Stevie Ray Touch Tone

I was thinking the album was simply called “Vaughan Brothers”, but it’s actually called “Family Style.” The 1990 collaboration between Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughan was released about a month after the untimely death of SRV. I remember it had a lot of instrumentals on it, but the one track I always go back to is called “Telephone Song“, which featured SRV on vocals.

It’s a funky tune with a great R & B feel. Stevie Ray’s vocals keep my ears dialed in as the song progresses. Obviously guitar playing is a big piece of this song and the entire album. On this track, you hear lots of bent, bluesy guitar notes and some Wah Wah, but I think you have to give credit to SRV and Doyle Bramhall for the songwriting credits on this one, too. I can’t recall hearing the phrase “touch tone phone” in any other song. It’s funny how that’s a phrase we don’t really use any more. I believe the album was released in vinyl format if I remember correctly, but I think you can find it in the CD and cassette format, too.

“Telephone Song” is a song I remember playing in college radio. Back then, we still had touch tone phones. It’s too bad we no longer have Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Bluesy Steps with SRV

I was driving around this morning when I popped Stevie Ray Vaughan’s 1989 effort “In Step” into the CD player. The album opens with “The House is Rockin'”, which is a great feel good piece of barroom rock. However, the second track on the album “Tightrope” has been in my head all day. Vaughn co-wrote the song with Austin blues musician Doyle Bramhall. While I’ve listened to this song many times, I feel like I really HEARD it today.

I’m including this guitar backing track because you can hear SRV’s vocals and lyrics much more clearly.

If you’d rather hear just the guitar parts, this is the one for you. The solo starts around 1:19.

https://youtu.be/Mt6sKqTjm-c?si=T3HbKKcs3hBF7Gh0

And of course, there is the finished product with guitar, vocals, and full band.

I was really just starting to get into blues guitar when “In Step” was released. The “step” part is a reference to SRV’s recovery (12 steps) from years of drug and alcohol addiction. The album also features some covers of songs by Howlin’ Wolf and Buddy Guy if I remember correctly. It’s a shame Stevie Ray Vaughan died in a 1990 helicopter crash, but his music is infinite.

I stumbled across an article about Doyle Bramhall while writing his blog entry: https://oakcliff.advocatemag.com/2019/09/doyle-bramhall-wrote-songs-you-love-by-stevie-ray-vaughan/ . Bramhall died in 2011 at age 62, but Bramhall’s son Doyle II is a legit blues guitarist and musician in his own right.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Bluesy Guitar or Jazzy Guitar??

For whatever reason, it seems like many people lump blues and jazz into the same category, which normally pisses me off. Try searching Audacy.com for a blues station and you’ll see what I mean. I tend to listen to/stream a station called Waterfront Blues Radio, which is confusingly labeled as Jazz/Blues. I’d love to drop a prolific explanation on the difference between what I consider blues vs. jazz, but I feel like I know it when I hear it. When I think of blues, I think about recording artists like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Elmore James, and Little Walter. As for actually naming a jazz recording artist, I would be able to give you some names, but would not claim to know much about them or own much actual jazz music. A younger version of myself might say something like blues music is scorching and smooth jazz is not.

That said, I definitely like some songs I would describe as jazzy. Recently, I was talking with a guitarist friend of mine who didn’t know the song “Chitlins Con Carne” by name. I have the late great Stevie Ray Vaughan to thank for my familiarity with this one.

The original was composed and recorded by guitarist Kenny Burrell. Wikipedia describes the tune as a blues jazz instrumental.

Another song which might be labelled a bluesy-jazzy-instrumental is called “Five Spot Blues”, which I heard for the first time on Waterfront Blues Radio. The name of blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa caught my attention.

When I Googled the name Oz Noy, the label jazz guitarist popped up. The song was actually written and originally recorded by Thelonius Monk. To make things less clear, the tune also is labelled as “Blues Five Spot.”

Apparently the Five Spot was a jazz club in New York City. So what did I figure out about blues vs. jazz? Nothing really. Maybe I should just think about blues-jazz or jazz-blues like the town of Texarkana? You’re in the same region, but it can be a little unclear what exact state you’re in.

Till next time keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Blues (Singing) with a Feeling

During a recent work from home session, I was listening to a blues radio station in the background — Waterfront Blues Radio. I believe it’s in Portland, Oregon. The singer’s voice was familiar, but I couldn’t immediately place it. Oh, wait a minute, it’s B.B. King! That made me realize how often his vocal ability is overlooked or overshadowed by his guitar playing. The song he was singing is called “Ain’t Nobody’s Business.”

For the record, I’ve never watched any of the TV shows like The Voice, America’s Got Talent, The Masked Singer or whatever musical variety shows are popular this week. Hey, at least they are entertainment which, to my knowledge, doesn’t involve Star Wars, Batman, or “reality.” I bring this up because from the commercials and promotional clips I’ve seen, the panel of judges gets into the technical aspects of singing.

It’s not that I don’t care about those things, but I really don’t. Listening to this B.B. King track made me realize, that a good singer has the ability to MOVE the listener with his or her voice. You either pick up what they’re putting down or you don’t.

