Freddie King

Freddie King - Have You Ever Loved A Woman

Born 3rd September 1934 – Gilmer, Texas
Died 28th December 1976 – Dallas, Texas


Guitarist Freddie King like T Bone Walker hailed from the Lone Star State, Texas. A bluesman, but he had a few tunes that were decidedly soul like “Funkey”, and “Hideaway”. His singles were played by Roger Eagle and later by Dave & Dave at the Blue Note, the latter continued to find and play good soul blues until the end of the sixties.

Freddie is noted as being a big influence on Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Lonnie Mack. Eric Clapton made “Hide Away” his intro number in 1965.

Freddie King article

1950 at 16 years old, his family moved to Chicago, here he frequenting the blues clubs, seeing Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Robert Jr. Lockwood, Little Walter, and Eddie Taylor. And he was so influenced he started his own band; the Every Hour Blues Boys.

1957 “Country Boy” for El-Bee was his first single.

1960 signed to Federal Records, (a subsidiary of King Records) and released “You’ve Got to Love Her with a Feeling”

Hide Away which became his signature tune was named after a bar in Chicago and most influential recording. The song was adapted with assistance from Magic Sam from a Hound Dog Taylor instrumental. It was put out as the ‘B’ side to “I Love the Woman and became a minor hit.

Freddie continued to recording with King Records until 1968. Touring the USA throughout upto1976 even thoughhe was ill with heart trouble and On December 29, 1976, he died; he was only 42 years old.

Freddie King – Wikipedia

Janis Joplin

Janis Joplin - Piece Of My Heart

Carefree and wonderful free spirit, taken from us all too soon. A white woman with a soulful voice. A Soul singer, a blues singer, a great singer, a Soulful singer. A life of great promise cut short by an addiction to drugs, a lonely Soul, she just needed support and love.

Janis Joplin - as she was born
Janis Joplin – as she was born

She started out as the singer with Big Brother and The Holding Company before going solo.

Cry Baby (original – Garnet Mimms)
Piece Of My Heart (original – Erma Franklin)

Janis Joplin

Janis Joplin – Greatest Hits

Ivory Joe Hunter

Ivory Joe Hunter "Since I Met You Baby" on The Ed Sullivan Show

Since I Met You Baby

Ivory Joe Hunter – not to be confused with Motown song writer Ivy Joe. Probably not a politically correct first name in today’s climate…a real old fashioned crooner!

Ivory Joe Hunter -Wikipedia

Johnny Winter – Talented Guitarist and Blues Man

Johnny Winter - Life Is Hard

Life Is Hard

Johnny Winter – the great white blues man who produced albums for Muddy Waters. He was a singer and guitarist whose live concerts were electrifying. He was also noticed for his startling appearance, have long white hair.

He also had a famous and talented brother, Edgar Winter and formed Edgar Winter’s White Trash with him. A wonderful artist, sorely missed.

 Johnny Winter, guitarist, singer and blues man

Johnny Winter, guitarist, singer and blues man

Born: February 23, 1944

Died: July 16, 2014

Johnny Winter – Wikipedia

Earl King

Earl King - All My Love (All My Love)

All My Love

Deep beat Soul ballad with great orchestration by Earl King.

Great Soul. One of my favourites. Most of his music was New Orleans style laid back Blues.

R L Burnside

R.L. Burnside-Sweet Little Angel

Sweet Little Angel

Atmospheric blues track by R L Burnside with a nice bit of slide guitar. A very clear, voice, showing how a single guy accompanying himself on his own can make good music.

Pee Wee Crayton

Pee Wee Crayton - The Telephone Is Ringing - #HIGH QUALITY SOUND 1956

Telephone Is Ringing

FANTASTIC guitar solo on this record by Pee Wee Crayton. LOVED at The Twisted Wheel in 1964!

