Pre-eminent among Chess Records' many ambassadors to the world: bandleader-bassist-songwriter-vocalist Willie Dixon.
One of this writer's all-time favorite albums was recorded at Chicago's North Park Hotel. Chicago music titan Gene Ammons, tenor saxophonist and son of boogie-woogie piano king Albert Ammons, is in top form!
Speaking of Gene Ammons, he is arguably our favorite among the numerous greats who waxed albums and singles for Chess Records. Ammons had the first of two records released by Leonard Chess on the newly-formed Chess Records label in 1950, titled "My Foolish Heart" (Chess 1425); the second release was "Rolling Stone" by Muddy Waters (Chess 1426). Gene recorded the excellent Soulful Saxophone album for Chess. His epic Live! In Chicago album, recorded at The DJ Lounge in Chicago for the Argo label, is a must for any music fan.
Other musical masterpieces from Chess Records include
Chuck Berry - The Great Twenty-Eight
Etta James - At Last!
The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions
Soundtrack to Rock, Rock, Rock
Go Bo Diddley (1958)
The Best of Little Walter
The Real Folk Blues - Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker
Albums, many outstanding, by Muddy Waters, Sarah Vaughn, Anita O' Day, Mort Sahl, Richard Pryor, The Smothers Brothers, Barbra Streisand, Cass Elliot, Dale Hawkins, Bill Cosby, Freddie Prinze and Ella Fitzgerald were recorded there.
On this October day in appalling 2025 at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog, we tip our borrowed Chicago Cubs caps, hopefully previously owned by Mike Krukow, to Mister Kelly's and the city of Chicago, where Chess Records and Curtis Mayfield's Curtom Records waxed incredible music and a portion of East 36th Street near Cottage Grove Avenue is Sam Cooke Way. Kudos, bravos, huzzahs, good luck and countless inflatable animal costumes (along with documentary filmmakers) to the Windy City!
January 27 always means a music post, as all-time great composers, songwriters and musicians share a 1/27 birthday, starting with . . .
Here's some high grade Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart goodness, interpreted brilliantly by a pianist who has been among the best of the very best for decades, Martha Argerich.
For more, strongly suggest delving into the following playlist of Mozart masterpieces, performed with panache by The Guarneri String Quartet.
Regarding the incredible Jerome Kern, composer and collaborator of lyricists George Grossmith Jr., Guy Bolton, P. G. Wodehouse, Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, Dorothy Fields, Johnny Mercer, Ira Gershwin and Yip Harburg, born on January 27, 1885, the question is where does one start? With classic movie musicals, of course.
Bringing their original ideas to Kern's universe: crooners Chet Baker, Frank Sinatra and Nat "King" Cole.
Never to be outdone, EVER, Ella Fitzgerald recorded an entire album of Jerome Kern songs.
And, speaking of jazz, the gifted virtuoso pianist Bud Powell (1924-1966) waxed a memorable, heartfelt and Art Tatum-esque version of Kern's The Last Time I Saw Paris.
Five years ago, this blog spotlighted the incomparable Broadway and Hollywood songwriter (and screenwriter) Harry Ruby.
Notably, Harry Ruby wrote the lyrics to one of my absolute favorite songs!
Groucho Marx' pal and favorite songwriter, Harry was a cornerstone of many outstanding entertainments, not the least of were several classic comedy films of the 1930's.
Groucho continued performing these songs right up to the end of his lengthy showbiz career.
Among the amazing covers of songs by Kalmar & Ruby is this one by Louis Armstrong. No doubt Sinatra and Nat took notes regarding Satchmo's uncanny ability to absolutely nail songs from both jazz and Broadway.
Millions of us would-be musicians attempted, with complete and utter lack of success, to emulate the playing of genius slide guitarist and vocalist Elmore James (1918-1963). Since blues remains both simple and very, very difficult to play - even more difficult to excel at - few guitaristas come close to James' original phrasing, timing, feeling, intensity, dynamics and nuance.
Have been listening to Elmore James play "Dust My Broom" for decades and still ask "HOW does he do it?" So did Howlin' Wolf, Earl Hooker, Johnny Winter, Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer.
Even more amazing: James' incendiary solo and vocal on Tampa Red's It Hurts Me, Too.
Chicago's own Luther Allison is a blues vocalist-guitarist who gets it regarding Elmore James.
In closing, we note that there is an astonishingly good guitarist who pulls this approach to the instrument off beautifully . . . and he happens to be Elmore's son.
In my (not humble) opinion, Valentine's Day, even though I wrote a rambling, unwieldy posting about it three years ago, is, without a doubt, the SUCKIEST of holidays.
Now, I'm as romantic as the next guy (and very likely more so), but this is a consumerist and selective holiday, designed specifically to sell stuff. While the non-religious can celebrate Christmas and folks who would be emphatically barred from serving in the military can gleefully barbeque meats on July 4 and Veterans Day, can people without partners celebrate Valentine's Day?
By definition, good ol' VD Day harshly divides everyone into haves and have-nots, as if we need more of that. As they used to say at county fairs, what a crock!
So forget the sucky holiday ever existed and enjoy the outstanding music of Chicago blues master Samuel Maghett, a.k.a. Magic Sam, born on February 14, 1937.
