Fifth Wednesday with Paul     9-30-2015

 
Holmes Brothers                        1991, 1992
Ali Farka Toure                              1987

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I wanted to do this show back on our fifth Wednesday show in July but couldn’t get it ready in time.  The Holmes brothers have always seemed a unique set of Bluesmen with their mix of Gospel and old fashioned Soul worked into their material, and a healthy helping of harmony throughout.  They were one of the first artists to impress me as I went through the KKUP Blues library when I first started, and I’m pretty sure I saw them one year at the San Francisco Blues Festival.  Alligator Records sends emails to anyone who would like them and I saved these obituaries.
 
WENDELL HOLMES
   DECEMBER 19, 1943 - JUNE 19, 2015

Wendell Holmes, vocalist, guitarist, pianist and song writer of the critically acclaimed soul & blues band The Holmes Brothers, died on Friday, June 19 at his home in Rosedale, Maryland of complications due to pulmonary hypertension. Earlier this week, Wendell addressed his fans and friends in an open letter as he moved into hospice care. He was 71.
Wendell retired from touring earlier this year when he was first diagnosed. Holmes Brothers drummer Willie "Popsy" Dixon died on January 9, 2015 of complications from cancer. Brother and bassist Sherman Holmes continues to carry on The Holmes Brothers legacy with The Sherman Holmes Project featuring Brooks Long and Eric Kennedy.
Wendell, the man Entertainment Weekly has called "a timeless original," was born in Christchurch, Virginia on December 19, 1943. He and his older brother Sherman were raised by their schoolteacher parents, who nurtured the boys’ early interest in music. As youngsters they listened to traditional Baptist hymns, anthems and spirituals as well as blues music by Jimmy Reed, Junior Parker and B.B. King. According to Wendell, “It was a small town, and my brother and I were about the only ones who could play anything. So we played around in all the area churches on Sundays.” The night before, though, they would play blues, soul, country and rock at their cousin’s local club, Herman Wate’s Juke Joint. “When he couldn’t get any good groups to come from Norfolk or Richmond, he’d call us in,” Wendell recalls. “That’s how we honed our sound. We used to say we’d rock ‘em on Saturday and save ‘em on Sunday.”

Once Wendell finished high school he joined Sherman, who had already begun playing professionally in New York. The two brothers played in a few bands before forming The Sevilles in 1963. The group lasted only three years, but they often backed up touring artists like The Impressions, John Lee Hooker and Jerry Butler, gaining a wealth of experience. Sherman and Wendell met drummer Popsy Dixon, a fellow Virginian, at a New York gig in 1967. Dixon sat in with the brothers and sang two songs. “After that second song,” recalls Wendell, “Popsy was a brother.” They continued to play in a variety of Top 40 bar bands until 1979, when the three officially joined forces and formed The Holmes Brothers band. 

The band toured the world, releasing 12 albums starting with 1990's In The Spirit on Rounder. Their most recent release is 2014's Brotherhood on Alligator. The New York Times calls The Holmes Brothers "deeply soulful, uplifting and timeless."
In September 2014, The Holmes Brothers were honored with a National Endowment For The Arts National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor the United States bestows upon its folk and traditional artists. They won two Blues Music Awards including Blues Band Of The Year in 2005. The Holmes Brothers are featured on the cover of the current issue of Living Blues magazine.
Wendell is survived by his wife, Barbara, daughters Felicia and Mia, brothers Sherman and Milton, and three grandsons.

Memorial service arrangements have not yet been announced.

 WILLIE "POPSY" DIXON

 JULY 26 1942 – JANUARY 9 2015

Willie "Popsy" Dixon, drummer and vocalist of the critically acclaimed soul/bluesband The Holmes Brothers, died in Richmond, Virginia on Friday, January 9. He had recently been diagnosed with stage four bladder cancer. He was 72 years old.

Dixon, born in Virginia Beach, Virginia on July 26, 1942, was celebrated for his soaring, soulful multi-octave vocals and his driving, in-the-pocket drumming. He first met brothers Sherman and Wendell Holmes at a New York gig in 1967. Dixon sat in with the brothers and sang two songs. "After that second song," recalls Wendell, "Popsy was a brother." They played in a variety of Top 40 bar bands until 1979, when the three officially joined forces and formed The Holmes Brothers, which The New York Times described as "deeply soulful, uplifting and timeless." They toured the world, releasing 12 albums starting with 1990's In The Spirit on Rounder. Their most recent release is 2014's Brotherhood on Alligator.

Dixon first played the drums when he was seven. He told Blues On Stage, "My mom and dad took me to the store and told me to get anything I liked. There was this tiny red drum set, with a tiny little kick drum and snare...little cymbals. Now, that's what I wanted! By the next morning, the thing was in the trash can. I beat it all to death. But, I tell you what...I knew how to play after that. I just knew. I had the rhythm down pat and had timing too. Just that fast. I been playing ever since."

The Chicago Tribune described Dixon's voice as "otherworldly...a gift to the world of music." Living Blues said, "Popsy’s voice is a wonder...spontaneous and raw."

In September 2014, The Holmes Brothers were honored with a National Endowment For The Arts National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor the United States bestows upon its folk and traditional artists.

Dixon is survived by daughter Desiree Berry and longtime partner Isobel Prideaux.

Funeral service information is pending. Interment will be at the Holmes' family plot in Saluda, Virginia.

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I saw something interesting on our next artist, likely a segment on the PBS Newshour, and with that in mind I discovered he was mentioned in one of the Scorsese Blues chapters, which also aired on PBS many years ago, so I had to pick up one of his albums.  I believe you will find it interesting.

 Artist Biography by Richie Unterberger

   for AllMusic

One of the most internationally successful West African musicians of the '90s, Ali Farka Touré was described as "the African John Lee Hooker" so many times that it probably began to grate on both Touré's and Hooker's nerves. There is a lot of truth to the comparison, however, and it isn't exactly an insult. The guitarist, who also played other instruments such as calabash and bongos, shared with Hooker (and similar American bluesmen like Lightnin' Hopkins) a predilection for low-pitched vocals and midtempo, foot-stomping rhythms, often playing with minimal accompaniment.

Touré's delivery was less abrasive than Hooker's, and the general tone of his material somewhat sweeter. Widespread success on the order of Hooker was somewhat elusive, though, as Touré sang in several languages, and only occasionally in English. As he once told Option, his are songs "about education, work, love, and society." If he and Hooker sounded quite similar, it's probably not by conscious design, but due to the fact that both drew inspiration from African rhythmic and musical traditions that extend back many generations.

Touré was approaching the age of 50 when he came to the attention of the burgeoning world music community in the West via a self-titled album in the late '80s. In the following years he toured often in North America and Europe, and recorded frequently, sometimes with contributions from Taj Mahal and members of the Chieftains. In 1990, Touré retreated from music entirely to devote himself to his rice farm, but was convinced by his producer to again pick up the guitar to record 1994's Talking Timbuktu, on which he was joined by Ry Cooder. It was his most well-received effort to date, earning him a Grammy for Best World Music Album, but it was also proof that not all Third World-First World collaborations have to dilute their non-Western elements to achieve wide acceptance. However, Touré found success draining and again retreated to tend his farm.

He didn't release a record on American shores for five more years; he finally broke the silence in 1999 with Niafunké, which discarded the collaborative approach in favor of a return to his musical roots. Then, once again, Touré stepped away from the limelight. In 2005, perhaps partly to keep his name familiar to music lovers, Nonesuch issued (for the first time on compact disc) Red & Green, two albums Touré recorded in the early '80s, packaged together as a two-disc set. In the Heart of the Moon was also released in 2005. Touré died on March 7, 2006, from the bone cancer that he had been battling for years; however, he was able to complete one last album before passing. His final album, Savane, was released posthumously in July 2006. It was later discovered that he had completed impromptu sessions a year before his death alongside Malian kora player Toumani Diabaté in London. The results of these sessions were released in the simply titled 2010 record Ali & Toumani.