Betty James Blues Singer

BETTY JAMES - I'm a little mixed up - CHESS

I’m A Little Mixed Up (1961)

A fantastic blues track by Betty James played a lot at the first Twisted Wheel (Brazennose Street) by the DJ Roger Eagle; who helped introduce an entire generation in Manchester to the Blues, later doing the same Soul music.

Betty James - I'm A LIttle Mixed Up
Betty James – I’m A LIttle Mixed Up

This record is a fine example of simple rhythmic blues that became synonymous with the Blue sboom in England in 1963. I remember the times fairly well but was Betty a woman? Sounds like a man; I’m a little mixed up too about the label name and the artists gender, because we thought that She was a Man. She did an answer record to I’m A Little Mixed Up with girl backing singers sort of in the style of Rock & Roll in 1962: I’m Not Mixed Up Any More , but this is well below par in comparison to her own great blues original.


From SOULFUL DETROIT forum:

Betty James was a blues singer from Baltimore. She sang in clubs there during the 1950s. She was “discovered” by Joe Evans and his cousin, Bobby Johnson in 1961. They recorded her for their New York label, Cee-Jay Records.

This is a portion of “The Carnival Records story by Dave Moore, in Hitsville Magazine:

“As the 50’s turned to the 60’s, Jack and Joe released records by a number of artists with limited success. In 1961 they came across the James Family. Betty James was a blues singer from Baltimore, Maryland who was ably supported by her husband on guitar and her son on bass. They got the group studio time, hired a session drummer with instructions to play the sticks as much as the skins and the session produced “Betty James – Im A Little Mixed Up – Cee-Jay 583.” The single went on to local success and demand for it became such that Chess Records made an offer that the pair accepted. Joe and Jack were a success! They had also seen the national sales of their record go higher and the rewards go to a bigger company….a valuable lesson was learned.”

Betty James – Aquarium Drunkard web

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott

Ramblin' Jack Elliott - If I Were A Carpenter

Ain’t Gonna Grieve No More
Railroad Bill
Who the heck is that with Ramblin Jack
Who’s that other lad with Ramblin’ Jack Elliott?

Ramblin’ Jack An American A Legend:

I went to a Blues & Folk Show at Manchester’s Free Trade Hall in 65′. Afterwards in the Mitre Hotel just across the road on Fountain Street (long since gone) I met Ramblin Jack. He had a broken leg, he told me and my pal he did it in the USA on a skate board … fell off. His show was indeed: ramblin’. He was Ramblin’ on about all sorts of stuff; how he knew Woody Guthrie and that Bob Dylan who he said had stole his style of playing and a singing. He was a cowboy and did the rodeo, he certainly had a ten gallon cowboy hat.

He was interested in what we did and the music we liked, we liked blues and of course Soul, Ray Charles, we were Mods and told him about Mods. He was crazy about the one man band “San Francisco Bay Blues” man Jesse Fuller and tol us that the other man who also influenced Dylan apart from Woodie Guthrie and of course himself was Jesse Fuller the One Man Band: one of our all time favourite blues men too.

We told him about all nighters and he asked if he could get some purple hearts. We took him to the Twisted Wheel. He was a great –  HIT THERE DANCING ALL NIGHT WITH A BROKEN ANKLE.

I wondered for years whatever happened to him and the stories he told.

Well, his daughter did a BBC documentary about him. He was awarded a medal by bill Clinton as a popular American Legend.

jack elliots website

“If the name of folk singer Ramblin’ Jack Elliott is unfamiliar, know this: He was Woody Guthrie after Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan before Bob Dylan.”

Real name Elliott Adnopoz

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott – Wikipedia

Memphis Minnie

Keep It To Yourself

KEEP IT TO YOURSELF

Memphis Minnie in 1963 Manchester England – The Twisted Wheel was going through a BLUES period alongside some pop music, lots of R&B and early SOUL but also due to a national BLUES’ REVIVAL lots of Blues records were played at the club including this one by Memphis Minnie.

Memphis Minnie – Wikipedia