BluePower.Com

A Blatant Pitch For NPR!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:20:19 -0600

I am an avid listener of National Public Radio. I listen to hear an accurate presentation of a given subject from relevant points of view, not a skewed version designed to bolster a bias. Unbiased and unvarnished programming...."What a concept!" NPR can operate this way because they are beholden to their listener supported membership not advertisers.

NPR was founded in 1970 and has become a dominant intellectual force in American life, evolving into a primary source of news and commentary for millions of keenly interested Americans. Starting small, 37 years ago, NPR is today a large media operation with 750 employees and over 860 independent public radio stations; all of which operate on a "non-profit" basis.

My wife and I are grateful members of NPR and listen whenever we can to stay abreast of life's twists. NPR always gives us plenty to digest and is often the impetus for marvelous conversations.

Leaving regular programming to cover important breaking stories is something we greatly appreciate. At a time when much of the media in this country stems from only a few biased sources, listener supported NPR is to us what Europe's Radio-Free America was during WWII.

If you are not already a listener to NPR, I know you will find this a very trustworthy source for news and commentary. As far as becoming a member, hearing truly relevant sides of a story that affects all of our lives is well worth the peace of mind. Enough said.

John & Lori Rhys/BluePower.com

Here's the music:

1)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury Records
2)...."Respect"....Otis Redding....Volt Records #128
3)...."That's How Strong My Love Is"....Otis Redding....Volt Records # 124
4)...."Satisfaction"....Otis Redding....Volt Records # 132
5)...."A Change Is Gonna Come"....Otis Redding....Volt Records LP # 412
6)...."I Can't Turn You Loose"....Otis Redding....Volt Records # 130

All cuts heard on this program were culled from The Otis Redding Story, released by Atlantic Records sometime around 1986.

Listen here!

Go to NPR's primary web site!

Become a member here!

Disclaimer!
National Public Radio is in no way aligned with BluePower.com and BP has not been paid nor authorized by NPR to make the outrageous claims made in this show. However; this is America and I would like to see her stay free. I believe supporting an organization such as NPR should be considered a lesson in Civics.

And The Experience Was No More!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:20:06 -0600

The death of drummer Mitch Mitchell, aged 61, marks an unwanted milestone in rock mortality. Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, all have suffered fatalities over the years. However, with the passing of Mitchell, all three members of the Jimi Hendrix Experience are now dead. This is especially poignant since, with 1968's Electric Ladyland, the three of them created a double album of such sheer volume, incandescence and pyromaniac creativity that it remains unmatched and undimmed. It still has the power to knock you off your seat and Mitch Mitchell's percussive ferocity is a significant contributor to that.

Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding were selected for the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1966 as much for their ability to look the part for the psychedelic novelty act the band were being promoted as. They were two kooky, pseudo Afro-sporting innocents standing alongside the Wild Man of Rock, and critics have occasionally been condescending towards Redding and Mitchell as a result. Writers like Nik Cohn suggested that they were uncommonly lucky to be playing alongside a genius like Hendrix, while biographer David Henderson wrote of the "strange contempt" he divined in Mitchell towards Hendrix. However, Mitchell deeply resented these remarks and, while he may not always have been happy with the lack of attention or remuneration he received in comparison with Hendrix, all of this was channelled as grist to his percussive mill.

Mitchell had been a child actor, a skill he brought to bear in the spoken word intro to Axis: Bold As Love, and at ease with the extroversion of rock showmanship. He had the same boundless, manic qualities as Who drummer Keith Moon – it seemed at times that he was not so much playing his kit as trying to smash it to smithereens. However, he really could play. He was steeped in jazz and particularly indebted to the post-bebop drummer Elvin Jones.

