thanks for asking. (Editor's note: Theodis had triple bypass surgery). I just went in for my annual checkup and my doctor referred me to a cardiologist for a stress test. When I got home that night they called me and said the stress test showed I wasn't getting enough oxygen to a certain portion of my heart so I had to go back and have a catheterization. I knew from my past experience they would have to do an angioplasty atleast.

BC = I heard you stopped by the studio to finish your new album on your way to the hospital!

Theodis = (laughs) Well, that's 'cuz when I was going in I didn't know if I was coming out! But actually it was the night before I arranged with Bruce Billups, my producer, to record three songs and get everything done I needed to do. So my wife would have something just in case.

BC = Man, you must've been nervous the night before surgery. Even with all that anxiety you still pounded those last few tracks out?!

Theodis = Well, I wasn't really that nervous, you know. It's like the old folks say: "I just put it in the hands of the Lord, thy will be done."

 "Stand Up In It" Theodis Ealey "Stand Up In It"

BC = Now of course everyone wants to know about "Stand Up In It". It was such a monster hit. Even though you've had many great songs how does it feel to be known as the "Stand Up In It Man"?

Theodis = Well, you know it feels great! I worked my whole life trying to get some kind of identity in the business. I'd be playing in these small clubs in what's called the "Blues circuit" playing my guitar in Caucasian establishments. I found I wasn't getting work as a black Blues artist. I'm not racist I'm just saying. They weren't booking too many black acts. Folks like Bob Margolin were getting the gigs, folks who used to play with Muddy Waters and those people cuz you need something to write about. Plus they would always be talking about Stevie Ray Vaughan. I would tell them I've been playing this way before anyone heard of Stevie Ray Vaughan so I had to get my own identity instead of being another Stevie Ray clone. Now Stevie's one of the greatest players I've ever heard but Stevie was an Albert King clone to me. But you gotta give thanks to Stevie for bringing the Blues to the white or Caucasian audience. So "Stand Up In It" gave me my own identity. I don't consider myself a strictly Blues player. I don't limit myself to just 12-bar Blues. While on Ichiban I was trying to get noticed in the chitlin' circuit, trying to get the black audience to notice me and they finally did. That was one thing I felt good about and was a blessing to me about "Stand Up In It". For the last years of their lives I got to tour with two of my heroes, Little Milton Campbell and Tyrone Davis. There was a time when they wouldn't even let me on their bus but now I was having a drink with them on their bus, you know what I'm saying?

BC = What do you think of all these answer songs to "Stand Up In It"? You got "Make It Talk" by Dr. Feelgood Potts, that Chuck Strong song. There's Marvin Sease's "Sit Down On It", Denise Lasalle's "Snap Crackle & Pop" and the list goes on...

Theodis = Well, I thought nothing of it. As a matter of fact when "Make It Talk" came out I was like, "Well that's Ecko and they're always tappin' into other people's ideas. Just like the label name 'Ecko' they're just echoing other people's songs. But when legends of black Blues, so-called Southern Soul.. I just call it good ole Soul music... But for legends like Marvin Sease and Denise LaSalle to do it I was flattered. Denise even called me by my name you know. These are some of my idols so like the old folks say, I took it as a feather in my cap. But everybody kept on doing it and folks would say, "Theodis, you gonna let them get away with it?!" (laughs). So on the new album I have a song called "Sumpin Sumpin" that's answering all of them. My comeback! You know everybody's going around saying that I said "what women really want" but I didn't say it. I said the little old lady told me that women want you to 'stand up in it'. I'm just the messenger you know what I'm saying. I never said I know what a woman wants...because who knows what a woman wants? What man do? (laughs) Now I've known maybe two or three men where it seemed the women go crazy over them. But they never told me what they did...but the little old lady did (laughs).

theodisheaded.jpg

BC = Now "Stand Up In It" was based on an earlier song of yours, "I'm The Man You Need", which is also the title of your new record. How did you get this stroke of genius to redo the song?

Theodis = What happened was, the way "I'm The Man You Need" came to be. Raymond Moore came to me with the words and I put the bassline, the music on the track. It was on the album "Headed Back To Hurstville" and I was with Ichiban and they really didn't do much promotion in the South, you know Southern Soul. But I'm from Natchez and everybody who heard "I'm The Man You Need" went nuts for it but it just went by the wayside. So when I got to writing "Stand Up In It" I collaborated with a good friend El' Willie. He wrote a lot of the lyrics but he likes to take credit for the whole thing (laughs) but that's alright. I wrote the music and some of the lyrics. He's an excellent writer so I got him to help me to finish it up and told him we were gonna use the music from "I'm The Man You Need". So I felt people would like it but that part about "licking" and all that the radio didn't wanna play so I did the other version where I said "squeeze it" and so on.

 

BC = I noticed you're also giving back and showing props to your family. You're putting out albums on your older brothers YZ and Bubba?

Theodis = Yes I am. You know YZ taught me how to play guitar. Him and Chuck Berry are what you could call childhood idols, if there's such thing as an idol other than Christ. But if people ask me who my idol is it's Christ. But YZ taught me how to play my first chords and I played bass in his band. Now Bubba, he's the oldest brother. He sounds like Lightnin' Hopkins. That's his style, Delta Blues.

 

BC = So your current hit song, "Francine", was originally "Let Me Put The Head In It".

Theodis = Yeah that was Bruce's idea. I guess "Let Me Put The Head In It" was considered more nasty than "Stand Up In It" you know, and I didn't understand that really. So Bruce came up with the idea to change it from "Let Me Put The Head In It". In fact I was talking to Mel Waiters and he said I should say, "Let me put my love in it". (laughs) My wife said I was basically saying the same thing. So Bruce put Lebrado on it singing "let me love you baby"

(editor's note. The song "Francine" only appears on the Bruce Billups Productions "Southern Soul/Urban Mix CD")

BC = So I'm sure people want to know. Ummm, is "Francine" a true story? Was there really a "Francine"?

Theodis = (laughs) I ain't tellin'! You can tell 'em I don't kiss and tell. That's my official answer.

BC = Other than "Sumpin' Sumpin'" what else can you tell us about songs on the new CD, "I'm The Man You Need"? I heard there's a remix of "Stand Up In It" and a duet with Lebrado.

Theodis = There's a Bruce Billups remix on Stand Up In It" with a Hip Hop flavor. I did a duet with Lebrado on a Christmas song. Like I said the album starts off with "Sumpin' Sumpin'" that is about setting the record straight. That I'm not saying I know what women want but that I'm just the messenger. The second song has sexual overtones called "Pop That Middle". It's not X-rated so they can play it on the radio. It's a club song. "Please Let Me In" is the first single. Bruce and I wanted to do something that didn't have anything to do with "goonie goonie goonie" (laughs). It's about a man being kicked out 'cuz he messed up and trying to get back in. It's a real good song.

BC = There's a version of "I'm The Man You Need" on the album. Is that the same as the old version?

Theodis = No it's a brand new version. There's a brand new version of the Blues "Looking Up At The Bottom" too.

BC = One of the most interesting things here is the "Let's Get It On" medley.

Theodis = Yeah, what happened was I'd do "Let's Get It On" in the clubs and then go into Freddie Jackson's "Rock Me Tonight" 'cuz the music was kinda similar. Then I'd do a little of "Sexual Healing" before going back to "Let's Get It On" and as I was doing it people would come and ask me if it was on the album so I decided to put it on the new one. It's gonna be the second single. I did it just like I've been doing it in my shows for years.

BC = How do you feel about it as a whole?

Theodis = I'm really proud of the album. I know some folks will give me flak about some of it but I think it's my very best album. I would even play it for president Nixon, I mean Bush (laughs).

Ealey Family Photos (click pics to enlarge)

  

      

Picture 1 Theodis & lovely wife Linda Picture 2 –  Chef Theodis! Picture 3 Theodis with family at daughter, Edna’s, graduation (this was her college graduation and the family members are Linda, his son-in-law, Miguel, Talia 17, Miguel 15 and Gustavo 13, the grandkids and friends) ; Picture 4 – Theo, Theodis and Edna (this is Theodis and his son, Theodis and daughter, Edna in California) Picture 5 Linda & grandchildren Torrence, Alana Picture 6 – Theodis, Jean and Charley (Jean is Linda's sister, Theodis’ one and only favorite sister-in-law and her son, our nephew, Charley, whom Theodis refers to as “good time Charley”); Picture 7 Aunt Joyce, Uncle Theodis and niece Michelle at a gig Picture 8 Linda and their son Marcel and daughter Tamara

 "I'm The Man You Need" (Ifgam 2006) LISTEN

*** 1/2 "Stand Up In It" energized the Southern Soul market. That colossal smash was a much needed commercial breakthrough for the genre (#1 on Billboard's R & B Singles Sales Chart) and has become no little source of inspiration for the countless answer songs that have followed. The Stand Up In It man is now back to set the record straight on the monumental issue- the universal question- the unparalleled mystery- the sacred secret (okay, too far)- of what women really want in the sack.

On the cheeky opener "Sumpin' Sumpin'" he explains that he was only the messenger delivering a message the "little old lady" had given him. The cut's an inevitable concession to the endless parade of risqué sex songs popular on the circuit. He even nicks the bridge from a classic ("Candy Licker") by the godfather of sex songs Marvin Sease. I can't wait to hear the next chapter in the saga. Whatever the case, it's an upbeat ditty as is track 2, "Pop That Middle", one of those catchy keyboard-driven dancers Theodis and co-producer Bruce Billups are now known for (think "Francine", "Move With the Motion", Willie Hill's "Man On A Mission", Lebrado's "I'm Missin' U Babe"). This gives way to the first single, a sugary sweet Tyrone Davis-inspired Soul pleader called "Please Let Me In", which cleverly inverts the hook on Davis' own "Let Me Back In". Hitsville. The next couple tracks are a surprise but for different reasons. Those who've followed Ealey's career from the beginning know "Stand Up In It" was based on the music of an earlier song of his, "I'm The Man You Need". Well, now "Man You Need" is back in a newly recorded version (thus, the title track of this record) while it's cousin "Stand Up In It" returns as a remix without that same backing music! Call it a Hip Hop version. Another surprise is Ealey doing Marvin Gaye. Gaye's own "Let's Get It On" is perfect. The aching voice, the backing, the arrangement- perfect. You simply can't improve upon it so why is Ealey covering this song? Because he can and because it's been a concert staple of his for years. Besides, "Let's Get It On (Medley)" is quite good in it's own right. Ealey intersplices it with Freddie Jackson's "Rock Me Tonight" and a little of Gaye's "Sexual Healing".

While "I'm The Man You Need" is mostly Soul/R & B, Ealey hasn't abandoned the Blues as he lays down a definitive version of his slow Blues "Looking Up At The Bottom" and includes an instrumental "Theo's Groove" (from the album "It's A Real Good Thang"). As a bonus there's a stripped-down holiday song, a duet with Lebrado, called "The Reason For The Season". And there you have it- a blockbuster sequel.

Interview with Karen Wolfe

Denise LaSalle is the Queen Of Soul/Blues music so there's nothing like learning the ropes from the Queen herself and that's what this exceptionally strong singer has done on her debut, "First Time Out". After spending the majority of her life singing Gospel Karen Wolfe backed the Queen for years both on the road and in the studio and has matured to be her own frontwoman.

Karen was born August 14th 1959 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Her career began when she was fifteen, singing in a Gospel quartet called "The Harmonettes". This aggregation recorded a CD entitled "Stop By Here". They changed their name to Direction and cut a second CD, "God Don't Make Mistakes". Soon after the group disbanded and Karen, recently married to a relative of Denise LaSalle, began singing with Lasalle's group commencing in 1997. LaSalle's road manager Anna Neal-Chow and her husband Bill Coday decided to sponsor Wolfe on the newly formed label, B & J Records and she's already making noise with her firs single "Back Door Love Affair"

Blues Critic Online took the opportunity to interview the upstart soon after the record's release.

The Interview

BC = Blues Critic

Karen = Karen Wolfe

Karen Wolfe "first Time Out"

BC = Your New CD is called "First Time Out" and I guess that's self-explanatory but you've been performing for years, right?

Karen = Yeah I have. I have been with Denise LaSalle with for ten years now and Gospel. I've done background vocals on Denise albums too.

BC = Speaking Of Denise. It appears she wrote a couple songs for your new album ("Unlovable Habits", "What Kind Of Man Is This"). But you wrote "Grown Ass Man". So, what's the motivation for that?

Karen = (Laughs). Well, Actually there was not a big motivation for that. Just needing material for the album and I thought about us women so I had to have something for us women. I know women would relate to this whether it be mothers, wives or girlfriends they would relate since this world is like 98% women (laughs).

BC = And have you noticed a response?

Karen = Yeah I've had a very good response. That particular song has gotten a very good response. The whole CD has got great reviews. Better than I expected. I am my own worst critic and actually it's turned out better than I had imagined.

BC = The liner notes says "all music by James Jackson".

Karen = Yeah that is my producer and he also the keyboardist for Denise. I guess he's been with her for quite a while now.

BC = How old were you when you got the music bug?

 Karen at 22 with daughter

Karen = When I was about fifteen. My father sings and I used to follow him around. he sang Gospel and I started my own Gospel group. me and my sister had a quartet. I did Gospel for 28 years. But singing for Denise got me thinking 'I could do this and you know I like singing. It's like Dr. Jekyl and Ms. Hyde when you're on stage.

BC = The track that seems to be jumping out is "Backdoor Love Affair"

Karen = That one is requested a lot. James Smith, who wrote "Plumber Man" and other songs wrote that one and the Denise songs she also cut for her own CD and I asked her to do those songs.

(editor's note: "Unlovable Habits" and "What Kind Of Man Is This" first appeared on LaSalle's "This Real Woman" album)

BC = So when you were performing those songs about "unlovable habits" in the studio was there any man you were thinking of?

Karen = (laughs) Ummm..I'm gonna stay on the safe side!

BC = What are your plans now?

Karen = I'm looking forward to going on the road and do gigs. You know just enjoying myself. Taking this CD to it's highest potential. I love the road. And my producer called the other day and we're already gonna go back in the studio and work on the next one.

CD REVIEW

Karen Wolfe "First Time Out" (B & J) LISTEN 

*** The Southern Soul Blues realm has no shortage of tough talking disciples of the Queen Of Soul Blues, Denise LaSalle, but some just do it better than others. This now includes Wolfe, who's blessed with a fantastic, meaty voice just like her mentor.

