The 09 WC Handy Blues Festival Playlist

Okay so these are the songs on the 09 Handy Play-list. Some are actual songs performed by the artist that were there, some are the originals that were covered by artist @ the 09 Handy Fest, some might be the only song that I had by that artist, some might be a song that wasn't performed by a particular artist but I wish it had been...you get the idea...Artist are showcased in the chronological order that they appeared. I think this years playlist has a wide variety of blues sub-genres in it and it flows pretty well with possibly a few exceptions. The goal here is for people to find something they didn't expect to like, and wouldn't have found otherwise...

Track 1 "Stack o' Lee Blues" By Mississippi John Hurt. Eric Bibb opened both of his sets with this song. This song later morphed into what is now know as "Stagger Lee". Not the greatest of sound quality but what do you expect from something that was recorded in the early 30's? It tells a great story if you can make it out. Guess where Mississippi John Hurt was born? Yep, Alabama, go ask Joe, he can tell you all about it.

Track 2 "Shine On" By Eric Bibb. Awesome song. Only song of this Grammy nominated artist that I had in my collection. Wasn't played at the 09 Handy Fest, but feel like it showcases Mr. Bibb's talent in a big way.

Track 3 "What you gonna do now?" By The Tommy Castro Band. Song comes from his #1 album (On the Billboard Blues Charts, yes there is such a thing) "Gratitude". Love the horns. The Gratitude CD came out around the time that David and I attended the Tampa Bay Blues Festival, so it's kind of special.

Track 4 "Big Sisters Radio" By The Mighty Mike Schermer Band. The Tommy Castro band performed this song at this years festival. Me and Dave were like "Who does this?!", "Who does this?!", "We have this song!" We couldn't remember for nothin'...Bout three songs later I was like "It's The Mighty Mike Schermer Band!" If you like this song I guarantee you will like the whole CD.

Track5 "Serves Me Right to Suffer/Syndicator" By John Lee Hooker w/Van Morrison. Maybe the most unapproachable song on the play list for the uninitiated? Just a hunch... Also known as somebody please stop my porch from spinning at 3 AM music. The Tommy Castro Band's version at the Handy Fest included Tommy strolling thru the crowd soloing. For reasons it would take way to long to explain here in this forum, this song holds a special significance for me. I do loves me some John Lee...

Track 6 "Meet me in the City" By Junior Kimbrough. A blues band from Wichita, Kansas introduces me to a Northern Mississippi Hill Country Blues-man that I had never of before. Whats not to love about that? Had to go find the CD. Not a bad song on "The Essential Junior Kimbrough" Moreland and Arbuckle did a fine job with this number at the Handy Fest. I can still hear their version in my head.

Track 7 "Bring It On Home" By Willie Dixon. Don't get me started bout Willie Dixon and what he wrote or played bass on, the list is simply too long, lets just say The Doors, The Stones and a ton of others owe a huge deal of gratitude to Mr. Dixon. What's not to love about this song? Lil Walter on Harp (I believe?), Hubert Sumlin on guitar. If you were wondering where Zepplin got that shit from, well, they got it from here. The Nighthawks did a most admirable job with this song Sat. afternoon.

Track 8 "Woke Up This Morning" By The Alabama Three. Song has appeared the last few years at the Handy Fest. Tommy Castro plays it as his lead in number which kind of gets everybody all fired up. This year the Nighthawks played it live, stripped down without all the special effects, samples and loops, and they played it very well.

Track 9 "Mystery Train" By Elvis Presley. First time for everything I suppose, Elvis makes the Handy Fest Play list! Song was written by Junior Parker and Sam Phillips borrowing heavily from the Carter Family's "Worried Man Blues" and was the flip side of Elvis's "I forgot to Remember to Forget" which spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Counrty Charts in 1956. The Nighthawks once agian whippin out some old school stuff here. Always loved this song. Odd case where the flip side of the single became the more memorable song.

Track 10 "Spoonful" By Howlin Wolf. "I came out and I didn't have no money and I've been Howlin ever since" Wolf says in "The Howling Wolf Story". Howlin Wolf on vocals, Willie Dixon on bass, Hubert Sumlin on guitar, Otis Spann on piano, how much better does it get? The Rock - n - Roll Hall of Fame listed it as one of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll, and Rolling Stone Magazine list it #219 in their 500 greatest songs of all time. To see Hubert Sumlin playing this live (with The Nighthawks) was just awesome, he's 80+ years old and it looked like he was having the time of his life. I changed my ring tone and the wallpaper on my phone in tribute to Mr. Sumlin after seeing him live.

Track 11 "Killing Floor" By Howling Wolf. Most people have heard the Hendrix version of this song, particularly the live version from Montery Pop. Opening riff in this tune just absolutely kills me. Mostly the same suspects as listed above, Howling Wolf on Vocals, Hubert Sumlin on Guitar etc...Not played at this years Handy Fest, but it should have been!! Hubert Sumlin and The Nighthawks could have played this song and "Spoonful" and walked off the stage and I would still be raving about it to everyone.

