Earth, Wind & Fire were one of the most musically accomplished, critically acclaimed, and commercially popular funk bands of the '70s. Conceived by drummer, bandleader, songwriter, kalimba player, and occasional vocalist Maurice White, EWF's all-encompassing musical vision used funk as its foundation, but also incorporated jazz, smooth soul, gospel, pop, rock & roll, psychedelia, blues, folk, African music, and, later on, disco. Lead singer Philip Bailey gave EWF an extra dimension with his talent for crooning sentimental ballads in addition to funk workouts; behind him, the band could harmonize like a smooth Motown group, work a simmering groove like the J.B.'s, or improvise like a jazz fusion outfit. Plus, their stage shows were often just as elaborate and dynamic as George Clinton's P-Funk empire. More than just versatility for its own sake, EWF's eclecticism was part of a broader concept informed by a cosmic, mystical spirituality and an uplifting positivity the likes of which hadn't been seen since the early days of Sly & the Family Stone. Tying it all together was the accomplished songwriting of Maurice White, whose intricate, unpredictable arrangements and firm grasp of hooks and structure made EWF one of the tightest bands in funk when they wanted to be. Not everything they tried worked, but at their best, Earth, Wind & Fire seemingly took all that came before them and wrapped it up into one dizzying, spectacular package. 

White founded Earth, Wind & Fire in Chicago in 1969. He had previously honed his chops as a session drummer for Chess Records, where he played on songs by the likes of Fontella Bass, Billy Stewart, and Etta James, among others. In 1967, he'd replaced Redd Holt in the popular jazz group the Ramsey Lewis Trio, where he was introduced to the kalimba, an African thumb piano he would use extensively in future projects. In 1969, he left Lewis' group to form a songwriting partnership with keyboardist Don Whitehead and singer Wade Flemons. This quickly evolved into a band dubbed the Salty Peppers, which signed with Capitol and scored a regional hit with "La La Time." When a follow-up flopped, White decided to move to Los Angeles, and took most of the band with him; he also renamed them Earth, Wind & Fire, after the three elements in his astrological charts. By the time White convinced his brother, bassist Verdine White, to join him on the West Coast in 1970, the lineup also consisted of Whitehead, Flemons, female singer Sherry Scott, guitarist Michael Beal, tenor saxophonist Chet Washington, trombonist Alex Thomas, and percussionist Yackov Ben Israel. This aggregate signed a new deal with Warner Bros. and issued its self-titled debut album in late 1970. Many critics found it intriguing and ambitious, much like the 1971 follow-up, The Need of Love, but neither attracted much commercial attention, despite a growing following on college campuses and a high-profile gig performing the soundtrack to Melvin Van Peebles' groundbreaking black independent film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. 

Dissatisfied with the results, White dismantled the first version of EWF in 1972, retaining only brother Verdine. He built a new lineup with female vocalist Jessica Cleaves, flute/sax player Ronnie Laws, guitarist Roland Bautista, keyboardist Larry Dunn, and percussionist Ralph Johnson; the most important new addition, however, was singer Philip Bailey, recruited from a Denver R&B band called Friends & Love. After seeing the group open for John Sebastian in New York, Clive Davis signed them to CBS, where they debuted in 1972 with Last Days and Time. Further personnel changes ensued; Laws and Bautista were all gone by year's end, replaced by reedman Andrew Woolfolk and guitarists Al McKay and Johnny Graham. It was then that EWF truly began to hit their stride. 1973's Head to the Sky (Cleaves' last album with the group) significantly broadened their cult following, and the 1974 follow-up, Open Our Eyes, was their first genuine hit. It marked their first collaboration with producer, arranger, and sometime songwriting collaborator Charles Stepney, who helped streamline their sound for wider acceptance; it also featured another White brother, Fred, brought in as a second drummer. The single "Mighty Mighty" became EWF's first Top Ten hit on the R&B charts, although pop radio shied away from its black-pride subtext, and the minor hit "Kalimba Story" brought Maurice White's infatuation with African sounds to the airwaves. Open Our Eyes went gold, setting the stage for the band's blockbuster breakthrough. 

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In 1975, EWF completed work on another movie soundtrack, this time to a music-biz drama called That's the Way of the World. Not optimistic about the film's commercial prospects, the group rushed out their soundtrack album of the same name (unlike Sweet Sweetback, they composed all the music themselves) in advance. The film flopped, but the album took off; its lead single, the love-and-encouragement anthem "Shining Star," shot to the top of both the R&B and pop charts, making Earth, Wind & Fire mainstream stars; it later won a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group. The album also hit number one on both the pop and R&B charts, and went double platinum; its title track went Top Five on the R&B side, and it also contained Bailey's signature ballad in the album cut "Reasons." White used the new income to develop EWF's live show into a lavish, effects-filled extravaganza, which eventually grew to include stunts designed by magician Doug Henning. The band was also augmented by a regular horn section, the Phoenix Horns, headed by saxophonist Don Myrick. Their emerging concert experience was chronicled later that year on the double-LP set Gratitude, which became their second straight number one album and featured one side of new studio tracks. Of those, "Sing a Song" reached the pop Top Ten and the R&B Top Five, and the ballad "Can't Hide Love" and the title track were also successful. 

