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The Earthshaker
''The Earthshaker'' is a blues album by Koko Taylor, released in 1978 by Alligator Records. The album has since been released on CD by Alligator. Critical reception Reviewing in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981), Robert Christgau wrote: "Considering its size, Taylor's voice has never been what you'd call rich—she flubs the pitch quite a bit, and on the slow ones she's often sounded flat emotionally as well. But it retains amazing presence—by now it's deepened and roughened so much that her late work for Chess sounds girlish by comparison. Two or three of the slow ones here really drag, always a crippling flaw in Chicago blues, but the uptempo stuff is exemplary—the songs are fun as songs, and the guitar on her latest remake of 'Wang Dang Doodle' is ace." Track listing Personnel * Koko Taylor – vocals * Johnny B. Moore – guitar * Sammy Lawhorn – guitar * Pinetop Perkins Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins (July 7, 1913 – Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koko Taylor
Koko Taylor (born Cora Anna Walton, September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009) was an American singer whose style encompassed Chicago blues, electric blues, rhythm and blues and soul blues. Sometimes called "The Queen of the Blues", she was known for her rough, powerful vocals. Life and career Born on a farm near Memphis, Tennessee, Taylor was the daughter of a sharecropper. She left Tennessee for Chicago in 1952 with her husband, Robert "Pops" Taylor, a truck driver. In the late 1950s, she began singing in blues clubs in Chicago. She was spotted by Willie Dixon in 1962, and this led to more opportunities for performing and her first recordings. In 1963 she had a single on USA Records, and in 1964 a cut on a Chicago blues collection on Spivey Records, called ''Chicago Blues''. In 1964 Dixon brought Taylor to Checker Records, a subsidiary label of Chess Records, for which she recorded "Wang Dang Doodle", a song written by Dixon and recorded by Howlin' Wolf five years earlier. The re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wang Dang Doodle
"Wang Dang Doodle" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon. Music critic Mike Rowe calls it a party song in an urban style with its massive, rolling, exciting beat. It was first recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1960 and released by Chess Records in 1961. In 1965, Dixon and Leonard Chess persuaded Koko Taylor to record it for Checker Records, a Chess subsidiary. Taylor's rendition quickly became a hit, reaching number thirteen on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and number 58 on the pop chart. "Wang Dang Doodle" became a blues standard and has been recorded by various artists. Composition and lyrics "Wang Dang Doodle" was composed by Willie Dixon during the second part of his songwriting career, from 1959 to 1964. During this period, he wrote many of his best-known songs, including "Back Door Man", "Spoonful", "The Red Rooster" (better-known as "Little Red Rooster"), "I Ain't Superstitious", "You Shook Me", "You Need Love" (adapted by Led Zeppelin for "Whole Lotta Love"), and "You Can' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harmonica Hinds
Harmonica Hinds (born Mervyn H.G. Hinds, January 4, 1945) is a Trinidadian-American blues singer and musician. He moved from Trinidad to Canada and then settled permanently in Chicago. He was influenced by blues musicians and started playing harmonica at an early age. He became known in the 1970s, when he played on the house band of Theresa's Lounge in Chicago. He shared the stage with and played on albums by many blues musicians for more than five decades, making his first recording in 2008. Further recordings were made in 2010 and 2012. He has been described as one of the most talented Chicago blues musicians and remains active on the Chicago blues scene. Life and career Hinds, born in Trinidad, moved from his birthplace to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and then to Toronto. He moved to Chicago in 1977 and then to New Orleans from 1976 to 1983, and then permanently back to Chicago. Hinds was first captivated with blues harmonica while in Canada when he saw Sonny Terry play. He sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinetop Perkins
Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins (July 7, 1913 – March 21, 2011) was an American blues pianist. He played with some of the most influential blues and rock-and-roll performers of his time and received numerous honors, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and induction into the Blues Hall of Fame. Life and career Early career Perkins was born in Belzoni, Mississippi and raised on a plantation in Honey Island, Mississippi. He began his career as a guitarist but then injured the tendons in his left arm in a knife fight with a chorus girl in Helena, Arkansas in the 1940s. Unable to play the guitar, he switched to the piano. He also moved from Robert Nighthawk's radio program on KFFA to Sonny Boy Williamson's ''King Biscuit Time''. He continued working with Nighthawk, however, accompanying him on "Jackson Town Gal" in 1950. In the 1950s, Perkins joined Earl Hooker and began touring. He recorded "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie" at Sam Phillips's Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sammy Lawhorn
Sammy David Lawhorn (July 12, 1935 – April 29, 1990) was an American Chicago blues guitarist, best known as a member of Muddy Waters's band. He also accompanied many other blues musicians, including Otis Spann, Willie Cobbs, Eddie Boyd, Roy Brown, Big Mama Thornton, John Lee Hooker, James Cotton and Junior Wells. Biography Lawhorn was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. His parents soon separated, and his mother remarried, leaving him in the care of his grandparents. He made his own diddley bow, nailing baling twine to the side of their house. He frequently visited his mother and stepfather in Chicago. They bought him a ukulele, then an acoustic guitar and finally an electric guitar. By the age of fifteen, he was proficient enough to accompany Driftin' Slim on stage. With further guidance from Sonny Boy Williamson II, Lawhorn began playing with him on the radio program ''King Biscuit Time''. He was conscripted in 1953 and served in the United States Navy. On a tour of duty i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny B
Johnny B may refer to: * "Johnny B" (song), song by The Hooters * Jonathon Brandmeier (born 1956), American radio personality and musician known as Johnny B See also * ''Johnny Be Good ''Johnny Be Good'' is a 1988 American comedy film directed by Bud S. Smith, starring Anthony Michael Hall as the main character, Johnny Walker. The film also features Robert Downey Jr., Paul Gleason, Steve James, Jennifer Tilly and Uma Thurman. ...'', 1988 American comedy film directed by Bud Smith * " Johnny B. Goode", 1958 rock-and-roll song written and first recorded by Chuck Berry and covered intensively {{disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorothy LaBostrie
Dorothy LaBostrie (May 28, 1928 – November 4, 2007), later Dorothy LaBostrie Black, was an American songwriter, best known for co-writing Little Richard's 1955 hit "Tutti Frutti". Early life and songwriting career She was born in Rayland, Kentucky; some sources incorrectly claim a birth year of 1938 rather than 1928. Her parents were Amos and Orelia C. LaBostrie. She was raised in Mobile, Alabama, and in 1951 moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, to seek out her father's Creole relatives. She started working as a cook and waitress, wrote poems, and began frequenting the jazz and blues clubs on Rampart Street. In September 1955 — though details of the story vary — she was contacted by record producer Bumps Blackwell of Specialty Records, who needed someone to rewrite and tone down the lyrics of a ribald song performed by Little Richard. LaBostrie went to Cosimo Matassa's studio, where Little Richard was recording, and reportedly rewrote the words of the song in 15 minute ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bo Diddley
Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, George Thorogood, and The Clash. His use of African rhythms and a signature beat, a simple five- accent hambone rhythm, is a cornerstone of hip hop, rock, and pop music. In recognition of his achievements, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2003, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2017. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Diddley is also recognized for his technical innovations, including his use of tremolo and reverb effects to enhance the sound of his distinctive rectangular-shaped guitars. Early life ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I'm A Man (Bo Diddley Song)
"I'm a Man" is a rhythm and blues song written and recorded by Bo Diddley in 1955. Inspired by an earlier blues song, it was one of his first hits. "I'm a Man" has been recorded by a variety of artists, including the Yardbirds, who adapted it in an upbeat rock style. Bo Diddley song "I'm a Man" was one of the first songs Bo Diddley recorded for Checker Records. Unlike his self-titled "Bo Diddley (Bo Diddley song), Bo Diddley" that was recorded the same day (March 2, 1955 in Chicago), "I'm a Man" does not use the Bo Diddley beat. Rather, it was inspired by Muddy Waters' 1954 song "Hoochie Coochie Man", written by Willie Dixon. After Diddley's release, Waters recorded an "answer song" to "I'm a Man" in May 1955, titled "Mannish Boy", a play on words on Bo Diddley's younger age as it related to the primary theme of the song. In a ''Rolling Stone'' magazine interview, Bo Diddley recounts that the song took a long time to record because of confusion regarding the timing of the "M.. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hey Bartender
"Hey Bartender" is a song written by Dossie Terry, copyright filing EU389235 dated 10 March 1955 and renewed RE180048 on 11 March 1983. It was first recorded by Floyd Dixon in 1955 on Cat Records 114; the label credits "Terry" as composer. A cover by "Blue Boo Boo" Blazer & Little Archie Taylor with Geechie Hicks & His Creole Combo was released as a B-side in 1959 and it was credited to "Blazer-Williams". A cover by Laurel Aitken in 1961 titled "Bar Tender" made the song a success, though the Blue Beat 45 label credited "L. Aitken" as composer. It was subsequently covered and recorded live by The Blues Brothers in 1978, although the composer credit on the Atlantic Records release indicated "Floyd Dickson". It was also recorded by American country music artist Johnny Lee, though his release also credited "Floyd Dickson" as composer. It was released in June 1983 as the first single and title track from his album, ''Hey Bartender''. The song reached number 2 on the ''Billboard'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mel London
Mel London (April 9, 1932 – May 16, 1975) was an American songwriter, record producer, and record label owner. He was active in the Chicago blues and R&B scenes in the 1950s and 1960s. London is best known for his compositions for Chicago blues artists Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, and Junior Wells as well as being the record producer and owner of Chief Records (and its Profile Records and Age Records subsidiaries). In 1954, Mel London wrote the first of several hit songs for the blues and R&B markets. His "Poison Ivy" was recorded by Willie Mabon and reached number seven in the Billboard R&B chart in 1954. In 1955, three hits written by London followed: "Who Will Be Next" by Howlin' Wolf and two by Muddy Waters - "Sugar Sweet" and " Manish Boy.""Manish Boy" cowriters: Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters Not content with just songwriting, in 1957 he started his own record label, Chief Records. Chief's first single, the London-penned "Man from the Island," featured L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willie Dixon
William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he is perhaps best known as one of the most prolific songwriters of his time. Next to Muddy Waters, Dixon is recognized as the most influential person in shaping the post–World War II sound of the Chicago blues.Trager, Oliver (2004). ''Keys to the Rain: The Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia''. Billboard Books. pp. 298–299. . Dixon's songs have been recorded by countless musicians in many genres as well as by various ensembles in which he participated. A short list of his most famous compositions includes "Hoochie Coochie Man", " I Just Want to Make Love to You", "Little Red Rooster", "My Babe", "Spoonful", and "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover". These songs were written during the peak years of Chess Records, from 1950 to 1965, and wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