Female Blues singers, especially since Koko Taylor, have struck a pose of sexual liberation from cultural norms and "equal opportunity" for the sexes. She may want to get down with you but don't even think of walking all over her. That stance is best exhibited in the defiant, self-penned "Grown Ass Man". A buoyant shuffle bumper where Ms. Wolfe lets her man know he can pick up his own clothes 'cuz "I ain't your maid" and she's not in the business of raising a "grown ass man", a job normally reserved by a mother. "If you're gonna keep causing drama you can go on home to your mama!". You can be sure gals across the Chitlin' Circuit will be applauding. Wolfe also wrote the uplifting "Broken Hearts Don't Last" and the contemporary R & B jam "Confusion", which also appears as a remix.

Interestingly, two LaSalle covers seem to contradict that Homey-don't-play vibe of "Grown". "Unlovable Habits" has a lover comparing her tolerance of the man's less attractive "invisible" side to what a new woman might put up with, while "What Kind Of Man Is This" is told from the viewpoint of a co-dependent woman who loves her man despite his unlovable habits. "I know he's no good but I love him to the end of time....because living without this man is my greatest fear". Considering that LaSalle is the main purveyor of sassy Blues it's intriguing to hear her write from a foreign perspective. Whatever the case, these are two great songs and two great performances by Wolfe.

For a "First Time Out" this disc is a dynamite showcase that will shoot Wolfe to the upper echelon of female Soul Blues singers. The disc, produced by James Jackson, would easily garner a higher rating had a couple more tracks been added. As it is there's seven songs, 1 remix and 1 "Special Thanks" track, an admirable endeavor but better left to the liner notes. Highly recommended.

 

Interview with Bill Coday

Bill Coday Headshot

"People let me take you down to the Chitlin' Circuit. Pulling out of Jackson/Heading to Mobile/Gonna stop in Baton Rouge/Then it's on to Greenville/DJs playin' my music on the radio/And when I come to town everybody want to see the Bill Coday show/On the Chitlin' Circuit/Everybody's having a ball/Playing another hole in the wall."

Those lyrics are taken from Bill Coday's song "On The Chitlin' Circuit" (click to listen) that references that famed part of the Deep South where modern Southern Soul Blues still lives and Bill Coday is a legend.

Born May 10, 1942, in Coldwater, Mississippi, Coday, the second of twelve children, was brought up in rural Arkansas with a strong religious Baptist background. Like many other great R&B singers, Bill was brought up singing gospel in church choirs and local quartets. Soon he crossed over to the Blues and began performing in juke joints around Blytheville, AK, with a band that included blues guitarist Son Seals Jr. He moved to Chicago in 1961 was spotted by Denise LaSalle while he was performing at the Black Orchid club. "Denise and her former husband, Bill Jones, owned Crajon Records. They signed me to their label, changing my name from "Chicago Willie" to "Bill Coday."

Bill Coday CrajonLaSalle teamed Coday with Memphis soul icon Willie Mitchell (co-architect of the Al Green/Hi Records sound). Coday's first singles for Crajon Productions were "Sixty Minute Teaser" and "I Get High on Your Love". "They did fairly well, but it was the next record that would launch my career in the R&B field". That next singlewas "Get Your Lies Straight," that put Coday on the map when he charted at #14 on the R&B charts in 1971. The follow up single was leased to Galaxy Records and "When You Find a Fool, Bump His Head," (a LaSalle composition) reached #48 R&B in summer 1971.

Bill Coday Epic 45 In 1973 Coday was signed to Epic Records, resulting in the minor hit "I'm Back To Collect" and a couple other singles including "A Man Ain't A Man" & "I Don't Want To Play The Game". Following this brief alliance Bill's recording days pretty much dried up for the next two decades. He still made a living on the road and "may have recorded in Muscle Shoals" in the late 70s (Bill doesn't remember). He was also briefly affiliated with Phil Walden, founder of Capricorn Records but they didn't see eye to eye so Bill parted ways and went back on the road. In 1984 it was LaSalle again that jump started Bill's career, hiring him as an opening act which eventually led to a recording contact with Ecko Records. So finally in 1995 Coday's second full length recording (if you count a 1978 collection of Crajon singles) was released and quickly became a hit on the "Chitlin' Circuit" with such colorful songs like "Her Love Is Good Enough To Put In Collard Greens" & "Dr. Thrillgood". The set also included and update of is signature hit, "Get Your Lies Straight". Five more CDs followed for Ecko until he decided to start his own record label, B & J Records, with partner James Wolfe. His first release was "Jump Start".

 

The Interview

BC = Blues Critic

Bill Coday = Bill Coday

Bill Coday Denise LaSalle Photo courtesy of Chittlin' Circuit Magazine

BC = Recently you received an award at the Jus' Blues show called Denise LaSalle's Recording Award. What is that about?

Bill Coday = You know I was surprised when they did that for me in Atlanta. They called me to come perform couple songs from my new CD but when I got there when they started giving out awards they called my name and I was like, "No they didn't!". A lot of times people are given awards after they're dead and gone but now they trying to give them their props while they still alive.

BC = Yeah, that reminds of a song Billy "Soul" Bonds' new CD which has a song called "Give Them Their Flowers" that basically says to do so while they're still alive.

Bill Coday = Yeah. I saw Billy not too long ago at the Black Music Awards in Jackson, Mississippi. I know Billy from way back.

Bill Coday live in the 50s Bill in the 50s

BC = You started singing back in the 50s but your first single, "Sixty Minute Teaser", came out on a label called Crajon in the 60s, right?

BillCoday = I started singing as a teenager. When I was 16 or 17 years old I sang with Son Seals Jr. But yeah I recorded for Crajon Records out of Chicago. Willie Mitchell produced me and he did everything I did back in the early 60s. I left Chicago and went to his Memphis studio and he did a great job with us and that's where I got started at.

BC = "I Got High On Your Love" was your first regional hit. Of course "Get Your Lies Straight" was your signature...

Bill Coday = Yeah that was the signature- that got me out there. That song stayed in the Top 100 for six months and had me working like crazy man. I was so busy I had to fly everywhere I went. You know people see me: "Hey Bill Coday..Get Your Lies Straight" (laughs). That's what people remember me for.

(editor's note" "Get Your Lies Straight" reached #14 on Billboard's National Top 100 Black Singles Chart in 1971)

BC = Now soon there'll be a record coming out with all the Crajon material on Denise LaSalle's label?

Bill Coday Crajon CD

Bill Coday = Yeah Denise, she wrote "When You Find A Fool Bump His Head" for me yeah. She's planning on putting "The Best Of Bill Coday" out. She went back and got all these songs I had from back in the day: "Handy Man", "Sixty Minute Teaser", I wrote one of those songs, "You Gonna Want Me Back". Some of the stuff on there man I forgot I recorded. She's working on it now.

BC = Now there was a Crajon compilation out before but this new one has some tracks that's never been released?

Bill Coday = Yeah we got some stuff on there that's never been released. Just some stuff that was on the self. When I went to Holland with her I saw this album of mine that had all those Crajon tracks. It had a picture and everything. They really received me well out there. (Editor's note: "Bill Coday" was released in 1978 on Crajon was a collection of 10 tracks. It was briefly available on CD overseas in the 90s). As a matter of fact that's how I got with Ecko Records. There's a guy, David Porter, from England who saw me out there and he saw me do a show in Memphis at B.B. King's place. And he got in touch with Ecko Records and said "I heard you was looking for somebody. How about this guy who used to sing with Denise LaSalle. I don't think he's got a contact with anybody". And that's how I got with John Ward.

BC = That was in 1995. But there was a period from about to 1975 until then where you didn't do much recording.

Bill Coday = Yeah after Epic released a few singles on me like "I'm Back To Collect" I didn't do much in the studio but I was still working quite a bit on my name. I was living in Georgia at the time. I was with another company for awhile there but I found out what kind of people they was. It was Red Walden out of Macon, Georgia. Otis Redding and Phil Walden who had this label but when I found out what kind of person Phil was I got out of there and went back to Memphis to spend time with my folks. When Denise found out I moved back to Memphis she called 'cuz she needed somebody to open up some shows for her and we were together for about 11 years throughout the 80s.

BC = Yes Those Epic songs showed a funkier side of you. What artists influenced you growing up?

Bill Coday = Well , Johnnie (Taylor) used to be my idol. I was versatile- I could sing anybody's stuff but when Johnnie do I show I loved it. Then James Brown-I used to save every penny I could get to see his show. I used to wear my hair like him, wear my clothes like him and even dancin' like the guy. You know, doin' all those splits and stuff as part of my show. I'm still dancing but there's no more splits. I think if I did the splits someone be saying: "He's fallen down and can't get up!" (laughs)

BC = Speaking of Johnnie Taylor, you've actually done two tribute songs to him since his passing. "We're Gonna Miss You (Johnnie)" (click to listen) from "Memories" and "If Johnnie We're Here Today" from "Take Me") Did you approach Ecko about doing those songs?

Bill Coday = No as a matter of fact when I did that "We're Gonna Miss You (Johnnie)". I was out of pocket and John Ward my producer was looking for me 'cuz I didn't know Johnnie had passed. I think I was fishing or something and he wanted to cut a song so we could be the first one to do a song as a tribute to Johnnie. I hadn't ever heard the song so I went to the studio and we cut that song the same day! And then Denise called and we went on to Dallas. The first day they had a viewing of the body and the next day was the funeral. And I went in the church to see the body again and somebody was calling me on my cell phone so I went back out the church and it was WDIA (radio station) calling me out of Memphis and asked me how the funeral was going. Then they told me: "we got this CD of "We're Gonna Miss You (Johnnie)" and we're gonna start playing it on the air", and I was like, "What?!". Now I cut that song on a Sunday and by Tuesday it was ready to go! Johnnie wasn't even in the ground and they were playing that song already.

Bill Coday Sneakin' Back

BC = Which of your five CDs for Ecko Records was the definitive Bill Coday?

Bill Coday = Well there's a lot of songs I like. I have to say the first one, "Sneakin' Back", 'cuz it has "Get Your Lies Straight", "Your Love is Good Enough To Put On Collard Greens". That was pretty much of my favorite songs when I was on Ecko.

Bill Coday Jump Start

BC = Your new CD "Jump Start" was released on your own label. Who are the "B & J" of B & J Records?

Bill Coday = Me and Joe Hudson my business partner. We've been at it for about a year now. We're still learning. Simeo (Overall) produced that record and radio's still playing the songs. I'm getting ready to back in the studio and work on my new album. I think I'm going with James Jackson. He's the one did Karen's (Wolfe) album. We got some really good writers like James Smith and I'm feeling really good about it. We're just getting our feet wet.

BC = I'm sure it's more difficult getting your music out there as an independent. You're very positive about the experience. What has kept you from getting bitter about the business through the years? What makes you a soul survivor?

Bill Coday = The motivation is I like what I do. I like entertaining people. If I could go and do a show and somebody comes in feeling bad and they go out feeling pretty good I feel I did some justice. I love to sing. I've had more downs and ups you know but I just keep going. I got some people who are pushing for me like Denise or Willie Clayton to get me back out there and do it again. I want to help other people now too like Karen Wolfe and maybe take some more people into the label.

Interview with

Preston Shannon

In 1999 Memphis Bluesman Preston Shannon was in the running for three Grammy nominations stemming from his third record "All In Time", which was produced by Willie Mitchell. Quite a feat for an authentic Soul Blues singer these days. It looked like Shannon could possibly crossover into the coveted B.B. King-Thrill-Is-Gone/Robert Cray-Smoking-Gun mainstream success echelon. Then something remarkable happened...nothing. There was no follow up record to keep momentum. The iron grew cold. Shannon kept playing, ever solidifying his musical prowess on the Memphis concert scene (named "Entertainer of the Year" countless times by the Beale Street Merchants Association) but no further recordings until now. Finally Preston is back with another superb dose of authentic Soul/Blues- the kind that can only come from the famed Beale Street. Many may have quit the music business due to the obvious inequity but not Shannon- it's too much a part of him.

Blessed with a raspy Bobby Womack-like voice and able guitar fingers, Preston was originally born in Olive Branch, Mississippi. Shannon's family moved to Memphis when he was eight. Shannon cut his teeth with a local bar band called Amnesty, followed by other Memphis-area bands while working days at a hardware company. But he became a full time musician when he scored a spot in Soul great Shirley Brown's band. It wasn't until 1991 that he put together his own band and began playing the clubs on Beale Street and other hot spots. In the early 1990s, he was discovered playing a blues club by producer Ron Levy who brought Shannon to Rounder Records. "Break The Ice" came in 1994 featuring the Memphis Horns and it made certain the live magic of Shannon's show carried over to the studio. Next Shannon was fitted with legendary Hi Records producer Willie Mitchell (Al Green, Otis Clay) and delivered one of the best Soul Blues records of the past 25 years. In fact it is ranked #8 on Blues Critic's "Greatest 100 Soul Blues & Southern Soul Albums 1980-2005". The record was nominated for a Grammy Award. In 1999 came "All In Time", again with Mitchell, and further accolades were heaped upon this new artist- the next big thing? Fast forward through an inexplicable 7 years to his brand new CD "Be With Me Tonight", which picks up right where he left off. Blues Critic took the opportunity to interview Shannon prior to the release date.


The interview: 

BC = Blues Critic

Preston = Preston Shannon

BC: The first question has to be: "where you been?" Your album "All In Time" put you in the running for three Grammy nominations. Why was there no follow up record until now?

Preston: Well, I'm not with Rounder Records anymore. We were suppose to do another record but they were dragging their feet so I got a release in 2001. As far as the Grammy's I was on the first leg in the nomination process. There's several legs leading to the show. I didn't make it to the final leg.

BC: Bullseye Blues was an off shoot of Rounder. Wasn't that Ron Levy's label?

Preston: Yeah, I was playing a club on Beale Street. I was doing my show and he was there. I didn't know nothing about Rounder Records or Ron Levy. Two weeks after that he introduced himself to me and said he liked what I was doing and said he wanted to record me. But I didn't pay attention to that. I'd heard that so much, you know (laughs). But a couple months after that he called me and said he was ready to record me. So I said, "Okay I'm ready to!".

BC: Prior to "Break The Ice" had you recorded before? Any demos?

Preston: That was the first recording for "Preston Shannon". I played with other bands. I was in the group The Memphians for seven years.

BC: Were you the singer?

Preston: No just the guitar player.

BC: Wow! That must not have heard you sing.

Preston: Well, you know I went on the road in 1988 'cuz I had been playing locally with a group called Amnesty but we hadn't done any recordings. I went on the road with Shirley Brown and I played with her until 1991. But being on the road with her she was doing the Chitlin' Circuit, you know. There was Tyrone Davis, Johnnie Taylor, Marvin Sease and I saw the money they were making. It was not a lot of money but it was more than I was making. That was good money for not playing an instrument but just vocalizing. Well, I can sing and play a little guitar so I decided to do my own thing.

BC: Who's idea was it for you to work with Willie Mitchell on "Midnight In Memphis"?

Preston: It was my idea. I was working at his club and told him I needed to do a couple more CDs and asked if he'd produce 'em and he said: "I'd be glad to produce them" and that's all I needed to hear! And you know on those two CDs ("Memphis" & "All In Time") much of the material was written by Willie and some friends he collaborated with.

BC: We just compiled a list of the "100 Greatest Soul Blues & Southern Soul Albums" of the past 25 years and "Midnight In Memphis" was ranked in the Top 10.

Preston: Really? Wow. Thanks. I thought it was well produced album myself but you know how it is. You have a CD it could be the best but if it don't get no airplay...The public has to hear it.

BC: Your next record "All In Time", also produced by Willie Mitchell, was a little more mainstream-minded wouldn't you say?

Preston: Well you know people say I'm a Blues singer and I don't mind. But it's so hard for a Blues artist today to get where I would say B.B. King is. 'Cuz first of all there's no daily format for Blues on radio. The format for Blues is on one particular day. Saturday for eight hours like here in Memphis and that's it until the next weekend. Throughout the week you will hear Blues stars who've been around for a hundred years on some stations but new artists you can only hear once a week.

BC: But of course there's a couple cuts on "All In Time" that could've crossed over to mainstream R & B radio like "Just Between Me And My Woman".

Preston: Definitely so. Because it's not Blues. You know I thought Johnnie Taylor was an R & B artist and Mary J. Blige was a Pop singer.

BC: To me artists like R. Kelly or what have you who make the so-called R & B charts really aren't R & B.

Preston: Right. Some call it Contemporary. Some even call it Hip Hop but I just call it Pop music compared to true R & B like Al Green.

BC: Do you feel the term "Blues" limits your potential, like there's a stigmatism attached?

Preston: Yeah just the name "Blues" itself. But you see Rhythm & Blues there's a different feel to it than Pop or straight Blues but some Blues people feel it's from slavery days...

BC: So you got the legendary Hi Records band, Willie Mitchell producing, Grammy nominations. At that point (1999) you must have thought the next step was going to be through the roof.

Preston: Yeah it could've been like I said, if Rounder promoted it.

BC: What took so long between albums. What were you doing from 2001 when you got your release from Rounder until now?

Preston: Just playing locally, out of town and anywhere we could gig just waiting for an opportunity. Some associates of mine we were talking and they were signed with certain record companies and they're (companies) basically all the same. You got the same thing out of them. I was working with a friend of mine, Chris Cain, he left Blind Pig 'cuz they didn't do anything for them and they're one of the bigger Blues labels

BC: I've heard you're dynamite live. What's your show like?

Preston: There's variety. I do a lot of local stuff and get more gigs that way people come to the club to hear me and say 'can you play my wedding, party, my sorority' ...so I'll do the same material I do at the club which has to include lost of covers, dance songs, people recognize. When I do a festival I'm gonna do mostly Preston Shannon material. Songs from my albums.

BC: So now Clayton McGonigle produced "Be With Me Tonight"?

Preston: I was playing at the Isaac Hayes Music* Food *Passion club four nights a week and a gentleman by the name of James Austin brought Clayton (McGonigle) down to meet me and he said he had a brand new label and he said he wanted to produce me so I said, "Okay, let's get it on!".

BC: I see in the credits someone named Ronnie Godfrey, Kim Morrison-Godfrey, his wife I presume, and others wrote the majority of tracks here and they got you stretching out a bit. While mostly the songs stick to what you're known for- potent Memphis Soul/Blues- but songs like "Luck Ain't No Lady", "Not Tonight, Cause Honey I Got The Blues" they even got you croonin'!

Preston: Yeah, right. I brought out all the things I learned when I was with Willie Mitchell. I think this is one of my best albums vocally.

BC: What song will be pushed to radio first?

Preston: Song by Stacy Mitchhart called "I Might Be Your Husband" that Clayton suggested I do.

BC: Oh yeah that's a burner that could fit in several formats including mainstream Blues-

Preston: You know you can only go to one area really regardless of what CD you do. You notice track 3, "Be With Me Tonight", could go mainstream or Contemporary because it has all the ingredients. Not to mention track 4 "The Way That I Love You" you could even hear that in a doctor's office, grocery store, this CD has the Blues I'm known for but it has potential to branch out into other areas.

BC: Now the last track "No More War" should get some attention. Obviously it was written in reaction to the ongoing Iraq war. You don't have to share you personal feelings but-

Preston: It's fine with me. I heard the track of the song first of all. I thought it would be too political. But people are doing everything these days anyhow so I decided I'm gonna do the song and I think the arrangement is fantastic on this song.

BC: Although the song was written by Godfrey, his wife and James Austin and McGonigle and it doesn't specifically mention Iraq but really is anti-all war period does it express your feelings about the current war?

Preston: Oh yeah definitely so. I was just reading about the war. 14 people got killed just this weekend in the war.

BC: So you don't worry about any backlash?

Preston: No. It probably won't get any airplay anyway (laughs).

BC: Hopefully that's not the case. I want this album to get all the airplay possible. I'm just being selfish I don't want to wait another seven years for the next Preston Shannon record.

Preston: We won't let that happen for sure (laughs)

BC: What has kept you from being bitter about the business and just given up on recording and dealing with record companies?

Preston: Well, I feel like (the title of) my last CD "All In Time", I gotta lot of faith and I believe it's gonna happen in time and I feel my time is here.

 

Preston Shannon "Be With Me Tonight" (Title Tunes) LISTEN

**** Memphis' own Preston Shannon made three of the best Soul/Blues albums of the 90s for Ron Levy's Bullseye Blues label. In fact his 1999 disc "All In Time" help him scoop up three Grammy nominations: "Best Contemporary Blues Artist", "Blues Album Of The Year", and "Best New Artist". Quite a feat for a man doing authentic Memphis Soul Blues. Then something amazing happened. Nothing. That's right despite the accolades there was no follow up to that record. Well, it's 2006 and he's back with another burnin' set of Beale Street Blues n' Soul. This is "organic" music folks. No machines. No fake horns. The real deal. Interestingly it was Country music producer Clayton McGonigle (with Denny Knight) who had the vision of recording this gritty R & B artist for his label Title tunes. McGonigle and former Marshall Tucker band keyboardist Ronnie Godfrey and wife Kim Morrison-Godfrey set Shannon up with a set of original Soul Blues songs. 10 of the 12 were co-written by atleast one of the three. Being that Country music and Deep Soul have a common ancestor it's no surprise they come up with the goods. But first we are hit off with a fabulous R & B pounder written by Stacy Mitchhart. "I Might Be Your Husband" is one of those low down, heavy Soul Blues rollers with horn blasts and Bluesy guitar that this critic absolutely adores. But what really nails it is that gritty Bobby Womack-like voice of Shannon's, deep in the throat, just a a hair from a growl! McGonigle/Godfrey/Morrison provide mo' of the same with the groovin' "G Man", "It's My Life" and "Love's Gonna Get You". The latter is a smart choice for a single with it's addictive refrain, tasty female vamps and muscular bottom. (But that odd bridge needs to be excised! Sounds like something you'd hear in Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video!). The lone cover tune here is actually a Shannon originally pulled from his previous album. "Be With Me Tonight" is redone in grand style, doing away with the formerly sterile arrangement and letting it air out to become the superb song it is. This record also has Shannon adding to his repertoire with the excellent piano boogie "If Ten's Gonna Kill Me (You Can Give Me Nine)" and Jazzily-flavored crooning "Luck Ain't No Lady" & "Not Tonight, I've Got The Blues". Then there's the anti-war sentiment "No More War". Sample lyric: "Modern day barbarian/Dressed in the pin-striped suits/While the soldiers do the dying/Those politicians pocket all the loot/You know they're killing for black gold/The devil's own brew/They take and take and take all the money/And put the burden on me and you". The song/album ends with a bang (literally) and as far as Blues music goes these days Preston Shannon once again gives you more bang for your buck on "Be With Me Tonight".

Roy Roberts

Remember that funny bit of hyperbole that goes: "It's so good if you look in the dictionary under so-and-so and you'll find a picture of so-and-so" . Well, if you look in the dictionary under "Soul Blues" you'll find a picture of "Roy Roberts" (at least in a perfect world). Roberts exemplifies this music form, a healthy amalgam of Memphis Soul & Modern Electric Blues replete with real horns and stinging guitar licks. He's released 9 terrific records thus far, including one live and one "Best Of" but his new CD "Sicily Moon" is simply his best. A true Soul album. A contender for Album Of The Year for sure. Equally praiseworthy is his work as producer for records by Chick Willis, Lou Pride, Eddie Floyd, Floyd Miles, Priscilla Price and Tommy Thomas (see reviews at bottom of page).

Blues singer, guitarist, song writer, producer and label mogul Roy Roberts was born Oct. 22, 1942 in Livingston, TN. He first learned piano and gospel music with his mother but eventually he bought his first guitar, a “Sears Silver Tone”, and began playing R & B with a Greensboro Ponderosa club house band. There he had the opportunity to play in the same venue as legends like Clarence Carter, Joe Tex, Eddie Floyd, Dee Clark, Solomon Burke, and Otis Redding. He even was for a time part of Solomon Burke’s orchestra and later in Eddie Floyd's group (Some 30 years later Roy produced Eddie's comeback CD "To The Bone", released on Roy's Rock House Records imprint). Perhaps his greatest learning experience came in 1965 when he played guitar for the "Big O" Otis Redding! In honor of the departed legend Roy cut his very first single "The Legend Of Otis Redding" following Redding's tragic death. For a time he was on the road with his band as the Roy Roberts Experience throughout the late 60s and 70s until Disco reared it's ugly head and stalled the careers of many Soul, R & B & blues singers. But that didn't stop this musician because Roy Roberts went Country! (Take that Bee Gees!) He teamed up with C & W artist and friend O.B. McClinton and hit the road. Roy even threatens to cut a Country record soon. After McClinton’s death in 1989, Roy concentrated on gospel music . But one day while in the studio he heard a song on the radio that sounded a lot like himself..it was Robert Cray's "Phone Booth" and suffice it to say Roy was soon back to the blues...

The Interview

BC = Blues Critic

Roy = Roy Roberts

BC = You've actually been recording since the 60s, yes? You even played with Otis Redding!

Roy = Yeah I played guitar in his band. My first recording was in 1967. I had that song "The Legend Of Otis Redding". It was a slow ballad. We had a couple more too from that period. "I'm Number One", "Let You Know I Love You".

 

BC = You even went country for awhile?

Roy = Yeah in 1980 when the disco music put bands out of business we played country from 1980-1989. Me and the black country singer O.B. McClinton. But he came down with cancer in 1989 and die a year later.

BC = I've read that you were inspired by hearing Robert Cray on the radio and that brought you back to the blues?

Roy = I really started out in R & B, which is the kinda blues Robert plays. I heard "Phone Booth" on the radio and I said "he's got a style kinda like mine". It gave me a good feeling. The blues having that crossover success. I was in my studio at the time producing gospel music as I had quit playing for about four years and then I heard that song. This inspired me to start performing again.

BC = It's interesting that it was that Cray song from 1980 instead of his big blockbuster success with "Smoking Gun".

Roy = I was doing country music during that time. I'll even be cutting a country album in Tennessee in the near future. It really wasn't until 1993 that I was back to the blues.

BC = Your new record, "Sicily Moon", which may just be your best yet, puts heavy emphasis on Memphis Soul. Were you aiming for the Southern Soul market more with this one?

Roy = I just got tired of doing the 12-bar blues. it's been played a billion times. You run out of arrangements so I got fed up and went another direction. I sat down with the horn players and we worked on some Soul music.

BC = Do you expect some flak from some critics for not doing blues on this record?

Roy = Some of the cats might come up and say something. But if they don't like it too damn bad (laughs). I do it for me and you can't please everybody. That's the way it is. Blues people they're going to say I'm selling out but I wasn't a blues guy in the beginning. I started doing R & B in 1962 all the way up to Disco. I know the Blues players but I wasn't into those cats but the blues thing just drew me in.

 Roy Roberts "Sicily Moon" (Rock House)

BC = Why did you choose the title "Sicily Moon"?

Roy = I've been going to Italy for 6 or 7 years and I've just had such a good time down there. In Sicily that's where I got the title. Thecover on the new CD is an actual picture taken during my last festival appearance there. It was out doors and that moon was spectacular on the water as I drove to my hotel. As I looked at the beauty around me, the concept of the title cut “Sicily Moon” came to me

BC = So the Italians are big on your soul/blues?

Roy = Oh yeah the Italians eat this music up. I have a lot of fans there.

BC = Okay, now I gotta ask. The liner notes refer to it but can you please explain the rap thing "Show Me What You Got"?

Roy = (laughs) We were playing in Greensboro. The guys wanted to make it a Blues club and we go into play with a 400-500 capacity. They had a DJ playing all the Hip Hop and no Blues band can compete with that. We started playing and there was only a few people dancing. We took a break and I told the guys we gotta do something different so when we go back out I tell the drum to kick this beat off and then told the keyboard player what to do and I just started singing "show me what you got" and "what's going on down there" and the place went wild. Women throwing their dresses up and all kinds of crazy things! So I knew I had a hit. So I went into studio with Dana Dane, he's one of those Old School rappers from the 80s and we cut this thing. I'm not afraid to take a chance.

BC = What did your children think of it?

Roy = They think it's cool.

BC = I'm sure they teased you too!

Roy = (laughs) Oh you know they were going to throw that in. 'What's an old goat like you doing trying to rap. You should be ashamed! (laughs)

BC = I noticed you aren't playing guitar on the new record. How come?

Roy = I had a little problem with my hand so I couldn't play on that album. So I brought in this guy, Gary Woodard. As a little boy he used to listen to me play. If you listen he sounds so much like me. But when I'm back on the road I'll be playing again. Like Armold Schwartzenegger said , "I'll be back!"

BC = You teamed up with fellow Soul/Blues man Johnny Rawls for "Partners & Friends". Who's idea was it and was it difficult to have two Producers together?

Roy = No, not at all. Johnny And I agreed on everything. At a gig in Pittsburgh we were just out in the car and we said we should do something together. We just came up with some ideas he brought songs he wrote and I brought songs I wrote.

BC = Your song "I Slipped" from the CD "Daylight With A Flashlight" has been a monster on the Carolina Beach Music circuit.

Roy = Yeah it's still a hit today. That song won the 2004 Cammy Award for Blues Song of the year. But wait 'til they hear some of the cuts on 'Sicily Moon"! They're gonna love it in the beach market.

BC = You also like to add a little humor to your songs. On the song "Every Time I (You) Turn Around" from the CD "Daylight With A Flashlight" you sing that folks always coming around looking for a loan!

Roy = (laughs) Yeah even right now somebody's standing here wanting some money. My daughter's always worrying me all the time (laughs). Everybody thinks I'm rich or something so I said I'm gonna have to put a sign on the door that reads: "Roy's National bank has just closed!". So you need to get yourself a J-O-B. I ain't got no more money.

 "Sicily Moon" (Rock House 2006)

***** If Roy Roberts continues putting out music this good we're gonna have to crown him "King Of Soul/Blues". Horn-fueled, Hammond B-3, melodic Memphis soul heaven played by musicians not machines. I'm not sure who's the bigger star of this show- Roy with his simmering soul singing (especially on "I'm Gonna Love You") and songwriting or the "MoFo Horns" (Rusty Smith & Scott Adair). But wait, check out that bassline on "Turn That Thing Around" by Andrew "Feet" Taylor. Maybe it's the rhythm section who deserves the most props? Right now I'm like a kid in a whiskey store, um, candy store. Song after song "Sicily Moon" shines. Speaking of this lunar love, Mr. Roberts has legions of Italian fans and this gem is an homage to them. What's amazing to me is how Roy is still able to come with such strong new songs after releasing some 7 LPs and producing/composing a host of others for artists the likes of Eddie Floyd, Chick Willis, Lou Pride & Floyd Miles. For those in the know- remember how good Roy's song "Burnin' Love" is? Well, this is like having 9 more cuts of the same cloth! All hyperbole aside I'm unable to pick the best cuts here. They're all superb and this is the best Roy has ever sounded on the microphone! For the first time there's no straight blues cuts but instead there's a couple surprises. First, Roy transforms into Barry White on the sultry "Baby", dropping down an octave at times and then seducing you with breathy boudoir balladry. Roy must be in love. Once again the MoFo Horns carry this track into the stratosphere. Look out "Memphis Horns" these folks may be stealing some of yo' gigs. Make sure you listen to this record with headphones to hear all the nuances. Now track 10 is a definite wildcard, almost surreal. This is a cheeky (pun intended) little rap record called "Show Me What You Got"! Yes, Roy Roberts, the Soul/Blues master is rappin' over a James Brown-blessed groove with Brooklyn rapper Dana Dane! Yeah, "Double R & Double D" doing it street style, boyeeeee! What a hoot to hear a Roy song quote Whodini ("The Freaks Come Out At Night"). Now I'm no Hip Hop fan but this is cute, light-hearted fun but I don't want to give it too much credit less I encourage Roy to become a full-fledged rap artist! The liner notes explain that "Roy came up with the idea when he was playing a club and the young audience wasn't grooving to his sound. He got them up dancing". Hey, it works like dessert to one hearty Soul Food meal.

Jerry "Boogie" McCain 

Jerry "Boogie" McCain 

 

Jerry "Boogie" McCain claims to be the greatest blues harmonica player alive. He's not bragging. He's just calling it as he sees it. Jerry has no problem calling things as he sees them. His wry wit and philosophical ruminations are legendary. With five decades worth of blues experience we thinks he's earned that right. Oh, and readers of Blues Critic also picked him as "Best Blues Harmonica Player" in Blues Critic's Blues Awards this past year. That's saying a lot considering the category also includes luminaries like James Cotton and Rod Piazza. Blues historians and zealots wax nostalgic about legends like Robert Johnson, Sonny Boy Williamson or Muddy Waters but we have the real thing here in Jerry 'Boogie" McCain. Maybe now he'll start getting the props he deserves as one of the greatest blues musicians of the modern era.


The Interview 

 

BC = Blues Critic

Jerry = Jerry "Boogie" McCain 

 

BC = So what were you doing when I called?

Jerry = I was just on the phone with Debbie (Jerry's manager). She's watching that American Idol bulls--t! Man, they had a blues musician on there and I would've told that fool to sit his ass down! I could play better harmonica with my nose than he does with his mouth. See, nobody plays like the old man.

BC = I know that's right. As you know Blues Critic readers picked you for best harmonica player this past year.

Jerry = You know I really want to thank everybody for recognizing my style. I've always been grateful to fans of Jerry "Boogie" McCain. The W.C. Handy people don't recognize my style. I got my own style. You know people say "Jerry, you braggin' 'cuz I say I'm the best in the world". I have a right to brag. I've been playing all my life. You know when my mama got tired of me suckin' on her titty she put a harmonica in my mouth!

BC = If it wasn't for this blues thing did you ever consider being a stand-up comedian?

Jerry = (laughs) People they ask me that all the time. I keep people laughing. I want them to have a good time. When I die we'll all have a party. In the graveyard, there'll be blues playin' and people shakin' their thang.

BC = How has the blues changed after all these years?

Jerry = Hey, the blues is the root and jazz is the fruit. A whole lot of people messin' with the blues and a lot of people keep trying. But you can't copy the rhythm. You can play and shake all you want but you gotta be born with it. The blues is black. I know they say "You can't say that!". Well, I just said it. Don't get me wrong. You know if it wasn't for white people I'd be out of business! But the blues come from black people. It came from slavery. They'd be pickin' cotton and singin' the blues to console themselves. You gotta have a reason to sing the blues.

BC = Do you feel you've gotten the recognition you deserve?

Jerry = You know the way I play harmonica- if I was a white I'd be a rich mother f---. If Nat King Cole had been white he'd of been twice as big as Sinatra. I'm just doing what a black man would do. But if it wasn't for whites supporting the blues... Sometimes I see like 9 black people in the audience. It's because blues doesn't get the credit it deserves. It's 19 out of 19. It's on the bottom of the pile.

BC = Chick Willis has a song called "Mr. Blues" where he says that blacks don't dig the blues 'cuz it reminds them of slavery. Do you think that's the case?

Jerry = People associate it with poverty too. These young kids don't even know one blues song. That rap bullsh-- they listen to. You know there ain't no talent just taking a song and doing some crazy sh-- over it. I'm gonna do an album and called "I Do Not Do No Rappin'" or something like that. But it don't matter to me. I play the blues. I am the blues. 

 

Jerry "Boogie" McCain 

  

Jerry McCain was born on June 19, 1930 in Gadsden, AL. One of five children, he grew up "po' as po' can be" as he puts it. In his teens he earned a regular gig at a local station WETO fronting a jug band! Jerry made a homemade bass. The strings were made out of an inner tube.

Jerry was influenced by Little Walter. In fact he met and proceeded to impress the old curmudgeon (then a young curmudgeon) when he covered Walter's "Can't Hold Out Much Longer". Boogie's break came when Lillian McMurry of Diamond Recording, Inc heard his demo and decided to check out Jerry and his band (which included Chris Carter on guitar, Herman Fowlkes on bass, Dave Campbell on piano and Bernard Williams on tenor sax). McMurry was impressed enough to have Jerry cut four sides in October 1953. "Wine O' Wine" and "East Of The Sun" from the session were released on Trumpet Records, home of Elmore James . But it wasn't until a year later that Jerry recorded again with "Stay Out Of Automobiles".

          

BC = Your first recordings were released for the famed Trumpet label, which also had Elmore James & Sonny Boy Williamson. Wasn't that a coup for a young artist?

Jerry = Naw, I didn't make no money. They gave me a half sent for every record sold and that ain't fair.

BC = One of your first humorous compositions, "Stay Out Of Automobiles" came from these sessions. What do you remember most about that period.

Jerry = (laughs) Those were some crazy times. We had an old Dodge that had tires blown out so much we thought people were shooting at us! That's where "Stay Out Of Automobiles" come from. I was nervous recording there in Jackson. We had racism over in Alabama, but nowhere like in Mississippi. I half expected the Ku Klux Klan or a lynch mob to show up while we were recording.

BC = That "Strange Kind Of Feelin'" LP that came out in 1990 that included these Trumpet songs. I find it strange that your photo wasn't used for the cover. You had more tracks on their than Clayton Love & Tiny Kennedy.

Jerry = You're telling me. If I have the majority of the tracks on it why did they put this other guy's face on the cover like it was his album? What kind of deal is that?

 

"Stay Out Of Automobiles" failed to sell significantly and Diamond Recording, Inc. went under soon after. Jerry next landed on Excello Records and from 1955 to 1957, Jerry McCain & The Upstarts cut 6 sides for Excello with producer and label owner Ernie Young. Although McCain and Young were at odds they managed to create the classic 'That's What They Want" and "My Next Door Neighbor". (Around the same time McCain also cut 11 sides on his own but none were released until the 1981 LP "Choo Choo Rock" on the White Label).

 

Jerry Boogie McCain That's What They Want

BC = Your Excello sides didn't come out on CD until 1995 for "That's What They Want". The original "My Next Door Neighbor" was recorded then. You cut an updated version called "My New Next Door Neighbor" on your new CD?

Jerry = Because I signed over the publishing to Ernie (Young) on that first one. Now that was stupid thing to do. We didn't agree on nothing in the studio.

 

In 1959 Jerry cut seven sides that came out on the Rex label. The session produced the classic 2-sided single "She's Tough" & "Steady". "She's Tough", although not charting, was a bona fide hit. Some 20 years later Texan Blues/Rock group Fabulous Thunderbirds had a hit with the tune, which also inspired their calling card "Tuff Enuff".

 

BC = Now of course your classics "Steady" and "She's Tough" came next.

Jerry = Yeah that's when I did "Steady" and you know that's one of the all time harmonica songs harmonica players learn. You either learn "Juke" by Little Walter or "Steady" by Jerry "Boogie" McCain.

BC = "She's Tough" was a decent sized hit too. What did you think of the Fabulous Thunderbirds doing that song?

Jerry = Yeah they did my song. But you know that other song. "Tuff Enuff". That really came from me too. You listen to 'She's Tough' near the end I was singin' "Ain't she tough enough' and they took that and made a song out of it.

 

Next up was three sides for Columbia Records subsidiary Okeh (including "Jet Stream" and "Red Top") before a single for RJK called "Here's Where You Get It". It was then Continental for a re-recording of "She's Tough" plus "Love Me Right". None of which made much noise. A longer stay occurred with Stan Lewis' Jewel Records. From 1965 to 1968 McCain released a total of five singles for Jewel.

 

         

       

BC = I've read your experience with the Okeh label wasn't a happy marriage.

Jerry = When I left they said I owed them $33,000 dollars! I thought they was paying for everything. I still owe them money I think. Ain't that some bull sh**

BC = I've read that you were moonlighting as a bounty hunter at this time. is that true?

Jerry = (laughs). I wasn't making no money just doing gigs and from those records. They were always cheating you out of royalties. Yeah, I had a 9 mm and a shot gun. This white guy I was working for, Ace Williams, he sent me all over to haul in bail jumpers. But I had to quit that I'm a blues man.

 

Throughout the interview Jerry talked in length about his days with Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter, Lazy Lester and more. He also pulled no punches about bad business partners and managers who he calls "crooks" but McCain doesn't sound bitter when he's talking. He's reminiscing. When he talks about racism he isn't angry. He's just telling you the way he sees it.

It was manager Gary Sizemore who got Jerry McCain signed again following the Okey stint. This time with Royal American. Sizemore was behind the Rex and Continental recordings. The first release was "Welfare Cadillac Blues", an answer to Country singer Guy Drake's "Welfare Cadillac". But following the release of the single, "The Cockfight" McCain's career ground to a halt. The mid to late 70s were not kind to blues artists and Jerry got eclipsed by the Disco phenomenon like so many others. So it was back to gigging every and anywhere that would have him. He didn't record again until 1983 with "53 Year Old Man" and "I'm Waiting For Jesus". In 1986 the LP "Bad Blues Is My Business" was released for the Bad label. The Sizemore/McCain partnership fell apart during this time.

 

  

 

In 1987Jerry recorded a flop called "Blues On The Move" but was invited to compete against other harmonica kings at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco that year. Other contestants included Sammy Myers, Rod Piazza, Lazy Lester, and Rick Estrin of Little Charlie & the Nightcats. Now on the comeback trail he contacted Ichiban's John Abbey, who already had on his label the likes of Little Johnny Taylor, Blues Boy Willie, Artie White, Willie Clayton, Buster Benton, Ben E. King, Millie Jackson, and Tyrone Davis!

Four Albums were released on McCain for Ichiban. Still Jerry left the label owing them $35,000!

 

Jerry = Story of my career. Had I known before I got in the music business I'd end up broke I'd been a preacher and got my money! Now, bring them baskets up. (laughs).

 

Nevertheless, through the 90s McCain kept a high profile amongst blues people and in 1998 the non-profit Music Maker Relief foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to keeping alive Southern musical traditions and helping its artists to survive, recorded Jerry "Boogie" McCain for the low-key "Unplugged", but it wasn't released until 2001.

 

Jerry Boogie McCain Unpluggrf           

 

First McCain dropped what is perhaps his best LP. "This Stuff Just Kills Me" came out in 2000 to rave reviews. Guests included guitarists Anson Funderburgh, Jimmie Vaughan, Carl Sonny Leyland and Johnnie Johnson. The epitome of Contemporary Blues was displayed on "Viagra Man", "No Use In Drug Abuse" and "Deadbeats", which all contain razor sharp social commentary and humor. Unfortunately, the label (Jericho Hills) folded and McCain didn't record a new disc until 2005's "Boogie Is My Name".

 

BC = What's next for "Boogie" McCain?

Jerry = I'm recording a new album. It's gonna knock you out. It's some of my best. Y'all ain't heard nothin' yet. I can't wait to get this out. Make sure I get your address so I can burn you a copy and you can hear it!

 

Jerry then proceeded to sing a line from one of his new songs...Now, I can't wait to hear the whole thing! Long live the "Viagra Man".

Jerry "Boogie" McCain

Jerry "Boogie" McCain "Boogie is My Name" (Music Maker/Boogie Down)

*** Blues harp legend "Boogie" McCain is back to serve you up some laidback juke blues like he's done for some five decades now. A virtuoso on the harmonica, McCain also has disparate vocal phrasing like a comic with expert timing and good material. "Boogie Is My Name" contains 10 originals flush with earthy wit and the blood of the blues. Opening with the appropriate "Boogie Is My Name" McCain says: "They call me 'Boogie' because 'Boogie' is my name/All around the world people just love that Jerry "Boogie" McCain". Well, he ain't lying. Although he may not enjoy the profile of a James Cotton, "Boogie" is a revered, purveyor of honest-to-goodness blues. His humor comes out again on the shufflin' "My New Next Door Neighbor" about those pesky neighbors who always need to borrow something. (The song is an update to his own "My Next Door Neighbor" from the 50s). Perhaps the most interesting song is the one with the provocative title "Demons Of The Body". Here McCain uses a church motif to preach about "demons" like "Arthur". "Arthur who?" you may ask. "Arthur- ritus of course! But even a funny guy like "Boogie" gets the blues and he digs down deep on "Cry'n Won't Do No Good". There's nothing innovative here- 'Boogie" didn't improve on the automobile- but he rides one as good as anyone.