Playing with Hendrix was no second-fiddle indignity for Mitchell but a challenge to be risen to, time and again. On a track like Manic Depression, it's as if he's about to be pitched off his drum seat over the top of the kit, propelled by the sheer tsunami of his drumming. He is almost the dominant force. By 1968, as Hendrix really began to experiment, bassist Noel Redding found himself marginalised and eventually jettisoned. Mitchell, however, rose again to the occasion, holding his own in the jam session with Hendrix and Steve Winwood that gave rise to Voodoo Chile. Even when Hendrix went the way many of his black followers had hoped he would and formed the African American trio Band of Gypsys, Mitchell was never out of the loop. On the last Hendrix recordings, he was part of a trio that included bassist Billy Cox. He worked with him to the end, and beyond. For on October 19, 1970, it was Mitchell's grievous duty to go in and lay down the studio drum part to "Angel", over the guitars and vocals of his colleague who had died tragically just a month earlier, aged 27. The rising swell of cymbals that concludes the track feel like a final embrace with the ascended soul of his old friend.

Although he played in a supergroup involving John Lennon, Mitchell never
really found a major role for himself following Hendrix's death, and towards the end of his life he had been playing on the Experience Hendrix tour across America. However, rock historians should always remember to open their ears beyond Hendrix's dazzling playing and recall that Mitchell was, then and forever, an indispensable part of the Experience.

From: The Guardian/UK
By: David Stubbs
Photograph: Joel Elkins/Rex Features

BluePower's Top Ten Shows Of 2008!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:05:56 -0600

We have just run software which gives us an accurate count of how many times each show is played within a certain time frame. It gives us listening duration and other fine information. (It does not give any personal info at all).

We have done much better this year than ever before. We realize we program to a tiny niche market and will never receive the hits of other sites. Undeterred, we continue because we have a truly wonderful audience. If we could, we would like to thank you all personally. The best we can do is produce the finest work we can deliver and hope you like it. So far, most of you have been very kind.

Here's a chance to listen to BluePower's Top Ten shows from our changeover in 2005. This list of shows however, was rated from the amount of airplay they each received from November of last year through November 1st., 2008. In other words, the number one show was listened to most, etc.

We are now beginning another series of fine Blues shows and hope you will continue to tune in.

Our love to you all....

John Rhys and the gang,
BluePower.com

BluePower's Top Ten Shows of 2008!

10)....Guns And God!
9)......From Valentino To Superstar....Bobby Womack!
8)......Happy 30th Anniversary To Blind Pig Records!
7)......Blues On The Feminine Side....Teresa Russell!
6)......Influential Guitarists....T-Bone Walker!
5)......BluePower CD Review....Lisa Haley....King Cake!
4)......BluePower CD Review....Sean Costello....We Can Get Together! 3)......Influential Guitarists....Stevie Ray Vaughan!
2)......BluePower CD Review....Watermelon Slim....The Wheel Man!
1)......Southern Guitar Masters!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

They Did The Mash....They Did The Monster Mash!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:20:08 -0500

This time in 2006 was the last time I saw Bobby Pickett alive.

When he came to the BluePower studio he told us he wasn't well and jokingly said, "We'd better make this a good show as it may be my last.

I don't think it was quite Bobby's last show but very close. On the 25th of April, 2007, the world lost a wonderful human being and a gifted entertainer.

I can't think of a better show for Halloween than this show featuring our dear departed friend. So be it.
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Ever since I've known Bob, I have marveled at his elegance of manner, his ultra-quick wit and his well focused insight to character. We have recorded dozens of commercials and a whole lot of bits together. (He as talent and I as engineer) Through hours of being on the other side of the glass, I gained a great deal of respect for this talented man's work.

Forty-five years ago, a tiny record lable called GARPAX released a single (45 rpm record) to the world. The A side, written by Bob and Lenny Capeci is titled "Monster Mash" and has become synonymous with the holiday, Halloween. There are very few people in the world whom haven't heard, "They did the mash....they did the Monster Mash. It was a graveyard smash!"

And smash it was. This one song has kept Bobby "Boris" Pickett in groceries for forty-five years. and....as Bob mentions, "It's more than paid the rent."

Bob will be appearing at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Secaucus, New Jersey on the 27th, 28th and 29th of October at the 16th Annual Chiller Theatre Expo along with Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee Herman), the enchanting Elvira, plus Adam West and Burt Ward of Batman fame.

His book, Monster Mash, Half Dead In Hollywood is a tremendous read and tells Mr. Pickett's history from the time he was born through today. Bob tells the truth about Hollywood and the denizens that dwell there.

As Mr. Pickett says...."They drag me out for one night a year. It's my time to howl."

It's good to hear you howl again my friend.

Tonight's music is....

1)...."It's Alive"....Bobby "Boris" Pickett
2)...."Dead Man's Party"....Oingo-Boingo
3)...."Monster Mash"....Bobby "Boris" Pickett
4)...."Gallow's Pole"....Jimmy Page and Robert Plant
5)...."Werewolves Of London"....Warren Zevon
6)...."Sinister Stomp"....Bobby "Boris" Pickett
7)...."Got My Mojo Workin' "....Muddy Waters
8)...."Blood Bank Blues"....Bobby "Boris" Pickett

Incidental music composed by: Dave Roberts.

Listen to....Half Dead In Hollywood....With Guest....Bobby "Boris" Pickett!

Go to the superb website of Bobby "Boris" Pickett!

Have a safe and sane HALLOWEEN!

John Rhys-Eddins/BluePower.com

If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

America's Got The Blues!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:01:26 -0500

The show tonight kicks off with a piece of Dr. Ray Griffin's....The Creature From Jekyll Island. A provocative look at how and why the Federal Reserve was created. This is a "must" listen if you are at all concerned with how money works throughout the world. The implications are astounding.

A private security firm hired "former" secret service agents and CIA agents to spy on various environmental organizations for years. Guess who the shadow employers were? No less than the Monsanto Corporation, Halliburton, Wal-Mart and Allied Waste.

This show also goes into the huge profits being taken by the oil companies. There's no doubt they're all sticking it to the good old USA.

The DOD funded company Raytheon has developed a monster weapon called Silent Guardian. One of it's primary purposes is large crowd control. Welcome to the new wave of military madness. Click here for an explanation of this device.

Are you upset yet?

BluePower feels someone should speak up. We will also let you know others who are sticking their chins out. They're out there. All you have to do is turn on your computer. No wonder ComCast wants to scrutinize all their content. Don't they want people to know whats really happening in our country?

Our way of life is being systematically destroyed. Not only that, but these people controlling the money and the flow of wheat and rice are starving millions of children throughout the world. What for? Because they can? I think it goes much deeper than greed.

Why haven't these stories been reported by CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox News etc? Have you heard them there? We certainly haven't. All we hear are the spin doctors and talking heads and I don't mean those two great musical acts. Why aren't we hearing the flat out truth? Where is Edward R. Morrow when we need him?

We have to play the Blues along with the news because the music always says it like it is.

Our primary source of unreported news tonight is The Huffington Post with a byline to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Brendan DeMelle

John Rhys/BluePower.com

Here's the music:

1)...."Money"....Barrett Strong....Anna Records
2)...."Everybody's Got The Blues"....Johnny Stevenson....unreleased
3)...."Outlaws Rule"....Scott Richardson and Buddy Miles....unreleased
4)...."On The Bottom Of The Pile"....Kermit Deveaux....Demo....HASM
5)...."California"....Jackie Lomax....Demo
6)...."The Freedom Wall"....Freebo....Before The Separation....Self

Click here to listen to....America's Got The Blues....4/29/08!

Click to listen to....The Creature From Jekyll Island....1:13:30.

Remember....Get Out And Vote!

If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

Music Has Lost Another Great Man....Earl Palmer Is Gone!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:43:19 -0500

I first heard Earl Palmer play in a Cosimo Matassa's studio in New Orleans in 1961. I was astounded by his ability and style. He was simplicity at it's best until the turn-arounds and then he did magical things such as press rolls, staggered eighth notes and, at times, nothing at all. Amazingly, everything he played (or didn't), worked.

The last time we worked together in the studio was at Wally Heider's Studio 3 in Hollywood in 1974. During that period, there were a group of Hollywood musicians called The Wrecking Crew who played on 90% of all the hits which came from Southern California.