Sadly, during the 1976 sessions for EWF's next studio album, Spirit, Charles Stepney died suddenly of a heart attack. Maurice White took over the arranging chores, but the Stepney-produced "Getaway" managed to top the R&B charts posthumously. Spirit naturally performed well on the charts, topping out at number two. In the meantime, White was taking a hand in producing other acts; in addition to working with his old boss Ramsey Lewis, he helped kick start the careers of the Emotions and Deniece Williams. 1977's All n' All was another strong effort that charted at number three and spawned the R&B smashes "Fantasy" and the chart-topping "Serpentine Fire"; meanwhile, the Emotions topped the pop charts with the White-helmed smash "Best of My Love." The following year, White founded his own label, ARC, and EWF appeared in the mostly disastrous film version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, turning in a fine cover of the Beatles' "Got to Get You Into My Life" that became their first Top Ten pop hit since "Sing a Song." Released before year's end, The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 produced another Top Ten hit (and R&B number one) in the newly recorded "September." 

1979's I Am contained EWF's most explicit nod to disco, a smash collaboration with the Emotions called "Boogie Wonderland" that climbed into the Top Ten. The ballad "After the Love Has Gone" did even better, falling one spot short of the top. Although I Am became EWF's sixth straight multi-platinum album, there were signs that the group's explosion of creativity over the past few years was beginning to wane. 1980's Faces broke that string, after which guitarist McKay departed. While 1981's Raise brought them a Top Five hit and R&B chart-topper in "Let's Groove," an overall decline in consistency was becoming apparent. By the time EWF issued its next album, 1983's Powerlight, ARC had folded, and the Phoenix Horns had been cut loose to save money. After the lackluster Electric Universe appeared at the end of the year, White disbanded the group to simply take a break. In the meantime, Verdine White became a producer and video director, while Philip Bailey embarked on a solo career and scored a pop smash with the Phil Collins duet "Easy Lover." Collins also made frequent use of the Phoenix Horns on his '80s records, both solo and with Genesis. 

Bailey reunited with the White brothers, plus Andrew Woolfolk, Ralph Johnson, and new guitarist Sheldon Reynolds, in 1987 for the album Touch the World. It was surprisingly successful, producing two R&B smashes in "Thinking of You" and the number one "System of Survival." Released in 1990, Heritage was a forced attempt to contemporize the group's sound, with guest appearances from Sly Stone and MC Hammer; its failure led to the end of the group's relationship with Columbia. They returned on Reprise with the more traditional-sounding Millennium in 1993, but were dropped when the record failed to recapture their commercial standing despite a Grammy nomination for "Sunday Morning"; tragedy struck that year when onetime horn leader Don Myrick was murdered in Los Angeles. Bailey and the White brothers returned once again in 1997 on the small Pyramid label with In the Name of Love. After 2003's The Promise, the group realigned itself with several top-shelf adult contemporary artists and released 2005's Illumination, which featured a much-publicized collaboration with smooth jazz juggernaut Kenny G. 

 For The Record

Original members include Michael Beale, guitar; Leslie Drayton, horns; Wade Flemons,electric piano; Sherry Scott, vocals; Alex Thomas, horns; Chester Washington, horns;Maurice White (born December 19, 1941, in Chicago, IL), vocals, drums, kalimba; Verdine White (born July 25, 1951), bass; Donald Whitehead, keyboards; and Phillard Williams,percussion.

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"First comes the class in the small, crinkled, slightly seedy person of John Lee Hooker, a.k.a. The Hook, Doctor Feelgood, and, by way of formal onstage introduction, 'The Godfather of the Blues'. . . . The first great recorded practitioner of the electric blues-rock-funk and stream-of-consciousness boogie, he introduced a style to which every white blues band since 1962 must trace at least half its roots." John Lee Hooker was 72 when his 1979 appearence at New York's Lone Star Cafe brought on that tribute from Patrick Carr in the Village Voice. Hooker's influence on blues, blues-folk and blues-rock musicians remains vital ten years later.

Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, he learned his "Delta licks" style of guitar playing from his stepfather, William Moore, and his colleagues James Smith and Coot Harris. He ascribed his style—with, in writer Fred Stuckey's words, "tonal 'bendings' of the third, fifth and seventh degrees of the scale and abrasive two-finger picking"—to them in an interview with Stuckey in Guitar Player, stating that "Down in Clarksdale, my stepfather taught me all I know about playing the guitar. . . . After this uprising of fancy music, I never did drop what I learned back then. I'm doin'what the blues singers was doin' back then, and it sounded good. It still sounds good, and I'm always goin' to keep it just the way it is."

Hooker travelled to Memphis, Cincinnati and Detroit where, in the mid-1940s, he made a demo for distributor Bernie Besman. Hooker recorded his first single, "Boogie Chillen" and "Sally Mae," for the Sensation label. As distributed by Modern Records, it became a hit on the blues charts of 1949. He followed this record with "In the Mood for Love" and "Crawling King Snake" for Modern. From 1955 to 1964, he recorded for Vee Jay, making singles and albums for that Chicago-based firm, such as Travelin' (1961) and Big Soul: Best of John Lee Hooker (1963). He also recorded under a confounding variety of pseudonyms—among them, Delta John, Johnny Lee, and Birmingham Sam and his Magic Guitar—for a large number of companies. Many of these one-time contracted recordings have been collected and re-mastered in recent years.

