Real Music - Russian River Blues Festival 2018 - by Robert Feuer
In a spectacular salute to 1960s -‘70s blues, the
Eric Burdonemerged from the nightspots of the coal-mining town, Newcastle, England, immersed in the American blues masters. He formed theAnimals in the mid -’60s. They became an integral part of theBritish Invasion, perhaps only surpassed by the Beatles andRolling Stones in popularity. In the early ‘70s, he had great success with the Los Angeles multi-ethnic band, War.
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Burdon is listed as #57 on Rolling Stones’ 100 All-time Greatest Singers list. His newly released version ofBuffalo Springfield’s“For What it’s Worth” is a message to his fans, he said on his website. “I wanted to write something about the brutality that's going on in the world today but I couldn't find any better way to say it than Buffalo Springfield did.”
Elvin Bishop became a founding member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 1960s Chicago while hanging out at smoky ghetto bars with two-dollar covers. This provided him contact with classic artistsMuddy Waters,Little Walter,Otis Rush,Magic Sam, and Howlin’ Wolf. Arriving in California a few years later, he has been a stalwart in the Bay Area music scene since. Bishop has recorded with Clifton Chenier,John Lee Hooker, and theAllman Brothers, among many others.
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Much of his sound is of the good-time party variety, with a downhome voice that echoes his farmboy upbringing in Iowa and Oklahoma. He’ll bring hisBig Fun Trio, with long-time specialists, guitarist/pianistBob Welsh and percussionist/vocalist Willy Jordan to the river.
Taj Mahal grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts, of a Caribbean father; a jazz musician who hosted many visiting players from the southern climes in his home. Taj Mahal’s mother was a gospel singer. He spent his late teens working on a dairy farm before emigrating to Los Angeles in 1964.
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Taj Mahal found an audience in the rock crowd of the 1960s -‘70s. In 1968, he performed in the classic filmThe Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. Three years later, he played during the closing days of the Fillmore East (with Bishop also).
Since, he has redefined country blues by including the primal sounds of the Caribbean, Africa, and the South Pacific. Performers like Keb’ Mo’, Eric Bibb, and Alvin Youngblood Hart have much to thank him for.
Robert Cray’s musical path began in Eugene, Oregon in 1974, as a teenager. His 1985 recording with legendary Texas bluesmen, Albert Collins andJohnny Copeland, “Showdown,” earned him his first of five Grammys.
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Cray has written songs for Eric Clapton and B.B. King. He performed withChuck Berry in the filmHail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll, after an invitation from Keith Richards.