I had written a song for Pat Glasser at Metromedia Music which was picked up by producer Larry Cox for the group Climax of "Precious And Few" fame.

I received a call from Larry around 11 AM the day the song was to be recorded. Larry said they were having a problem copping the feel for my song and since I had played the guitar on the original demo, asked if I would come by to cut the part. I was thrilled and hustled the block or so over to Heider's.

When I arrived, the rhythmn section musicians were already set up. On the session were Tommy Tedesco guitar), David Gates (keyboards), Joe Osborne (bass), Earl Palmer (drums) and myself (gut string guitar).

I had known Earl for a long time and went over to say hello. He held up his hand for me to be quiet for a moment. I noticed he had two sets of ear-phones on his head and was listening intently to the set hooked to a portable radio. He was listening to a baseball game somewhere in the country. As far as I could tell, he listened all the way through the session and never lost a beat. Earl was truly a master.

That was a session I'll never forget. My song is titled, "Walkin' In The Georgia Rain" and is certainly a tribute to what a great producer adds to the recording process. Larry Cox is undoubtedly one of the finest producer/engineers alive today. Unfortunately, I hear he is not at all well at the moment.

Earl Palmer has played and contributed to more hit records that I can count. If you would like to own a CD with many of Earl's contributions, check out "Backbeat" on Ace Records. There are 30 songs which enshrine the early years of Rock & Roll. The artists include Little Richard, Lloyd Price, Smiley Lewis, Amos Milburn, Etta James, Fats Domino and Shirly and Lee to name just a few.

To be honest....it's beginning to hurt too much lately to keep placing these obituaries on BluePower. For fifteen years we've played the blues and R&B for a small but consistent audience. It seems now that the end is very near as all the great writers, musicians, producers and record company men and women who created the music are passing on.

All we can do now is say, "Thanks for the music and Godspeed."

Yours Truly....
John Rhys/BluePower.com
Click here to see the obituary for Earl Palmer.

Click here to to listen to "Walkin' In The Georgia Rain."

Norman Whitfield, Motown Master Producer And Writer, Passes On!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:41:58 -0500

Norman Whitfield, who died on Tuesday aged 67, was a songwriter and producer and one of the principal architects of the Motown sound; he was responsible for many of the label's greatest hits, including such classics as Money (That's What I Want) and I Heard it Through the Grapevine, a chart-topper on both sides of the Atlantic in 1968 that became the biggest-selling record in the label's history.

Two of the four versions of I Heard it Through the Grapevine which Whitfield recorded with various Motown acts became hits. One, by Gladys Knight & the Pips, reached number two in the American charts in 1967; while the version by Marvin Gaye went to number one in both Britain and the United States in 1968. Gaye's brooding, experimental version ranks at number 80 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Having frittered away his teenage years in pool halls, Whitfield began writing for Motown when he was 19. Some of the classic songs he wrote for Berry Gordy's Motown artists were covered by some of the biggest acts in the world. The Beatles covered Money on their second album in 1963, and the Rolling Stones recorded a version of his Ain't Too Proud To Beg.

Norman Jesse Whitfield was born in Harlem, New York, on May 12 1941.

When he was in his teens the family moved to Detroit, where eventually Norman began pestering Berry Gordy for a job at the Motown offices known as Hitsville USA; the Motown founder agreed to give him a job in the quality control department, which selected the songs the label would release.

Having become a member of Motown's resident songwriting team, Whitfield had some minor successes, but made his name only when he started producing recordings of his own songs.

His big break came when he replaced Smokey Robinson as the Temptations' principal producer on Ain't Too Proud To Beg (1966). Whitfield's decision to highlight the rasping vocals of David Ruffin paid off, and he continued to foster a rougher sound in the group's subsequent hits, including Beauty Is Only Skin Deep and (I Know) I'm Losing You (both 1966).

After Ruffin's departure, Whitfield steered the Temptations into the realms of psychedelic soul with his controversial Cloud Nine (1969). At first Berry Gordy objected to the song on the ground that it appeared to promote drugs, but Whitfield convinced him otherwise, and the record earned Motown its first Grammy award.