During the revived interest in traditional guitar music and performance styles prompted by the popularity of folk music in the 1960s, Hooker was "rediscovered" for the first of many times. He performed at the Newport Folk Festival in 1960 and appeared at coffee houses and college campuses. Hooker was also being rediscovered in Great Britain, where he was an important influence on groups that equated blues with rock and roll, such as the Rolling Stones and the Animals, who recorded his "Boom Boom." Hooker performances became as famous for the rock superstars who appeared in the audience as for his own music. In an engagement at Ungano's in 1969, for example, the Village Voice reported that "three nights after opening, Eric Clapton, Delaney and Bonnie, Ginger Baker and Chris Wood came down to jam with the Doctor and returned the next night for more. And on Saturday, Richie Havens with his whole band in tow showed up to sing and jam."

In the 1970s, as musical forms fused, he concertized with performers from the rock group Canned Heat (with whom he recorded Hooker 'n' Heat) to folk vocalist Bonnie Raitt. He was frequently honored as one of the creators of his genre in joint and group concerts by the long-time greats of blues music. In the Blues Variations concert at Lincoln Center in 1973 he was paired with Muddy Waters and Mose Allison, while in A Night of the Blues at the Brooklyn Academy of Music two years later, he shared the program with Albert King and folk harmonicist Peg Leg Sam. 

Hooker plays flexible blues of 10-13 bar phrases punctuated with foot tapping and an electric guitar sound that has been described as "percussive. . . just shy of dissonance and distortion." Each song is a monologue that retells a story of emotional pain that requires a unique verbal pattern. Reviews of Hooker performances, generally by music historian/journalists who are long-term admirers, provide vivid pictures of his unique song structures and performance style. Carmen Moore wrote in 1970 in the Village Voice that "in his entire set, John Lee sang only one rhymed song. As usual, he paid little heed to the famed three blues chords: all, it seemed, were present at once. What his guitar did was talk, in snaky lines, in sitar quivers, in sudden shocks, in hilly phrases. . . . Gifted with one of the richest voices in contemporary music, this serious of serene of bassos sat down, the mike at his lips, and shared a few instances from his personal black life." Ian Dove, reviewing the Blues Variations concert, also noted the personal delivery style: "He is a complete, closed-in performer, who accents the rhythmic drive of his performances by chopping off phrases and choking off the ends of his rhythmic lines. He keeps things simple, rarely straying from a couple of chords, and delivers his autobiographical blues with growing menace and much vibrato." Almost a decade later, Patrick Carr wrote that Hooker "continues to perform and record with the same slow mastery of blue-life imagery, the same spare, quirky, throttled-violence guitar technique, and the same beautifully resonant leather-and-raw-silk vocal genius that were his from the start." 

CLICK HERE FOR EVEN MORE UNIQUE JOHN LEE HOOKER VIDEO. 

The optimal way to hear Hooker is in live performance, but there are scores of albums featuring his work. He has made over forty albums under various names. Chess Records has recently begun to re-issue tapes and studio cuts in series of albums simply called The Blues, Volumes 1-3. Amiga Records also distributes a Hooker anthology, Blues, Collection 2.

"Godfather of the blues" or simply one of its greatest practitioners, Hooker has maintained one of the great native art forms of the United States. He described its universal importance and appeal to Guitar Player: "Everybody understands the blues now—the young, all races, all over the world. Back then people pretended they didn't know, but now they know. The young people have really brought it out. . . . It's a tremendous thing because it's true. It's the truest music that ever been written. . . . Everything comes right from the blues—spirituals, jazz, rock. The blues is the root of all this."

Born August 22, 1917, in Clarksdale, Miss. ; son of a Baptist minister, stepson of William Moore (a guitarist).

Learned to play guitar from his stepfather, played in Mississippi, then in Memphis, Tenn., Cincinnati, Ohio, and Detroit, Mich.; began recording in the mid-1940s; has performed and recorded under a variety of pseudonyms.

Albums:

"Boogie Chillun" (single), Sensation/Modern, 1948.

Travelin', Vee Jay, 1961.

Big Soul: Best of John Lee Hooker, Vee Jay, 1963.

Hooker 'n' Heat, (with Canned Heat), Liberty, 1971.

Boogie Chillun (includes a new version of the title song), Fantasy, 1972.

The Cream, Tomato, 1979.

Blues, Collection 2, Amiga, 1986.

Jealous, Pausa, 1986.

Source: Barbara Stratyner

This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com

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In the history of the blues, there has never been anyone quite like the Howlin' Wolf. Six foot three and close to 300 pounds in his salad days, the Wolf was the primal force of the music spun out to its ultimate conclusion. A Robert Johnson may have possessed more lyrical insight, a Muddy Waters more dignity, and a B.B. King certainly more technical expertise, but no one could match him for the singular ability to rock the house down to the foundation while simultaneously scaring its patrons out of its wits. 