Sadly, Sam has long since left this music and healing hungry planet, but the remastered West Side Soul, fortunately for music lovers, has been reissued by the wonderful Delmark Records (the same label that re-issued Hawk Squat by another Chicago guitar genius, J.B. Hutto) and remains in print.
Here's Sam, making magic with the personal axe of another under-recorded treasure, slide guitarist Earl Hooker.
First and foremost, that's the title of a great tune, sung to perfection by one of the best American entertainers of the 20th century, Dean Martin.
The phrase aptly describes what many people go through this year, not just due to trying external circumstances involving relationships and money (or, more to the point, the lack of them), but the short days, cold temperatures, grey skies and reduced sunlight.
On the other hand, Christmas Blues also means music I personally like to listen to that has healing properties. For example, these guys:
Now that's some happy blues.
But seriously folks, if you have any combination of:
friends, family members and/or a partner you can stand who are still living
food on the table
a roof over your head which is not in imminent danger of foreclosure or eviction
reasonably good health
Then thank your lucky stars and thank 'em again, that is the freakin' grand slam, pinch yourself to make sure the good fortune is real - that equals one fabulous Christmastime.
So (imagine the voice of Clark Gable here), dammit, give them all a hug, tell them you love them NOW, while they're still here! And, to those intrepid individuals who take action to make things better, get off their derrieres and do something about the suffering in the world, not just today but the other 364 days a year, we tip our hats to you; you're the best.
Merry Christmas To All And To All A Good Night from Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog.
While today would have been the 70th birthday of the inventive, very prolific composer-bandleader-arranger-guitarist Frank Zappa - and that merits a trip over to Wolfgang's Vault for some Mothers Of Invention shows - it's apparent that on these shortest days of the year, my mind frequently gravitates to that guitar geek nirvana, the blues.
Last week the amazing Howlin' Wolf and a guy he inspired, the late, great Don Van Vliet, A.K.A. Captain Beefheart were deeply rooted in moi's consciousness. This week: the London-born master of blues and rock guitar, Peter Green.
First off, if you don't know who Peter Green is, drop everything you are doing, turn off your television, cell phone or PDA, get the hell off Facebook (unless you're on FB's Peter Green Tribute page) and listen to this guy play.
Check out these soulful pieces from Peter's stretch with John Mayall's Blues Breakers.
And enjoy Peter's guitar wizardry with Fleetwood Mac (Note: blog readers who do not, in any way, shape or form, enjoy the essential sound of non-metal/punk style electric guitar or the blues are excused).
Peter could also write gorgeous introspective ballads. This one, "Man Of The World", is particularly beautiful and, sadly, more than hints at the serious personal problems that would meet the gifted guitarist just around the corner:
The lush, ambient instrumental "Albatross", co-written by Green and Danny Kirwan, was a big hit in England for Fleetwood Mac.
Unfortunately, the 1967-1971 Fleetwood Mac, arguably up there with The Who as the greatest of British rock bands, would be stalked by tragedy (mostly caused by extended over-use of LSD-25).
Fortunately, the Peter Green-led version of Fleetwood Mac recorded prolifically enough to leave many hours of remarkable music behind, especially on the Live At The Boston Tea Party recordings and the April 9, 1970 BBC performance on CD 2 of the Show Biz Blues set.
Alas, the story for the incendiary, passionate, hard rocking version of Fleetwood Mac ended abruptly and not at all well. Slide guitarist, Elmore James aficionado, cutup and specialist in Elvis-Buddy Holly-Eddie Cochran style rockabilly Jeremy Spencer went AWOL to join the Children Of God cult, while Green and co-lead guitarist Danny Kirwan, after dropping copious quantities of acid in Munich, subsequently suffered decades of severe health problems.
Green and Spencer have resurfaced in recent years, still playing the blues after the heavy dues. After making his last recording at the age of 28, Danny Kirwan dropped as far out of sight as Syd Barrett did (and, unfortunately, for the same reasons); by all accounts, Mr. Kirwan is still living, but has been in and out of mental institutions in London. If Danny plays the guitar or writes songs, it's strictly for himself - and that, dear blog readers, is one incalculable loss to the world of music.
Meanwhile, the founders and rhythm section mates who the group was named after, bassist John McVie and percussionist Mick Fleetwood, would be the only original Fleetwood Mac members still in the band after its transformation from British blues-rock-psychedelia juggernaut to hit-making commercial pop powerhouse.
After leaving Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green recorded The End Of The Game, a progressive rock album with improvisational jazz leanings, then disappeared due to health problems through much of the 1970's until the release of the solo record In The Skies. He would re-emerge in the 1990's leading Peter Green's Splinter Group.
Behold, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, the quintessential British rock-blues-psychedelia powerhouse - Peter Green, Danny Kirwan, Jeremy Spencer, John McVie (electric bass) and Mick Fleetwood (drums) - in their brief blaze of glory in 1968-1970.
When members of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac appeared as special guests, along with Berry Oakley, Duane and Gregg Allman from The Allman Brothers Band at a Fillmore East concert headlined by the Grateful Dead on February 11, 1970. . . HOO-BOY!!!