With his songwriting partner, the lyricist Barrett Strong, Whitfield continued to supply the Temptations with such gritty classics as Psychedelic Shack, Ball Of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) (both 1970), Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) (1971) and Papa Was A Rolling Stone (1972).

I Heard it Through the Grapevine was another collaboration with Barrett Strong; and in 1969 Whitfield penned a follow-up hit for Marvin Gaye, Too Busy Thinking About My Baby. The following year he had another chart success with the uncompromising War, recorded by Edwin Starr.

Having left Motown in 1973 to form his own eponymous label, Whitfield had a smash hit three years later with Car Wash by Rose Royce, originally Edwin Starr's Motown backing group. The track was used as the theme song to the 1976 film of the same name, and the soundtrack album won Whitfield another Grammy in 1977.

His subsequent hit numbers for Rose Royce included I Wanna Get Next To You (1976), Wishing On A Star (1977) and Love Don't Live Here Anymore (1978).

He returned to the Motown label in the early 1980s and produced another hit single for the Temptations, Sail Away (1983), and the soundtrack to Berry Gordy's film, The Last Dragon (1985).

From: The Telegraph.co.uk
Writer: Unknown

It's The End Of An Era....Jerry Wexler Passes On!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:35:41 -0500

I had never heard of Jerry Wexler when I first listened to one of his productions. I didn't know what went into the making of a phonograph record. At the time, all I did was enjoy what I heard.

There are records today that I can play and receive the same enjoyment that I did when I was young. I can close my eyes and literally go back in time. Back to an America that was just coming back to life after a terrible war.

Although America looked and felt as though she were basking in the shade; relaxing in the afterglow....parts of the USA were pulsating. New York, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Cleveland and New Orleans were full of spirits just begging to be released.

People such as Jerry Wexler, allowed these souls to be free. Gave them credibility and put their money and their companies behind them. As Vice-President of Atlantic Records, Jerry would have the power to break an artist overnight. He made a hell of a lot of hits because he believed in the artist and the song.

Yes....I loved that yellow and black lable with the big A.... spinning round and round.

Thank you Jerry, for being a friend to a kid during the early days of his career. You have brought more joy to this man than you will ever know. Not just because you were a great music man.... but because you were a Mensch.

God speed my friend.

John Rhys/BluePower.com

Click here to enjoy........The Music Of Jerry Wexler!

Click here for Jerry Wexler's Obituary.

In The Beginning....The Vaudeville Years!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:04:16 -0500

Vaudeville entertainment for black audiences began in 1909 with an organization called TOBA. Those four letters stood for Theater Owners Bookers Association. Often called by the black entertainers who worked the TOBA circuit: Tough On Black Artists. For many of the artists, trying times to be sure. However, it was an important cog in the machine which brought black entertainment to the rural areas and large cities in the early part of the century. TOBA had more than 100 theaters operating by the end of the 1920s.

Blues and Jazz were an important part of black entertainment in those early years and surely both idioms grew because of the fine caliber of the performers of that era and their ability to reach large audiences throughout most of the country.

Actual recordings started being made in 1914 by Victor, Columbia and Edison though the Edison company finally bowed out of the business. In 1918, the Paramount Record Company (a subsidiary of the Wisconsin Chair Company of Port Washington) came into being primarily to make recordings for folks to play on their newly purchased record players which were made by the Chair Company. Paramount is famous today for two things....they were first to record Blind Lemon Jefferson and Ma Rainey and....they made terrible quality pressings of cheap shellac. Were it not for Paramount however, many great artists would never have been heard. Business is business.

The Vaudeville Years highlights some of the dynamic female vocalists of that time, women who set the mark for all other female blues shouters to follow.