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The focus of Paul’s half of the show will be on music from 1945 and his playlist follows mine.

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One last note is the fact that KKUP is now streaming on the internet.  We have actually been doing it for a little over a month now and, while it is still in a developing stage, we are ready to put out the word.  I’m not all of that good with high-tech but it seems pretty easy to access.  If you go to our website at KKUP.org, you will see on the home page a strip of options immediately above the pictures of the musicians, the next to the last option being LISTEN ONLINE.  By clicking this, it brings up a choice of desktop or mobile.  I can only speak for the desktop but after maybe a minute I was receiving a crystal clear feed.  As already mentioned, this is still a work in progress and we are currently limited to a finite number of listeners at any one time.  I mention this so you will be aware to turn off the application when you are not actually listening.  (I put the player in my favorites bar for the easiest of access.)  Now we can reach our listeners in Los Gatos and Palo Alto, even my family in Canada.  Just another way to enjoy KKUP.

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I Saw the Light
Worried Life Blues
High Heel Sneakers
Honest I Do
Give It Up
Drown in My Own Tears
Fannie Mae
   The Holmes Brothers

Timbarma

Kadi Kadi
Singya
Tchigi Fo
Bakoytereye
   Ali Farka Toure

My Girl Josephine

I Won’t Hurt You Anymore
Down in Virginia
Promised Land
Get Myself Together
Dashboard Bar
Train Song
   The Holmes Brothers

·      

THE HOUSE OF BLUE LIGHTS - FREDDIE SLACK (v.ELLA MAE MORSE-DON RAYE)
LEARN TO BOOGIE - BETTY HALL JONES 
BOOGIE WOOGIE GUITAR - GABRIEL BROWN And His Guitar
BOBBIE TOWN BOOGIE - LEE BROWN
KANSAS CITY BOOGIE - THE BLUES MAN (George Vann)
LET'S HAVE A BALL - CHAMPION JACK DUPREE TRIO
ATOMIC COCKTAIL - SLIM GAILLARD QUARTETTE
ROCK AND RYE - JIMMY McCRACKLIN
HE MAY BE YOUR MAN - HELEN HUMES WITH BILL DOGGET OCTET
BEDROOM BLUES - SIPPIE WALLACE WITH ALBERT AMMONS AND HIS RHYTHM KINGS
BLUES AT SUNRISE - IVORY JOE HUNTER
BLUES FOR MY DADDY - LILLETTE THOMAS AND HER BOYS
IT'S JUST THE BLUES - FOUR JUMPS OF FIVE
WALKIN' BLUES - JAY McSHANN AND HIS JAZZMEN (NUMA LEE DAVIS)
BUZZ ME - HENRY 'RED' ALLEN AND ORCHESTRA
WHEN YOU LOVE ME - MEMPHIS MINNIE  OKEH 6733
BOYFRIEND - LIL GREEN  BLUEBIRD 34-0733
EARLY IN THE MORNING - SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON
GEE BABY, AINT I GOOD TO YOU - DELTA RHYTHM BOYS
MEAN OLD FRISCO - JACK DUPREE TRIO
MY LITTLE GIRL BLUES - LEE BROWN
RUM RIVER BLUES - JIMMIE HUDSON
SOMEBODY DONE CHANGED THE LOCK ON MY DOOR - LOUIS JORDAN
THAT'S THE STUFF YOU GOTTA WATCH - WYNONIE HARRIS WITH JACK MCVEA
     AND HIS ALL STARS
THAT'S THE WRONG GAL BROTHER - FLENNOY TRIO
THINGS HAVE CHANGED - BIG MACEO