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He was born in West Point, MS, and named after the 21st President of the United States (Chester Arthur). His father was a farmer and Wolf took to it as well until his 18th birthday, when a chance meeting with Delta blues legend Charley Patton changed his life forever. Though he never came close to learning the subtleties of Patton's complex guitar technique, two of the major components of Wolf's style (Patton's inimitable growl of a voice and his propensity for entertaining) were learned first hand from the Delta blues master. The main source of Wolf's hard-driving, rhythmic style on harmonica came when Aleck "Rice" Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson) married his half-sister Mary and taught him the rudiments of the instrument. He first started playing in the early '30s as a strict Patton imitator, while others recall him at decade's end rocking the juke joints with a neck-rack harmonica and one of the first electric guitars anyone had ever seen. After a four-year stretch in the Army, he settled down as a farmer and weekend player in West Memphis, AR, and it was here that Wolf's career in music began in earnest. 

By 1948, he had established himself within the community as a radio personality. As a means of advertising his own local appearances, Wolf had a 15-minute radio show on KWEM in West Memphis, interspersing his down-home blues with farm reports and like-minded advertising that he sold himself. But a change in Wolf's sound that would alter everything that came after was soon in coming because when listeners tuned in for Wolf's show, the sound was up-to-the-minute electric. Wolf had put his first band together, featuring the explosive guitar work of Willie Johnson, whose aggressive style not only perfectly suited Wolf's sound but aurally extended and amplified the violence and nastiness of it as well. In any discussion of Wolf's early success both live, over the airwaves, and on record, the importance of Willie Johnson cannot be overestimated. 

Wolf finally started recording in 1951, when he caught the ear of Sam Phillips, who first heard him on his morning radio show. The music Wolf made in the Memphis Recording Service studio was full of passion and zest and Phillips simultaneously leased the results to the Bihari Brothers in Los Angeles and Leonard Chess in Chicago. Suddenly, Howlin' Wolf had two hits at the same time on the R&B charts with two record companies claiming to have him exclusively under contract. Chess finally won him over and as Wolf would proudly relate years later, "I had a 4,000 dollar car and 3,900 dollars in my pocket. I'm the onliest one drove out of the South like a gentleman." It was the winter of 1953 and Chicago would be his new home. 

When Wolf entered the Chess studios the next year, the violent aggression of the Memphis sides was being replaced with a Chicago backbeat and, with very little fanfare, a new member in the band. Hubert Sumlin proved himself to be the Wolf's longest-running musical associate. He first appears as a rhythm guitarist on a 1954 session, and within a few years' time his style had fully matured to take over the role of lead guitarist in the band by early 1958. In what can only be described as an "angular attack," Sumlin played almost no chords behind Wolf, sometimes soloing right through his vocals, featuring wild skitterings up and down the fingerboard and biting single notes. If Willie Johnson was Wolf's second voice in his early recording career, then Hubert Sumlin would pick up the gauntlet and run with it right to the end of the howler's life. 

By 1956, Wolf was in the R&B charts again, racking up hits with "Evil" and "Smokestack Lightnin'." He remained a top attraction both on the Chicago circuit and on the road. His records, while seldom showing up on the national charts, were still selling in decent numbers down South. But by 1960, Wolf was teamed up with Chess staff writer Willie Dixon, and for the next five years he would record almost nothing but songs written by Dixon. The magic combination of Wolf's voice, Sumlin's guitar, and Dixon's tunes sold a lot of records and brought the 50-year-old bluesman roaring into the next decade with a considerable flourish. The mid-'60s saw him touring Europe regularly with "Smokestack Lightnin'" becoming a hit in England some eight years after its American release. Certainly any list of Wolf's greatest sides would have to include "I Ain't Superstitious," "The Red Rooster," "Shake for Me," "Back Door Man," "Spoonful," and "Wang Dang Doodle," Dixon compositions all. While almost all of them would eventually become Chicago blues standards, their greatest cache occurred when rock bands the world over started mining the Chess catalog for all it was worth. One of these bands was the Rolling Stones, whose cover of "The Red Rooster" became a number-one record in England. At the height of the British Invasion, the Stones came to America in 1965 for an appearance on ABC-TV's rock music show, Shindig. Their main stipulation for appearing on the program was that Howlin' Wolf would be their special guest. With the Stones sitting worshipfully at his feet, the Wolf performed a storming version of "How Many More Years," being seen on his network-TV debut by an audience of a few million. Wolf never forgot the respect the Stones paid him, and he spoke of them highly right up to his final days. 

Dixon and Wolf parted company by 1964 and Wolf was back in the studio doing his own songs. One of the classics to emerge from this period was "Killing Floor," featuring a modern backbeat and a incredibly catchy guitar riff from Sumlin. Catchy enough for Led Zeppelin to appropriate it for one of their early albums, cheerfully crediting it to themselves in much the same manner as they had done with numerous other blues standards. By the end of the decade, Wolf's material was being recorded by artists including the Doors, the Electric Flag, the Blues Project, Cream, and Jeff Beck. The result of all these covers brought Wolf the belated acclaim of a young, white audience. Chess' response to this was to bring him into the studio for a "psychedelic" album, truly the most dreadful of his career. His last big payday came when Chess sent him over to England in 1970 to capitalize on the then-current trend of London Session albums, recording with Eric Clapton on lead guitar and other British superstars. Wolf's health was not the best, but the session was miles above the earlier, ill-advised attempt to update Wolf's sound for a younger audience. 