Track 12 "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" By Stevie Ray Vaughn. Played by Albert Cummins at this years handy fest...winds kickin up, banners blowing all over the place, dark clouds rollin in off the river and Albert says, "it's just Jimi passin through..." pretty unforgettable stuff. Something cool about havin a Henrix cover follow a song that Hendrix covered in the flow of this years play list.

Track 13 "It's 2 AM" By Shemekia Copeland. Her set got cut short due to rain and I don't have any of her newer stuff, but me and Dave (and Black Cloud) saw this woman absolutely tear the house down in front of 30,000+ people with this song.

Track 14 "Hold that Train" By Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials. From their Alligator Records release "Full Tilt". I couldn't tell you where I even found this, but I had a hunch and did a search and sure enough 1 lone Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials song shows up in my collection. I don't even know if they played Saturday night (due to the rain) or not but after hearing this I would have liked to have seen them. Maybe next time.

Lookin forward to readin some comments...

Now playing: Big Twist & the Mellow Fellows - 300 Pounds of Heavenly Joy via FoxyTunes

Hubert Sumlin at WC Handy

I just can't believe I saw this man play live, for free, in Henderson Kentucky...It is a travesty that Hubert Sumlin is not in the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame with all the players that he has influenced through the generations..."lil red rooster", "back door man", "spoonful," "killing floor", "wang dang doodle", "how many more years", "evil", "smokestack lightnin" , or "shake for me" ring a bell? That's Hubert Sumlin on guitar...

There is simply not a rock guitarist worth their salt that hasn't been influenced by the man..."a true legend of the blues Hubert was born in Greenwood Mississippi and as a boy he was awed by the great blues players he heard live, like Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Charlie Patton, and the great Son House. Howling Wolf brought Hubert to Chicago and the rest as they say is history. Hubert contributed some of the most memorable blues guitar breaks ever heard on his Chess recordings with Howling Wolf in the 50's and 60's. Hubert has inspired generations of blues guitarist. Artist as diverse as Carl Perkins, Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones have sought Hubert out as a direct connection to the roots of the electric blues guitar..."

The man is 80+ years old, has had one lung removed due to cancer, and here he was with the heat index registering at 100+ degrees, playing to the faithful. Do you think he was doing it for the money? Or do you think he was doing it because it is what he loves to do? When he came onstage the crowd stood up and surged forward to see this one of a kind blues legend up close and personal. Thanks WC Handy organizers for bringing an artist of this stature to the festival this year.

Now playing: Howlin' Wolf - Spoonful

09 WC Handy Blues Fest Slideshow

09 WC Handy Blues Fest

Now playing: Howlin' Wolf - Evil via FoxyTunes

Eric Bibb at the WC Handy Blues Fest

We were blessed enough to see Grammy nominated Eric Bibb on both Wednesday and Saturday. I had a song of his from a Blues Revue Magazine Sampler CD called "Shine On" and I loved it. I knew my buddy Dave was going to like him as well. My buddy Dave's always been more into the singer songwriter types than me so I knew this would be right up his alley. First song he opened both his sets with was Mississippi John Hurts "Stack o' Lee Blues". Which was the basis for a song that later became to be known as "Stagger Lee". Ask Joe where Mississippi John Hurt was born, it's kind of an inside joke but it's still funny. I asked Mr. Bibb if he was going to play "Shine On "during Saturdays set but he said that since he had recorded that particular song "with about 50 other players" that he might have to save it for the next festival when he has a band with him. I said "well it's a great song" and he said 'well thank you very much"...Thats one of the great thing about thw WC Handy Fest, the ability to see the artist up close...I Don't really remember too much about Wednesdays set (me and Dave both blame Joe for that!), but highlights from Saturdays set included, "Connected", "Saucer and Cup"(excellent word play) and "Kokomo". I hope he comes back I would love to see him again.

Tommy Castro at the WC Handy Blues Fest

Wow, what more is there to say? Me and Dave had a cd by this guy and we thought he was okay, then we saw him live 2 years ago headlining on Saturday night at the WC Handy and we were both absolutely blown away. When we saw he was going to be back on a Wednesday night with Eric Bibb opening we were both like "were there!" Best described as "blues rockin, memphis soul shakin, get down, get right, have a party tonight" music. The Trumpet player Tom Poole is a Grammy award winner and me Dave and Joe could all see why. The sax player Keith Grossman is an 18 year veteran of the Tommy Castro Band and is a BMA (Blues Music Association) nominated Instrumentalist of the year so you can imagine how awesome the horn section was. Tommy Castro himself is also a BMA award winner (also know as the Bammies) having won the B.B. King Entertainer of the year award last year. This makes two out of the last three years that the WC Handy Fest has had the reigning Blues Entertainer of the year award winner. Set Highlights included: "what u gonna do now", a cover of the Mighty Mike Schurmer Bands "Big Sisters Radio" and an awesome cover of John Lee Hooker's (if you know me, you know how I feel bout John Lee) "serves me right to suffer" (which for some reason still strikes a cord with me these days) which included Tommy walking through the crowd soloing...awesome...As Joe said ' he's not just a good player, he's an entertainer, a professional"...absolutely Now playing: Tommy Castro - What You Gonna' Do Now?

Moreland and Arbuckle at the WC Handy Fest

Dave was busy with geo-caching and I had never heard of these guys so we took our time and didn't worry about tryin to make in at 12:00. We wish we had. Even on years where we are not completely sold on the line up, when we come around this one corner we see the river, the stage, the people, and hear the music something just happens inside. This year was just like that. Were a block away and Dave says he likes what he hears. Best described as "rural earthy blues with real drive and power"Aron Moreland says "we dig led zepplin as much as we do little walter" and thats just about what they sounded like. Mr. Moerland whipped out a "cigar box guitar" for a couple of songs. The thing is weird as hell and dave says it sounded like a bass and a guitar at the same time. I thought they were a local band, turns out they're from Wichita, Kansas. First blues band I have ever heard from Kansas. But hey, anybody that whips out a blues artist that I hadn't heard of doing a song I had never heard, well that's all right with me. Set Highlight was Junior Kimbroughs "Meet Me in the City" I actually had to go find it to include in the 09 WC Handy Fest play list. Turns out Junior Kimbrough is from Northern Mississippi and was close to RL Burndise, Fat Possum Records, the North Mississippi All Stars and all that crew. Enjoyed what we heard, hope they come back, wouldn't miss it next time. Now playing: Junior Kimbrough - Meet Me In The City

The Nighthawks

This was Hubert Sumlin's back up band for the WC Handy Fest. They came out and played for about 45 minutes or so before Hubert came out and joined them. Dave really didn't like the singers voice that much, but what the hell? It's the blues right? Anyway, they were solid but nothing all that spectacular. I think the fact that we were so geeked up for Hubert might have had a lot to do with that...Set Highlights included: "Bring it on Home", Alabama 3's "Woke up this Morning" (also know as the Sopranos Theme song). This particular song has a history at the Handy festival, Tommy Castro played it as his introduction several years ago when he was headlining on Saturday night, and he did so again this year. This was the first time I can remember hearing an artist playing it live. Other set highlights included "Mystery Train" and Howlin Wolfs classic "Spoonfull" featuring Hubert Sumlin. Actually Hubert's whole set was awesome (set related post), but I thought these guys did a really admirable job on "Spoonful". Now playing: Elvis Presley - Mystery Train via FoxyTunes

Albert Cummins & Shemekia Copeland at the 2009 WC Handy Blues Fest

I decided to do both of these artist together as 1 Blog Post due to the fact they both had their sets cut short due to the thunderstorms that came in off of the river. I had heard of Albert Cummins a while back and I have a version of him doing "99 and a half", and I always really liked it and it seemed like he could really wail so I was looking forward to seeing him. We (me and dave) had seen Shemekia twice before, once at the Tampa Bay Blues Festival and once when she opened for Buddy Guy at the Kentucky Center for the Arts in Louisville so we knew what she brings to the table. Albert was inspired by Stevie Ray Vaughn, and SRV's back up band Double trouble thought enough of him to record a record together. Thats pretty high praise in my book. Rest of the band was a little bit lackluster, but hey it's free live music in the park the Saturday before fathers day so who's complainin? Somebody yelled out "Hendrix' and he said "do they let you play that down here?" He then launched into Voodoo Chile. A couple of minutes into it that storm kicked up the wind, and the black clouds came rollin in and Albert said "it's just Jimi passin through"...it was an awesome sight. Me an Dave always take cover in the caboose behind a building in the park, this was the second year we have had to do so, but we don't mind, we figure we're there for the duration anyway. Due to the rain Alberts set was cut short and Shemeika took the stage. She played some new songs off her new record and although I couldn't tell you the name of any of them I enjoyed them. She always bring a ton of energy to her shows, and seeing her do "ghetto child" acapella was very much worth waiting the rain out. Her Bass player makes the funkiest faces, and played a really skinny upright Bass that was crazy. The announcer said Shemekia's shoes (six inch spiked zebra stripped stilettos) were the best to ever grace the stage at the Handy Fest, but to me that honor goes to Ana Popovic's gold lame stilettos from last year. Something bout gold lame I guess... I tried and tried to get a good picture of Shemekias' shoes but the on stage monitors were always in the way. Now playing: Shemekia Copeland - Ghetto Child via FoxyTunes