Traveling Blues Show No. 57 July 25, 2012

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Tonight we had a laid back show, opening with a live jam by Michael Bloomfield, in honor of his birthday/
We presented an old live recording from Canadian radio of the great David Wilcox (the Canadian Blues-Rock artist).
In addition to Michael Bloomfield, we celebrated the birthdays of JImmy Cox, Sylvester Weaver, and Robert Lucas.
We presented a new recording from Canadian singer Eleanor Gang, singing a song written by her brother and Israel Blues community member Ron Gang.
We also featured a new CD by Guy Dagan and Assaf Barak, a.k.a. "Lightnin' Hits the Rye".

here's our playlist:

01. Michael Bloomfield - Sweet Little Angel / Jelly Jelly
02. David Wilcox - Alligator in the Bathtub
03. Hot Tuna - Nobody KNows You When You're Down and Out
04. Eleanor Gang - Buddha's Blues
05. David Wilcox - Guitar Pickin' Man
06. Robert Lucas - Chiropractor Blues
07. Sylvester Weaver - What Makes a Man Blue
08. Sylvester Weaver - Guitar Rag
09. Assfa Barak and Guy Dagan - Blues Harp Shuffle
10. Assaf Barak and Guy Dagan - Blues With a Feeling
11. Michel Bloomfield - Buried Alive in the Blues

Traveling Blues show no. 56 July 18, 2012

The podcast is available here:

Traveling Blues show no. 56 July 18, 2012 

Tonight we had our friend Delmark Goldfarb in the studio,
and he brought with him 11 year old Elijah Eskins to accompany him on electric guitar.
We featured an album by veteran Blues singer and guitarist Bill Sims Jr.,
and celebrated the birthday of Washboard Sam (born Robert Brown)
Our Dirty Blues of the week  - Merline Johnson and Don't You Make Me High (Don't You Feel My Leg).


Here's our playlist:

01. Bill Sims Jr. - I Want To See You Again
02. Robert Belfour - Down the Road of Love
03. Merline Johnson - Don't You Make Me High (Don't You Feel My Leg)
04,. Bill Sims Jr. - Blues For Breakfast
05. Washboard Sam - Out With the Wrong Woman
06. Delmark Goldfarb - Got Something Good With Her
07. Delmark Goldfarb and Elijah Eskins (live in studio) - Early In The Morning
08, Delmark Goldfarb and Elijah Eskins (live in studio) - Big Boss Man
09. Delmark Goldfarb and Elijah Eskins (live in studio) - The Likes of Us
10. R.L. Burnside - My Woman Done Left Me
11. R.L. Burnside - You Don't Love Me
12. North Mississippi Allstars - Po' Black Mattie
13. Delmark Goldfarb and Elijah Eskins (live in studio) - Going To New York
14. Robert Belfour - Catfish Blues

Traveling Blues - show no. 55  July 11, 2012

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North Mississippi Allstars live in Tel Aviv, Tuesday, July 10, 2012

 Luther Dickinson with Israel Blues Society

 co-founder Ilan Jonas

More than 400 music fans from many different disciplines and from all over the country came out Tuesday night July 10, 2012 to the Barby club in downtown Tel Aviv.
A fair contingent of Israel Blues Society members, some dedicated "Deadheads" (Grateful Dead fans),
fans of jambands like the Allman Brothers and Gov't Mule, and just folks who enjoy good music, and heard about the show from friends and on Facebook.
The Barby club is an old warehouse type structure with very high ceilings and metal rafters to support the old roof, huge chandeliers that look over 100 years old hang here and there from the rafters.


The folks start filtering in and getting settled in seats around tables, or standing in the space in front of the stage. Many of us are old friends and acquaintances who see each other at concerts and festivals, and this is one of the biggest events we have shared all year.

Alvin Youngblood Hart comes on stage to open the show solo, playing Charlie Patton, Son House, and Skip James classics as well as a couple of his own songs with impeccable technique on the guitar and a very soulful voice. To tell the truth, many of us came to hear Alvin just as much as the features act. The crowd is warmed up nicely now, and ready for the main show, the air is already highly charged with lovely energy, and about 10 minutes after Alvin finishes his set, brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson come on stage.

 Luther Dickinson with 2 dedicated Blues fans

Cody immediately opens with a New Orleans style quick parade marching beat, as Luther straps on his guitar and begins picking out a song slowly and softly.
The brothers, also known as the North Mississippi Allstars, and also as the North Mississippi Allstars Duo LuCo, It is quite hard to believe how full the sound is coming out of just a guitar and drum set, but these two manage to make it sound like at least a full 4 piece band was on stage.

After an hour with a string of their best songs, going from playing hard and full out and back down to a whisper and gentle fingerpicking, the audience is rocking and swaying, and hanging on their every move, and that's when Alvin comes back on stage, and picks up the bass guitar. Luther sits at the drum kit, as Cody pulls out a metal laundry washboard that is hooked up to a microphone and electronic effects pedals, and literally stuns the audience by making some wild and amazing sound patterns with the amplified washboard. Alvin now takes up a guitar and Luther the bass, as Alvin sings a couple of his own songs, and then switches back to the bass, as Luther pulls out an amplified 2 string cigar box guitar and plays it with a bottleneck slide. Next, Luther picks up a 2 stringed amplified coffee tin guitar and plays it slide style as well as singing through the other end of the tin can like a megaphone...

