Amos Blackmore was born this day in 1934 in Memphis, Tennessee...better known as Junior Wells, and to his fans as the "Godfather of the Blues," Wells was able to grab an audience by the ears and take them on a musical roller-coaster ride with his unique spin on the classic Chicago blues sound.

Often performing alongside guitarist Buddy Guy, Wells enjoyed a lengthy career that spanned 50 years, his staggering harp solos and vocal interplay defining the Chicago blues harp sound at a time when the music was still shedding its country roots, taking the music to new heights of critical acclaim and commercial acceptance. Join us today in celebration of the life and career of this Chicago blues legend!

Related Content: Junior Wells Profile

Photo courtesy Delmark Records

Blues-rock guitarist Johnny Winter hasn't released a studio album since 2004's critically-acclaimed I'm A Bluesman, and that album was eight years in the making. Yeah, so Winter isn't the most prolific of bluesmen, and although he hasn't been putting together new material, it hasn't stopped him from reaching back into the vaults to release some red-hot live recordings.

On January 12, 2010 Friday Music will release Winter's Live Bootleg Series, Volume 6 on both compact disc and through digital download services like iTunes, eMusic, and Rhapsody, among others. The popular series pulls previously-unreleased material from Winter's personal archive, and the first five volumes have won universal acclaim for the scorching live houserockin' music they document.

Like the previous entries in the series, Live Bootleg Series, Volume 6 includes rare musical moments from across Winter's 40-year-plus career, including covers of some of the guitarist's favorite artists and songs, including Ray Charles' "Blackjack," Freddie King's "Sen-Sa-Shun," and an amazing fifteen-minute extended jam on B.B. King's "It's My Own Fault." The album also includes live versions of a couple of Winter originals - "White Line Blues," which features some smokin' slide-guitar, and "Johnny Guitar."

"I'm really pleased with how well the live series has been received," Winter says of the collection in a press release for the new album. "I had so much material from over the years and was very happy to find the right way to distribute it all to my fans. It was great finding a label such as Friday Music to release this material in such a way as it's being presented."

Although he may not have released any new music in 2009, the last year or so has been one of the highest profile in nearly four decades for Winter. His acclaimed performance at the Woodstock Festival was recently released for the first time on CD, coupled with his 1969 debut album as the two-disc The Woodstock Experience set. A fine DVD collection, Live Through The '70s, was released in late 2008, with volumes for the 1980s and '90s scheduled for future release. As Winter prepares to hit the road for a series of dates in early 2010, expect even bigger things from the guitarist in the year to come!

Related Content:
Johnny Winter - Live Bootleg Series, Vol. 2 CD review
Johnny Winter - The Woodstock Experience CD review
Johnny Winter - Live Through The '70s DVD review

Photo courtesy Friday Music

Blues-rock fretburner Johnny Winter is one of the best-known and beloved guitarists in the blues. While health issues have largely kept the legendary bluesman off the road and out of the studio as of late, Winter has been having a pretty good year in 2009 nonetheless.

He's been overseeing the release of his Live Bootleg Series albums - red-hot and ear-singing live music culled from Winter's personal archives - which number five so far, with number six on the way. His incredible performance at the Woodstock Festival was recently released for the first time on CD, coupled with his 1969 debut album as the two-disc The Woodstock Experience set.

It's been 40 years since Winter exploded on the blues-rock scene, and while he may have earned whatever time off that he chooses to take, the noted guitarist has already announced tour dates through the first four months of 2010. Witnessing Johnny Winter perform live is something that every blues fan should experience, so be sure to catch one of the below-listed performances when they hit a town near you!

