It's our last Rockabilly N Blues Radio Hour (for now) as we take a hiatus to give time to starting up Catching A Wave (starting next week). But, we have a killer hour planned on this episode with a great Howlin' Wolf tune from Beth Riley on her Beth's Blues Break. We'll take a stroll to the Doo-Wop Corner (with songs from Dion and The Dynamics), drop a coin in the Jammin' James Jukebox to hear a rocker from The Blasters AND we get NEW tunes from Kim Wilson and Martini Shakers in our instru-Mental Breakdown. Plus, hear the latest from Darrel Higham, Restless, Twang Gang, Jolie & The Jackalopes, Ry Bradley, Eva Eastwood, Howlin' Ramblers and another rockin' studio take from Elvis Presley. We also have rockers from Gene Vincent, JD McPherson, Jimmy Sutton's Four Charms and Eddie Cochran!!
We're wrapping up the year with so much great new music...including the latest from Kyle Eldridge, Abby Girl & The Real Deal, Matt Ward & Bonnie Montgomery, The Joeys, Ry Bradley, Jared Petteys & The Headliners, Brad Stivers, Darrel Higham as well as Kim Wilson and Deke Dickerson & The Whippersnappers in our instru-Mental Breakdown. Beth Riley brings us a Honeyboy Edwards track in her Beth's Blues Break, we take trip to the Doo-Wop Corner (with tracks by Big Sandy and The Crows) and we drop a coin in the Jammin' James Jukebox to hear a single from Levi Dexter & The Ripchords from 1981!
New tunes, classics, special features and a tribute to a couple of icons this week! We pay tribute to WS Holland and Roy Head who both passed away this past September in both our instru-Mental Breakdown and the Jammin' James Jukebox. We hear a snippet from a 2015 interview of WS Holland talking about his involvement with the Million Dollar Quartet. WS Holland passed away September 23rd, 2020 at the age of 85 and Roy Head passed away September 21st, 2020 at 79 years old. We also have NEW tunes from James Intveld & The Honky-Tonk Palomino's, Tammi Savoy & The Chris Casello Combo, Stray Cats, Kim Wilson, Kyle Eldridge, Rip Masters, Lucky Jones and The Honkabillies! Beth Riley has a great blues track in her Beth's Blues Break. We take a trip in the Rockabilly N Blues Time Machine to 1956.
The 7th annual International Blues Music Day is August 3, 2019 so we dedicate Rockabilly N Blues Radio Hour this show to all blues music! Dion is in our Five Year Flashback with a blues cover and our Rockabilly N Blues Time Machine goes back to week ending May 21, 1955 to hear the top 3 Rhythm & Blues Records (Big Joe Turner, Bo Diddley and Little Walter)! Plus, hear NEW tunes from Billy F. Gibbons, Kim Wilson, Jontavious Willis, Jimmie Vaughan, a recently released Keith Richards track (with Johnnie Johnson on piano), recent rockers from Big Jon Atkinson, Buddy Guy and classics from Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Lightnin' Hopkins and B.B. King!
Kim Wilson (with Big Jon Atkinson)- "You've Been Goofin'"
Big Jon Atkinson (with Kim Wilson)- "Hold Out"
Buddy Guy (with Kim Wilson)- "Too Late"
Keith Richards (with Johnnie Johnson)- "Big Town Playboy" Howlin' Wolf- "Howlin' For My Darlin'" Rockabilly N Blues Time Machine week ending week ending May 21, 1955 Top 3 played in Jukeboxes Rhythm & Blues: #2 tied Big Joe Turner- "Flip, Flop & Fly" #2 tied Bo Diddley- "I'm A Man" #1 Little Walter- "My Babe" Five Year Flashback: Dion on Lightnin' Hawkins Dion- "Katie Mae" Jontavious Willis- "The Blues Is Dead" Outro Music Bed: Kim Wilson- "Smokin' Joint"
In honor of Stray Cats reuniting for the upcoming Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend, we've got 3 tracks from them throughout the show including involvement in the instru-Mental Breakdown and the Heavy Hitter Triple Threat segment spotlighting Eddie Cochran. We hear a cover from Darrel Higham in that segment as well. New songs from Jackslacks, Kim Wilson, Sonny West, Scotty Baker and Colton Turner appear on the show plus rockers from The Shakin' Pyramids, Cliff Richard, Al Casey, Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin and lots more!