Another example is Jimi Hendrix. His status a Guitar God will never be in jeopardy, but I have always liked his singing. I got into an argument with my department store co-worker about that when I was about 17. He said something like “Hendrix couldn’t sing” and I took serious exception to that.

https://youtu.be/3B1ihWlPCg0

Since he is a Guitar God, a lot of conversations focus on his epic instrumental abilities. No argument here. However, I will say that Jimi Hendrix’s voice moves me. It always has. I chose to post his lesser known song “Remember” because I always liked it. To my ears, it’s basically a pop song. I used to listen to this one and the others on “Smash Hits” before I went off to the daily drudgery that is high school. I think you can make the same argument about Stevie Ray Vaughan‘s singing as well.

Obviously, SRV’s guitar abilities aren’t in doubt, but I think you have to give him some credit for the vocals, too.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Trouble is Knocking…

Okay, the official name of the song is NOT “Trouble is Knocking.” It’s actually called “Tell Me.” The song I deem blog-worthy is a blues tune originally done by Howlin’ Wolf, but I heard this song for the first time via Stevie Ray Vaughan. I loved it the first time I heard it.

You could call this a basic 12 bar-blues-shuffle-type-of-thing and you’d be right. What I really like is the personification of Trouble as a character walking around knocking on your door. I think it’s clever and I think you have to give credit to Howlin’ Wolf for recording it in the first place.

It’s funny how Howlin’ Wolf’s version seems tame compared to the SRV one. I can only imagine how “raucous” the HW version must have been labelled when it was released. SRV has versions on both the “Texas Flood” studio release as well as “Live at the El Mocambo.” I searched for others, but none really did it for me. For me, I really get a feeling when I listen to the SRV version. When he sings, “Trouble is knocking” on the outro, I feel what he’s singing.

In any event, Trouble does have a tendency to knock on my door from time to time. Must be why I’m a blues fan. I could say more, but you either get it or you don’t.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Birdnest of Blues

During the 90s, I first heard the version of “Birdnest on the Ground” recorded by Doyle Bramhall — a drummer with a strong Texas Blues resume — he played with both Jimmie Vaughan and Stevie Ray Vaughan. If I close my eyes, I would probably have guessed SRV as the singer of this tune, but it’s Bramhall.

It turns out this one was originally recorded by Muddy Waters in 1967.

Apparently, finding a bird nest on the ground is supposed to be a great thing. To me, this song has a certain funky feel to it. Maybe it’s the mixture of the weird lyrics and the bluesy guitar. (The guitar part actually reminds me of Hubert Sumlin’s playing style. Sumlin is best known for his contributions to Howlin Wolf’s band and recordings.) I also found a harmonica driven take on this one recorded by James Cotton.

There aren’t tons of other versions of this song out there, but Jimmy Vivino (from Conan O’Brien’s house band) is a fan of it. He has some live versions you can find. Hopefully, this funky song keeps being recorded.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Random TX Blues Guitar

Music has an amazing way of bringing people together and “turning them on” to things you might not normally encounter in your day to day comfort zone. During my college days, the university allowed a non-student (“townie”) to do his own country music show on the campus radio station before I came on for my shift. I knew absolutely nothing about country music, but I remember talking with him about George Harrison’s “Chet Atkins Country Gentleman” model Gretsch electric guitar. Pretty random, right?

The same thing happened to me today while I was surfing YouTube for information on Texas blues guitarist Freddie King. King is probably best known for his instrumental called “Hideaway” and “I’m Tore Down.” Both songs were covered by Eric Clapton among others. King has some interesting covers out there including his take on the John Fogerty-penned “Lodi.” King called his version “Lowdown in Lodi.”

As I kept looking for other songs he’d covered, I found a familiar blues tune called “Yonder Wall.” I think the first time I heard this song was on a collection of slide guitarist Elmore James. As I kept digging, I found a version by The Steve Miller Band. (And, yes, Miller is a Texas guitarist.)

Apparently, Miller’s last two albums have been primarily blues covers, which is fine by me. I’m curious to hear more from the “Bingo!” album. It opens with a song written by fellow Texas blues guitarist Jimmie Vaughan.

Vaughan is the older brother of Mr. Texas Blues Guitar, Stevie Ray Vaughan. There are plenty of other blues-rock guitarists out of Texas like ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and the pioneering T-Bone Walker. I didn’t actively try to connect King, Miller, and the Vaughans so I’m not going to consciously try to connect any additional songs, songwriters, or Texas blues guitarists today.

Incidentally, I used to recruit college students in Texas and think I visited high schools attended by Miller and Vaughan. I wish I’d known that at the time, but it’s all random.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Rainy Day Music #4 & 17

No, this is not a Bob Dylan discussion for those of you familiar with the “everybody must get stoned” song. Rather, it’s a couple of my thoughts on mellow music for easing into the day or just mellowing out in general. My all-time favorite song of this sort is “Riders on the Storm” by The Doors.

I can’t think of a better way to ease into the day than this one. The song was released on their last Jim Morrison-infused album “L.A. Woman” in 1971. I could say more about the inspiration for the song, etc. but it’s one I just enjoy. Another solid mellow-out-song is an instrumental by Stevie Ray Vaughan called “Riviera Paradise.”

The first time I heard about this song was from a friend of mine in college radio. He told me he was listening to different stuff in the studio and thought it was a perfect way to end his air shift. I’d heard the more rockin’ songs on 1989’s “In Step” release (which is worth a listen) , but this was something different. Both songs have a sort of airy or jazzy feel to them. These songs go well with a DJ voice a la Steven Wright.

There are plenty of other mellow songs out there….the question is, “Which ones will come next? “

Till next time, keep it mellow and keep your Mojo on the Horizon!