L.C. Ulmer

The Laurel Leader Call writes about L.C. Ulmer's recent gigs:

Imagine the youngest of 14 children, the son of a Stringer sharecropper, playing his blues music to crowds of thousands in Italy and Switzerland. That’s a long way for someone who came up the hard way, cutting crossties and timber, building a railroad across Lake Ponchartrain and working at sawmills, all before he was 15 years old. L.C. Ulmer returned to his home in the Currie settlement near Ellisville Wednesday night following a week-long tour of blues festivals in the two countries Thursday night.

“It was a reaction I never seen before,” Ulmer said. “They were hollering, dancing. There were other bands there, but most of them left after they heard the blues. I was on the high stage, started playing at 6:30 that night. It was jam-packed and they were hollering and cheering me on. They wanted to hear the blues. They gave me the thumbs up, and I gave them the thumbs up back. I couldn’t speak their language, but when I did that, it was like I was communicating with them. That and singing the blues. I was supposed to only play for 30 minutes, but the next group saw how much the crowd liked my music, and I played til almost 8.”

He played five nights of blues festivals in Switzerland and at the Roots and Boues Festival in Parma, Italy. He toured with the Taylor Grocery Band of Oxford. Justin Showah of the band is Ulmer’s manager....

After playing for nearly 70 years (he’ll be 79 in late August), he is finally being recognized for his talent as a blues singer and writer. He performs only songs he has written. “I don’t want to mock nobody,” he said....With no gigs currently set, Ulmer is enjoying being back in the home he bought in 1983, but only moved to five years ago. He plans to put some songs on CD along with Chase Holifield this summer at a recording studio in Ellisville.

(read the full story here)

Thursday News Roundup

Jerry Lee Lewis - Hall of Fame Magazine writes on "The Life and Times of Jerry Lee Lewis: The Killer Rocks On."

It's possible that Jerry Lee Lewis – of the Ferriday, Louisiana Lewis clan – is pound for pound the greatest rocker ever to stomp a stage in any generation since that subversive music commenced. It is likely – and God bless Hank Williams – that The Killer is the best country singer ever to moan the blues, sing of done-wrong love, wives waving good bye, or forlorn saloons. Such a personage as Leonard Bernstein, a keyboard man of some repute, considered Jerry Lee one of the finest piano players this country ever produced. In fact, perch a parrot on his '88' and you've got the single greatest whore house professor the world has ever known. Not houses like Madame Claude's, the pride of Paris, but the scarlet houses of Natchez, Baton Rouge, and Memphis attended by men in ruffled cuff shirts and women with color on their eyes and cheeks. These rough-edged lives would have been his concert halls had The Killer gone that route. Jerry Lee Lewis is indeed a son of the South, the deepest South where life moves at the speed of the Big River as it sings its love song to the Gulf of Mexico.

Jerry Lee's first cousin is The Reverend Swaggert, a preacher known to pound both the Bible and the ladies of those sultry, mysterious southern evenings with equal fervor. Another cousin, Mickey Gilley, a fair country singer himself, described his outrageous relative this way: "Killer? You're talking about a man who puts away a fifth of tequila in the morning just to straighten out."....

When he is done with the road, Jerry Lee Lewis will go home and put his boots up at his Mississippi farm. He lives there with his daughter Phoebe and the many dogs roaming the place. It's a quiet life. The house is less than an hour from Memphis, which keeps him close to his business and not too far from the casinos. Even closer is the Mississippi River. In their own way both Jerry Lee and the Mississippi are emblematic of the south, eternal and undefeated. The wind is like a hymn through the juniper trees along the banks, providing accompaniment to the green and brown rolling river of history, as it pours into the Gulf which merges with the Atlantic which turns The Cape of Good Hope to join with all the oceans of time in their embrace of the world. And the Earth turns. And the sun rises and sets and rises again. And The Killer rocks on. (read the full story here)

More updates...

Harp Magazine: Looting the Bins with the North Mississippi Allstars' Luther Dickinson

AP: Hard Rock Biloxi plans its opening day for the second time

Scott Barrett/Clarion Ledger: Duck Hill's Grassroots Blues Fest features all-ages lineup

Willie Dixon

From the Vicksburg Post:

The debut of a traveling Smithsonian exhibit brought out at least 700 people to dine and dance in Vicksburg Thursday, with multiple events centered on native bluesman Willie Dixon.

Crowds dodged showers and poured into venues to honor “the poet laureate of the blues,” who would have celebrated his 92nd birthday Sunday.

It was a big start to a big week, with almost daily events leading up to and following the Fourth of July.

An evening jam session, bluegrass pickin' and gospel concert at the Southern Cultural Heritage Center launched the Smithsonian's New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music displays that will be free and open at the center for six weeks. The director, Bess Averett, said by 7:30, with an hour and half left and the crowd growing, at least 700 people had filled the former Catholic school campus downtown.

Averett said she was overwhelmed. “We are just so excited that Vicksburg decided to come out to support roots music,” she said.

“Willie Dixon Day,” is what Vicksburg Riverfront Mural Project chairman Nellie Caldwell termed the day of events, which began at 3 when about 40 people endured the heat and gathered along Willie Dixon Way to view the newly installed blues trail marker for the legendary singer, songwriter and bassist.... (read the full story here)

BB King

BB King is preparing a new album, recording this month to be released in early 2008. T-Bone Burnett is producing the Geffen studio album. This article includes a quote from King about doing a partner album: "People keep asking when I'm going to do something else with Eric Clapton or U2. But I can still do things by myself. This time, I've decided I don't want to do anything with partners for a while."

The AP reports on his homecoming this year to Indianola and his summer plans including a 16-city blues festival tour. This piece is also a good update on BB - festivals, museums, honors, etc.

And from the Muskegon Chronicle, "In the king's own words, the thrill's not gone. Nowhere near. A lesser musician -- say, a mere commoner -- might expect it at least to have dissipated a little, after six solid decades of playing the blues. But B.B. King -- whose long reign as king of the blues makes any of the world's other monarchs a mere flash in the pan by comparison -- isn't about to step down from his throne." (read the rest of it here)

Thursday Roundup

Vicksburg - Blues Trail marker honoring Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Willie Dixon to be unveiled today.

Potts Camp - North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic: Friday - Bobby Rush, T-Model Ford, DuWayne Burnside and his Mississippi Mafia, Olga Wilhelmine Mathus, Danny Lancaster, Jocco Rushing and John Barnett. A "sunset jam" brings together roots rockers Mother Tupelo, Rocket 88 and Goshen of Santa Fe, N.M. Saturday - Blue Mountain, the Taylor Grocery Band and Alvin Youngblood Hart's trio Muscle Theory, the Rev. John Wilkins, the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band, David Kimbrough and Garry Burnside of Burnside Exploration, the North Mississippi Allstars, Jimbo Mathus and Knockdown South. (Read the Clarion Ledger story here.)

Oxford - alt-country band Blue Mountain reunites

Wednesday News Round-Up

BlogCriticsMagazine: Music DVD Review: North Mississippi Allstars - Keep On Marchin'

Friday morning, Main Street Kosciusko will be hosting their annual Side Walk Sale, Breezy 101’s 2nd Annual BBQ Battle, and Main Street’s June Jam. June Jam will begin around 6:30 p.m. with the finalists from the 2007 Colgate Country Showdown opening for Nashville singer/songwriter Leith Loftin. Loftin, 27-year-old native of Carroll County and last year’s Colgate Country Showdown winner, said he is ready to come home to Mississippi and play his music.

Benoit will host its first Summer Fest Saturday, featuring bluesman Nathaniel Kimble, Courtney Smith, Jessie Lee Clay, and Mississippi Slim.

Tuesday News Roundup

The Mississippi Blues Commission will dedicate a Blues Trial marker on Thursday to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Willie Dixon of Vicksburg.

University of Mississippi professor and author Adam Gussow teams with Sterling Magee in a new feature-length documentary on "Five Fingers" Magee in New York City.

Delta State's Delta Center for Culture and Learning has been sponsoring "From the Birth of America's Music: The Music and Musicians of Mississippi," to educate and expose Mississippi teachers to the cultural and artistic resources of the state.

Big George Brock will play Sainsbury's Social Club, in Basingstoke, United Kingdom, on Thursday, June 28. "When 75-year-old Mississippi-born musician Big George Brock sings the blues, he isn't lying. When he sings 'they call me a lover', know that he has 42 kids. When he talks about 'that lonesome cotton field', understand that he grew up a Delta sharecropper." Read the full story here.

