Video: Hoochie Coochie Man - Ali Sleeq with Aziz Ali @ Qout Market

As mentioned in my first post of 2015, I performed at the Qout Market on th 3rd of January with Aziz Ali as a special guest.

Below is a video of one of the songs performed; the classic Muddy Waters song. Send me feedback and share the blues!

'I'm Gonna Murder My Baby' - Pat Hare

Pat (right) playing with Muddy Waters. Andrew Stepens (back) on bass. Late 50's - Early 60's.

A song like this won't pass with the media these days; however it's the blues and the blues get away with everythin'. 

Pat Hare was a blues guitarist who played in Memphis with Sun Records as well as serving as the guitarist for Muddy Waters and later James Cotton in the 50's and early 60's.

True to the blues lifestyle, in 1963 he shot his girlfriend and killed her, and also shot a policeman who came to investigate. Hare spent the last 16 years of his life in prison, dying a year later in 1980.

He was known for playing with a lot of distorted sounds (uncommon in the 50's at that point). 

Here's his 1954 song called 'I'm Gonna Murder My Baby" (cryptic isn't it!)

New Year News Tidbits

Happy New Year everyone! I know most of you are either watching the rerun of Dubai's fireworks or that the new number 1 porn star on Pornhub is Lebanese, but with the first days here are a few quick things that happened on my side:


NEW BASS - Sorta


I ordered a Fender Blacktop Precision Bass body off of Ebay, and I used my Surf Green P-Bass's neck (which is '62 reissue specs) and bolted them on and here is the result; a modern sounding Precision with a vintage neck. "Vintage modified" if you will:

The tone is thunderous with the two wide range humbucking pickups; great for rock tones which I'll be playing this year for several rock bands.


FIRST GIG OF 2015

Today I performed an acoustic blues set with my good friend Aziz at the Kuwait Qout Market, a sort of grassroots market with great atmosphere.

The setlist:

1. Hoochie Cootchie Man - Muddy Waters
2. I'm a King Bee - Slim Harpo
3. Smokestack Lightnin' - Howlin' Wolf
4. Gypsy Woman - Muddy Waters

The response was favorable, considering that we played some deep blues unlike the other bands who played more commercial material. I'll have some videos up on my Youtube channel once I get my hands on a good HD video.

Welcome 2015 and I'll be still bringing you the blues news and music as usual.

Rare Performance of Muddy Waters & Otis Spann - Paris 1964

unofficial bootleg cover of the Paris 1964 concert

You have to love the internet; it's like an online museum vault for archiving history.

Just recently (2 weeks ago) a video of Muddy Waters performing in Paris in 1964 was uploaded. It features the great Otis Spann, a young Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith on drums and Ransom Knowles on bass. 

This is a rare recording because not only has it not been officially released, and only exists on bootleg CDs, but also it shows Muddy's white, maple-neck Telecaster before he re-painted it Candy Apple Red and added a beefy rosewood neck on it. 

European crowds were not that exposed to American blues and jazz music at the time so this performance as dazzling to them to say the least.

Here's Muddy singing one of his signature tunes 'Country Boy': 

Detroit Blues Queen Alberta Adams Passes Away

[SOURCE]

The Queen of Detroit Blues Alberta Adams has passed away at the age of 97. Alberta was one of the last living blues divas who sang the deep blues.

Starting her career in the early 50's in Chicago, before settling in Detroit. She saw a major spike in popularity in her older years, even to  record her final album in 2008 at the age 91.

I have listed her in my Detroit Blues playlist post earlier.

She will be missed; RIP Alberta.

Here's one of her tunes from 1999 called 'Born With The Blues'.

Speakin' the Blues - Year 2014 in Review

Writing about the blues is not easy; not only is it a very niche genre of music, which is still pretty much an American roots music that hasn't caught on as fast unlike other genres like EDM and hip-hop. I do struggle with finding relevant topics and news that would interest my fellow fans and readers.

However, I'm happy to say 2014 was a good year for Speakin' the Blues and myself personally.

Not only did the blog increase viewership this year as opposed to 2013, but  also got a bit of recognition! Speakin' the Blues was listed as 15th most prolific Lebanese blog as chosen by Lebanese Blogs. Considering the subject matter, that's a good place to be in!

Do you like the new banner? That's one of the things I said I'd change in 2014. I also became a blues partner with The Blues Foundation.

On the musical front, I had a much better year than 2013. I had some high profile gigs, as well as a radio highlight on Dubai Eye FM. You can view my Youtube channel for recent uploads. There will be some big announcements in 2015 so stay tuned. 

Heading the blues jam at JAM KUWAIT

Thanks to all my loyal readers and blues lovers. Speakin' the Blues may not be the most popular blog on the street, but the passion keeps me driving forward. I pride myself that Speakin' the Blues is the only blog of it's kind in the Middle East. 

Here are the top 10 posts of 2014. See you next year folks, and keep singin' / listenin' / livin' the blues!

1	The Fender Custom Shop Muddy Waters Tribute Telecaster
2	The Blues Albums on Rolling Stones' '500 Greatest Albums of all Time' List
3	Miles Davis Responds to Jackie Chamoun's Critics
4	If the Blues Brothers Police Chase Actually Happened
5	Standard of the Week: Driving Wheel Blues
6	Celebrating the Birthday of Miles Davis
7	2014 Fender Basses (and a Kick-ass Amp)
8	Video: 'I Am The Blues' / Ali Sleeq & Friends
9	Starting a Blues Vinyl Collection
10	New Blog Banner Design

The Perfect Christmas Blues Gift on a Budget

I bought myself a little, yet very value packed, bang for your buck Christmas blues gift!

Now I'm no harp player, but as a bluesman it's one of the things you have to pick up. This is a Hohner Piedmont Blues harmonica set. It comes with 7 (seven!) 10 hole diatonic harmonicas, each in a key (A, Bb, C, D, E, F, & G) which are perfect for the most popular blues keys. 

The harmonicas are made of plastic so they are not of the highest sound quality (unlike my Marine band harp) but they are perfect for beginners like me. It also comes in a sweet harmonica case (that alone is worth the package).

And for how much? 

I got it for only $19.99 on a holiday sale, but the usual price is $26.99 on Sweetwater (which is still a great deal) with free shipping.

Merry Christmas everyone; don't forget to hear my Christmas Blues playlist for tonight!

Blues Salute at the 1987 Grammy Awards

In 1987 at the 29th Grammy Awards, a great showcase of blues musicians got together for a great blues jam. And they were announced by the great Billy Crystal which is an added bonus! There should be more salutes to the music that brought us just about everything else.

The performers are: 

Willie Dixon, BB King, Albert King, Koko Taylor, Etta James, Dr. John, Junior Wells, Ry Cooder, Big Jay McNealy, Robert Cray, Tim Drummond, and Jim Keltner. 

Bluesy Christmas Playlist

Christmas is just a few days away, and we are all getting into the jolly mood. However, not every Christmas is filled with merriment; for the blues is with us every season, come rain or shine.

Here's a blues-ified Christmas songlist for you to play while you wait for Santa to come along, that's if he didn't get drunk and slept half-naked on his workshop floor.

BB King - Please Come Home For Christmas

Chuck Berry - Run Run Rudolf Run

Albert King - Christmas Comes But Once a Year

Canned Heat - Christmas Blues

John Lee Hooker - Blues for Christmas

Big Joe Williams - Christmas Blues 

Blind Blake - Lonesome Christmas Blues

Sonny Boy Williamson - Sonny Boy's Christmas Blues

It's Official: Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Paul Butterfield Blues Band Inducted into 2015 Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame

Another great day and achievement for the blues! The Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame has announced the inductees for the 2015 Hall of Fame:

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band are now set in stone as some of the greatest musicians and influencers, alongside their blues brethren who are also in the Hall of Fame. The legacy of the blues never ends, and just proves how important the genre is to popular music.

Congratulations to the other winners Ringo Starr, The 5 Royales, Green Day, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Lou Reed, and Bill Withers. For the full nominee list check my previous post [here].

Let's celebrate with the winners: