Robert Penn
26 February 2010
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Live at The Stamford Arts Centre
Saturday 27th February 2010
Live music at The Village Hall,
Castor,
Peterborough,
PE5 7AX
7:30pm
Robert Penn was born in Riverside California and raised in Inkster, Michigan. The 59-year-old Detroit singer and guitarist learned his love of the blues from his Jackson Mississippi born mother’s musical brothers. His father was a great Motown fan and took the young Robert to see all his favourites.
Tutored on guitar by Cornelius Grant (guitarist for the Temptations) and inspired by BB King, Robert recorded his highly sought after first album in the 80’s. At this point his musical career was halted by an acrimonious divorce and Robert decided to bring up his two daughters on his own. This led to an unwillingness to travel outside of his close neighbourhood and he took up teaching guitar to make ends meet. Over the years he has honed his musical skills in local bars and clubs as well as being the opening act for Aretha Franklin, Johnny Taylor (another of his favourites), Bobby Bland and Ray Charles. He has also acted as the musical director for David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks and BB King.
In February 2005 Robert flew over to England for his first triumphant Shakedown show 'live @ The Village Hall, Castor' and returned in September 2006 to play a superb solo set in The Stamford Arts Centre followed by an electrifying set with the Blues Crusaders to a huge wildly enthusiastic village hall audience.
This time we have asked Hammond player Russell Williams from the Brenda Boykin concert to put a band together for Roberts third visit. Look out for the fireworks!
Dwight Edwards
27 March 2010
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Saturday 27th March 2010
Live music at The Village Hall,
Castor,
Peterborough,
PE5 7AX
7:30pm
Dwight Edwards was born on November 2nd 1952 in Indianapolis. His father was in the army and was seldom at home, so his mother brought him up, together with his two brothers. As a six year old he sang in a school play and he remembers hearing a lady in the audience yell out “that boy can sing” and it made him feel good. Three years later he saw Elvis on the television and was bowled over by his singing and guitar playing. One day his mother brought home an anthology of the blues LP entitled ‘The World Of Blues’ featuring Leadbelly, Witherspoon, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters and Dwight was captivated and told his mother he wanted to be a blues singer. His mother was less than deliriously happy with this on the basis of ‘it’s adult lyrics’ and warned him that it was ‘suicide music’! Nevertheless she bought him a guitar for Christmas and he was shown the basic blues licks by a friend who played bass. He was just eleven years old and felt ‘that I was in heaven’. His next ‘epiphany moment’ came when he heard B B King’s ‘3 O’clock In The Morning’ and his life as a bluesman began.
A few years went by and Dwight’s mother was working as a hairdresser. One of her clients mentioned that her father played the blues and had travelled around the world and if ‘Dwight was interested’ he could visit him at his house. So began Dwight’s friendship with mandolin player Yank Rachell. In this first visit Yank mentioned that his daughter needed a guitar player in her gospel group and Dwight obliged. In 1972 Dwight moved to Minneapolis and worked with a booking agency owned by Boyd Hunt who found him work playing R&B in local clubs in the mid-west. With this company he learned the contractual, legal and management skills needed for a life in music.
Returning to Indianapolis in 1984 he started his own Sounds Recording Studio recording and booking local bands in the Naptown Metroplex. At the same time Jan Olson, one of Boyd Hunt’s people, phoned and expressed an interest in an exclusive management deal and Dwight decided to sign up for five years. Young organised a record deal in Detroit and Dwight wrote a song ‘Sugar Love’ which was produced by Freeman James, a one time Motown musician who claimed to have played with everybody except the Beatles! The record went nowhere; the contract was terminated, Dwight went home, forgot about fame and fortune. He found work outside the music business and settled down to play the blues at weekends.
In 1996 he recorded his first ‘Vanity’ CD ‘Out Of The Blues’, which received sympathetic reviews and included some nicely self-penned tracks including ‘Party On The Blues’, ‘So Many Tears’, and ‘Snowball Blues’. His standing in Naptown blues community grew. Yank enthusiastically encouraged him saying ‘you’ve got a hit record here boy’ and he found regular work at Indianapolis’s blues mecca ‘The Slippery Noodle’. In 2001 he released his second album ‘Rivers of Blues’ which includes a great self-penned song ‘Dimples’ wherein he somehow reminds me of Screaming Jay Hawkins at his best. Two years later ‘The Heart of The Blues’ CD was released, again to favourable reviews and is undoubtedly his strongest release so far.
