REMEMBERING EDDY
B
lues legend Eddy Clearwater towered over the Chicago scene both literally and figuratively. At six feet four, he cut a striking figure, slashing his left-handed guitar with his signature blues, rock and funk riffs. Born in a Mississippi cotton field and nurtured by rural juke joints and West Side blues pioneers, Eddy personified the journey and breadth of blues culture. He taught himself to play left-handed and upside down, with a stinging tone that would define his style.
Young Edward Harrington started out playing guitar in church for the Five Blind Boys of Alabama and moved on to performing on stages all over the globe. Greatly influenced by the skill and versatility of jump blues pioneer Louis Jordan as well as Chuck
By Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
Eddy Clearwater
Berry, Eddy was able to command a variety of styles and attracted a following from blues, rock and country fans. Acknowledged as a master of the West Side blues guitar, he first heard Chicago style blues when he snuck into the legendary West Side blues bar, the 708 club to hear Muddy Waters at 18- years-old. It didn’ t take him long to start recording tunes for his uncle’ s Atomic H record label and playing a host of Southside clubs.
Eddy never stopped recording or performing, his last live CD, 2014’ s Soul Funky( Cleartone) featured him in top form at his 80th birthday concert, scorching up original tunes like“ Came Up the Hard Way” and his signature“ They Call Me The Chief.” He was scheduled to perform at several concerts for
the Chicago Blues Fest weekend before his passing, and fellow blues musicians gathered to pay tribute to the beloved icon throughout the weekend.
Genuine and warm, with a steady and positive personality that connected with everyone he met, Eddy was loved wherever he went. Nicknamed“ The Chief,” for his outsized presence, Eddy Clearwater’ produced 15 solo albums and a far-reaching blues legacy that will always live on.
In a season of blues tributes, Delmark has released two standouts. On the CD jacket for Tribute to Carey Bell Lurrie Bell & The Bell Dynasty, a black and white photo of Carey with his sons Lurrie, Steve, Tyson, and James captures attention. The boys are young, beaming with youthful energy and Lurrie glows with the prodigious talent for which he had already become known. It could be any family photo except that Lurrie holds his guitar and Steve clutches drumsticks. This is not just a photo of a family it’ s a reflection of a significant cultural legacy being handed down. The cover showed the Bell boys grizzled and grown up, with Lurrie still clutching his guitar. The torch has been passed, and the Bell family has no intention of letting it flicker out.
Tribute To Carey Bell arrives almost 50 years after Carey released his Delmark debut, Carey Bell’ s Blues Harp, and his sons deliver critical songs from his repertoire. If you’ re a blues fan worrying about the state of traditional blues, this record will put you at ease. Not only do the Bell Brothers serve up their father’ s classics, but they also offer it in their own flavorful style with even a few originals thrown in.
Opening with Muddy Waters“ Gone To Main Street,” you can hear Lurrie queuing his brothers as they slide into a rousing blues groove with Steve serving up dazzling harp swoops. The foundation has been laid, and the album unfolds with a flawless set of a
dozen tunes that transport listeners to a heady blues dreamland. Lurrie tears into Big Walter Horton’ s“ Hard Hearted Woman,” Charlie Musselwhite adds his harp to“ I Got To Go,” and Billy Branch, Eddie Taylor Jr. and Sumito Ariyoshi wring out every drop of emotion on the Carey Bell original,“ So Hard To Leave You Alone.” Billy and Steve create a head-cutting frenzy on another original,“ Carey Bell Was a Friend of Mine,” but the ultimate standouts came from James Bell. An accomplished drummer since he was a kid barely peering over his drum set, this CD reveals a smooth, powerful vocalist as well as composer. His original“ Keep Your Eyes On The Prize” delivers enough swagger and blues bit that it could easily climb the charts. Tribute To Carey Bell is a tribute done the right way, with reverence for the past and awareness of the future.
Tribute: Newly Recorded Blues Celebration of Delmark’ s 65th Anniversary is another tribute done right. Instead of a retreading of past hits, the album showcases Delmark artists who have recorded in this century paying homage to the artists who recorded in the‘ 60s and‘ 70s. It’ s a refreshing concept, and the music sounds as vibrant as if it was being introduced today.
Kicking off with a roaring cover of Junior Wells’“ Train I Ride” by Omar Coleman, his excitement and passion leap from the recording. Lurrie Bell does his father proud on the classic,“ One Day You Gonna Get Lucky” and Linsey Alexander and Billy Flynn supply a soul splitting rendition of Jimmy Dawkins’“ All For Business.” Demetria Taylor calls up Big Time Sarah( with a little of Koko Taylor thrown in) on” Riverboat,” and Jimmy Burns offers up a pristine slice of country blues with Big Joe Williams’“ She Left Me A Mule to Ride.” Tribute is a carefully crafted collection that spotlights just how vital Delmark is to the blues industry in general and fans in particular Continued. on page 52
Food for the Body, Music for the Soul
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Beggars Banquet plus Tina Turner Experience
Casey
James from American Idol
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