Hear episode here:
Download all episodes on Apple Podcasts, stream on Google Play and iHeart Radio! Intro Voice Over- Rob "Cool Daddy" Dempsey Intro Music Bed: Brian Setzer- "Rockabilly Blues" Stray Cats- "Mystery Train Kept A Rollin'" Al Casey- "(Got The) Teenage Blues" Sonny West- "Screamin' (Fiesta En Calella Al Sol)" Cliff Richard- "Move It" Colton Turner- "How Many Times" Hot Rod 56- "Grab The Bull" Johnny Kidd & The Pirates- "Growl" The Retrobaits- "Hey Mister Bottle" instru-Mental Breakdown Merle Travis & Joe Maphis- "Mainstreet Breakdown" Stray Cats- "Sleepwalk" Kim Wilson- "No Love In My Heart" Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin- "Sit Down Baby" Heavy Hitter Triple Threat" Eddie Cochran- "Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie" Darrel Higham- "Sweetie Pie" Stray Cats- "Somethin' Else" Jackslacks- "The 92107" Scotty Baker- "Back To The Country" The Shakin' Pyramids- "Too N-N-N-Nervous To Rock" Si Cranstoun- "Big Bess" Outro Music Bed: Katmen- "Kill The Switch"
We start a new segment called "Heavy Hitter, Triple Threat" where we have a triple play including a legacy artist and 2 more acts covering that artist. This time we hear "The Man In Black" Johnny Cash along with Cash covers from Raul Malo and Hayden Thompson. We also get another Ameripolitan Music Awards spotlight with Levi Dexter, Mike Penny & His Moonshiners, The Rhyolite Sound, Charley Crockett and The Kokomo Kings. Plus, hear NEW tunes from The Lincolns, Scotty Baker, Kyle Lacy & The Harlem River Noise, Kim Wilson, The Highjivers and rockers from Brenda Lee, Darrel Higham and more!!
Hear new episode here:
Intro Voice Over- Rob "Cool Daddy" Dempsey Intro Music Bed: Brian Setzer- "Rockabilly Blues"
Darrel Higham- "Save Me With Your Kiss"
Kyle Lacy & The Harlem River Noise- "Whiskey Blues"
Carl Perkins- "Rockin' Record Hop"
Charlie Feathers- "Get With It"
The Malpass Brothers- "Caught In The Middle"
Kim Wilson- "Mean Old Frisco"
The Highjivers- "I Can't Believe It"
Heavy Hitters, Triple Threat segment:
Johnny Cash- "Rollin' Free"
Raul Malo- "I Guess Things Happen That Way"
Hayden Thompson- "Hey Porter"
Ameripolitan Music Awards Spotlight:
Mike Penny & His Moonshiners- "Jump Jack Jump"
Levi Dexter & The Gretsch Brothers- "Oakie Boogie"
The Rhyolite Sound- "Too Late For Love"
Charley Crockett- "Night Train To Memphis"
The Kokomo Kings- "You Need A Little Dirt (To Make The Grass Grow)"
Scotty Baker- "Lady Killer"
The Lincolns- "Hundred Dollar Bill"
Brenda Lee- "The Stroll"
Outro Music Bed: Charlie Feathers- "Chicken Plucker"
Kim Wilson from The Fabulous Thunderbirds (pictured middle above) was born this day in 1951. Happy Birthday!!! In case you missed our interview from 2011, click HERE. Enjoy some of these great Blues sounds from Kim-
I talked with Kim Wilson about 18 months ago (interview found HERE) and a couple of things stood out to me. One, he just really seemed to be in great spirits over this band he's assembled. He described what each brought to the table and how it really energized the sound. Secondly, he talked about recently really getting into the stuff from Specialty Records (Sam Cooke, Soul Stirrers, etc) and other soul singer acts. It wasn't a surprise when you listen to this new album that you notice the energy as well as a soul and funk sound infused with their signature blues. If you are a longtime fan, you're in for a treat as On The Verge is one of their best! And for those that haven't listened in a while, this will be the album to bring you back! The first single, "I Want To Believe" is a great groovin' track that will have you singing along before the first chorus has ended. Sometimes you don't know what your missing in your musical repertoire until you hear it and this is something that was missing in mine! Other standouts include the funky ("Too Much Water", "You Got To Bring It With You"), the soulful ("Hold Me", "Lovin' Time"), the blues ("Lonely Highway", "Do You Know Who I Am") and my personal favorite, "Running From The Blues". That one has a great summer sound and hopefully you'll be hearing it on the radio soon! Pick this one up wherever you like to get your new music and you'll be glad you did!
