The 2012 inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio have been announced and, as usual, the artists chosen offer little relevance for blues (or even blues-rock) fans. The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Guns N' Roses are the two best-known inductees this year - Rock Music Guide Tim Grierson has the complete rundown - but there's a little surprise hidden in the fine print of the announcement. Blues guitar legend Freddie King will be inducted into the Hall in the "Early Influences" category, joining other influential artists like Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, and Robert Johnson. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but I guess that we blues fans will take any scraps that Jann Wenner and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation (which actually picks the artists sent to the physical hall in Cleveland) deign to toss our way....
The Vintage Vinyl News website seems to be the first to report that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones have insisted on paying the funeral costs for the recently-departed blues great Hubert Sumlin. Richards, in particular, has some history with the former Howlin' Wolf guitarist, performing on his 2004 About Them Shoes album, and helping Sumlin out with his medical bills when he underwent treatment for lung cancer back in 2002. It's been announced that a public funeral service for Sumlin's fans will be held on Monday, December 12, 2011 at 10:00 AM at the Festa Memorial Funeral Home in Totowa, New Jersey. A public viewing at the funeral home will be on Sunday, December 11 th between 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM and again between 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM.
This week on the About.com Blues website, our guest author Steve Pick reviewed the new album from a phenomenal young guitar talent, Marquise Knox's Here I Am. Don't forget to check out the Alligator Records Album of the Month - James Cotton, Junior Wells, Carey Bell, and Billy Branch's Harp Attack!, and if you're looking for a last-minute present for somebody on your list, maybe the Reverend's 2011 Blues Gift Guide could be of some help?
Freddie King's Texas Flyer photo courtesy Bear Family Records
Comments
Like your site! I’ve been playing blues guitar professionally since the 60’s here in Chicago and abroad, and played with Hubert once at Legends, what a great guy, we talked about amps and guitars and his early recordings.Technical note:He’d occasionally detune his guitar A LOT when the mood would strike him (down to C?) which is how he got that “rubber band tone” when he wanted that. Robbie Robertson of the Band said the guys used to call Hubert “The Stinger” when they were known as The Hawks” in the early 60’s. Wolf’s”Rocking Chair” (a homage to Kennedy’s rocking chair in the White House?) had just come out. Hubert is one of the unsung heroes in the acceptance of the Strat as a blues guitar along with Buddy Guy and Ike Turner. BB even played the Strat for a while when they first came out in ‘54. As you might suspect I’m a Stratocaster player as well. Google my name to see my playing. Regarding the R&R Hall of Fame, I guess we should be glad there’s even an “Early Influences” category at all! How about an award for Jody Williams? In addition to being a guitarist I’m a Chicago historian and halfway through writing my opus CLOSER TO THE BLUES about Chicago and the Blues Boom. Keep up the good work.