Blues on Air - Bray Preston

Blues On Air

Bray Preston

Aconstant theme is that there isnt enough air time for the Blues on radio stations or on Television, but thankfully there are many FM and Internet stations that play the blues. Many are Rock Blues but most support the blues and contribute greatly to keeping the music we all love.

Many of them are also members of The Blues Club. We all work together for the love of the music and support each other, which is why each month I’d like to introduce a DJ and Radio Station to you, to find out how they got into Radio, and into the Blues, as well as their thoughts on how we get the blues to a wider audience.

This month I’d like to introduce Bray Preston from Smooth Blues; the only DJ I know that is also a Second Life DJ. Q: How Did you get into Radio? A: I started to DJ the Blues in a Virtual World Platform called Second Life (secondlife.com). I’ve always loved the Blues so when I was offered a position to DJ in a Blues Club in Second Life, I jumped at the chance.

I had been DJing about 6 yrs. When the owner of Blues Music Fan Radio (www.bluesmusicfan.com) heard one of my sets and asked me if I wanted to DJ on the radio. I absolutely love bringing the Blues to a worldwide audience. Radio DJing is very different than DJing in a virtual world.

I currently have 2 shows on BMFR –Tuesdays 6 PM – SMOOTH BLUES (Eastern USA Time Zone) and Thursdays 1 PM – The Blues Binge (Eastern USA Time Zone). Q: How Did You get Into the Blues? A: Back in the 70s, I had moved from NYC and was living in Hollywood, California in an apartment complex. One of my neighbors was playing Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland’s album ‘Dreamer’ at full volume. I stopped dead in my tracks, thrilled by the music. I had never heard the Blues before and I instantly fell passionately in love with the genre. I bought the ‘Dreamer’ album and played it till it was warped.

Q: How do we get the Blues to a wider audience? A: I think that social media can play a huge part introducing folks to the Blues. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram allows us to post songs and videos so we can share some of our favorite music to friends and those who enjoy it, will in turn share it with others.

I also think that sending ‘Cross-Over’ Blues to radio stations that normally don’t play the Blues is a great way to share the Blues. For example, Dion Dimucci recorded 2 songs on his ‘Blues with Friends’ album: Uptown Number 7 and Hymn To Him, both would be great to send to Christian Radio Stations since both songs have a theme that would fit perfectly. I wrote to Dion and even suggested a station but so far, I haven’t heard either song being played as yet.

Ed

“ Happy Birthday Howlin Wolf June 10th 1019

The Strictly Jazz Blues & Soul Facebook Group

Hi everyone, It's Linda here from Strictly Jazz, Blues and Soul Facebook group. This article goes out to all readers who love the three genres of music, adding swing movie clips, and just that old time goodness, that brings you happiness and a bit of toe tapping. Brightens your day or night, and just makes you smile.

We have some wonderful members on board ( as you all are ) So thank you The music and video clips you are sharing are so good. I'm in awe of what turns up every day. Stuff that I have never heard of.

We are not far off reaching 1,000 members. Not bad at all, as the group was only created in February. But it is getting to the stage where we will be needing Moderators and group experts .... Oh !! And that's another thing, some fabulous Biographies about The Greats from the three genres are being posted. So thank you again

I'm not naming any names. But their are a handful of you that come up trumps everyday It has turned into a superb group, wonderful interaction. And everyone is becoming friends..... I love it..... So a great big heart-felt thank you to everyone. We all appreciate and ĺove each others music choices from the three genres, Next month I'm sure I will be name dropping. So until then. Take care, and keep loving our choice of music

Linda

xxxxx

Strictly Jazz, Blues and Soul FB Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/4571218429654575

This Months Top Videos from Strictly Jazz, Blues and Soul Group

Born Under A Bad Sign

Born Under A Bad Sign

If there was a top 10 of Blues Classics thenBorn Under a bad Sign would be number 1, followed by Hoochie Coochie Man and The Thrill is gone. It was first recorded by Albert King and then by The Cream, with Eric Clapton parodying Albert king’s Classic licks.

The lyrics however were written by the soul men William Bell and Booker T. Jones from Booker T. & The M.G.’s, who were the House band for Stax Records and were the session musicians for the Album. It was Albert King’s first album with Stax and was short of a track to complete the album. Bell recalled, "We needed a blues song for Albert King ... I had this idea in the back of my mind that I was gonna do myself. Astrology and all that stuff was pretty big then. I got this idea that might work." The lyrics describe "hard luck and trouble" tempered by "wine and women", with wordplay in the chorus in the turnaround:

Born under a bad sign, been down since I began to crawl If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all Lord, if it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all (2×) You know bad luck has been followin' poor Lightnin', ever since I began to crawl Booker’s arrangement for the song is dominated by an R&B-style bass/ rhythm guitar line, which Bell claimed that he came up with "while fooling around on the guitar". Albert King provided his signature guitar fills around his vocals and solos during the break and outro, with backing by Booker T. & the M.G.'s and the Memphis Horns.

It reached number 49 on Billboard magazine's Top Selling R&B singles chart. and was later included on his first album for Stax, also titled Born Under a Bad Sign.