Recently I chanced upon his website and it includes a video clip that was so good I thought that we should feature him at Shakedown before he becomes too expensive.
Vernon Harrington
29 April 2010
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Live at The Village Hall, Castor
Friday 30th April 2010
Live at The Stamford Arts Centre
"Carrying on the West Side Blues Tradition of Magic Sam & Willie Kent"
Vernon Harrington was born on May 21st, 1953 in Chicago. Vernon was born with the Blues in his blood; he is a member of the legendary Bell-Harrington family. His father was Rev. Houston Harrington. His brother is bassist Joe Harrington, Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater (Harrington) is his first cousin, Lurrie C. Bell is his second cousin.
Vernon's father, Rev. Harrington was also an entrepreneur, who owned a recording studio and a record label, Atomic H Records. The label was started by to record local, Chicago Blues and Gospel artists. Atomic H released 45's by a wide array of artists such as Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater, Sunnyland Slim, Morris Pejoe, Henry Gray, Little Mac Simmons, JoJo Williams, Bay Blunt, Johnny Rodgers and Bill Ace. Delmark Records now owns the masters of these sides, some of which are featured on the Delmark compilation, "Chicago Ain't Nothing But A Blues Band", (DE624).
As a youngster Vernon started out playing piano and singing. "We had a piano in the house, my mother thought that it was a good way to keep us off of the streets and out of trouble" states Vernon.
The turning point in Vernon's life occurred when he was 11 years old. It was then that he first met and heard one of his West Side neighbours singing and playing the blues, that neighbour was the late, great, Magic Sam. Vernon was hooked, and he fell in love with the Blues. "If it wasn't for Magic Sam I doubt that I would be playing guitar and the Blues today" says Harrington. Vernon also sites B.B. King, Freddie King, Guitar Slim, Junior Parker, and Muddy and the Wolf as influences.
At age 17 Vernon started to hit the clubs, occasionally sitting in with his cousin, Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater at a place called the Flash Lounge on Pulaski and Polk. By age 19 he was playing regularly, both sitting in with others, as well as with his own band, a trio that included his brother Joe on bass. They played at places like the Bee Tee Lounge on 16th and Harding, and the Cougar Lounge on 18th and Pulaski, as well as other long forgotten clubs. As Vernon puts it "Me and Joe have been playing all over the West Side for the last 40 years".
One of the highlights of Vernon's career came in 1977 when he was tabbed by LB magazine founder, Jim O'Neal to go over to Germany as part of a package show titled "The Next Generation of The Blues". This historic show also featured Vernon's brother Joe, second cousin Lurrie C. Bell, James Kinds, Larry Taylor and Billy Branch just to name a few. Both Vernon and Joe recall this experience fondly and with great pride.
Once back in the States, Vernon continued to lead his own band as well as playing with Eddie "Playboy" Taylor, Lovie Lee, Willie Kent and Johnny B. Moore. "I've been playing with Johnny B. on and off for over 20 years" says Harrington. During this time he also appeared as a side man on recordings by keyboardist Willie Davis, with Willie Kent on Kent's 45 "All Night Long" on the Blue Soul label and with Johnny B. Moore on Moore's debut recording as a leader, the critically acclaimed LP "Hard Times" on the defunct B.L.U.E.S/R&B label, all while working a day job to keep food on the table and pay the bills.
In 1999 Vernon moved to Missouri. After a brief stint living, working and playing the Blues in Missouri he took an early retirement and moved back to the Windy City in 2004. Vernon now has the time to devote himself to his career in music, writing songs, recording and playing out live, where he can often be found in the company of his brother Joe and Larry and Eddie Taylor Jr.
The fruits of these efforts are Vernon's debut recording as a leader, "West Side Blues", on his own Atomic H2 record label. "West Side Blues" is named in honor of Magic Sam's "West Side Soul" on Delmark" says Vernon. "West Side Blues" features Vernon on guitar and vocals, his brother Joe on bass, and special guest Billy Branch on harmonica. The CD was recorded in April 2008 at The Fullerton Recording studio on Chicago's West Side.
"West Side Blues" features a solid mix of covers such as "The Things That I Used To Do" and "Kiddio", as well as four finely crafted originals. These originals include the opener, "You Did Me Wrong", "Lottery Blues", "Crack Head Woman" and "Help Me with the Bills". "West Side Blues" carries on the tough, gritty West Side sound and tradition of Magic Sam and Willie Kent. After 40 years in the shadows it's time for Vernon Harrington to shine!
Doug MacLeod
13 November 2010
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