Rollin and Tumbling!

Rockabilly always says Texas to me. So to hear Irish singer Imelda May doing it made me do a double take. I was surfing the channels one night and came across her on Live From Abbey Road. If you haven't seen this show, its worth the effort to find it. Various artists are brought in and filmed during recording sessions and the famous landmark.

I had not heard of Imelda before, but I have the feeling everyone else has. A refreshing throwback to the 50s, I found her style quite intriguing. I probably would not have believed she was Irish if I had not heard the brogue myself.

Although she does mostly rockabilly, she manages to pull off Muddy Waters Rollin And Tumbling quite well. The second vid, Proud and Humble was filmed during the Live From Abbey Road gig. Enjoy!

Just Perfect...

Most people know Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, but how many know she recorded earlier as Christine Perfect with Chicken Shack, a 60's British Blues band? She left the group and joined Fleetwood Mac in 1969 when she married bass player John McVie.

In my opinion, it was the biggest mistake of her career. Fleetwood Mac went pop and she was soon overshadowed by the flashier stage presence of sultry Stevie Nicks, who's greatest accomplishment was her ability to make male hormones stand up and take notice.

Christine found herself relegated to a side player with only a few songs where she was able to display her vocal talent. Although she remained with FM, probably for the sake of her marriage, she never was able to use her gifts to their fullest. She no longer does public appearances and its a shame since she was born to the blues.

She does a great job on this Etta James hit.

Skinny Legs and All

Jesse Barry is somewhat of a local celebrity in Asheville, NC these days. Recently selected for the latest American Idol to go to Hollywood, she is one great singer. She didn't make it past the first round or so and I have to confess to being not so sad about that, given the show's well deserved reputation for destroying great talent (Taylor Hicks, anyone?). Here she is performing with her band when she was only 16 years old. I think the blues has a great future with stuff like this coming up.

Soul Shakers

These guys are another I caught at Blind Willie's in Atlanta. Calling themselves a "rhythm and soul" band, it sounds to me like simple, clean, straight up blues. I think we will seeing and hearing more of them. I could tell you their story, but you can find it here. Next step for them is the festival circuit. I hope to hear a lot of good stuff coming down the line. If you get a chance to hear them, you should take it.

You Ain't Nuttin But A Hound Dog!

Its not the best performance of this song, but for some reason I love it. Macy just seems to capture the moment. I first saw this on the 2004 video of the Lightning in a Bottle documentary by Antoine Fuqua.



Here is a great version of this song by the original Big Mama Thornton with Buddy Guy!

How To Play the Blues...

Just like this...

Delta Moon

I think I first saw this group at a festival in Wilmington, NC. I have seen them several times since then and its always a good show. Dual slide guitars is their signature sound and they make it work. Atlanta based, they make their way around the south quite a bit, including regular gigs at Blind Willie's. Looks like they also have a European tour coming up. I plan on catching them at Jack Of The Wood in Asheville, NC on February 13th. If you are in the area, you should really try to catch the show.

Enjoy the clip. And no, they are not covering Cindy Lauper. She covered them.