Ed.

Club News

Each month we bring you a summary of events, posts and news from your Forum, The Blues Club.

Club News

Another month of growth and we are now 138k Strong across the World. One hundred and thirty eight thousand members joined in a shared love of The Blues in all its varied forms.

This month we said Happy Birthday to the one and only Morgan Freeman in his role of co owner of Ground Zero Blues Club, Joe Cocker, Taj Mahal, Derek Trucks and John Fogerty, but we also said goodbye to Ronnie Hawkins and Graná Louise who has delighted countless music fans around the world with her outstanding blues performances.

In May I dialled into a Zoom conference on the Experiences of Black Musicians in Europe, which turned out to be about the experiences of two Afro American blues musicians that moved to the UK and to Sweden. One was the outstanding Blues/ Folk musician Eric Bibb. I saw him in an interview once playing a Gretsch Jim Dandy, so I bought one and no I can’t get it to sound as good as he does but it’s as authentic sounding a Blues parlour guitar as anything else out there, but I digress. What I hoped and missed from the discussion was the voices of the many other black British and European musicians. The likes of Kyla Bro and Errol Linton from the UK and many others from Germany. Eric Bibb talked about his experiences in Sweden and it came straight from the heart in an honest and almost painful way. He also talked about how the great Paul Robson became his Godfather. There is a theory that there are only 6 degrees of separation between any two people in the world. In this case my second cousin, the dancer Pearl Primus, in her first dance gig in a famous New York Harlem Club, fell and was shaken by the experience, but out of the audience came the big bear of a man himself, Paul Robson, to pick her up and to tell her to put it behind her and just dance. She did and was there performing for many weeks.

Delmark Records reached their 15k Followers this month so big congratulations to them. Their Album “Juneteenth Blues Celebration” is a joyous set of tracks marking this year’s celebration of the biggest Afro American Celebration in the USA on the 19th June. It commemorates the emancipation of enslaved black Americans and for celebrating African-American culture. Originating in Galveston, Texas, it has been celebrated annually on June 19 in various parts of the United States since 1865.

One member asked for advice on starting out as a guitarist, as he was “advised by friends to get John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton, and to figure out their licks”. The

advice varied but on the whole consisted of going back to the original blues men and women to get to understand them and their music; to get back to the roots of the blues. Going back to the roots gives a foundation on which to build a future for musicians. Going back to those who emulated the original doesn’t give you a strong foundation. Remember the likes of John Mayall and the other great British Bluesmen started off with riffs from the original bluesmen.

Another post was “What was everyone's greatest blues performance that you witnessed personally? Mine was Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters at the Cafe Boogaloo in Hermosa Beach Calif. I could have walked out of the club at the end of the night and been hit by a bus and I would have been ok with that”. There were nearly 600 comments as members recalled the various gigs that they had enjoyed. For me it was seeing B.B. King live at Hammersmith in London in the 70’s, but Hendrix in 67 was truly a life changing experience.

We are in the process of adding more moderators but a big thank you to all our members and moderators, with a special thank you to our North American based ones, Jim Camacho (USA), Jeff Godoy (USA) and Al Do Rego (Canada), for covering the night shift.

Ed.

My New Releases Playlist

www.TheBluesClubs.com/radio https://s5.radio.co/sea637a71c/listen

1Dave Weld & The Imperial Flames:

NIGHTWALK

On “Mary Who,” Weld’s singing and guitar playing express the urgency of lyrics about an abused prostitute on the West Side in the ‘70s. This emotional blues, a plea to remember the forgotten, weighs on the listener’s heart. Timeless in its application of blues rudiments, Nightwalk aspires to be both entertaining and thought-provoking. It succeeds on all counts. 2 The British Bluescasting

Corporation: High Horse

It was a real pleasure to hear a band that has some of the touches of originality of the early British bands. They haven’t cloned the blues or other bands, they have created something new that is difficult to define, but in my humble opinion this band will, in time, become one of the best British bands around.

https://youtu.be/KN4hOqKeuWo

3Delmark Records: Juneteenth Blues

Celebration

5The Blind Boys Of Alabama:

Higher Ground

The Album “Juneteenth Blues Celebration” is a joyous set of tracks with various Blues musicians marking this year’s celebration of the biggest Afro American Celebration in the USA on the 19th June. It commemorates the emancipation of enslaved black Americans and for celebrating African-American culture. From one of the longest running Gospel groups (6 decades), this is a new arrangements of traditional hymns with songs from Ben Harper, Curtis Mayfield, Funkadelic, Aretha Franklin, Jimmy Cliff, Prince and the classic title track by Stevie Wonder. The outcome was rewarded by The Blind Boy’s second consecutive Grammy® for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album.

4Lil Ed Williams and Willie Kent

"Who's Been Talking"

Shades of Albert King in their tracks, especially on “As The Years Go Passing By”. It’s a rocking good Blues Album that I’ll be playing tracks from, along with the others. It’s the type of band and music that you’d want in a juke joint. Will put a smile on your face.

www.TheBluesClub.com/magazine https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebluesclubs