"When I Left Home" by Buddy Guy (2012)

Did you enjoy the film “Cadillac Records”? Wonder how much of it was real? Well, if you did you will love this book written by a man who was there. No, Muddy never painted the studio as shown in the film. If anyone would have been painting it would have been Buddy. Muddy was too busy making Leonard Chess money to be painting.

Told in a natural cadence which reflects Mr. Guy’s speaking style, this book is like a bridge between the early years of rock and roll, and the later days, after the British invasion. Mr. Guy has played with everyone under the sun; from Muddy Waters and Hubert Sumlin, to more contemporary musicians like Jimi Hendrix; who simply took Buddy’s music to the next level; and Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton; not to leave out his musical friendship with Keith Richards and the Rolling Stones.

Lonnie Johnson was his original musical inspiration, but he soon fell under the spell of performers such as John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon and Lightnin’ Hopkins. But it was his exposure to Muddy Water’s recordings which propelled him to want to become a professional musician. The record “Rolloin’ Stone” literally burned inside of him, forcing him to move to Chicago where the “blues was.”

While driving a tow truck by day, and playing by night in some of the seediest clubs in Chicago, he quickly became a fantastic guitarist and was gigging with some of the best musicians on the scene. But the money wasn’t enough to pay the bills and it would be a long, colorful struggle until the day he could quit that tow truck job and pick up his guitar full time.

Many people remember Junior Wells and Buddy Guy as musical partners; and they were. But the story of their often stormy relationship is one that will interest, entertain and inform you all at the same time.

The stories here which he tells will have you writing letters to movie producers for an encore of Cadillac Records. This is a quickly read, yet highly informative, book about the American music scene and the influence it had upon the world of music.

"I'd Rather Go Blind" - Etta James (Live at Montreux 1975)

"I'd Rather Go Blind" is one of my favorite all time songs. Just listen to the lyrics. This woman is so in love with her man that she would do anything to keep him; but if she can't, she's not gonna keep him from someone else; no. Instead she would rather go blind than see him walk away. The song was written by Ellington Jordan with a co-credit to Billy Foster.

In reality Ms. James co-wrote the song with Mr. Jordan when she was visiting him in jail. She credited Foster with her share of the work for tax reasons. It is unclear whether or not she received any royalties from the film version of the song by Beyoncé. You can read about this in Ms. James autobiography “Rage to Survive.”

David Hood, the bass player on the original recording, which has been used many times over the years in films and on TV, has not been paid for those uses of the song. He is quoted as saying; after hearing the song on an Episode of “Law and Order”; "I said, 'I cut that. That's me playing.' And so we have written it down, and now I'm going to go through whatever process it takes to try to get paid on that. Because when they make a show and they put music in it, the producers of the show have to pay to use that song. And if they can't find the people who played on it, that money just sits with the Musicians Union or wherever it goes. Someplace there's a lot of money stacked up."

This version was captured on video at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1975. The original record was released in 1968. If you have seen the film "Cadillac Records" then you are familiar with the story of Leonard Chess and his affair with Ms. James; who was reportedly the illegitimate child of Minnesota Fats, the pool player.

Her struggles in her attempts at a relationship with her father; who spurned her; and her love for Leonard Chess; who was already married; both contributed to her heroin addiction. By 1975 Ms. James was still struggling with her dependence on drugs, but her voice remained perfect; as it would for the remainder of her life.

An interesting thing to note about this video is the similarities in what Ms. James was actually doing on the road, compared to the efforts of Janis Joplin, who was already dead several years at the time. This band is what Ms. Joplin was striving to emulate on her own with the Full Tilt Boogie Band and her last album, the posthumously released "Pearl." She just about had it down at the time of her death.

In many ways I have always considered both Ms. James and Ms. Joplin to be the female versions of James Brown. Don’t laugh until you watch a bunch of their videos together in one sitting. Etta James' music will be with us for a long time coming. Her searing vocals and performance style, along with the sweetness of her face, will haunt the airwaves for a long, long time.

To hear the original recording and compare how well Ms. James voice stood the test of time, hit this link;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY0sFBHtt8c

Etta James

This mornings paper brought me the sad news that Etta James is in the hospital again. The 73 year old singer, who has influenced scores of stars, from Janis Joplin to Beyonce, is battling a blood disorder, along with dementia and lukemia. This incredible woman was born on January 25, 1938 in Los Angeles. She was considered somewhat of a child prodigy, singing solo in church at the age of 5. By age 12 she was living in San Francisco, where she formed her first band, a trio. Soon after that, she was working with Johnny Otis and his band.

The year I was born (1954) Ms. James moved back to Los Angeles, where she recorded the slightly off color "Roll With Me Henry" under the title of "The Wallflower" with Johnny Otis. This was also the year in which she changed her name from Jamesetta Hawkins to Etta James. Her nickname at the time was "Peaches." Her first recording as Etta James was the 1955 release of "Good Rockin' Daddy."

By 1960 she had signed with Chess Records out of Chicago and gave us a string of hits that will never be forgotten. From the soulful "At Last", "All I Could Do Was Cry" and "Trust In Me", her sound got bigger and better. By 1967 Leonard Chess had her working at Fame Studios, where she would record the album "Tell Mama" with the Muscle Shoals house band.

Active as a performer all the way through the 1990's, Ms. James continued to give it her all; from live concerts to TV specials on PBS, she just kept on comin'. Her wit and sass are evident in every performance and recording. She won her third Grammy in 2004 for "Blues to the Bone." Her last album to date was the 2006 release of "All the Way", on which she performed cover versions of her favorite songs. The artists she covered included Frank Sinatra, Prince, Marvin Gaye and James Brown.

Things don't look that great right now for Ms. James. And short of wishing her a speedy recovery, a longshot at best, I can only thank her for the soundtrack she provided to my chidhood on a 6 volt transistor radio. Here's a link to "All I Could Do Was Cry."

http://youtu.be/b-59strhDLY