When you speak with Kim Wilson these days you hear him speak with a joy over his life, music, choices to change for the better, etc. I talked with him about his days even before starting the Fabulous Thunderbirds with Jimmie Vaughan in 1974. Before then he was tutored by such Blues greats as Muddy Waters, Jimmie Rogers, Luther Tucker and others. His music career has been fascinating and it doesn't look like he's going to slow down any time soon!
When you and Jimmie Vaughan started the Fabulous Thunderbirds, you were really more of a straight up blues band. The sound has evolved over time to include Soul, Rock, Cajun, and other influences. What led to this evolution?
When I first heard that first James Cotton record and he
was doing “Knock On Wood”, Little Walter and Sonny Boy with Blues & Soul
songs all on the same record. I thought
“gee…that’s where I was going when I was a kid”. I decided why not do everything I like. A lot of it has to do with knowing the
material you have an affinity for and going in that direction. You can’t help but have your own voice. You really can’t sing like other people
anyway. It’s impossible to imitate
people. You can play the notes…you can
sing the notes…but it’s impossible to do it.
Once you get that in your mind and start deliberately having your take
on things, it wasn’t difficult to take off in that direction. Everything is improvised at the same
time. As long as you have the juice of
the old stuff in you…the Blues stuff, the Rock & Roll stuff, the Soul
stuff…it’s basically just spilling your guts.
Some people call it sincerity.
If you have that in you, you’re on your way to doing something with it.
So that’s really your main influences then…the
early Blues and Soul?
It is for me personally.
I think a lot of the directions I go in, the Fabulous Thunderbirds don’t
even encompass. It’s just my own
personal take on music and whatever vehicle I have at the time to express
whatever desire I have at that particular moment. It’s also a learning process. To get respectable as a vocalist in those
genres of music is a really tall order.
I think that’s why the standard has sunk so low over the years. It’s because a lot of white people have
picked up this music and realized “Wow…this isn’t really easy to do”. That’s the only way to satisfy yourself. Otherwise it’s just a hobby unless you’re
serious about competing with the old stuff and then standing up to that. There are a few great performances by people
since the mid sixties. But really it’s
based on an era when everyone could play and everyone can sing. You just kind of stay in your own world and
be respectable within the world you want to be in.
Tell me about the label you started called
Blue Collar Music.
Well, it didn’t last long. On paper it looked good. I think I was trying to gather up all the
people that could play. A lot of them
were already around me. Once you get a
label, you gain new respect for the labels you were bad-mouthing in the past
(laughs). There are certainly good
reasons to bad mouth some of them. They’re
the only ones who know where your money is going. In my case, we were dealing with people that
most of the time didn’t know what the hell we were doing. It was very difficult to do business with the
label unless you went into that contemporary area. Blues labels are sometimes hit or miss. There’s always somebody on a blues label and
you scratch your head and wonder “why is that person on a label?” But it was a cool experiment. We had some great sessions come out of it and
that really stood out. I had over 120
tracks from that period. I think people
are looking for a box-set of that stuff.
It’s really great sounding. It’s
direct to mono analog…no overdubs…none of that stuff. A lot of people say it’s my best work. I know that’s not true, however, it’s great
documentation of that time period. The
musicians are stellar on that group of sessions. You’re talking about my personal evolution
based on the people around me. Those
people are just excellent musicians.
They’re standouts.
How does it make you feel when you hear a
quote from Muddy Waters calling you “the greatest harmonica player since Little
Walter”?
How do you think it makes me feel? I compare it to that scene in Raging Bull…”Look
at me. And look at you. And look at me. And look at you”. It didn’t matter what Muddy said, it was the
greatest thing I’d heard in my life. The
stories I could tell and the conversations I had with them and the daily interaction
with legends….gods….that was incredible.
I couldn’t get my head full of it.
I knew he was wrong but it made me want to be what he said. There was no way in the world that was true
at the time. I had the tools but I just
needed to develop it and hone it. When
you’re not knocking off records and it’s not a cookie cutter thing, it takes a
lifetime to develop what you do. You can
have potential, which I did. There was a
foggy period of the whole substance abuse era and the only thing that saved me was
that I was on the stage for so many nights a year and developed when music was
the last thing I was concentrating on.
When all that stopped almost 25 years ago, that’s when the real
development started. I was able to clean
house. I was able to exercise my demons
both chemically and personally. It
really made a difference for me. I was
around all people that respected me and it just so happened those were people I
respected. It was an awesome place to
be. There comes a time when you have to
make that decision. A little while
longer and you might as well just keep going.
Unfortunately a lot of people do keep going.
Unfortunately a lot of people do. I never did the AA thing…I never did the
rehab thing. I never did any of that
stuff. Sometimes you can address it your
whole life and never fix it. You do
become slightly religious. You can sit
back and count your blessings that you’re able to progress to that level and play
at that level. It’s a lifetime thing.
The band has done so many great covers over
the years including “Diddy Wah Diddy”, “Rich Woman”, “Scratch My Back”, “Only
Daddy That’ll Walk The Line”, “Wrap It Up”, etc. Is it pretty random how these come about?
It’s pretty much random.
You put your iTunes on “ramble”.
James Cotton calls the shuffle putting it on “ramble” (laughs). You just do whatever you’re doing around the
house and something comes up and you run over to the computer to see what it
is. There are so many killer covers that are so off the
beaten path that are just bad-ass.
There’s just a never ending supply of them. If you have those Stompin’ compilations…Chicken
Shack Boogie…there’s volumes and volumes of this stuff. If you go deep into the Bo Diddley, Chuck
Berry or Stax catalogs, you’re going to find something that at least influences
you even if you don’t cover it. There
are little things to steal here or there.
That’s the beauty about traditional music is that you don’t become
influenced by one particular thing. You
might have your favorites but it’s all processed into your memory banks. It’s all beautiful. It makes it really easy to become
yourself. It’s impossible to dwell on
one or two people. There’s so much good
stuff there. Lee “Shot” Williams…how
about him? Or Jesse Thomas? Or Cecil Gant? You listen for enjoyment but you’re
constantly soaking it up. I’ve been
getting on this Specialty Records kick…Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers. I could listen to that every day and I have
been. What about Julius Cheeks? Oh my God!
Of course don’t even try to emulate these people. At the same time you become influenced and
certain things hit you. There are
certain technical things you pick up and you can apply. Your technique is constantly
changing…instrumentally and vocally. I
can tell that guy is singing that way and using naturally that thing that I’m
working on. It’s pretty interesting.
What have been some of the more memorable
experiences touring with other artists over the years?
The Rockpile guys were a great band. It’s where we got our producers. Live they were incredible. Dave Edmunds got me on that thing with
Dion. The band was great. Steve Cropper, Phil Chen, Terry Williams,
Dave Charles, the horns. That was a
really cool gig. The Clapton tour...Bob
Seger…really cool tours. That was at the
tail-end of me being out of it. Some of
those things you wish you had back now.
The tours with B.B. (King), Buddy Guy and Dr. John were a lot of
fun. There was a tour we did at the end
of the 80’s called Antone’s West. We had
Albert Collins, James Cotton, Mel Brown, Jimmy Rogers, Luther Tucker and a few
more. That was my idea. It was a really fun thing. That’s something you’re never going to see
again and we knew it at the time. It was
very special. There are just so many
moments. When you look at your moments,
it’s like looking at a snapshot. I don’t
need any more snapshots of myself. I
like to dwell on the snapshots of other people.
Some are feature films! (laughs)
You have always toured a lot…whether it’s with The Fabulous Thunderbirds or with Kim Wilson’s Blues Revue. Is it a different mindset with those?
No. The thing is the Thunderbirds are on the same page. We’ve come full circle in a lot of ways. There’s a lot more blues in our set now. Whenever we want to do it we do it. We still have this hybrid thing in mind. Originally it was based on moving in a contemporary market. It really is just doing what you like.
You’ve been a guest on so many projects with people like Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, Paul Burlison and others.
I just did Kid Rock last year. I worked with Rafael Saadiq on Austin City Limits which was killer. What a great artist he is.
