MickeyV | All About Blues Music

JIMMY DAWKINS

Jimmy Dawkins is not a superstar Bluesman, but his prickly, hard-edged guitar style marked him out as a West-side veteran, and his intense, committed vocals let you know he had made his life in the Blues. Many of his albums and songs had mis-spelled titles, but Jimmy was a shrewd man who knew the business,…

LITTLE SONNY

If the confusion caused by John Lee Williamson and Rice Miller both using the name ‘Sonny Boy’ wasn’t enough, there were at least FIVE guys using the tag ‘Little Sonny’. Little Sonny Warner was a Gospel-Blues singer from Virginia who had a hit in 1959 with ‘Something On Your Mind’; Little Sonny Jones was a…

STEVE MILLER

Steve Miller started out as a West-coast Blues-rocker, who rode the wave of guitar based rock and achieved phenomenal record sales in the 70s and 80s with his excellent songwriting talents and eloquent guitar style. With record sales pushing 30m. over his long career, Steve is currently re-visiting his roots as a Blues guitarist and…

GUITAR SHORTY II

Some Blues players earn their nick-names over long hard years of playing; some tag on their place of origin or a physical feature; others are given a flashy nom-de-Blues by their record company. When the young David Kennedy walked into the Miami club where he was due to play and asked “Who’s that ‘Guitar Shorty’…

HANK BALLARD

Hank Ballard caused a storm of controversy in the 50s, when established society was getting worked into a froth about ‘juvenile delinquents’ and ‘jungle music’, with his mildly suggestive songs about a girl called Annie, which were all banned from the radio but went high in the charts. When that controversy died down, Hank wrote…

DOCTOR ROSS

Doctor Ross ‘The Harmonica Boss’ got his stage name from his habit of carrying his harps in a black bag like a medical man. An extremely unorthodox musician, Dr. Ross spent most of his career as a one-man-band in the spirit of Daddy Stovepipe and Joe Hill Louis. He started out playing near his Delta…

MARTIN SCORSESE

“The Blues are the roots and everything else is the fruits” is a quote from Willie Dixon. Martin Scorsese is a man who I think would agree with that sentiment, and he made a big contribution to public understanding of the principle with his television series ‘The Blues’ some years ago. A native of New…

WC HANDY

WC Handy was the ‘Father of the Blues’, at least that’s what it said in his autobiography. It is probably more true to say he was a talented composer who became a great collector and populariser of the Blues, who was also largely responsible for bringing this local folk music from the Mississippi Delta to…

LITTLE WILLIE JOHN

The story of Little Willie John is one of hope dashed by tragedy. His muscular, agile vocal style set the stage for a generation of Soul singers, but all his biggest records were covered with greater success by other artists. His undoubted talent led to a string of R&B and Hot100 hits, but he died…

WC CLARK

Austin, Texas has a vibrant live Blues scene, enriched by the presence of WC Clark, whose solid Blues band and soulful voice have been a mainstay of the club circuit there for decades. As a bass player he has backed many legendary players and as a guitarist his elegant lines recall the laid-back, tasteful style…