After all this wildness, they all went off stage for a few minutes as the crowd all stood on their feet and waited for an encore, and encore they got - at least another 20 minutes of the amazing high energy North Mississippi Allstars show. As one person leaving the club said: "That's just what I needed, that music filled me up for a long time!"

Traveling Blues - show no. 55 July 11, 2012

The podcast is available here:

Traveling Blues - show no. 55  July 11, 2012

On tonight's show, we were still enjoying the high from the North Mississippi Allstars performance last night in Tel Aviv.
Blues birthdays of the week wre Casey Bill Weldon and Blind Boy Fuller. We featured a new release by singer guitarist Suzanne Thomas and the Blues Church.

There are two members of the Blues community that need our help - Graham Wood Drout of the Florida Blues band Iko-Iko, who is recovering from medical treatment for complications from severe diabetes,
and Curtis Salgado, who is undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous piece of his lung.

You can donate to Graham's Wood Drout medical fund at this website:
http://www.iko-iko.com/Iko-Iko/HELP_GRAHAM.html

You can chip in to Curtis Salgado's medical fund by clicking "chip in " on his website:
http://www.curtissalgado.com/

Here's our playlist:
01. North Mississippi Allstars - Shake  
02. North Mississippi Allstars - Going Home
03. Robert Belfour - Po' Black Mattie
04. Johnny Moore and the Three Blazers - How Blue Can You Get?
05. Iko- Iko - I've Got the Gris Gris
06. Curtis Salgado - Inside My Heart
07. Suzanne Thomas - Cheatin' On Me
08. Casey Bill Weldon - Somebody Changed the Lock on My Door
09. Blind Boy Fuller - Baby I Don't Have to Worry
10. Blind Boy Fuller - Walking My Blues Away
11. Robert Belfour - Hill Stomp
12. North Mississippi Allstars - The Horseshoe

Traveling Blues - show no. 55  July 11, 2012

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Traveling Blues show no. 54, July 4, 2012

The podcast is available here:

Traveling Blues show no. 54, July 4, 2012

Tonight's show featured an interview with Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars, and Blues birthdays for Mississippi John Hurt, Willie Dixon, Willie Pinetop Perkins, and James Cotton.


Here's the playlist:

01. Mississippi John Hurt - The Moanin' Blues 
02. Mississippi John Hurt - Satisfied 
03. Big Three Trio (Willie Dixon) - I Ain't Gonna Be Your Monkey Man 
04. Big Three Trio (Willie Dixon) - Violent Love 
05. The North Mississippi Allstars - Ain't None of Mine 
06. Pinetop Perkins - Baby What You Want Me To Do 
07. Luther Dickinson - interview 
08. North Mississippi Allstars - Lord Have Mercy 
09. James Cotton - Cut You Loose 
10. Daniel Dworsky - Don't Cry to Me 

Listen to Traveling Blues live Wednesdays at 8 PM (GMT+2) IDC Radio 106.2FM,
or http://1062fm.co.il/en/,

Listen to archived podcasts at www.icast.co.il/TravelingBlues

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Traveling Blues - My New Blues Radio Show!!!

Hey people,
I've got a brand new Blues radio show called "Traveling Blues"!!!

It airs on Wednesday nights at 8:00 PM (Jerusalem time, 6:00 PM GMT, 1:00 PM EDT), and you can listen to it live on radio (106.2FM in central Israel) or the internet from the IDC Radio site.
The show is also archived as an MP3 file/podcast that can be downloaded directly from the iCast site or streamed in the online popup player - just click the earphone icon.

The show is mostly presented in English
(shows no. 2 and no.5 are all in English,
and from show no.14 onward, we will present completely in English),
but you will certainly be able to make out the artist names and phrases that we discuss on the show, and we have a live artist in the studio on many of our shows.
Sooooooo, please tune in and turn on the Blues,
 and tell all your friends and Blues mavens out there too!!!

Charles Sawyer interviewed on IDC radio

In my recent "Traveling Blues" radio show on IDC radio,
I interviewed the man who wrote the first biography of BB King, Charles Sawyer,
a Blues harmonica player in his own right,
as well as a Blues historian, and photographer, who teaches an extension course at Harvard University on the Blues.

You can listen to and/or download the show at:
http://pod.icast.co.il/7841cb9​1-d266-4026-9cb4-30913a5bb835.​icast.mp3
or at
http://www.icast.co.il/PlayerW​in.aspx?file=http%3A%2F%2Fpod.​icast.co.il%2F7841cb91-d266-40​26-9cb4-30913a5bb835.icast.mp3​&IndexID=396590&name=iCast

Charlie Musslewhite - radio playlist from June 9th, 2011

Radio 90FM, Israel,
Thursday night, June 9th, 2011 24:00 - 02:00
Eli Dr. Blues Marcus as a guest on "Deja Vu" with host Benny Tavory.
This show was a tribute to Charlie Musselwhite, on the eve of his upcoming first show in Israel,
presenting the history and biography of Charlie Musselwhite.


------Artist----------**------------Song----------**-----------Album---------**-----------Label

01. Charlie Musselwhite, Finger Lickin' Good, from "Memphis Charlie", Arhoolie records
02. Charlie Musselwhite, WHere Highway 61 Runs, from "The Well", Alligator records
03. Charlie Musselwhite, Miss Bessie, from live recording, Cambridge, 1988
04. Big Joe Williams, Skin and Bone Blues, from "Watergate Blues", Ornament/CMA Music Production
05. Big Walter Horton, Back Home To Mama, from "Harmonica Blues Kings", Delmark records
06. Little Walter, Juke, from "Blues With a Feeling", Blues Encore
07. Junior Wells, Ships on the Ocean, from "Hoodoo Man Blues", Delmark records
08. Butterfield Blues Band/Paul Butterfield, Lovin' Cup, from "The Original Lost Electra Sessions", Elektra/Rhino
09. Charlie Musselwhite, Baby Will You Please Help Me, from "Stand Back!", Vanguard records
10. Junior Wells, Little By Little, from "Live at Theresa's, 1975", Delmark records
11. Charlie Musselwhite, Little By Little, from "Tenessee Woman", Vanguard records
12. John Lee Hooker, One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer, from "Live at Cafe A Go Go", ABC-Bluesway
13. Charlie Musselwhite, Wild Wild Woman, from "Memphis Charlie", Arhoolie records
14. Charlie Musselwhite, Cut You Loose, from "Memphis Charlie", Arhoolie records
15. Bonnie Raitt (duet with Musselwhite), Shadow of Doubt, from "Longing in Their Hearts", Capitol records
16. Cyndi Lauper (with Musselwhite), I'm Just Your Fool, from "Memphis Blues", Downtown records
17. Cyndi Lauper (with Musselwhite), Dwon Don't Bother Me, from "Memphis Blues", Downtown Records
18. Charlie Musselwhite, Dig the Pain, from "the Well", Alligator records
19. CG and the Hammer, Same Old Fool, from "Blues Heaven", independent (Israel)
20. Charlie Musselwhite, It Ain't Right, from Memphis Charlie", Arhoolie records
21. Charlie Musselwhite, Hoodoo Queen, from "the Well", Alligator records
22. Charlie Musselwhite, Help Me, from "Stand Back!", Vanguard records

Remembering Gil Scott Heron

I never got to see or hear Gil Scott Heron live, and when it was announced last year around this time that he was coming to perform in Israel, I thought I would finally get a chance, and maybe even to say hello, shake his hand, and tell him how much joy his words and music gave me over the years. Unfortunately, someone got to him before the date, and persuaded him to cancel his trip to Israel...

I believe that it was near the end of the 1970's that I picked up the album "Bridges", and fell in love with the infectious funky Jazzy sounds of Gil Scott Heron and Brian Jackson. That is probably his happiest, funkiest, most upbeat album of all the collection. Just check out a few of the tunes on these YouTube links:

Hello Sunday, Hello Road

Under the Hammer

Racetrack in France

Little by little, I also found some of his more political albums with more of his "rap" - he definitely had a way with words, and a strong sense of humor too. Gil Scott Heron was a poet, a stand-up comedian, political/social commentator, and a fine musician with deep Blues and Jazz roots.

Gil Scott Heron was a deadly serious man with a message, but he didn't hit you over the head with it - he preferred to present his views as a conversation with the audience, filled with positive ideas and lots of humor. When you heard him speak, everything he said made sense, he had some very astute observations, and most of the time, he could see right through the layers of lies that we build in our culture to try and protect or legitimize our way of life.

I really felt sad to hear that in recent years he had messed up his life with heavy drug use, got into trouble with the law, did jail time, and eventually, also destroyed his health - to the point where he just didn't make it, and passed away last week at age 62.

Rest in peace brother Gil.

Yesterday's Blues Phrase: Wild Women Don't Have the Blues

Wild Women Don't Have The Blues

movie clip

by Ida Cox
recorded July 1924





"I hear these women raving 'bout their monkey men
About their trifling1 husbands and their no good friends
These poor women sit around all day and moan
Wondering why their wandering papa's don't come home
But wild women don't worry, wild women don't have no blues

Now when you've got a man, don't never be on the square
'Cause if you do he'll have a woman everywhere
I never was known to treat no one man right
I keep 'em working hard both day and night
'Cause wild women don't worry, wild women don't have their blues

I've got a disposition and a way of my own
When my man starts kicking I let him find another home
I get full of good liquor, walk the streets all night
Go home and put my man out if he don't act right
Wild women don't worry, wild women don't have their blues

You never get nothing by being an angel child
You better change your ways and get real wild
I wanna tell you something, I wouldn't tell you a lie
Wild women are the only kind that really get by
'Cause wild women don't worry, wild women don't have their blues"