As the '70s moved on, the end of the trail started coming closer. By now Wolf was a very sick man; he had survived numerous heart attacks and was suffering kidney damage from an automobile accident that sent him flying through the car's windshield. His bandleader Eddie Shaw firmly rationed Wolf to a meager half-dozen songs per set. Occasionally some of the old fire would come blazing forth from some untapped wellspring, and his final live and studio recordings show that he could still tear the house apart when the spirit moved him. He entered the Veterans Administration Hospital in 1976 to be operated on, but never survived it, finally passing away on January 10th of that year. 

But his passing did not go unrecognized. A life-size statue of him was erected shortly after in a Chicago park. Eddie Shaw kept his memory and music alive by keeping his band, the Wolf Gang, together for several years afterward. A child-education center in Chicago was named in his honor and in 1980 he was elected to the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. In 1991, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A couple of years later, his face was on a United States postage stamp. Live performance footage of him exists in the CD-ROM computer format. Howlin' Wolf is now a permanent part of American history.

Born Chester Arthur Burnett, June 10, 1910, in West Point, MS; died of complications from kidney disease January 10, 1976, in Chicago, IL; son of Dock and Gertrude Burnett (plantation workers); married first wife c. 1930s; married wife, Lillie, c. 1950s; children: (second marriage) Barbara, Betty Jean. Religion: Southern Baptist.

Blues singer, guitarist, and harmonica player. Toured with fellow bluesmen, including Robert Johnson and Sonny Boy Williamson c. 1930s. Worked as singer, producer, and advertising salesman at KWEM Radio in West Memphis, TN. Released first album in 1951 on Chess Records; toured the U.S. and Europe, with Chicago as his primary venue, 1952-c. 1976. Appeared in short film Wolf, 1971. Military service: U.S. Army, stationed in Seattle, WA.

Awards: Honorary doctor of arts degree from Columbia College, Chicago, 1972; Montreux Festival award for album Back Door Wolf, 1975.

Albums:

Big City Blues, United, 1966.

The Real Folk Blues (recorded c. 1956-65), Chess, 1966.

(With Hubert Sumlin, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, and others) More Real Folk Blues (recorded c. 1953-57), Chess, 1967.

The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions (featuring Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, and The Rolling Stones), Chess, 1971.

Message to the Young, Chess, 1971.

The Back Door Wolf, Chess, 1973.

Change My Way, Chess, 1977.

Moanin' in the Moonlight (recorded 1951-59), Chess, reissue, 1987.

Cadillac Daddy: Memphis Recordings, 1952, Rounder, 1989.

Chicago: 26 Golden Years, Chess.

His Greatest Sides, Vol. 1, Chess.

Howlin' Wolf: Moanin' in the Moonlight, Chess.

Live and Cookin' at Alice's Restaurant, Chess.

Evil, Chess.

Howlin' Wolf: Chess Blues Masters, Chess.

The Legendary Sun Performers: Howlin' Wolf (British import), Charly.

I'm the Wolf, Vogue.

This Is Howlin' Wolf's New Album (British import), Cadet C.

From Early til Late, Blue Night.

Going Back Home (British import), Syndicate Chapter.

Heart Like Railroad Steel: Rare and Unreleased Recordings, Vol. 1, Blues Ball.

Can't Put Me Out: Rare and Unreleased Recordings, Vol. 2, Blues Ball.

Ridin' in the Moonlight, Ace.

Sources: Cub Koda, All Music Guide; artistdirect.com; B. Kimberly Taylor

This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com

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With a career that spans over three decades, John Hammond is one of handful of white blues musicians who was on the scene at the beginning of the first blues renaissance of the mid-'60s. That revival, brought on by renewed interest in folk music around the U.S., brought about career boosts for many of the great classic blues players, including Mississippi John Hurt, Rev. Gary Davis, and Skip James. Some critics have described Hammond as a white Robert Johnson, and Hammond does justice to classic blues by combining powerful guitar and harmonica playing with expressive vocals and a dignified stage presence. Within the first decade of his career as a performer, Hammond began crafting a niche for himself that is completely his own: the solo guitar man, harmonica slung in a rack around his neck, reinterpreting classic blues songs from the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. Yet, as several of his mid-'90s recordings for the Pointblank label demonstrate, he's also a capable bandleader who plays wonderful electric guitar. This guitar-playing and ensemble work can be heard on Found True Love and Got Love If You Want It, both for the Pointblank/Virgin label. 

Born November 13, 1942, in New York City, the son of the famous Columbia Records talent scout John Hammond, Sr., what most people don't know is that Hammond didn't grow up with his father. His parents split when he was young, and he would see his father several times a year. He first began playing guitar while attending a private high school, and he was particularly fascinated with slide guitar technique. He saw his idol, Jimmy Reed, perform at New York's Apollo Theater, and he's never been the same since. 