 

Chairmen Of The Board

Danny Woods   General Johnson    Ken Knox

 

What do Martin Luther King Jr. & The Chairmen Of The Board have in common? Both have had a considerable impact on racism and/or the perception of black Americans. That may seem like hyperbole but the truth is the goodtime R & B of General Johnson & the Chairmen served as a common denominator between blacks and whites during some trying times. Of course the same can be said of many black and white artists but certainly in the Carolinas the Chairmen brought the people together with "beach music", where all races could "shag" together (um, it's a dance).

 

Born and raised in Norfolk, VA, General Johnson formed his first vocal group, the Humdingers, when he was 12. But his first record came as the Showmen. "It Will Stand", written by Johnson, hit #61 on the pop charts in 1962. The group was a hit on the Beach Music circuit consisting of North & South Carolina, Virginia, George and Tennessee. Johnson eventually left the Showmen in 1968 and signed with former Motown producers and songwriters, Holland-Dozier-Holland, for the Invictus label. The producers put together a vocal quartet called the Gentlemen with Johnson, Danny Woods; ex-Stone Soul Children Harrison Kennedy; and Eddie Curtis.

Danny Woods   General Johnson    Ken Knox

 

Changing their name to The Chairmen Of The Board, their very first single, "Give Me Just a Little More Time" quickly shot to #3 on the pop charts! They followed this with a string of hits like "(You've Got Me) Dangling on a String", "Everything's Tuesday", "Pay to the Piper", "Chairman of the Board" & "Finder's Keepers" before hitting a dry spell. Nevertheless, Johnson's songs became hits for the likes of Clarence Carter ("Patches"), Freda Payne ("Bring The Boys Home"), and Honey Cone ("Want Ads," "Stick Up," "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show"). General was nominated and won BMI's "R&B Songwriter of the Year Award".

Eddie and Harrison left the group Danny asked Ken Knox to join the horn section of the Chairmen's band for a European tour. The band ended up spending six to eight months a year in Europe from 1973 through 1975. Ken eventually moved into the front line, helping with vocals. The Chairmen of the Board split in 1976 with each member releasing solo albums. Johnson and Woods continued performing under the Chairmen name for a short time before Johnson moved to Arista in the late '70s before reuniting with Woods as the Chairmen in the early '80s. Johnson started his own label with Mike Branch in 1979 and over the next two decades the Chairmen Of The Board have released 7 studio albums plus a host of compilations as leaders of the timeless "Beach Music" scene.

 

chairmen of the board Danny Woods   General Johnson    Ken Knox

The Chairmen are currently breaking into the 'Southern Soul" market with their excellent new CD "All In The Family Southern Soul", featuring the smash hits "Three Women" & "The Blacker The Berry". In this enlightening interview we learned how times have changed for the better in the "beach music circuit" since the turbulent 60s and the relationship between "Beach Music" and "Southern Soul". One thing was obvious: These gentlemen genuinely like each other and the rapport is a delight to witness, from charming anecdotes about their years together and plenty of good-natured humor.

 

BC = Blues Critic

General = General Johnson

Danny = Danny Woods

Ken = Ken Knox

 

BC = Firstly, you have a hit CD out called "All In The family Southern Soul". It's a reworking of the previous LP "All In The Family". Why did you add "Southern Soul" to the title?

General = It was originally recorded for the beach music crowd but it didn't have the grit needed for Southern Soul so we reworked some of the songs so now we have 1 version for the beach music and 1 for Southern Soul.

BC = "The Blacker The Berry" is an instant classic and is currently number 1 on the Southern Soul/R & B chart. What was the inspiration for this song?

General = Yeah a lot of people wanted to know why like it wouldn't go over in the Caucasian market. But this song is very important to me. The song is about uplifting black women and not putting down women of other ethnic groups. A lot of people like the rappers have given the wrong impression about black women.

BC = You mean the whole "bitches" & "hoes" pimp thing?

General = Yeah I felt it was a time to sing a song that represents how black men really feel about black women, mothers, sisters, grandmothers, friends. I'm really proud of this song because it uplifts black women.

BC = "Three Women" is still going strong on radio. Has that become a big request at your shows?

General = Not really because we haven't worked a lot of predominantly black audiences. Most of the audience is Caucasian...We do outdoor concerts in the summer for audiences between eight to fifteen thousand people. In the audience there might be 10 or 15 black people. Blacks haven't been exposed to the fact that Beach Music is Rhythm & Blues music. I'll let Danny talk about that song since he's the one who sang it.

Danny = This is "Dan the Party Man" (they all laugh). You know I couldn't even tell my wife the name of that song ("Three Women"). But we were just adding a little humor. It's a fun song. It was the first release in the Southern Soul market

southern soul electric slide single

 

BC = What's the story with "Southern Soul Electric Slide"? Who are 'Team Airplay Allstars"? I understand it was really you guys.

(editor's note- "Team Airplay" is lead by Mike Austin and Al "Luv" Jenkins)

General = Some promoter wanted to release "Electric Slide" so I went in the studio and recorded it. The artist is actually C.C. (Carolina Connection). If you look really close you can see that on the cover. It's real small (laughs). We're all on it along with some other people and we are doing another dance CD on C.C..

BC = Don't you wish you would've just put your name on it since it was such a smash!?

Ken = (laughs) Yes but we didn't know. That's General singing the lead.

BC = Really? It doesn't even sound like him?

General = Yep, that's one of my altar egos. But yeah Team Airplay had a lot of success with it.

 

The Showmen 

 The Showmen

BC = Now you (General) were in the Showmen, right?

General = We were just some neighborhood guys who got a chance to record. "It Will Stand" was about Rock N' Roll and it was #1 in DetroitMichigan. Dick Clark of American Bandstand said it was the anthem of Rock N' Roll.

BC = You also had a hit with "39-21-46". Is that based on a real woman?

General = Well that was one of the first songs I wrote so it was from the eyes of a 14 or 15 year old little guy. It's actually "forty shape" not "46" but on the title there was a mistake and they liked the idea. It was big regionally.

BC = Are "Carolina Girls" really the best?

Danny = Well come down here and see (laughs). You know when I first came here there was no style. You know you had the New York girls, California girls and they all got the attention. Even songs about them. And that just made Carolina girls feel like nothing but there's quite a difference between Carolina girls now and then. There self esteem just magnified after that song.

Ken = Girls became prideful. High schools and colleges use that song. Marching bands play "Carolina Girls". It's on T-shirts and we're glad about that. It's the all time biggest Carolina Beach song now.

BC = General, you wrote "Patches" which became a huge smash for Clarence Carter. But the Chairmen recorded it first. How come you didn't release it as a single?

General = I wanted to. DJs were begging for it but my bosses at that time- you know that came from the old Motown thing: "No beat. Don't release it". They liked the song but said "I can't dance to it" so they didn't release it. I have no regrets it got me a Grammy as a songwriter.

chairmen Of The Board

 

BC = How do you feel about the overall relationship with Holland/Dozier/Holland/Invictus records?

General = We had our differences of course. I was fortunate for the success but I was able to realize the contracts I signed made it so I was unable to reap the full benefits of my success. As a businessman I understand that's their prerogative. It was my prerogative to renegotiate my contract with them too but they refused.

BC = Eddie & Harrison left the group after that. I've read that, originally, they patterned the Chairmen after the Four Tops?

General = The songs they (HDH) wrote resembled Four Tops but the four of us were really individual artists. Danny was R & B. Harrison was Rock N' Roll and Eddie was like Johnny Mathis so we could cover any room that would have us. Each individual had a chance to shine. But Eddie wasn't accepted in 4/5 of the venues. He'd be a big hit in Vegas but if he sang "My Way" at the Apollo it was time to go get some popcorn.

BC = So after they left Ken entered the picture?

Ken = The Chairmen was one of my favorite groups. I was playing with my group one day and Danny came in the club and heard us playing. So I found out and basically announced "Danny Woods is in the house". We had the whole place rockin' and Danny was looking for a new backup band for the Chairmen.

BC = Is that true, Danny, were they really rockin' the joint?

Danny = (laughs) Oh yeah I knew right then there was gonna be magic between me, General and Ken. They have real love for the music and we just came together on that. I feel that each of us love what we do. For me I get inspiration off each of these guys. When general sings 'Patches"- that's one of my favorite songs. It reminds me of gospel music. They just don't let up.

BC = General went solo for a while and had some hits with Arista Records but then you guys got back together?

General = Yeah during that time everybody was into disco but these people (Carolina) were into the R & B music we love. Still do today from 8 to 80 years old but our strongest following is college kids.

BC = You started your own label, Surfiside, and have become legends of "Beach Music". How would you describe "Beach Music" to those not familiar with the term?

General = I'll put it this way. If you like "My Girl" by the Temptations you like "beach music". It's really R & B with crossover appeal. The foundation of beach music is Southern Soul. that's what it was back when it was catching on. Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd you name it. Stax, Atlantic. Let's not forget Motown they made it more palatable to Caucasians. Carolina Beach music is soul music.

BC = What do you think about that movie guy ruining the term "shag"?

General = (laughs) Yeah in England it means something else. The dance called "The Shag" is the proclamated official dance of South Carolina. It was originated by black people as "The Bop". It's part of the culture. Beach Music is part of the culture- for everybody.

Danny = When we do outside cities we have a mixture of 50/50 white/black in the audience. But "The Shag" is the dance everybody does.

Ken = We don't want to sound like dinosaurs but there's exhibits in museums. You got one for Charlie Daniels that represents country music. One for Michael Jordan that represents basketball and one for Chairmen Of The Board representing Beach Music.

General = In Virginia music is no joke. We have thrived in Virginia, North & South CarolinaTennessee, Georgia. people thought we were dead but we've been blessed here doing 150 to 200 shows a year.

cotb

BC = How have your guys managed to stay together for all this time?

Danny = We love what we do. Like I said I get inspiration from these guys.

General = Beach Music is about feeling. It's been an inspiration and I'm proud to say it's changed the way people think. I'm not bragging but when I first came down here it was a prejudiced environment. Our music has wiped that away. I used to hear the "N word" from the audience when I'd sing "Patches" in east Carolina. But the way we present the music. The way we present ourselves has given them a different outlook about black people. I'm sure Michael Jordan, who grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, got called the "N word" but by the way he carried himself. It changes the outlook people have.

BC = Some people feel that Caucasians have really embraced and blues and soul these days while the black audience is into rap. Is that true?

General = Oh they have. Just look at our audience our music has brought people together. Whites like soul and blues music. Rap is real big. But that's mostly the younger people. The older (black) people still listen to R & B. You know you are physically what you eat. Mentally you are what your mind absorbs. If that's all you hear on the radio over and over again that's what you like. Today music is more about the beat but it used to be about the feeling- music that puts chill bumps on your arms. Now I got nothing against a black man making money but a song to me is one you can whistle, a melody, with lyrics that touches the emotions. A lot of people don't have the opportunity to hear our music.

BC = So what is next for the Chairmen?

General = Well our challenge is Southern Soul. To break in to that market. We aren't just one song and out. This album has a lot of good songs on it. We are gonna keep going. You know the other night we did a show. It had a capacity of 800 but they allowed over 1,000 people inside and a long waiting line was outside. The show was from 8-11 but at 1:00 AM they were still there dancing. Long live soulful rhythm and blues music!!! 

The Chairmen Of The Board "All In The Faimly Southern Soul" (Xcel Music Group)

The Chairmen Of The Board "All In The Faimly Southern Soul" (Xcel Music Group)

**** Icons of the still thriving Carolina "Beach Music" scene, The Chairmen Of The Board, have been shaggin' (it's a dance, thank you) their way up Southern Soul charts the last couple years. Now they're targeting this fantastic genre full fledged. Last year General Johnson, Danny Woods & Ken Knox enjoyed the runaway smash "Three Women" and have already made their mark in 2005 with the superb "The Blacker the Berry (The Sweeter The Juice)", not to mention Johnson's production work on "Southern Soul Electric Slide". (Although often credited to "Team Airplay Allstars", the "Slide" was recorded by the “Carolina Connection” a.k.a. “CC”. Team Airplay, the recording company, leased the recording from Surfside productions). Now, finally we get a full album of similar R & B gold. Well, actually, the album, "All In The Family Southern Soul" has an intriguing history. In 2002 an album called "Timeless R & B" was released as General Johnson & The Chairmen Of The Board containing many of the songs found on this new disc. Then in 2003 they released an expanded version of the previous album as "Timeless R & B 2", adding five more tracks and dropping "Life's A Beach". Wait! It's not over yet. In 2004 after "Three Women" became a hit they re-issued "Timeless R & B 2" as "All In The Family" with a 17th track added (an extended mix of "Three Women"). This latter incarnation made Blues Critic's Top Southern Soul, Rhythm & Blues CDs for 2004. Well, the twelve choicest songs from this batch, including the extended "Three Women", are back with a new version of the title song recut "Southern Soul"-style. Of course there's two new good 'uns added ("The Blacker the Berry" in 2 versions and the equally good "You Gonna Crawl Before You Walk"). Every song is Grade A quality, like a "Best Of", from the thumping "Shoulda Woulda Coulda", the sleek "The Bottom Line", the timeless and charming "Gone Fishin'" to the swinging romancer "Bless Your Heart". All songs were penned & produced by leader and founder Johnson. Hopefully this time these songs will get the attention they've deserved all along.

 

Interview with

Blues Critic's

Blues Artist Of 2005

Bettye LaVette


Bettye LaVette is a soul survivor who's finally getting her due. Her latest record "I've Got My Own Hell To Raise" has been garnering praise wherever you go and the demand for her live show has grown accordingly. She was recently voted "Best Female Blues Singer" in Blues Critic's Annual Blues Awards.

Born as Betty Haskin in Muskegon, Michigan in 1946 she grew up in Detroit. After an auspicious debut for Atlantic Records at the wee age of 16 with a Top 10 R & B single called "My Man- He's A Loving Man", things got a little rough for the chanteuse. For starters there was no follow up hit. Her second single "You Never Change" didn't chart and surprisingly the young Ms. LaVette wanted rid of Atlantic. "It was pretty stupid at the time. Right before I left they wanted to have Burt Bacharach produce a record for me but I didn't know who that was so I left." LaVette moved to Lupine for her third single, "Witchcraft in the Air". Followed by "One Thin Dime" for Scepter. But it wasn't until 1965 when she scored another Top 20 R & B hit with one of her signature songs, "Let Me Down Easy" for Calla. LaVette continued to bounce from label to label. Big Wheel for "I'm Holding On then to Karen for "Hey Love."

She scored a couple hits with Silver Fox ("He Made a Woman Out of Me," "Do Your Duty"), plus misses for SSS International ("Take Another Piece of My Heart") and her own TCA imprint ("Never My Love"). In 1972 she headed back to Atlantic's Atco label for her first full length record, "Child Of The 70s". It turned out to be a heartbreaking experience for Ms. LaVette as the label decided to shelf the record after the initial single "Your Turn To Cry" stiffed. After joining the touring company of the Broadway musical Bubbling Brown Sugar, LaVette briefly signed to West End for a disco effort, 1978's "Doin' The Best I Can", which produced a club hit with the title track. In 1982 she released a record for Motown with the single "Right in the Middle (Of Falling in Love)" making #35 and the album #48 on R & B charts but she was barely a blip on the radar for the next decade plus. A live recording released in Holland was released and got her some attention before she finally got a chance to release her second LP called "A Woman Like Me". Critics flocked to praise the blues-based album but sales didn't necessarily coincide until recently. Now that "Hell To Raise" has proved to be her breakthrough her ...She took some time in her busy schedule to chat with Blues Critic after being told of her Award ....

The Interview

BC = Blues Critic

Bettye = Bettye LaVette

BC = Well, things sure seem to be picking up for you these days, yes?

Bettye = Yes dear they are. But at my age I can't be doing this. At 60 I have no desire to travel everywhere screaming and flailing my arms in high heels! (laughs)

Bettye LaVette Woman Like Me.jpg

BC = In 2003 you dropped "A Woman Like Me", which was a more tradtional blues or Soul/Blues record but your new record "I've Got My Own Hell To Raise" is hard to categorize. Do you consider it blues or soul?

Bettye: Well, you know I'm a Rhythm & Blues singer. I don't think in terms of genres. My voice is R & B like all the black singers I grew up listening to. I think there's genres of singers but not songs. No matter wha tI sing it's gonna come out R & B because that's what I sound like. If I sing "Ave Maria" it'll come out R & B. I just choose songs and they come out sounding like me! I'm not going to do something I can't see myself doing.

BC = Ray Charles used to call concept albums "jivey". When Anti Records approached you with the idea of you recording a whole record of songs by other women singers what did you think?

Bettye = I didn't think it was a great idea at all! Joe Henry wanted me to do it and whatever producer I'm with I try to work with them but I was skeptical. They had to promise me something else to get me to do it.

BC: Like promoting it?

Bettye = Well, yeah, you can't just break a record on hope. A lot of people put a lot into "A Woman Like Me" but the label really didn't push it. The owner spent all this money and he didn't seem to care if he got it back! It's a hobby for him. But Anti promised to get it out there and they have.

BC: Who choose the songs and how many were there?

Bettye = I did. I choose songs I like and people brought songs to me. 100 songs but I only choose songs I can see myself doing. If I can't see myself singing it I won't do it. My husband (Kevin) has everything ever recorded! And he wants me to hear 'em all. I have to hide from him! (laughs)

Bettye LaVette I've Got My Own Hell To Raise.jpg

BC = What's with the album cover? It doesn't even look like you. Was that your idea?

Bettye = Yeah I know my son thinks it's cool but makes me think of a very old fat woman standing in the dark! (laughs) But they wanted me to look all full of wisdom and in pain.

BC = Looking back now. How did having a Top 10 hit at age sixteen affect you?

Bettye = (laughs) Like any sixteen year old I did lots of stupid stuff. It was amazing having a big record on my first try. It was like getting a chance to play on your favorite baseball team

BC: Did it surprise you there was no followup hits right away?

Bettye = Of course it did! I thought I was gonna be a big star just like all my friends. (laughs) But I didn't listen I was acting foolish. Leaving Atlantic Records was foolish! That was before Arteha (Franklin) signed with them. They wanted me to stay and do a record with a producer named Burt Bacharach but the word 'producer' didn't mean anything to me at the time. So Jerry Wexler gave a release from my contract and I learned the hard way!

BC = Did you think you'd grow up to be a singer?

Bettye - Oh no way. I didn't think that would happen to me. I really didn't I was more realistic like I should become a doctor or lawyer but not a singer. It wasn't believable. I didn't think of myself in those terms.

 

BC = Seems like you bounced from label to label after Atlantic?

Bettye = Yes anyone that would record me. I did a lot of records for people but I never seemed to get that one big break. Believe me I'd rather be like Natalie Cole or Barbara Streisand today (laughs) but my career took a different path.

BC = I understand that the material recorded for "Souvenirs", which came out a few years back was from the sessions for the unreleased "Child Of The 70s"

Bettye = Yeah the one I did for Atlantic (Atco) in 1972 was finally released thirty years too late!

BC = That must've been frustrating to pour yourself into a whole album and then to have it shelved at the last minute.

Bettye = I was crushed! Absolutely crushed! I crawled under my kitchen table with a jug for days and didn't move. It was like having a miscarriage! I thought it was going to be the salvation of my career. Believe it or not it still hurts today! It really felt like a miscarriage. The first single didn't go over that well and then they decided not to go forward with it. That's their exact words, "Bettye we've decided not to go forward on this".

BC = You had a discofied hit in 1978 ("Doing The Best I Can") but there isn't much recorded material following the 1982 Motown album "Tell Me A Lie". What were you doing for the next decade and a half?

Bettye LaVette Bettye LaVette Bettye LaVette Child Of The Seventies

Bettye = Oh honey just working my show. I've always worked. I would play for five people I'd put on a show for five thousand. Doing what I've been doing 44 years now. A lot of people don't know that my show has a lot of variety. I'm an entertainer. I'm probably the only tap dancing R & B singer you know! I sing some jazz tunes it's not all Soul & blues. But I'm too old to be doing this 19-year old show! (Laughs) I have to stay healthy so I work out and drink water so I have to got to the bathroom 96 times a day!

BC = Did you know the live record "Let Me Down Easy: Live In Concert" was going to be released in 2000?

Bettye = Oh yes the concert was contrived just for the record. A friend of mine from France, Giles, got together with Ben at Munich and they had me fly there and record the show. He has always remembered my song "Let Me Down Easy". The live album was released the same time as "Souvenirs". But I'm kinda disappointed in it.

BC = Really? How come it's gotten great reviews.

Bettye = For my singing but the band's performance wasn't really up to par. I wish it could have been better.

BC = I imagine you're happy with "Hell To Raise"

Bettye = I'm so grateful to all the people who've helped me. there's a lot of people who wanted this to succeed and it has.

BC = Is there any particular pet project you'd like to do that you haven't?

Bettye = Absolutely. The same thing Natalie Cole did. Same thing Rod Stewart just did. I want to sing classics. Of course in my own style. It don't matter what song I sing it's gonna sound like me. I'm a soul singer whether I sing an aria or Rhythm & Blues.

Bettye LaVette I've Got My Own Hell To Raise.jpg

Bettye LaVette "I've Got My Own Hell To Raise" (Anti)

*** With a raspy alto exploding with emotion Bettye LaVette must have "buzzard luck" for her not to be better known. Of course that could change with this potent stew of sandpaper R & B, folk, soul & gospelish blues. Be forewarned this isn't saccharine sweet soul music replete with horns and an unremitting groove. In fact at times it's jarring and cacophonous but never boring. The material is drawn from an eclectic assortment of female singers but Lavette turns each track into her own. A torchy acapella version of Sinead O'Connor's "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got" kicks things off before giving way to a jagged rendition of Lucinda Williams' "Joy". Producer Joe Henry was behind Solomon Burke's dramatic comeback album "Don't Give Up On Me". Spare, dusky and traveling on a gravel road Henry's production is sympathetic and unobtrusive. LaVette's the centerpiece rather than studio wizardry. She can migrate from a gritty, manic number like "Joy" onto a delicate piano ballad like "Down To Zero" (written by iconoclast Joan Armatrading) and "The High Road" with ease. Henry strips away the chamber-pop pretensions of the unctuous Fiona Apple's "Sleep To Dream" down to a bluesy root and brings out the R & B in Aimee Mann's literate pop/rock confection "How Am I Different?". Don't call it a comeback- she's been here for years. In fact in 2003 she already won the W.C. Handy Award for Comeback Of The Year with "A Woman Like Me" but expect a lot of press on this one. It's not what I wanted personally from LaVette at first, which would have been a more traditional soul record, but as a critic I can still objectively admire it's rough beauty. It gets better with each listen

Travis "Moonchild" Haddix Interview

Haddix has quietly become one of the most lauded electric bluesmen of our modern era. Without the push of a major label he has nevertheless built up a loyal following the hard way- with terrific music and live shows. He's back with a great new live CD called "Mud Cakes" on his own Wann-Sonn publishing and is about to head to Switzerland for a tour.

Blues guitarist Travis Haddix was born on November 26, 1938 and began playing the piano at the age of seven in his home town of Walnut, Mississippi, located thirty miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. His father Chalmus was a Delta blues artist similar to Robert Johnson in style. The Haddix family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin where Travis continued to refine his craft by singing and playing throughout the North. The turning point came when he was eight. His brother Hal took him to see the legendary B.B. King, who came to Memphis and began playing daily at the studios of WDIA. Travis was inspired by King's guitar virtuosity and he hung around the radio station every day to learn all he could. Soon, Travis' piano playing fell by the wayside and was replaced by the guitar, which he plays on stage and in the studio.

In 1959, after serving time in the army, Travis moved to Cleveland, Ohio where he joined the D.L. Rocco Band and achieved regional notoriety that led to a prominent spot with the Little Johnny Taylor group. In the mid-60s he put out a few singles on the Cleveland-based Del Nita label. Later Haddix fronted his own band called the Now Sound followed by the Travis Haddix Band. One of the acts they opened for was Mr. Clarence Carter, who helped get Travis signed to Atlanta's Ichiban Records, which was also Dr. C.C.'s label home. Haddix went on to record five discs for the label before going the independent route. Travis also contributed material to five albums by Artie "Bluesboy" White, who was concurrently on Ichiban. Since starting his own publishing company, Haddix Publishing, and label, Wann Sonn Records, Haddix has been putting out the best music of his career.

The Interview

BC = Blues Critic

TH = Travis "Moonchild" Haddix

BC: So you just got back from a tour?

TH: I was on tour in Europe with Theodis Ealey, Vernon Garrett, Kip Anderson, Charles Wilson, Chicago Bob, Trudy Lynn and Timothea. These Guys and Gals are all very good friends of mine and I talk to Charles almost every week. I have talked to Theodis a few times too and I play his music on my radio program.

(Editor's note. Travis hosts a radio program on WCSB, 89.3 FM called "Blue Monday)

BC: You have a new CD out called "Mud Cakes". The title cut has a delightful story about making mud pies and getting hit with them. What can you tell us about the new CD?

TH"Mud Cakes" was recorded live in Osnabruck, Germany and the project was finished at the Savannah Bar & Grill in West Lake, Ohio. Recording the CD was as much fun as a kid playing in the mud making mudcakes & pies. Thus the title was born.

BC: You're a highly esteemed songwriter. Your songs have been covered by Charles Wilson, Michael Burks and many more. Artie "Blues Boy" White always includes some of your songs on his albums and they are usually the highlights. How did this partnership begin?

TH: Artie performed a show at a very popular place called SMITTY"s Lounge in Cleveland, Ohio in the early 80's The owner Mr. Smith (SMITTY) ask if he could put a local band on stage to open the show. The show went very well. So, Artie invited my band and me to play at his club in Chicago called BOOTY"S and from that a long time friendship begin.

BC: I understand you had a recording session with Artie earlier this year. When will get to hear that material?

TH: A studio CD will follow in 2006 which will include the work that Artie and I performed in the studio in April 2005 in Chicago. I did not come up with a title yet. However, the CD will be loaded with slow, funky blues and will also include one of my risqué' tunes called "Dick For Dinner". Everyone gets the wrong idea when my woman invites a guy name "Richard" over for dinner! Its a fun tune???

BC: I read somewhere that your father was a bluesman. When did you get the blues bug?

TH: My Father played several instruments very well such as the guitar,drums, piano and some home made instruments like the pan pipe and the hand saw ETC ETC... So, I got the blues bug at a very early age back in Hatcha bottom Mississippi.

BC: You first played piano?

TH: My Sister was taking piano lessions and I used to go with her to her classes and after the class they would let me bang around on the piano.

BC: When did you first record?

TH: My first recording was on the Del-nita label in 1965 a tune called "Stop Cheating Woman".

BC: How did you get involved with Ichiban Records?

TH: I opened a show for Clarence Carter at the Plush entertainment center when he was with the Ichiban label and he or one of his band members spoke to Gary BB Coleman who was also on the label and after that I received a contract with the label and I was with them for about ten years.

BC: Right from your first album "Wrong Side Out" you show a penchant for self-deprecating humour like on "Caught In The Middle" and "Old Cliché". Then there's side-splitting songs like "No, No, No" & "Better Than Nothing" on further albums. In fact, all your records have a healthy mix of serious blues and comical wit. Is that the plan?

TH: Yes, that is my plan. I like to tell a story and add a bit of humor to the story so that people can enjoy the music and have some fun at the same time. My songs get a bit risqué sometimes but that's meant to give people a laugh so that they can have fun with it.

BC: I noticed on the live version "Two Heads Are Better Than One" from "Dance To The Blues" you cautioned the audience about the subject matter. What songs would you consider your biggest hits?

TH: When I do a live show I like to let people know in advance what I am going to do. For example, when I turn my guitar volume up I simply say "This may be a bit loud so watch your ears". When I'm going to talk a little risqué trash I simply say all the women and children should close their (eyes) while I say this. It is just a part of my show to get a laugh and this has become a big part of my show and it works very well. When you are an entertainer you must do more than just show up and play some music. My biggest hits came from the CD (Company is Coming) I received some awards and also the CD sold more copies.

BC: In addition to blues n' funk you have a knack for writing smooth R & B ballads. Have you thought of sending "Through With Love", "Winners Never Quit" or "Penny For Your Thoughts" to some hot R & B singer to record. I know if Luther Vandross was alive he could do a "Luther Sings Travis" project!

TH: Barry White and Luther Vandross were two of my favorite singers and I regret that they didn't get a chance to do a Travis Haddix ballad. However, I do plan to send some of my material to Freddie Jackson in the future.J ackson has a great voice and I know that he could do a fantastic job with some of my ballads

BC: Considering your lyrics are some of the best out there when it comes to songwriting do you come up with lyrical ideas before you lay down a groove?

TH: Sometimes I write the lyrics and then find a groove and at other times the groove is there before I write the lyrics. However, most of the time I write the lyrics first.

