The Blues File from WXPN Podcast
The Blues File from WXPN, a weekly Blues profile on the genre's most important artists new and old.
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Johnny Jones - A Remembrance
Nashville bluesman Johnny Jones has died at age seventy-three. Jones was a mentor to Jimi Hendrix and a major figure on Nashville's often overlooked blues scene.
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Zora Young "The French Connection"
Blues singer Zora Young's new album "The French Connection" was recorded in France, a country she has toured more than twenty times. It features Young accompanied by French musicians, and a number of surprise selections.
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Samuel James "For Rosa, Maeve, And Noreen"
Samuel James is a thoroughly contemporary traditional blues artist. At first he may sound like a folk-blues revivalist, but his sensibility is fully 21st century. His songs require some degree of attention for full appreciation, but they are well worth it.
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Quintus McCormick "Hey Jodie!"
After almost two decades as a stalwart on the Chicago Blues scene, Quintus McCormick has finally released his debut album. It's a mix of blues and southern soul with a little funk, and it definitely is a keeper.
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Joe Louis Walker "Between A Rock And The Blues"
"Between A Rock And The Blues" is the latest album from bluesman Joe Louis Walker. It includes songs in collaboration with Jay Leno's guitarist and bandleader Kevin Eubanks.
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Marie Knight 1925-2009
A remembrance of singer Marie Knight, who worked for years with the great Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and relaunched her own career at age 82 with her 2007 album "Let Us Get Together" a tribute album to Reverend Gary Davis.
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John Lee Hooker, Jr.
An encore presentation of the feature from last year of John Lee Hooker, Jr.'s story — and a review of his album "All Odds Against Me."
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M For Mississippi: More Music From The Motion Picture
A review of the second soundtrack album from the award-winning film "M For Mississippi: A Road Trip Through The Birthplace Of The Blues." The album offers a fine selection of contemporary Mississippi blues, most of it rough-hewn rural blues music.
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Robert Cray
A look at the music of Robert Cray and his influences.
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Johnnie Temple, a truly great blues singer
Johnnie Temple was one of the greatest blues singers ever. His mastery of intonation, timing, texture, and phrasing made him one of the very best, and he enjoyed major popularity in the 1930s— far more than blues artists who today are larger than life, but were obscure in their day, like Rober …
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Eric Gales: Blues Behind Bars
Eric Gales, an extraordinary guitarist and talented bluesman is serving time in the Shelby County Detention Center in Tennessee. This Blues File looks at his life, his talented and tragedy-afflicted family, and his situation as a prisoner, using clips from the videos "Blues Behind Bars" from the Mem …
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One String Blues recorded by Frederick Usher
Frederick Usher has died. The noted induistrial designer was a collector and scholar of many sorts of art and music, and in 1960 he recorded one of the most intriguing blues albums ever made, "One String Blues" featuring two homeless street musicians he encountered in Los Angeles, Eddie "One-String" …
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Otis Taylor - Pentatonic Wars & Love Songs
If there is such a thing as a "blues avant-garde," the key figure in it is Otis Taylor, who writes surrealistic songs that draw on a minimalist composing approach. "Pentatonic Wars & Love Songs" continues his experiments, with pianist Jason Moran, and with ethereal vocals from his daughter Cassie T …
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Koko Taylor - In Memoriam
Remembrance of the late "Queen Of The Blues" Koko Taylor, who died June 3, 2009. Taylor was a vocalist of singular talent, who had the last great blues hit on Chess Records, "Wang Dang Doodle," and was one of the leaders of the "post-postwar" blues scene in the 1970s and after.
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B. B. King - Live At The BBC
Review of B. B. King "Live At The BBC." This album of live and studio recordings of the King of the Blues in Britain reveals how King has changed, and how he has stayed the same, over the years.
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Chuck Berry - You Never Can Tell (Boxed Set)
Review of the Chuck Berry boxed set "You Never Can Tell: His Complete Chess Recordings 1960-1966." This set reflects Berry's diverse musical styles, his blues recordings, and his showmanship.
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Muddy Waters -- Authorized Bootleg
The album "Authorized Bootleg" by Muddy Waters isn't really a bootleg. The album features the famed bluesman in concert at the Fillmore in San Francisco in 1966 with a great band. It was issued by Geffen Records in collaboration with the web site Wolfgang's Vault.
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Pat Thomas - His Father's Son
Pat Thomas carries on a family blues and folk art tradtion. His father was James "Son" Thomas who received world wide acclaim. Pat's first album "His Father's Son" is very reminiscent of his father's recordings. In this Blues File we hear his father's music and his own, and clips from the film "M Fo …
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Howlin' Wolf - Rockin' The Blues
The album "Rockin' The Blues" features a Howlin' Wolf performance recorded in Germany in 1964. Despite the presence of a top-notch band (Hubert Sumlin, Willie Dixon, Sunnyland Slim) the performance often falls flat. The album was issued in the U. S. in November 2008 and has already gone out of print …
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Chicago Blues: A Living History
"Chicago Blues: A Living History" is a tribute to classic Chicago blues by some of today's best Chicago bluesmen. While it suffers from some of the general shortcomings of tribute albums, it is a solid offering and a very worth-while listen.
The Blues File from WXPN Podcast