After attending Antioch College in Ohio on a scholarship for a year, he left to pursue a career as a blues musician. By 1962, with the folk revival starting to heat up, Hammond had attracted a following in the coffeehouse circuit, performing in the tradition of the classic country blues singers he loved so much. By the time he was just 20 years old, he had been interviewed for the New York Times before one of his East Coast festival performances, and he was a certified national act.  

CLICK HERE FOR EVEN MORE UNIQUE JOHN HAMMOND, JR. VIDEO.

When Hammond was living in the Village in 1966, a young Jimi Hendrix came through town, looking for work. Hammond offered to put a band together for the guitarist, and got the group work at the Cafe Au Go Go. By that point, the coffeehouses were falling out of favor, and instead the bars and electric guitars were coming in with folk-rock. Hendrix was approached there by Chas Chandler, who took him to England to record. Hammond recalls telling the young Hendrix to take Chandler up on his offer. "The next time I saw him, about a year later, he was a big star in Europe," Hammond recalled in a 1990 interview. In the late '60s and early '70s, Hammond continued his work with electric blues ensembles, recording with people like Band guitarist Robbie Robertson (and other members of the Band when they were still known as Levon Helm & the Hawks), Duane Allman, Dr. John, harmonica wiz Charlie Musselwhite, Michael Bloomfield, and David Bromberg. 

As with Dr. John and other blues musicians who've recorded more than two dozen albums, there are many great recordings that provide a good introduction to the man's body of work. His self-titled debut for the Vanguard label has now been reissued on compact disc by the company's new owners, The Welk Music Group, and other good recordings to check out (on vinyl and/or compact disc) include I Can Tell (recorded with Bill Wyman from the Rolling Stones), Southern Fried (1968), Source Point (1970, Columbia), and his most recent string of early- and mid-'90s albums for Pointblank/Virgin Records, Got Love If You Want It, Trouble No More (both produced by J.J. Cale), and Found True Love. 

He didn't know it when he was 20, and he may not realize it now, but Hammond deserves special commendation for keeping many of the classic blues songs alive. When fans see Hammond perform them, as Dr. John has observed many times with his music and the music of others, the fans often want to go back further, and find out who did the original versions of the songs Hammond now plays.

Although he's a multi-dimensional artist, one thing Hammond has never professed to be is a songwriter. In the early years of his career, it was more important to him that he bring the art form to a wider audience by performing classic -- in some cases forgotten -- songs. Now, more than 30 years later, Hammond continues to do this, touring all over the U.S., Canada, and Europe from his base in northern New Jersey. He continued to release albums into the new millennium with three discs on the Back Porch label, including Ready for Love in 2002, produced David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, In Your Arms Again in 2005, and Push Comes to Shove in 2007. Whether it's with a band or by himself, Hammond can do it all. Seeing him perform live, one still gets the sense that some of the best is still to come from this energetic bluesman.

~ Richard Skelly, All Music Guide

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Stevie Ray Vaughan

The Band

Bo Diddley

Chuck Berry

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Revered by the blues and rock communities alike, Stevie Ray Vaughan ushered in a distinctive style for mainstream music in the 80s. His tragic death in 1990 sealed his iconic status as one of the best guitarists of our time.

Some of Vaughan’s more notable pieces are covers of Jimi Hendrix’ Little Wing and Voodoo Child as well as original, heavy blues material like Crossfire.

Vaughan was born and raised in Dallas and he began his career as a musician and ultimate guitar legend from an early age. At the age of 17, he dropped out of high school to pursue music and started forming bands. By 1978, Vaughan was lead guitarist and vocalist for a band called Double Trouble which was creating sufficient buzz in the Texas music scene.

During a performance in 1982, the band caught the attention of David Bowie and Jackson Browne. Bowie asked Vaughan to play on his forthcoming album, while Browne offered free recording time in Los Angeles. Both were accepted and before long, Vaughan had secured a record deal and a debut album was released.

The album was titled Texas Flood and it received acclaim from both blues and rock critics. It featured the classic Pride and Joy. A second album, Couldn’t Stand the Weather was released in 1984 and by the end of 1985 it had reached gold status. In 1989, In Step won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues album.

After a gig with Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy, Vaughan boarded a helicopter that, after takeoff, crashed killing him and four other passengers. He was only 35 years old. The recordings he was working on before his death were released posthumously and were just as successful as those during his lifetime. One year later, an album featuring various studio sessions and outtakes, The Sky is Crying, went platinum. A further live album and greatest hits compilation were released in the 90s.

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Fender has released two special edition Stratocasters in honour of Vaughan including a replica of one of his most used guitars, lovingly dubbed “Lenny”. There is also a memorial statue erected in Austin, Texas which is a popular attraction with tourists and fans.

Juanita Appleby

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Stray Cats

David Bowie

Jackson Browne

Rock Stars Dead Before Their Time

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The Rolling Stones, often labeled as ‘the world’s greatest rock and roll band’, were formed as early as 1949 when guitarist Keith Richards and singer Mick Jagger, went to school together.  