BC: How much of your music is autobiographical?

TH: I write about things that I see and hear and about something that someone says. In fact very little of what I write is about me or my life style. For example, I played with Kenny Neal at a place called the Slippery Noodle in Indianapolis IN. When Kenny said to one of his band members which is his brothers. "You can't do wrong right" Well, I thought that was funny because everyone was laughing. So, I went back to my hotel and wrote the tune (Do Wrong Right) It is on the CD "Milk & Bread"

BC: How do you feel about the blues business today? What are the obstacles?

TH: The blues is alive and well. The blues never gets too high when things are going well and never too low when things are not going so well. However, there are still many obstacles such as not getting enough air play and not being introduced to larger venues and certainly the artists that sing and play the blues are almost always put on the back burner of the industry.

BC: Who would you list as your biggest influence on your brand of blues?

TH: My Father was my biggest influence and I also listen to Robert Lockwood Jr. a lot. However, my Dad played a different kind of blues and the same can be said about Robert Lockwood Jr. The kinds of blues that I play today while trying to create my own identity in the industry would be from Lowell Fulson, Little Milton, Albert King and B.B. King.

BC: Considering the stereotype of blues singers being womanizing road warriors, what is your secret or advice since you've been happily married to the same woman for 43 years?

TH: My wife travels with me a lot. In fact, she is my number one fan. When things are not going well and I am not sounding my best I can still hear her clapping and cheering me on. A married couple can always find a reason to break up. The secret is to find a better reason to stay together.

travidhaddixmud1.jpg"Mud Cakes" (Wann-Sonn 2005)

*** 1/2 "Ladies and gentlemen, the "Moooooooooonchild!" says the announcer as the Travis Haddix Band cooks up a funky, bass-propelled groove. Then out comes Travis "Moonchild" Haddix noodlin' on his axe to start one mighty fine blues set. The 10 cuts are mostly gems from Haddix' prolific pen. Cleveland's finest already has 12 albums of hard-edged blues, R & B, soul & funk spiked with rapier wit under his belt. Lucky number 13, "Mud Cakes", features material taken from two smokin' shows, one in Osnabruck, Germany and one back home in Ohio. Haddix and the boys kick out shuffles ("Job Close To Home", "Acute Blues Syndrome", "T-Bone Shuffle"), funky blues ("Moonchild Ode To LJT", "My Pet Peeve"), soul ("Winners Never Quit") and grab deep slow blues from the bottom ("My Secret" and "Mud Cakes"). Organist Greg "Silver" Dunning, bassist Greg Nicholson, keyboardist Gil Zachary, drummers Jeremy Sullivan and D'Andre Byrd and horn section (Jeff Hager, David Ruffin, and Gus Hawkins) all get plenty room to flex their chops. Ever the great storyteller, Haddix also gives the folks a funny monologue on "Mud Cakes", one of many highlights here. After squeezing all the electricity out of his guitar, Travis reminisces about making "mud cakes" or "pies" with the girls as a child. You didn't want to do something wrong because: "Some of the girls would make a mud cake and put stones in it to make it pretty...when they hit you with one of those your face would ring for fifteen minutes". This is a heckuva show(s) and it makes me hope for a DVD soon. Haddix has a saying: "I am the best that I can be and since no one else can be me, there's none better!". If you're skeptical about this good-natured boast head on over to www.travishaddix.net and let your ears get hit by some "Mud Cakes".

 

Interview

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Dorothy Moore

She made you "Misty Blue". She made you ruminate on "Funny How Time Slips Away". She demanded "Let The Music Play" and you danced. She invited you to a "Special Occasion" and she always has her heart open "With Pen In Hand". Well, now she's asking her man (and bootleggers) "What You Doing With The Money?" Born in Jackson, Mississippi on October 13, 1946, Dorothy Moore is a usually remembered as the sweet voiced siren who sang "Misty Blue" but there's much more to this living legend. Moore started singing background at a local studio after high school while singing in clubs around Jackson. In 1966, she signed her first deal with Epic singing lead with a trio, the Poppies. The girl group was produced by Billy Sherrill and recorded for Epic Records, with "Lullaby of Love" becoming a regional hit. Three more singles and the album "Lullaby Of Love" was released before the group folded. Moore continued as a solo act and kept the Mid-South Review rolling. She recorded two unsuccessful singles ("See How They've Done My Love" and "Same Old Feeling") for Avon Records, and then worked with a Malaco production distributed by the GSF label entitled "Cry Like A Baby" b/w "Just the One I've Been Looking For"; it stayed on the R&B chart for five weeks in 1973. A duet on Chimneyville Records with King Floyd called "Don't Let Go" received good airplay and set the stage for her calling card "Misty Blue" in 1976. The song was a #1 R&B and #3 pop single while another 1976 single, "Funny How Time Slips Away", reached #7 R&B. Moore continued on Malaco through the '80s, landing one more Top 10 Pop hit in 1977 with "I Believe You", which earned Dorothy Moore one of Record World’s Top Female Vocalists of the year. "I Believe You" was also a #1 R & B single, and went to number one in the UK.She signed with the reactivated Volt label in the late '80s and recorded two LPs for them before returning to Malaco for the rest of her '90s work. In September 2002, "Please Come Home for Christmas" on her own label, Farish Street Records of Mississippi. She released a single, "Dorothy Moore Sings the National Anthem." and has released two more discs on Farish Street as of 2005.

Blues Critic took the opportunity to interview Ms. Moore as she promotes her latest project "I'm Doing Alright".

Dorothy Moore

BC = Blues Critic

DM = Dorothy Moore

BC: You began you're professional career with a girl group called The Poppies. How did you get involved with them?

DM: I started singing background at a studio in Clinton MS where I met and sang with Petsye McCune and Rosemary Taylor. We were background singers for other artists like Irma Thomas, Freddy Fender, Peggy Scott and Jojo Benson. The studio owner sent us to Epic in Nashville where Billy Sherrill, producer of country singer Tammy Wynette, produced The Poppies. Billy asked me to sing lead.

BC: Do you come from a musical family? Who first influenced you to be a singer?

DM: My mother once sang at a school program where the poet, Langston Hughes asked to meet the young girl who had such a beautiful voice. She sung lyric soprano but never sang professional. My father sang baritone with a gospel group. My greatest influence in my musical carrier was Minnie Mitchell, my great grandmother, who raised me. She was also my biggest fan.

BC: What prompted you to go solo?

DM: The Poppies group always had a new girl coming in to sing background. I could not depend on the girls to sing all the bookings we were getting so I went solo. At the end there were only two in the group so we sang some "Sam and Dave."

BC: What was your first hit record?

DM: "Lullaby of Love" from The Poppies LP was my first hit. That LP has long been out of print.

Misty Blue by Dorothy Moore.jpg  

BC: You've had a long history with Malaco Records. How did you sign with them?

DM: I started at Malaco with background. Then they asked me to adlib on other recording artist's songs. It was not long until they offered me a record deal. I first signed with them in the mid 1970s.

BC: Of course in 1976 you scored a Top 5 hit on both Pop & R & B Charts with "Misty Blue". Did you know when you recorded that song it would be huge?

DM: No, but it was a one take. I did not know it would be so big. But I am so humble and thankful that people all over the world know "Misty Blue." Sometimes ask me about the hum in the beginning.

BC: Is having one particular song associated with you a blessing or do you wish people wouldn't know you as Dorothy "Misty Blue" Moore?

DM: I do not mind at all.

BC: Is that one of your favorite songs?

DM: No. My favorite song is "Funny How Time Slips Away "

BC: Were you more interested in being an R & B singer or a Pop singer?

DM: I'm more interested in being a singer. My reason, I like to sing it all.

BC: How would you define your style?

DM: I'm a singer with a blues heart.

BC: You seemed to have taken a recording hiatus after 1979's "Definitely Dorothy" album. What were you doing during that time?

DM: I did one more album with Malaco, "Talk to Me." After that I went to Nashville to record "Giving It Straight to You," a gospel album on Word label.

BC: After two records for Volt you made a triumphant return to Malaco in 1990. After a few albums you
went the independent route. How come?

DM: Shortly after I re-signed with Malaco in 1990, I found out that they were not honest with me since the mid-70s. I was terribly hurt then and now. To make a long story short, my attorney was able to get some of my back royalties. I started my label so that I would know if Dorothy Moore was selling.

BC: Your own label is called Farish Street Records. What does Farish Street mean to you?

DM: Farish Street is where I started my career. I sang at the Alamo Theater talent shows when I was a teen and won every Wednesday night. The street is now historic and being re-developed as an entertainment area. I wanted to lift up the street in my old neighborhood. By the way, I was honored with a granite marker of my likeness on the sidewalk in front of the Alamo Theater on Farish Street.

BC: What makes Dorothy Moore happy in life?

DM: Singing makes me happy. And, seeing my grandchildren.

BC: After one holiday album you released the live collection "Gittin' Down Live!". Is that a good portrait of a Dorothy Moore show?

DM: That cd is typical of my show. I sing mostly Dorothy Moore songs as you might notice.

BC: Do you like to perform live?

DM: When I'm on stage I come alive. Once, I had a hurt leg the day of my performance limping all over, but when they called me on stage the pain went away. The older I've gotten the more comfortable I am with my audience. I love to perform but only on stage.

BC: Your new album "I'm Doing Alright" is very eclectic with many style ranging from blues to Memphis soul to contemporary R & B, jazzy blues and even a gospel song. How did you choose the songs for this project?

DM: I choose these songs so my audience could hear some of the sounds that Dorothy Moore is made of musically. I believe that I have more to come. I sang this kind of work before I was discovered. The labels put me in a box. On my label, I'm out of the box! I know I'll always sing ballads.

BC: How do you feel this album rates with your past glories?

DM: I'll always give credit to my past work. I guess time will tell.

BC: We here at Blues Critic Radio have been playing "What You Doing With The Money" and George Jackson's "Must Be Another Woman Involved". What other songs have been getting the most intention?

DM: "I'm Doing Alright" and my gospel, "What Is This," has received good airplay. I hear that "My Man Is In Town", "Do Your Duty", and "What A Difference a Day Makes" get airplay too

BC: You recently did a Public Service Announcement against bootleggers. What motivated you to do that spot?

DM: Bootleggers are stealing from the artists and industry. I wanted to support the efforts of others to urge people not to buy on the street.

BC: Do you feel bootlegging is ruining the music business?

DM: The music business is having a hard time already. Bootlegging does hurt. Artists have told me that they want to get out of the recording business because of the bootleggers. I use the slip covers because they are more difficult to copy. Jewel case products are easy to copy.

BC: What are working on now and what can we expect next from Dorothy Moore? Your goals?

DM: I'm the artist, producer, promoter and the CEO of my label, so I stay busy. I hope to produce other artists down the line. I continue to perform. I just started selling digital on CD Baby. And I'm working on a children's book in the mean time.

Dorothy Moore 'I'm Doing Alright" (Farish Street) "I'm Doing Alright" (Farish Street 2005)

*** 1/2 It had been a too long 9 years since the last all studio set (Malaco's "More Of Moore" ) from the fabulous Dorothy Moore (excluding a 2002 Christmas cd) but now she's back and better than just "alright" with this independently released showcase for her trusty pipes. That smooth, aching voice that captivated us with "Misty Blue" is today more husky and earthy, which perfectly matches the bluesy title track, a song written by the unheralded Rue Davis. This straight blues shuffle is heavy on percussion and tasty synth horns with sentiments similar to Deadric Malone's "Ain't Doin' Too Bad". She visits blues again with "What You Doing With The Money", where Moore's man is spending more than they're taking in. The song was recently done by Barabra Carr as well. The set also closes with a gospel-kissed piano blues, "What Is This?" but this 11-song disc is quite varied in style overall. First and foremost- Dorothy is a singer. The tender "Single Mother" is an empathetic Urban Adult Contemporary winner that I'd like to program right before Little Milton's "Strugglin' Lady" on a mix tape. Speaking of this latter George Jackson-written track, Jackson is also credited with the breezy dancer "Must Be Another Woman Involved". Further displaying her elasticity she masterfully handles the 1920s Bessie Smith classic "Do Your Duty", featuring some hip scats and she updates Dinah Washington's classic "What A Difference A Day Makes". In the liners she says "I chose to bring up the tempo, expand her jazz flavor and modernize backing vocals". That you did Ms. Moore! Another delight is the pretty Southern Soul toetapper "My Man Is In Town" and fans of her soul balladry will find "Stand Up And Try To Be Strong" pure honey. Don't make us wait another 9 years Dorothy! Also check out her live set "Gittin' Down Live!"

 

Interview

Artie "Blues Boy" White

Artie "Blues Boy" White is a genuine bluesman. One of the best living pillars of the legendary art form. With a throaty shout, an exquisite sense of vocal phrasing and a style that's:

"That's 200%", you say? Well, yep, Artie's that good!. He sings hard blues shuffles ("Tore Up"), Deep Soul ("I Need Someone"), funky stuff ("Love Like Yours") and brassy soul blues ("Crazy 'Bout My Baby") with the best of 'em. Although not (yet) a household name, he's garnered praise and admiration from the blues community in the U.S. and overseas. He has a loyal following that's motivated him to cut some 15 albums of new material in 20 years time.

White was born April 16, 1937 in Vicksburg, Ms. Like many blues singers he started with Gospel and sang with a spiritual group, The Harps Of David, at the age of 11 prior to coming to Chicago in 1956. White continued to sing gospel, now with the Full Gospel Wonders. White switched over to blues in the early 1960s. Over the next two decades, he recorded a number of singles with independent labels such as P&M, Gamma, and Al Tee. Titles include "Gimme Some Of Yours", "Lookin' For A Good Time", "Love Like Yours (Is Hard To Find)", "Rough Enough", "She's The One" & "Bad Intentions". White briefly reached #99 on the R & B charts with "You Are My Leanin' Tree" in 1977. But it wasn't until 1984 that he recorded his first full-length album for Ronn Records called "Blues Boy" that reprised his smash "Leanin' Tree". The LP made more noise with the popular singles "Jimmie" and "Chain Of Fools". Artie adopted "Blues Boy" as part of his name. He then signed with Ichiban in 1987 and waxed six fine sets in the soul-blues vein- two of which even charted on Billboard's R & B charts. In an era when synthesizers and fleeting drum program sounds dominated black music, Artie produced soulful blues with real musicians. When Ichiban closed shop Artie was signed to a three-album deal with Waldoxy, a Malaco affiliate. After three marvelous albums with Waldoxy Artie started his own label (Achilltown) and had released three albums thus far. But now he's back with "Package Deal". Blues Critic took the opportunity to interview Artie for this fine release

The Interview

BC = Blues Critic

ArtieWhite = Artie "Blues Boy" White

BC: Like other greats from Sam Cooke to Vernon Garrett, you started off singing gospel. How did you become a blues man?