Related Content:
Johnny Winter Profile
Johnny Winter - The Woodstock Experience CD review

Johnny Winter Tour Dates

12/05 @ State Theatre, Falls Church VA
12/18 @ Tupelo Music Hall, Salisbury MA
12/19 @ Narrows Center For The Arts, Fall River MA
01/04/10 @ B.B. King Blues Club, New York NY
01/08 @ Stone Pony, Asbury Park NJ
01/09 @ Toad's Place, New Haven CT
01/11 @ B.B. King Blues Club, New York NY
01/14 @ Showcase Live, Foxboro MA
01/15 @ Mechanics Hall, Worcester MA
01/16 @ Merrill Auditorium At City Hall, Portland ME
01/18 @ B.B. King Blues Club, New York NY
02/05 @ The Crazy Donkey, Farmingdale NY
02/06 @ Tupelo Music Hall, Londonderry NH
02/13 @ Mill Street Brews, Southbridge MA
02/20 @ Palace Theatre, Stamford CT
03/04 @ New Age, Treviso Italy
03/05 @ Musicdome, Milan Italy
03/06 @ Naima, Forli Italy
03/07 @ Parco della Musica Auditorium, Rome Italy
03/10 @ Moods, Monte Carlo Monaco
03/12 @ Theatre, Abbeville France
03/13 @ Le 112, Terville France
03/14 @ Theatre Sebastopol, Lille France
03/15 @ Legend, Paris France
03/17 @ La Traverse, Cleon France
03/19 @ Exeter Phoenix, Exeter UK
03/20 @ Cheese & Grain, Frome UK
03/21 @ The Brook, Southampton UK
04/16 @ Empire State Plaza Conv. Ctr, Albany NY
04/21 @ This Ain't Hollywood, Hamilton, Ontario Canada
04/22 @ Showplace, Peterborough, Ontario Canada
04/23 @ Festival Hall, Pembroke, Ontario Canada
04/30 @ Wolf Den, Uncasville CT
05/01 @ Rams Head On Stage, Annapolis MD

Photo courtesy Alligator Records

More blues artists tour dates

The Recording Academy announced the nominees for this year's Grammy™ Awards last night and, like usual, there's little for blues fans to really get too excited about. The 52nd Annual Grammy™ Awards show will be held on Sunday night, January 31, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and will be broadcast on the CBS Television Network.

Sadly, the esteemed Recording Academy sees fit to nominate blues artists in only two categories, with the bulk of the Grammy™ noms going to pop, rock, country, and dance artists. As I griped last year, gospel music gets seven categories, Latin music seven, and other genres spread the wealth around with multiple awards...heck, even jazz is awarded in six categories. Yet blues is shuffled off to the Grammy™ ghetto with genres like comedy, new age music, and reggae. Without blues, I'd say that jazz, rock, and even country music wouldn't sound the same.

In any event, the Academy's ignorance of blues music on the whole sometimes seeps into its nomination process. Ramblin' Jack Elliott, one of folk music's most beloved figures, received a nomination for "Best Traditional Blues Album" for his 2009 release A Stranger Here. Shouldn't that album have been included in the folk category alongside Maura O'Connell and Loudon Wainwright III? Other nominees in the traditional category include the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band's Blue Again; John Hammond's Rough & Tough; Duke Robillard's Stomp! The Blues Tonight; and the excellent Chicago Blues: A Living History compilation.

In the "Best Contemporary Blues Album" category, this year's nominees include Robert Cray's This Time; Ruthie Foster's The Truth According To Ruthie Foster; Mavis Staples' Live: Hope At The Hideout; Susan Tedeschi's Back To The River; and Derek Trucks' Already Free. Once again, Mavis Staples is one of the most esteemed vocalists in gospel music history; because she's backed by a rock band on this live album, she gets a blues nomination rather than one of the umpteen gospel awards?

A few other blues-related artists and albums received odd nominations as well. Guitarist Jeff Beck received a "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" for the song "A Day In The Life" from his Performing This Week...Live At Ronnie Scott's album. Buckwheat Zydeco is the most notable nominee in the "Best Zydeco or Cajun Album" for his excellent Lay Your Burden Down, while blues legend Little Walter vies with Woody Guthrie and Sophie Tucker for "Best Historical Album" for Hip-O Select's The Complete Chess Masters 1950-1967. As usual, I'll make my predictions in a few weeks, prior to the show. Stay tuned....

Photo courtesy Hip-O Select Records