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Eleven years later the two crossed paths again. They found out about a local musician named Alexis Korner who held blues jams at the Ealing Club. After Jagger began to sing for Korner's Blues Incorporated, he decided to join a group that Richards was putting together. Other members included Ian Stewart (piano), Bill Wyman (bass), Charlie Watts (drums), and Brian Jones (guitar).

Manager Andrew Loog Oldham got them work at the Marquee Club in London, England, in 1963, billed as "Brian Jones and The Rollin' Stones". They soon became known as "the group parents love to hate." Oldham decided that pianist Stewart did not fit in and pushed him to the background.

Oldham got the Stones a contract with Decca Records, and in June 1963 they released their first single, a version of Chuck Berry's ‘Come On’ backed with ‘I Want to Be Loved’. Continuing their eight-month residence at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, England, they released their version of The Beatles's ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ followed by Buddy Holly's ‘Not Fade Away’. Their fourth single, ‘It's All Over' climbed all the way to number one in their homeland. Their next hit, ‘Little Red Rooster’, also reached number one but was banned in the United States. 

The Rolling Stones already had two albums out in England by the time they broke the U.S. Top 10 with ‘The Last Time’, In the summer of 1965 they had a worldwide number one hit with ‘Satisfaction’. Allan Klein then took over as manager, and in 1966 the band released ‘Aftermath’, its first album of all original songs. In 1967 The Stones recorded ‘Their Satanic Majesties Request’, noted mainly for being the last album that Brian Jones, who had become heavily involved with drugs, truly worked on. After 1968's ‘Beggar's Banquet’, Jones quit the band, and was found dead one month later.

Two days later The Stones hired Mick Taylor, as Jones's replacement, and recorded their next album, ‘Let It Bleed’.

In 1971 The Stones formed their own label, Rolling Stones Records, and they began to experiment with different kinds of music. Their next two albums, ‘Goat's Head Soup’ and ‘It's Only Rock and Roll’, were viewed as so-so efforts. In 1975 Taylor decided to walk away from the band.

Guitarist Ron Wood fit The Stones perfectly, taking Taylor's place on a 1975 tour of America. The first full album he contributed to was ‘Black and Blue’ in 1976.

During the 1980s it was often rumored that The Rolling Stones would break up. Richards was not happy when Jagger took time off to work on his first solo album

Rumours of the band's breakup were put on hold in 1989, when The Stones announced plans for a new album and a world tour. ‘Steel Wheels’ sold millions of copies and a sell-out tour followed. Bill Wyman announced his retirement shortly after. With Darryl Jones replacing Wyman, The Stones next released ‘Voodoo Lounge’.

The band settled into the routine of producing a new album and going on tour every few years. In 2001 Jagger and Richard appeared at Paul McCartney's Concert for New York City to raise money for victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. The Rolling Stones  contiue to tour.

Nucleus of band formed c. 1962 in London, England; performed as Brian Jones and the Rollin' Stones, 1962-63; original members included lead singer Mick Jagger (full name Michael Philip Jagger; born July 26,1943, in Dartford, Kent, England); guitarist Keith Richard (surname sometimes listed as Richards; born December 18,1943, in Dartford, Kent, England); guitarist Brian Jones (full name, Lewis Brian Hopkins-Jones; born February 28, 1942, in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England; left band June 9, 1969; drowned, July 3,1969); drummer Tony Chapman (left band c. 1962); bass player Dick Taylor (left band c. 1962); and pianist Ian Stewart (left band c. 1963).

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Jimi Hendrix and The Stones Jamming

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The Birds

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Born Thomas Jones Woodward on 7th June 1940 in the Welsh town of Pontypridd, Tom Jones is as synonymous with Wales as daffodils, coal and leeks.

Tom Jones sang from an early age; he was a member of his school choir, and he often sang at family gatherings. After leaving school with no qualifications, he joined a local beat group - Tommy Scott and The Senators - in 1963. Often performing in black leather, Tom Jones soon gained recognition in South Wales. However, The Senators were still unheard of in London.

The band recorded seven tracks with the legendary producer Joe Meek, but true to form, Meek refused to release the tapes. Tom Jones and the Senators returned to the Working Men’s Clubs and Dance Halls of South Wales, and it was in such a venue that London-based manager Gordon Mills spotted Tom Jones. Mills became Tom Jones’ manager, and managed to get him signed to the renowned Decca label.

Tom Jones’ first single Chills and Fever failed to chart when it was released in late 1964, but the following year, his next record It’s Not Unusual was a smash; hitting the number 1 spot in the UK Singles Chart and reaching the top 10 of the US Billboard Chart. 1965 ended with Tom Jones being awarded the ‘Grammy Award for Best New Artist’. A year later, his cover version of The Green, Green Grass of Home spent seven weeks at number 1 in the UK.

Tom Jones’ first international performance was at Las Vegas’ Flamingo Club in 1967. His performance at New York’s Copacabana Nightclub the following year saw him confronted by a swooning, screaming, knicker-throwing female horde. This marked the beginning of Tom Jones’ concentration on lucrative club performances, rather than on recording albums.