ArtieWhite: I had been loving and following Blues all my life. I met a guy one day and he told me if I would sing the blues he would give me a certain amount of money so I started singing the blues it was as simple as that.

BC: When did you first record?

ArtieWhite: In 1965

BC: Growing up in Chicago whom many call the "home of the blues", you must've played with a lot of big names over the years? Who had an impact on your career?

ArtieWhiteOther entertainers that most impacted my career were Little Milton, Bobby Bland, BB King, Albert King and Little Jr. Parker. Travis Haddix for the great writing he has done for me.


Artie Blues Boy White 


BC: In 1977 you scored a huge hit with "Leanin' Tree". Why was there no full LP until 1985's "Blues Boy" on Ronn?

ArtieWhite: I was with a small company at that time.

(editor's note: Artie was then recording for Al Tee's label)

Artie Blues Boy White Bluesboy Where It's At Artie Blues Boy White Bluesboy Thangs Gotta Change Artie Blues Boy White Bluesboy Artie Blues Boy White Bluesboy Artie Blues Boy White Bluesboy

BC: You signed with Ichiban in 1987. Your six records for the label are the best to come from that label. The sound is clean and full. When did you start producing your own music?

ArtieWhiteIn the early 80s when I first recorded with Jewel Records.

BC: Little Milton played a large part in making the cd "Thangs Got To Change" such a success. You and Milton were longtime friends. Did you get a chance to talk to him recently before he died?

ArtieWhite: Yes I spoke with him the same day he became ill.

BC: Are you proud of the work you did for the label? Do you have a favorite record you've done?

ArtieWhite: Yes I am. My favorite record I’ve done would be "I need someone" and there are many other favorites of mine.

Artie Blues Boy White Bluesboy Artie Blues Boy White Bluesboy Artie Blues Boy White Bluesboy

BC: How did you hook up with Waldoxy?

ArtieWhite: I was familiar with the label and I stopped there on one of my trips South and spoke with Tommy Couch Jr. I left several albums with him and I was called later to join the label. I am very proud of the work I did there.

BC: You cut three acclaimed CDs for the label. How come you didn't re-sign with them?

ArtieWhite: The label was cutting back and making some changes and I needed to continue with my music therefore while I was waiting I decided to do something for myself. There maybe another Waldoxy CD in my future.

BC: You started your own label called A Chill Town and continued to produce full-bodied soul/blues with real musicians. "Can't Get Enough", which I consider to be one of your best was the first on your label. You then did two sturdy blues CDs. Why didn't you cut costs and use programming and synths instead of real musicians since that's the norm today?

ArtieWhite: I wanted to continue to produce the real blues sound that can best be accomplished with real musicians I always try to give the best possible product to my fans who I appreciate very much. Quality is very important to me.

Artie Blues Boy White Bluesboy

BC: I noticed on your new record "Package Deal" you enlisted the help of Walter Wells and you've added some more Southern Soul to the mix. The title track is a definite hit. "Chinese Shuffle" is one heckuva dance tune, but what is the "Chinese Shuffle"?

ArtieWhite: It is the blues version of the electric slide as only blues lovers can do it.

BC: One of the finest cuts is the hard blues shuffle "Bag Lady" written by Travis Haddix. In fact one of the major sources of strong material on all your albums is from Haddix. How did this friendship begin?

ArtieWhite: I was playing Cleveland in 1986 and I included him on my show and we became friends.

BC: I understand you and Travis had a recording session recently. Will that material see the light of day?

ArtieWhite: Yes it definitely will

BC: How do you feel about the state of the blues today?

ArtieWhiteThe Blues is here to stay however it does not get adequate amount air play.

BC: You have a loyal following who will always buy your records, but has doing it all yourself with A Chill Town a drawback or a blessing?

ArtieWhite: Both. It is a drawback because of budget constraints being a small company. It is a blessing in that I am able to continue to produce music that I love for my loyal fans.

BC: What is the secret of Artie 'Blues Boy' White's success?

ArtieWhite: Loving what I do, putting God first, lots of hard work, support from people such as yourself, and most of all being blessed with opportunities and loyal fans. I thank God for my success...

Artie Blues Boy White Package Deal Southern Soul Blues "Package Deal" (A Chill Town 2005)

*** Little Milton, Bobby "Blue" Bland and Artie "Blues Boy" White have been the big three when it comes to genuine soul/blues music for quite some time- that is, the few that still use live musicians. Little Milton has left us and BBB records sparingly so Artie's carrying the torch now. This is his fourth album in as many years and it's a faithful mix of Southern Soul and soulful blues. The 10-song set leads off with a shuffle-bumping dancer called "Chinese Shuffle", the most overtly commercial track Artie's done in quite some time. Written by co-producer Walter Wells, it has serious hit potential- especially in Southern juke joints. Wells wrote 4 more tracks, including the swingin' "Can't Watch A Pussycat" and "Package Deal", a tasty slice of Southern Soul on the upbeat. It features synth horns- a rarity for an Artie album but seemingly essential for radio play in the chittlin circuit. The best cut is Travis Haddix's (erroneously printed as "Travel Hattie") "Bag Lady", a hard blues shuffle with some tart guitar licks by Chico Banks, a shining star on most "Blues Boy" albums. Blues is Artie's habitat but he can sing deep soul too on the tragic "Breakfast On The Table", a Don Bryant song previously done by Otis Clay (correct title is "I Can't Take It"). More meaty blues is found on "How Long Has This Been Going On" and "When You Leave Don't Take Nothing", both by Sam Mosley and lifted from the 1999 Waldoxy disc "Can We Get Together". There's also a staunch take on Albert King's muscular "Truckload Of Loving". It must be noted the sound and production is cleaner and fuller on "Package Deal" than his last two discs and that's a bonus.

Floyd Taylor

Yes, close your eyes, listen. He sounds so much like Johnnie Taylor you'd think he'd been resurrected. That same smoky, sexy voice and expert phrasing is back on brand new recordings. How is that possible? The Prince is now King. Johnnie Taylor's son Floyd Taylor is reigning over the Southern Soul world. Of course all props and respect be to the late JT and in fairness, Floyd Taylor is no mere clone of the great one but you just can't help notice. "Baby I've Changed" was the jam of the year in 2005 and the album "No Doubt" is filled to the brim with silky slow jams and steppin' R & B that makes ladies swoon and the fellas nod their head.

Floyd Singletary (Taylor) was born in Chicago and sang with a band at Dusable High School in Chicago, where he graduated. His first shows were at the Regal Theater in Chicago but Floyd held day jobs working at Children's Memorial Hospital and Mercy Hospital while waiting for his chance to follow in his father's footsteps.

During Johnnie's "Disco Lady" days (the 70s) Floyd joined his father on several concert tours and also performed with other big names like Natalie Cole, Patti LaBelle, Aretha Franklin, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Bobby Womack, & more. Floyd was even voted the 1998 Entertainer of the Year by the Chicago Blues Society. This helped propel Floyd closer to that coveted recording contract. In 2002 the appropriately-titled "Legacy" was released on Malaco Records.

Album Discography

 "Legacy" (Malaco 2002)

*** 1/2 Being that Johnnie Taylor was the "King of Southern Soul/Blues" Floyd was a natural born prince of the genre. One's first reaction may be: "Here's another wannabe trying to capitalize on nepotism". That's is until you listen to the very first track "I'm Crazy About That Lady In Red". If you hadn't ever heard JT you'd impressed by Floyd's smoky, soulful chops. The song in question is also a prime cut of upbeat Southern Soul music written by Harrison Calloway and Rue Davis . Or perhaps you read the liner notes by Wolf Stephenson: "Johnnie Taylor fans will not doubt the well from which this voice is drawn. Floyd Taylor does not deny he sounds like his father when he sings. He sounds like him when he talks, laughs, sings, shouts, whispers and cries. Never think for even a moment that this is an affection. It is real, inherited; an in-the genes legitimate gift" and you were understandably skeptical before listening. Well, no hyperbole here, it's like Johnnie was still with us. Interestingly, Davis, a fabulous singer that himself sounds like Johnnie (and ZZ Hill), also contributed another winner, "I'm In Love With The Girl Next Door". Rich Cason, who scored big time with papa's "Good Love", provides the son with some strong material like "Old School Style" and "Part Time Lover". This is a delicious modern soul album period.

Floyd Taylor "No Doubt" (Malaco) "No Doubt" (Malaco 2005)

*** 1/2 In showbiz there's just as many advantages as disadvantages in having a famous parent. Johnnie Taylor was one of the greatest soul blues singers and you can't expect anyone to fill those shoes. For Floyd Taylor you might benefit from the nepotism but suffer from unfair comparisons to such a legend. Well the good (even great) news for Floyd and us all is he's got the voice. In fact if Malaco had surreptitiously released this disc under the name Johnnie Taylor few if any would have figured out the ruse. Sonny boy has the same aching, slightly smoky chops. This is album number two for Floyd and it's already a huge hit in the south. "Baby I've Changed" is currently the number one single on southern soul charts. The smooth number contains slick phrasing and a clean production (as Malaco is known for) that would have been tailor-made for Johnny (pun intended). "We're Going Out On The Town" is one of too few uptempo horn-backed southern soul jams as most of the album contains slower mainstream-minded cuts like bedroom jams "Go Upstairs" & "Unfinished Business" . Though the singing is great a little more variety would have been nice. "Slipped, Tripped Stumbled In Fell" and "Here's A Flower" are gorgeous vocals that Johnny himself would be proud to claim. Yes, JT fans should pick this up now!

 "You Still Got It" (Malaco 2007) LISTEN

*** Floyd Taylor is one of the kings of Southern Soul, a title held without dispute by his late father (Yup, Johnnie Taylor) for years prior to his death. Floyd's also one of few celebrity offspring to live up to the expectations. In fact, Malaco could've released this new LP, not to mention the previous two Floyd discs, under the name "Johnnie Taylor" and I believe nobody would've been hip to the ruse. That's not to say Floyd is as good as his famous father (time will tell though!) but he's kept JT alive for most of us. Perhaps one day critics like myself will write about Floyd with nary a mention of "pops" but for the time being Malaco Records makes no bones about having Floyd make Johnnie Taylor music. There's no frontin' on a song called "I Miss My Daddy" where Floyd waxes sentimental about his father. The song is one of five written and produced by the late great Rich Cason, who incidentally was JT's producer as well. Cason's mega-hit, an uncharacteristic (for JT) slick Pop/R & B ditty with a Jeep feel called "Good Love" had changed the way JT made albums for the remainder of his career. We still got the horn-drenched Soul & Downhome Blues but each album would contain a few mainstream R & B/Hip-Hop flavored concessions ala "Good Love".

That formula has continued with Floyd and daggummit it's still working. In 2005 Floyd dominated Southern soul airwaves with Cason's "Baby I've Changed" to the point our readers voted it Southern Soul Song Of The Year (2005 Blues Critic Awards). It's late in 2007 and Cason, prior to his passing, has delivered an even better song called "You Still Got It". Perhaps the most truly romantic song of the decade. "Nineteen to twenty-two ain't got a damn on you. You still got it babe" Floyd croons to the wife of his youth who he's grown older with. An absolute genius track and yet a bittersweet swansong to Rich Cason's memorable career. (Cason was voted Record Producer Of The Year in 2005)

Now with that said the fact remains the rest of the disc (also titled "You Still Got It") pales in comparison. The other creeping, R & B jams "If I Could Do It Over", "(You're Gonna) Get Us Killed" & "What If He Knew" are filler. Both "Woman" and "Sweet Love" are mediocre Urban AC floaters that would fit snugly on a mid-80s Luther Vandross album. Even the seemingly surefire dancer "Southern Soul Party" suffers from brittle production and that programmed bass. In comparison George Jackson's "No One Should Be Lonely" & "I'm Hooked On These Blues" hit their target while the aforementioned "I Miss My Daddy" and the other slow jam, "If You Catch Me Sleepin", (an Earl Powell and FT co-write) are simply gorgeous. Floyd can phrase like all the greats and one day soon he's going to make a great CD. This one's just pretty good (and that's okay for now).

 


Blues Critic took the opportunity to interview Mr. Floyd Taylor upon him winning BEST SOUTHERN SOUL SONG & BEST MALE VOCAL PERFORMANCE in 2005's BLUES CRITIC AWARDS.

The Interview

BC = Blues Critic

FT = Floyd Taylor

BC: First of all, congratulations. Thousands voted and they chose you.

FT: Man, you just made my day. I really appreciate it.

BC: You almost won four categories!

FT: That is such good news. I really appreciate all the support fans give me.

BC: Firstly, and to get it out of the way, folks want to know about the Johnnie Taylor connection. How do you overcome possibly being in the shadow of your father?

FT: Well, you know I feel very blessed. People always tell me I sound like him and I take it as a compliment naturally. I don't mind at all but I also got to have my own identity, you know? It's hard because my father was such a legend but I feel honored.

BC: Do you feel you sound like your Father?

FT: (laughs) I guess so I'm just doing my thang, you know? I'm a young man struggling to make it. But that's the best compliment. The good Lord's been real good to me so I'm just grateful..

BC: After listening to you I'm wondering what took you so long to record?

FT: Couldn't nobody see me until the good Lord took my father. Believe it or not. It took years for me to get noticed. My father even took me down to the record label and they were like, "We already have Johnnie Taylor, why we need you?" But then when the good Lord took my father doors opened up to me. It's ironic.

BC: I imagine with your first record "Legacy" the Malaco folks wanted you to do a JT-type record?

FT: Yes and no. On the new one we did "I Got To Love Somebody's Baby" as a tribute to my father. But we just doing the music we want to do.

BC: Are you more into the mainstream R & B than what we call "Southern Soul"?

FT: It's all R & B, you know? I like mainstream R & B more probably. R. Kelly's a trendsetter and I really like him. Southern Soul is sorta like straight up R & B but they needed another name for it because they needed a place to put hip hop and that's mainstream.

Floyd Taylor "No Doubt" (Malaco)

BC: What did you think of "Baby I've Changed" when they brought it to you?

FT: I had been telling Rich (Cason) I wanted to do something in that R. Kelly flavor and when he gave me that song, "Baby I've Changed" I knew we had something.

BC"We're Going Out On The Town" sounds like more typical Malaco sounds.

FT: Yeah, Wolf (Stephenson) did that one.

BC: Do you prefer to sing slow, sexy songs?

FT: I don't consider myself the greatest ballad singer. I'm not Brian McKnight or Peabo Bryson but, sure, I like to sing for the ladies.

BC: Are you working on anything new right now?

FT: Yeah, right now we're just gathering songs and we'll be putting another record out.