The
Blues is never far away from the heart of popular music. Trends come
and go, but the blues is always there. The best of the blues is
available from:
AL COPLEY (USA)
The legendary Al Copley was the founder and creative force behind
Roomful Of Blues, the great American blues outfit which produced Duke
Robillard, Sugar Ray Norcia, Porky Cohen and no less than four Grammy
nominations. After 16 years on the road, Al quit Roomful Of Blues and
now pursues a solo career. Al's playing is 100% dynamic entertainment -
two-fisted rolling barrelhouse and blues piano, a snatch of boogie
woogie and roaring vocals direct from blues bars of south side Chicago.
BIG MAN CLAYTON
This
is blues and boogie-woogie piano and vocals as good as it gets. Big Man
Clayton built his reputation the hard way, by getting out there on the
road night after night, town after town, singing and playing the blues.
He is now clearly established as one of Europe's finest exponents of
Blues and Boogie piano. He originated in Birmingham, England, fronted
the now-famous 44s, got disillusioned with the UK after being on the
receiving end of a bizarre onstage mugging and relocated to Munich,
Germany.
CHICK ‘STOOP DOWN MAN’ WILLIS (USA)
One of the last of the great U.S. Bluesmen, Chick Willis 'The Stoop
Down Man', was born in Cabiness, Georgia in 1934 and now lives in
Forsyth near Macon. Son of a railroad man, Chick played guitar and sang
from childhood, influenced by Sam Lightnin Hopkins, Guitar Slim and
Little Milton. As a young man he played with Jackie Wilson, Esther
Phillips, Ruth Brown, Sam Cooke, Big Joe Turner, Nappy Brown and Ray
Charles. During the 50s Chick toured with his famous cousin Chuck
Willis, 'The King Of The Stroll', taking over the spotlight on Chuck's
death in 1958. His hit with 'Stoop Down Baby, Let Your Daddy See'
brought him fame and notoriety in equal measure. One of the most
sought-after on the international blues circuit.
DIZ & THE DOORMEN
Diz and the Doormen were the best of a great crop of British bands
making amazingly good rock’n’roll out of classic American dance music
in the 70s. Diz Watson, born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, began on
piano with boogie woogie and, after his family returned to Yorkshire,
found himself close to blues legend, and by then Halifax resident,
Champion Jack Dupree, who was Diz’s idol at that time. Diz moved to
London in the early 1970s and joined Juice On The Loose before forming
his own band, Diz & The Doormen, named after the commissionaires’
uniforms the band picked up at a posh London hotel. After that came the
recordings with Fats Domino hornmen Roger Lewis, Walter Kimble and Lee
Allen, the tours with Dr. John and Chas’n’Dave, the sessions with
Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry and Big Jay McNeely, and so on. Now he is back
with his own individual, playful and robust take on the New Orleans
Rhumba Boogie.