Charles Farley

How to Reduce the Crackpot Gene Pool

9/15/2021

It was Jimmy Reed's birthday this week (September 6, 1925--August 29, 1976), and it reminded me of what a major influence he was on everyone from the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, the Animals, Van Morrison to the Grateful Dead, Elvis Presley, Johnny and Edgar Winter, Jimmie Vaughan, and, yes, even Bill Cosby, all who covered at least one of his many songs at one time or another.
I believe he is the one true link between country blues and rock 'n' roll. Basically, what he did was to electrify the blues in a very straight-forward, simple-beat way that was understandable and accessible to most everyone who heard him--then and now.
But what I recall most about Jimmy Reed, aside from the classic, mesmerizing songs like "You Don't Have to Go," "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby," "Honest I Do," "Goin' to New York," "Big Boss Man," and so many more, are the late night, early morning rocking sessions with my newborn, first son, who, due probably to a tough birth, but more likely to his nervous, inexperienced, first-time parents, had a hard time sleeping those first few months of his life. And the only sure-fire way to put him to sleep was for me to rock him in an old thrift-shop rocking chair to the steady, insistent, heartbeat of my worn, scratchy "Best of Jimmy Reed" album.
So thank you, Jimmy Reed! Not only for my sleep, but also for my sanity and the abiding sense of just how compelling and powerful the blues can be.

I can't tell y'all exactly why I have for so many years been enamored by Bobby Rush. There are certainly better blues vocalists than Bobbyrush, as he calls himself in one full-throated gasp. And while not known as a great musician, they're not too many left who play the blues harmonica better than he does. His song writing is clever and true-blues country, but none of his tunes have been huge hits. And yet...
And yet...
There are no better showmen working in the blues arena today. Even though you might have to warn a female friend what to expect, his raunchy, off-color show--replete with sexy, gyrating, dancing girls--is always delivered with a distinct wink and a nod. Bobbyrush is just letting you in on one of his slightly dirty jokes. And if your female friend can't take a joke, even if it is a bit offensive, then maybe just a friend is what she should remain.
Most of all, gladly Bobbyrush harkens back to a bygone era of minstrel shows (in which he was once briefly a performer), vaudeville, Harlem night clubs, chitlin' circuit juke joints, and southern soul Saturday nights when rural Black folks gathered for a romping good time.
It's all recalled in his new book, I Ain't Studdin' Ya: My American Blues Story: the hard work, the persistence, and the everlasting desire to please an audience. It's like sitting around after a gig reminiscing with good ol' Bobbyrush about the good ol' days, as well as the bad.
Most of all it's fun! No matter what he had to go through to get where he is today, "the undisputed King of the Chitlin' Circuit," you can tell by this book and by every single performance that Bobbyrush is all about one very inspiring thing: unselfishly sharing his contagious happiness and joy with being alive, still kickin', and out there again on a sweltering, southern Saturday night having a rambunctious, rollicky good time until it's time to sober up and go to church on Sunday morning.

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Let There Be Drums

8/26/2021

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The death of Charlie Watts this week put me in mine of an obsession I festered a few years back: Drummers!
For months, I listened to them intently at every gig I attended, trying my best to concentrate on them, tuning out the rest of the band, trying as I might to decipher how the hell they did it. In the end, all I could do was shake my head, stomp my feet to the beat, and sit in wonder at their crazy, amazing magic.

Then, by accident (or maybe guided by the speedy, ghostly hands of the Stones drummer himself), I clicked on a Netflix documentary last night, entitled "Count Me In," produced and directed by Mark Lo, that attempted to explain my fascination. And there they were, clips of my drummer heroes: Max Roach, Art Blakey, Alvin Jones, Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Sandy Nelson, Ginger Baker, Keith Moon, Stewart Copeland, Taylor Hawkins, Topper Headon, Nick Mason, Nicko MrBrain, Ian Paice, Chad Smith, and, of course, Charlie Watts, and a few others showing and in some cases attempting to explain just how they did it. And, of course, the answer is what I had finally determined in following my obsession way back when: It's simply crazy, amazing magic!

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Blues in the Time of COVID

8/18/2021

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It would be a stretch to call this year's (#33) Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival a bust, but it was far from the best. Nevertheless, the performers were hot--physically, professionally, and passionately--after having been cooped up away from audiences for the past year.
The same could not be said for the audiences themselves, that were instead sparse, relatively reserved, and sadly beset by heat, rain, and continuing COVID-19 angst. It was hot and humid all day Friday, but cooled off at night for sterling sets by Heather Crosse, "Lightin" Malcolm, and James "Super Chikan" Johnson ("Somebody shoot that thang!"). Saturday was hot again, but the rain cooled things down, and somewhat dampened the the crowd's enthusiasm, in the evening for Jimbo Mathus and surprise guest harpist Charlie Musselwhite, Anthony "Big A" Sherrod, Sweet Angel, and Nathaniel Kimble.
It didn't help that most of the juke joints in town were shuddered, except for Ground Zero, but then who would want to attempt social distancing in their cramped quarters anyway, in the state with the lowest COVID vaccination rate in the country (under 40%)?
So with the iffy weather, COVID still running so rampant that Gov. Tate Reeves was begging for out-of-state medical assistance, and the absence of a well-known headliner (as one local diner complained in Ramon's on Saturday evening as the clouds opened up outside), a true Delta blues fan could not really expect a miracle. Not this year anyway.

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Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival

8/8/2021

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Jimbo Mathus and Charlie Musselwhite, two of Mississippi's finest

2021 SUNFLOWER RIVER BLUES & GOSPEL FESTIVAL LINEUP
Thursday, August 1Grits, Greeens & BB Que VIP Party
7:00pm-7:45pm Lucious Spiller
8:00pm-8:45pm Mississippi Marshall
9:00pm-9:45pm Terry "Big T" Williams

Friday, August 13, 2021 Main Stage
7:00pm-7:45pm Delta Blues Museum Band
8:00pm-8:45pm Heather Crosse: Heavy Suga & The Sweet Tones
9:00pm-9:45pm Steve "Lightin" Malcolm
10:00pm-11:00pm James "Super Chikan" Johnson
Headlining the Sunflower River Blues Festival's Friday night stage August 13, 2021, is James "Super Chikan" Johnson, an international and hometown favorite musician, ambassador, songwriter, and folk artist pictured performing at an earlier festival and also welcoming and entertaining a delegation of Norwegian visitors from Clarksdale's Sister City/ the International Notodden Blues Festival. Chikan is a recipient of the Mississippi Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts sponsored by the Mississippi Arts Commission. He also traveled with Gov. Haley Barbour to open Mississippi's Pavilion at the World Fair in Japan. Pictured also with "Chikan" on the porch welcome with our Norwegian "cousins" are State Rep. Orlando Paden, and Nancy Foley, Sunflower members.
We miss Super Chikan over here in Norway. Here is an attached photo where Super Chikan and Lee Williams are present when The City of Clarksdale is being honored with a star on Notodden Blues Walk of Fame in 2017.
Saturday August 14, 2021 Acoustic St (at the VIP Tent)
10:00am-10:45am Pat Thomas
11:00am-11:45 am Kenny Brown
12:noon-12:45pm Jimmy "Duck" Holmes
1:00pm-1:45pm Bill Abel
2:00pm-2:45pm Little Willie Farmer
3:00pm-3:45pm Sean "Bad" Apple (Acoustic Stage moves to the Main Stage)
4:00pm-4:45pm Bill "Howlin' Madd" Perry
5:00pm-5:45pm Mark "Muleman" Massey

Saturday August 14, 2021 Main Stage
6:00pm-6:45pm Lucious Spiller
7:00pm-745pm Terry "Big T" Williams
8:00pm-8:45pm Jimbo Mathus
8:45pm-9:00pm Awards
9:00pm-9:45pm Anthony "Big A" Sherrod
10:00pm-10:45pm Sweet Angel
11:00pm-12:00am Nathaniel Kimble

Gospel Stage Coming Soon

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Vaccinate Now!

8/4/2021

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In Alabama, it's against law to:
Hitchhike
Speed
Ride your motorcycle without a helmet (or shoes)
Pass on a curve
Ride a bike on the interstate
Play music too loud
Drive on the wrong side of the road
Blow your horn unnecessarily
Skate in front of a church
Send your kid to school without proof of immunization for ten diseases
Commit suicide
Require individuals to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination in order to receive goods or services

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Dusty Hill

8/1/2021

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Summer of Soul

7/19/2021

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While my wife and I were busy being lousy counselors at a big Baptist retreat on Green Lake, Wisconsin, two of the most important musical celebrations of that era were exploding in the state of New York: the much-heralded rock extravaganza in upstate Woodstock and the lesser-known Harlem Cultural Festival over six weekends 100 miles south in Harlem's Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). We've all seen the popular films and heard the live albums chronicling Woodstock, but the Harlem event has been all but forgotten, its film by Hal Tulchin stored safely away with no commercial takers--until now!
First-time director Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson has somehow taken the many hours of Tulchin's films and turned them into what will surely become the documentary star of the summer of 2021, if not the entire year: "Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)." Now in theaters and streaming on Hulu, see it at the biggest theater you can find, so you can not only enjoy the ecstatic sounds of some of the best soul, R&B, jazz, and gospel music of the time, at the decibel level it deserves, but also so you can again experience the live community of theater-goers and music-lovers that we have been sorely missing for the past fifteen months.
Exit the theater and listen to everyone exclaiming about their favorite parts of this extraordinary film. Mine were Mississippi's Chambers Brothers who I saw at Fillmore East sometime around 1970. A very young and vibrant Gladys Knight & the Pips, who I caught some years later at more advanced ages in Reno and Myrtle Beach. Nineteen year-old Stevie Wonder pounding out exuberant drum and organ solos. And Sly and the Family Stone doing what they so joyfully do and in the process truly stealing the show.
So many others: B.B. King, the Staple Singers, Mahalia Jackson, David Ruffin, Abbey Lincoln, the 5th Dimension, Nina Simone, and on and on.
So do yourself a favor. If you want to smile again--after what we've all been through--vaccinate up and go see "Summer of Soul!" You owe it to yourself.

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Happy Birthday, Pinetop Perkins (7 July, 1913--21 March, 2011)

7/7/2021

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Back on August 9, 2003, on a steamy Delta Saturday night, the Bob Margolin Blues Allstars closed out the Sunflower Blues & Gospel Festival in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The band featured an elite combo of former Muddy Waters band members: Margolin (guitar and vocals), Hubert Sumlin (guitar), Carey Bell (harmonica), Willie "Big Eyes" Smith (drums), and Pinetop Perkins (piano).
As the band gathered on the stage for the festival finale, the piano bench remained conspicuously empty.
"Where's Pinetop?" echoed over the sound system.
And there, in front of the stage, standing next to me in his patented black flannel suit stood the 90 year-old virtuoso, slowly sipping the bottle of water I had just brought him.
"Pinetop," I said, "you're on."
"Really?" he said, surveying the stage.
"Let's go," I said and led him up onto the stage and the waiting keyboard.
Then...drowning out the hum of the cicadas and the applause of the audience, all-out blues nirvana broke out!