Master Bluesmen Practicing Their Craft
“Oak Park resident Eddie C. Campbell, a seminal blues guitarist and singer who played with Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon and Muddy Waters, [received] a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Music Awards during a ceremony Sunday at the Copernicus Center,” OakPark.com reports.
“Campbell, 74, was born in Duncan, Miss., but moved to Chicago when he was 10. Two years later, he was learning from the great Chicago bluesmen and in the 1970s was a member of the Chicago Blues All-Stars.
*
“Spider Eating Preacher is the new album by Chicago blues legend Eddie C. Campbell and it’s a family affair.
Eddie & Barbara’s musical partnership is in full blossom as Barbara plays bass on six songs. Barbara learned the authentic Chicago blues bass ‘bump’ from Eddie! Spider Eating Preacher features 12 new compositions, including the title track, a song about Barbara’s blindness. Their son, David, plays violin on two songs. This is the first time Eddie has played with his godson, Lurrie Bell, since the title track on Eddie’s classic 1977 album King of the Jungle.
“This album is the follow-up to Tear This World Up, a finalist for Album of the Year in the 2010 Blues Music Awards.”
–
Sideman To The Stars
“Compared to most, I’ve lived an unusual life, lived in a lot of places, and loved a lot of beautiful women. I’ve been a drummer behind some of the greatest musicians and musical groups in history.”
“And so begins the remarkable tale of Chicago drummer Jimmi Mayes, who for more than 50 years, served as a sideman behind some of the greatest musicians and musical groups in history. His new memoir The Amazing Jimmi Mayes: Sideman to the Stars recounts his unforgettable music career that spanned almost four decades,” Clint Kimberling writes for the Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi.
*
“As soon as I got out of high school I came to Chicago,” Hayes tells VIP Jackson magazine.
“Someone introduced me to Little Walter Jacobs. I started with him. He called me his son. The Regal Theater in Chicago was doing big stage shows each week. One week I went. During a break . . . I went backstage and met Tommy Hunter. He gave me a job. He took me to New York. I met The Shirelles, Martha and the Vandellas and Joey Dee and the Starliters. I became a Starliter.
“I played with Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Reed, Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith, Pinetop Perkins and so many more.”
*
“Today I have three boys. They are 47, 27 and 16, and they all live in Chicago.”
*
Backing Pinetop Perkins and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith.
–
Comments welcome.
Posted on February 27, 2014