John Rhys/BluePower.com

Here's the music:

1)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury Records
2)...."St. Louis Blues"....Bessie Smith....Columbia Records
3)...."Bo Weavil Blues"....Ma Rainey....Paramount Records
4)...."I'm A Mighty Tight Woman"....Sippie Wallace....Okeh (Columbia) Records
5)...."T.B. Blues"....Victoria Spivey....Victor Records
6)...."Coffin Blues"....Ida Cox....Paramount Records
7)...."Texas Moaner Blues"....Alberta Hunter....Paramount Records
8)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury Records

Click here to listen to....In The Beginning....The Vaudeville Years!

Click here to go to....Red Hot Jazz.com
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

In The Beginning....Skip James!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:10:23 -0500

After several months of deliberation, BluePower has come to the conclusion that it would be beneficial to develop a series which exposed the many fine artists who added so much to the rich heritage of the American folk tradition called The Blues.

In order to accomplish our goals in this regard, we needed the product necessary to assemble these pieces of business. Coming to our aid in the form of early Blues product was Mr. Alec Palao and his great company, Ace Records of London, England whom we gratefully thank for their generosity and kindness.

Our first show highlights one of the strangest and most unique Blues artists of all time....Nehemiah Curtis James who came to be known as Skip James.

Born in 1902 in Bentonia, Mississippi in 1902, Mr. James struggled all his life to find a place in the world of the Blues. It took him til nearly the end of his life before he was discovered by three, up and coming, young musicians who talked him into taking a giant step to become known.

Listen as BluePower tells a brief history of Mr. Skip James and plays some of his amazing music.

Stay Tuned....
John Rhys

Here's the music:

1)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury Records
2)...."Hard Time Killing Floor Blues....Skip James....Blues From The Delta....Ace Records
3)...."Careless Love"....Skip James....Blues From The Delta....Ace Records
4)...."Devil Got My Woman"....Skip James....Blues From The Delta....Ace Records
5)...."Crow Jane"....Skip James....Blues From The Delta....Ace Records
6)...."I'm So Glad"....Skip James....Blues From The Delta....Ace Records
7)...."I'm So Glad"....Cream....Fresh Cream....Atlantic Records
8)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury Records

Click here to listen to....In The Beginning....The Birth Of The Blues....Skip James!

Click here to go to Ace Records!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

An Evening With Barry McCabe!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:26:54 -0500

The strength of the Blues can be determined by the sheer amount of ground the music has covered in the last 80 years. In that time, this purely American art-form has managed to blossom in nearly every country in the world. The Blues has been transformed into nearly every language and is understood by every man and woman ever born. No one can honestly say they "have not" had the Blues at one time or another.

In this presentation, BluePower honors a man for his contributions to the Blues and Rock from the beautiful country of Ireland. Barry McCabe was born in Virginia, Co. Cavan, Ireland and has managed to travel the world bringing his music to hundreds of thousands of people. Barry's music can best be described as Rock and Blues with a Celtic twist.

This show features music from many of Barry's CDs but primarily from his new release, Beyond The Tears.

Tune in to this masterful player, writer and performer as he guides us through many stories of life and the pursuit of happiness. A true storyteller in every sense of the word, Barry McCabe gives his all to his art; to our benefit.

John Rhys/BluePower.com

The songs are:

1)...."Sunrise"....Barry McCabe/Davey Spillane
2)...."In The Dead Of Night"....Barry McCabe
3)...."Oh Well"....Barry McCabe written by Peter Green
4)...."Sheilagh"....Barry McCabe
5)...."Rollin'"....Barry McCabe
6)...."Trouble"....Barry McCabe
7)...."The Emigrant"....Barry McCabe/Davey Spillane
8)...."Talkin' Woman Blues"....Barry McCabe
9)...."Full Moon On Main Street"....Barry McCabe
10)..."Arthur"....Barry McCabe
11)..."Tempted"....Barry McCabe

Listen to....BluePower Presents....An Evening With Barry McCabe!

To Find more on Barry McCabe....Click here!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

Bluesmen Of The 20th Century....Stevie Ray Vaughan!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:28:22 -0500

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Born in Dallas, Texas on October 3rd, 1954, Stevie Ray Vaughan grew up to become one of America's finest gifts to the blues world.

After playing with several garage bands, Vaughan dropped out of high school to concentrate full time on playing music. When his original band, The Cobras broke up, Stevie formed Triple Threat in 1975. Triple Threat featured bassist Jackie Newhouse, drummer Chris Layton and vocalist Lou Ann Barton.

When Barton left the band in 1978, Stevie decided to continue the band and call it Double Trouble. At this point, Stevie Ray Vaughan became the the band's lead singer.

Vaughan's debut album, Texas Flood, was released in the summer of 1983 to rave reviews although much talk was stemming from Stevie's fine backup work on David Bowie's Let's Dance LP.

In the late summer of 1990, Vaughan and Double Trouble set out to do an American headline tour. On August 26th, 1990, after concluding their East Troy, Wisconsin job, Stevie boarded a helicopter bound for Chicago. Just minutes after takeoff, the helicopter crashed, killing Stevie Ray and several other passengers. Stevie was 35 years old.

And so....one of America's and the blues world's finest performers was gone in an instant. Stevie has left us with so much great recorded music. All we have to do is listen to keep his spirit alive.

John Rhys/BluePower.com

Here's the music:

1)...."Hand Clappin "....Red Prysock....Mercury
2)...."The House Is Rockin' "....Stevie Ray Vaughan....Epic
3)...."Texas Flood"....Stevie Ray Vaughan....Epic
4)...."Texas Flood"....Fredrik Strand Halland....Self
5)...."Little Wing"....Stevie Ray Vaughan....Epic
6)...."Pride And Joy"....Stevie Ray Vaughan....Epic
7)...."Life Without You"....Stevie Ray Vaughan....Epic
8)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury

Click here to listen to....Influential Guitarists Featuring Stevie Ray Vaughan!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

Bluesmen Of The 20th Century....Freddie King!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 09:30:06 -0500

Freddie King

All this week BluePower will feature highly influential guitarists. Players a novice must listen to and emulate in order to learn. Today we are featuring Freddie King. Freddie wrote "Hide Away" and "The Stumble". Two of the most copied guitar instrumentals of all time.

Freddie King was born in Gilmer, Texas on September 3rd, 1934. Taught to play guitar by his mother and his uncle, Freddie originally studied Lightnin' Hopkins and his style of country blues.

When Freddie became a teen, he fell in love with the electrified sounds of the Chicago blues and when he was 16, his prayer was answered....he moved to Chicago. In 1950, Chicago was overflowing with emigrants from the South. With them came the rural blues or country blues which was transformed into the basic electrified Chicago blues which in turn, generated some great record labels. Chess and Vee-Jay are labels which were spawned by the huge focus of primary blues artists streaming into Chicago. It was a mighty time!

It's funny that Syd Nathan at King Records in Cincinnati wound up releasing Freddie King's major hits considering Freddie was living right in Chicago. Such is the entertainment world.

Thanks for listening....
John Rhys/BluePower.com

Here's the music:

1)...."Hand Clappin' "....Red Prysock....Mercury Records
2)...."Hide Away"....Freddie King....King Records
3)...."I'm Tore Down"....Freddie King....King Records
4)...."Dust My Broom"....Freddie King....Black Top Records
5)...."Ain't Nobody's Bizness"....Freddie King....Black Top Records
6)...."Key To The Highway"....Freddie King....Black Top Records
7)...."San-Ho-Zay"....Freddie King....King Records
8)...."Hand Clappin'"....Red Prysock....Mercury Records

Click here to listen to....Influential Guitarists Featuring Freddie King!
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.

Hugh Jarrett....Last Of The Great WLAC DJ's, Gone To Glory!

noreply@blogger.com (John Rhys Eddins) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:06:53 -0500

You know, it's strange that nearly every story relating to Hugh Jarrett's untimely death left out the fact that Hugh was one of the five most successful disc-jockeys of our time. After leaving the gospel business of The Jordanaires, Hugh became a highly visible air personality at WLAC Radio in Nashville, Tennessee.

It was at WLAC Radio in Nashville that I met Hugh Jarrett for the first time. To say goings on at WLAC were insane is an understatement. The humor and raucousness of the jocks assembled there was well-known and that insanity bled into the music and general feeling of the jocks on the air. WLAC was the station of choice for the entire Eastern seaboard of the USA.

Hugh Jarrett was hired to take Bill Allen's (The Hossman) place in the Big Four which consisted of John Richbourg (John R.), Gene Nobles, Bill Allen and Herman Grizzard. WLAC was hugely responsible for the development of the Independent Record Business and bringing to the forefront dozens of young black entertainers. It was in this milieu that Hugh Jarrett adopted the name "Big Hugh Baby." Big Hugh became an instant icon and drew numbers to match that status. And then the FCC stepped in....and because of one silly statement, Hugh temporarily lost his broadcasting license, thus ending his meteoric rise at WLAC.

When I interviewed Hugh in 2006, he did not want to discuss this issue because he was then involved with a religious station in Marietta, Georgia and felt our discussing those facts from long ago would not cast an honorable light on his career.

Yes....Hugh sang bass for The Jordanaires and spent a number of years working with Elvis but that's certainly not all he did. His contributions to radio in the United States goes far beyond what is currently recognized.

Hugh Jarrett was an excellent human being and a good friend for many years. I will miss him as will the entire entertainment world.

May Big Hugh Baby ride that 50 gallon drum of White Rose into Paradise.

John Rhys/BluePower.com
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I have had the pleasure of meeting some remarkable people in my time but rarely has there been anyone quite like Hugh Jarrett.

Born in Nashville, Hugh started his career in the music business singing with several local gospel groups prior to joining the world famous Jordanaires.

While with the Jordanaires, in early 1954, Hugh and the group were approached by Colonel Tom Parker to sing back-up for the up and coming star, Elvis Presley. The first records on which the Jordanaires sang back-up vocals were "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel." Two of the largest selling records in recording history up to that time.

When the group wasn't on tour with Elvis, they were busy 'round the clock singing in studios in Nashville and Los Angeles with such luminaries as Patsy Cline, Ricky Nelson, Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis and literally thousands of other young and aspiring artists.

It was after his years with the Jordanaires that I first met Hugh Jarrett. It was on a trip to Nashville in 1963 while promoting for Mercury Records that I met Hugh at WLAC Radio where he was sitting in for Bill Allen, "The Hoss Man." Hugh had an extraordinary way with a microphone and you can still hear it in his voice today.

A year or so later I met Hugh again at WPLO Radio in Atlanta where he had resumed his Big Hugh Baby shows. In fact, when I left Atlanta for Detroit in 1965, Hugh was the last person I saw there. We had lunch and he waved goodbye in my rear view mirror.

It had been a long time since I'd seen Hugh or spoken with him. (41 years) To be able to sit for a few hours and reminisce with this dignified, gentle man was pure pleasure.

Tune in to hear a very talented human being and one of the truly great radio voices of our time. The recording quality of the interview is not great but the history is amazing.

John Rhys/BluePower.com

Here's the music for the show:

1)...."On The Wings Of A Dove"....The Jordanaires....Capitol
2)...."Hound Dog"....Elvis Presley....RCA
3)...."Don't Be Cruel"....Elvis Presley....RCA
4)...."Are You Lonesome Tonight"....Elvis Presley....RCA
5)...."Will The Circle Be Unbroken"....The Jordanaires....Capitol
6)...."Young Love"....Sonny James....Capitol
7)...."I Can't Help Falling In Love With You"....Elvis Presley....RCA

Click here to play....BluePower Presents....What Ever Happened To Big Hugh Baby?

This show is dedicated to our dear friend....JoAnn Braheny. Or, as Hugh would have known her....JoAnn Jaffe, who worked on the air in the fledgling FM division at WPLO in Atlanta, Georgia with Big Hugh Jarrett.
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If you are an aspiring guitarist....please be sure to check out BluePower's Company Store. We have our first basic guitar lesson now available with more lessons being added soon. Help yourself....and help BluePower as well.