Is it a different mindset to go in as a guest on an album for someone else as opposed to one of your own?
Not really. It really is an honor for these people to call you. Sometimes it’s people that you don’t even know that know you exist. There’s not much pressure. Very few are taskmasters. They just want you to come in and do your thing. They respect what you do. They bring you in for the way you played on that other record. They know me well enough to know that it will be totally different every time I go anywhere. There is some role playing as far as what part you are. When I come in, I have an open mind on the role I’m going to be playing. Am I going to be the main lyricist? Am I going to just go with the flow and fill in? It makes other people a lot more comfortable and not acting like a bad-ass and just ready to harmonize in any way you can. I’ve been on hundreds of things and people still keep calling me, so that’s a great thing (laughs).
My 11 year old son loves you guys and had a
question after hearing the line from Tuff Enuff where you say “I’d work 24 hours,
7 days a week/Just so I could come home and kiss your cheek”. He wondered how you would have the time to
come to kiss her cheek if you were working that much.
(laughs) Well, that’s a great question. I guess it says it makes you “want” to not
that you “will” do it. That’s a good
point. That kid has a mind like a steel
trap!
The new band and self-titled album has a raw
but tight band sound. These songs have
to be fun to play live.
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
You go through so many records where if they don’t hear
it on the radio it doesn’t go over. A
big thing for me now is doing songs that will go over live easily and appeal to
live audiences. If you go back to a
Louis Jordan concept, he would try songs out on an audience before he recorded
them. That’s kind of what we’re doing
these days. I think this record now is
going to be revamped and officially released on a label. A lot of people don’t know it exists. It never got officially released. We’ve got several more tracks to put on
there. We’ll probably keep some of it
and lose some of it. It’ll basically be
a whole new record. You can mess with as
much as you want when you own it yourself.
When it goes to a label then the label will own it. Even if it’s a long term lease, there’s a
lease in place. Even if it’s ten years
at least you get your masters back. You
don’t have to deal with the stereotypical record labels that have put
themselves out of business. They painted
themselves into a corner they can’t get out of. A lot of it is fairytale music not geared to
adults. It’s geared to children. The analogy is for me when I was a little
kid. My mother gave me one of those
cheap little record players you could get anywhere back in the 50’s and there were
those little Mother Goose records. Now
those are hit records. People enjoy no
substance. They don’t want to make the
emotional investment in a musical performance.
I think this is why this American Idol thing is so successful. Because people are on the tube, they have to
make an investment in the people they are voting for. It’s genius.
I’m not saying it’s a great concept …it’s an awful concept because it
helped destroy everything. However, it’s
a genius concept in the fact it’s more like a drug to people. They pick a person they want to root for and
it becomes their person…their kind of pet.
It’s based on everything traditional without the talent. That’s the way that goes. In general, when it comes to the record
industry and radio and what people surround themselves with, they don’t like to
have the hair stand up on the back of their necks like when you hear a Solomon
Burke song or anything on Chess Records.
They don’t want that feeling.
They’ve been slapped into their cubicle and have been fed this stuff
piped into them. It’s like a lobotomy
coming out of a speaker. (laughs) I
think with the demise of the record industry, you’re in control of your
destiny.
Anyone you’re a fan of currently?
I’m kind of a fan of Slash. I never bought the band Guns N Roses but I
liked him. I’d be thumbing through the
TV and he’d be on there. I thought “I
like this guy”. He’s got great
tone. He’s really doing something
here. I’ve followed him a bit. This latest band he’s had, he had some really
good rock singers in that band. That was
a legitimate outfit. I would enjoy working
with someone like Slash. I like the guys
from AC/DC. I like Malcolm (Young). I like the author of the blues chords. And by the way we have the same birthday
(January 6th). We’re both
blues freaks. It would be great to get a
couple of these guys in the studio and see what happens.
What does the new year look like for you?
It’s wide open.
Hopefully, there will be a new release…maybe 2 or 3 new releases. It’s just onward and upward. I’ve got a great bunch of guys playing. I’ve got the Moeller brothers on guitar
(Johnny) and drums (Jay). I’ve got Randy
Bermudes on bass. I’ve got Mike Heller
on guitar. I had Mike Finnigan play with
me up in Ventura recently which was a great addition on organ and piano. I can see things catching on with this
band. Hopefully it’s an example of the
era of the player.