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The 1970s provided Tom Jones with multiple successes, including the records Daughter of Darkness, The New Mexican Puppeteer and She’s a Lady. He also starred in a number of variety shows on American television, including ‘This is Tom Jones’ and ‘The Tom Jones Show’. However - despite these numerous triumphs - his popularity began to wane towards the end of the decade. The 1985 single A Boy From Nowhere reached number 2 on the UK singles chart, and his cover of Prince’s Kiss (which charted at number 5) went some way to reintroduce Jones back into the public consciousness. His comeback truly arrived with the 1999 release of Reload, a selection of duets with several other high-profile artists including The Pretenders, Robbie Williams and Van Morrison. In 2000, Tom Jones was invited by the then president of United States Bill Clinton to perform at the Millennium celebrations at Washington D.C. That same year, Jones was presented with the BRIT award for ‘Best Male’.

He celebrated his 65th birthday in 2005. To mark the occasion, he performed a spectacular concert in Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd (his first performance in his hometown since 1964), which saw a musical legend returning to where it all began.

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Elvis Presley

Van Morrison

Crispian St Peter

Blood On The Tracks

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Van Morrison, was born George Ivan Morrison on 31st August 1945 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A critically acclaimed singer/songwriter some of Van 'Van the Man' Morrison's albums are considered some of the best ever made including "Moondance", "Astral Weeks" and "It's Too Late to Stop Now". His work came from a number of genres including R&B, soul, Rock 'n' Roll, celtic, blues and jazz. He can play the guitar, saxaphone, harmonica, keyboard, tambourine, drums and ukulele.

Van Morrison achieved considerable international fame, largely as an album artist. In 1993, Morrison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2003 the Songwriters Hall of Fame as well. VH1 ranked him No. 25 in their list of "100 Greatest Artists of Rock and Roll". and Rolling Stone magazine rated Morrison No. 42 in their list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".

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His superb albums include "Blowin' Your Mind!", "Moondance", "Astral Weeks", "His Band and the Street Choir", "Saint Dominic's Preview", "Tupelo Honey", "Hard Nose the Highway", "Veedon Fleece", "It's Too Late to Stop Now", "The Healing Game", "Live at Austin City Limits Festival" and the more recent album "Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl".

Van released the majority of albums through Bang, London, Warner Bros, Mercury, Lost Highway Records, Exile/Polydor, Listen to the Lion/EMI and Decca. Now in his 60s Morrison is still active in music.

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Jimmy Page

Lonnie Donegan

Tom Jones

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Clarence "Frogman" Henry was born on 19th March 1937 in Algiers, Louisiana. A popular R&B singer he was inspired by Professor Longhair and Fats Domino, while performing in talent shows, Henry used to dress up like Longhair and wore a wig with braids on each side.

He could sing like a girl, he could sing like a frog, but it was Henry's trademark croak found him fame in 1956 with the hit "Ain't Got No Home" which he followed up with "You Always Hurt the One You Love" and "(I Don't Know Why) But I Do" in 1961.

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Frogman continued to record a number of New Orleans style originals and he even recorded with Nashville saxist Boots Randolph and pianist Floyd Crammer. But the hits dried up for good after 1961 as his gimmick as being the Frogman grew tiresome.

In 1964 The Frogman opened 18 concerts across the US and Canada for The Beatles but he always felt at home on the Bourbon Strip in New Orleans, where he played for 19 years still drawing crowds of tourists years after his hits had been in the charts. "Ain't Got No Home" has been used in a number of films including "Diner", "The Lost Boys" and "Casino".

Clarence's contribution to music was recognized by the Rockability Hall Of Fame were in April 2007, he was honored for his contribution to Louisiana music.

If you would like to see the great man, you are most likely to see him reviving his classics at the New Orleans & Heritage festival were he performs every year in the spring.

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The Beatles

Fats Domino

Otis Redding

Clarence The Frogman Henry Video

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Muddy Waters, born McKinley Morganfield, was a famous and well-admired American Blues singer born in 1913 in Mississippi. He is considered as the father of Chicago Blues, and is often cited as a major influence by early 60’s Blues/rock bands.

Muddy Waters was an accomplished singer, songwriter and guitarist, though struggled in the early years to gain acceptance, particularly because he was black. Eventually he signed to the Aristocrat label in 1948 (which became Chess) and was at his professional peak during the mid 50’s however Chess rather forgot about him and for some 20 years little was recorded. In 1977 he signed for Blue Sky and had somewhat of a renaissance.

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Muddy’s ‘They Call Me Muddy Waters’ gained a Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording. In subsequent years his albums and songs achieved Grammy Awards a number of times.

Muddy has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and four of his songs were listed under the category of ‘500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll’. The Blues Foundation Awards also honored Muddy .

Albums include "The Best of Muddy Waters", "At Newport 1960", "The Real Folk Blues", "More Real Folk Blues", "Electric Mud", "Hard Again", and "The Definitive Collection".

Muddy Waters died in his sleep in 1983.

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Bo Diddley

Chuck Berry

Bob Dylan

Chuck Berry And Johnnie Johnson Invented Rock N Roll

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