2 Updates from Yesterday

Blues Trail marker for Son House

Mississippi bluesman finally gets passport to play Italy

Mississippi music tv

Scott Coopwood writes about a project to spread the word of Mississippi's musical heritage in June's Delta Business Journal:

Mississippi Media Group Inc. (MMG) is currently designing and creating content with the intent of launching a television channel rooted deep in the Mississippi mud. Programming is being planned that will include all aspects of life within the Delta. The project is being spearheaded by Vincent Productions who has been collaborating with Bill Luckett and Morgan Freeman of Ground Zero Blues Club, Inc. on a series of shows called “The Clarksdale Juke Joint Jam.” The series produced by the Vincents and partner Robert Eva spotlights performers with international fame, in particular honoring blues legends.

The first show features George Thorogood and the Destroyers with blues master Eddie Shaw. Other shows currently in production include artists such as, Elvin Bishop, Little Smokey Smothers, Pinetop Perkins, Delaney Bramlett, Jimmy Thackery, and the Cate Brothers.

Sponsors for the “Clarksdale Juke Joint Jam” include Intel Corp., Gibson Guitars, Pearl Drums, and Canon International. The idea for a network was brought to Vincent Productions by Columbus resident Ron Williams.

Individuals integrally involved with the Mississippi Media Group include Ron, Gary and Carol Vincent, Covenant Bank CEO Willis Frazer, entertainment and media consultant Jeff Skillen, and Senior Judge of Tunica County Ellis Darby, among others.

It’s time that Mississippi reclaims and exports its own cultural heritage to the world. Production of original content that promotes the rich culture of the Delta could be a significant step in the right direction towards bringing attention and opportunity into our unique corner of the world.

Lee Chester Ulmer

78-year-old Ellisville blues guitar musician, Lee Chester Ulmer has encountered troubles getting a passport to join Afrissippi for a gig in Italy. Why?

Ulmer was born on a backcountry plantation in Stringer in 1928. He was delivered by a midwife, so there's no certified birth certificate or hospital birth certificate.

He was baptized in a creek - so no baptismal certificate.

He attended all-black country schools that did not keep records.

Ulmer doesn't have a family Bible because it was lost in a tornado in 1939.

Both his parents are deceased. His 12 older siblings also are deceased, so there is no one to submit an affidavit of birth.
Read the full story of his struggle with government logistics to take Mississippi blues to Italy in this article by the Clarion Ledger.

Monday News Roundup

Ground Zero in Clarksdale is under new management.

Blues diva Dorothy Moore of Jackson will donate mementos from her personal collection to the Robert Johnson Blues Foundation Official Museum in Crystal Springs.

The Son House Blues Trail Marker is being unveiled today near Tunica.

Lucille and Friends will perform in a Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame presentation at the OnStage Restaurant at Jackson Evers International Airport this Friday. Lucille is a slide guitarist and vocalist who toured with Little Milton and has played with Albert King, Dr. John, Dorothy Moore, Z.Z. Hill, R.L. Burnside, Sam Myers and others.

Friday News Roundup

Hattiesburg native Hot Dollar has new material out: a single "Streets On Lock" and the album "My Dreams...A Day in the Life." DJBooth.net has an interview with this up and coming rapper.

Bluesman David Honeyboy Edwards, a Shaw, Mississippi native, is approaching his 92nd birthday in Chicago and as this article makes clear "sees no reason to slow down."

Gary Clark Jr - the "future of blues music in Texas" - plays with Mississippian Pinetop Perkins tonight at Antone's in Austin, Texas.

The Williams Brothers

The McComb Enterprise Journal writes about an event honoring multiple Grammy nominated The Williams Brothers.

The Williams Brothers of Smithdale have been spreading the gospel through song for 47 years, winning multiple Stellar and Dove awards and receiving six Grammy nominations. Now, the group’s home church is planning to honor them.

On June 22, Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church of Franklin County and its Women’s Missions Auxiliary will honor the singing trio and lifetime church members with a special celebration at Fernwood Country Club.

Guests will include keynote speaker Bishop Paul S. Morton of New Orleans, master of ceremonies Dr. Bobby Jones of Nashville, and performer and minister Bishop Neal Roberson of Lansing, Mich.

McComb Mayor Zach Patterson will present the group with a proclamation and a key to the city.

The Williams Brothers formed in 1960 with Leon “Pop” Williams heading up the family group. Although Leon Williams died in a wreck in 1989, the Williams Brothers soldiered on. Leon and his wife Amanda, now 87, had 10 children, eight of whom are living. Mrs. Williams sang with The Williams Family and in the church choir at Rose Hill. While she has much to be proud of in her family, Mrs. Williams’ children are proud of her strong influence, too....

The Williams Brothers are Melvin and his younger brother Doug Williams, and longtime family friend Henry Green. Melvin began singing at age 6 with his brothers and has been writing and arranging music since 1970. His youngest brother, Doug, has been singing with his family since age 5. Green joined The Williams Brothers at age 18.

Not only have the trio seen continued recording success, The Williams Brothers own their record label, Blackberry Records, based in Jackson, as well as Blackberry Entertainment. Blackberry made news in 1991 by becoming the first black-owned recording company in Mississippi.

Read the full story here.

Wednesday News Roundup

Purvis native Johnny Rawls plays at Peterborough's Red Dog Tavern in Canada. (06/13/07)

Jackson native and Grammmy winner Cassandra Wilson will be headlining the Bucks County Jazz Restival in Pennsylvania. (06/12/07)

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes about the blues heritage that spread up Highway 61 from the Delta to Chicago and visits Clarksdale to see this home of the blues still jams live from juke joints to Ground Zero. Another article asks if the blues have left St. Louis and looks closer at the history of the Mississippi blues in the city. (6/10/2007)

Greenwoodians enjoyed the Family Funk Festival this past weekend (06/09/07)

Bentonia native Jimmy "Duck" Holmes is profiled in this article in prep for his performance at the Chicago Blues Festival. (06/08/07)

Beulah is planning a gospel festival for June 30. (06/08/07)

The Edinburgh Jazz Festival has sparked some controversy for booking Clarksdale's Ike Turner. Advocates against domestic violence are protesting the Grammy winner. (06/08/07)

Moss Point highschoolers took their instruments to Burlington, Vermont to thank their sister city for post-Katrina support. (06/07/07)

BB King in Indianola

Scott Barretta writes in today's Clarion Ledger: This Saturday B.B. King makes his annual visit back home to Indianola, where he'll headline the B.B. King Homecoming Festival at Fletcher Park and appear in the evening at the historic Club Ebony. A late change in King's schedule moved the festival from last Friday to this Saturday. Also performing at the festival, which begins at 5 p.m., are Willie King, Bill "Howlin' Madd" Perry, local favorite David Lee Durham and Jackson soul-blues diva Dorothy Moore.

News Roundup

Sunflower County hosted the Holly Ridge Jam this past weekend with performances by John Horton, Cedric Burnside and Lightning Malcolm, Eden Brent and others (full story here: Delta Democrat Times: 06/04)

Marty Stuart

Great interview with Philadelphia, Mississippi native Marty Stuart regarding his collection of country music memorabilia now on display at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville at an exhibit: Sparkle & Twang: Marty Stuart's American Musical Odyssey.

Pinetop Perkins DVD

Josh Perkins reviews the new music DVD documentary on Belzoni native and blues legend Pinetop Perkins.

Perkins writes: Joe Willie “Pinetop” Perkins is a national treasure. Forget Mount Rushmore and to hell with the Grand Canyon – old rocks and dead men are no match for a timeless spring of eternal blues....

He was born in Belzoni, Mississippi [in 1913] on the Honey Island plantation. Perkins has taken to saying he was “born in the honey,” a turn of phrase that now serves as the title of a 60-minute documentary on his incredible life.

He started playing music at an early age, learning both guitar and piano as a youngster before leaving home around age 16....He moved to Clarksdale in 1940, not long after the moonshine operation he helped run got broken up. His fellow entrepreneurs were apprehended by the law. He escaped and decided it was time for a change of scenery....Perkins knocked around Memphis, St. Louis, and Cairo, Illinois throughout the '50s. While in Memphis, he taught Ike Turner to play piano. He also recorded on a session with Earl Hooker for Sun Records. While there, he recorded “Pinetop's Boogie Woogie,” which was originally recorded by Clarence “Pinetop” Smith. The song meant so much to Perkins that he donned the nickname himself, becoming even more famous than its originator....

Born in the Honey assembles a wonderful cast of blues legends to both pay tribute to Perkins as well as swap stories about time spent with him. Bobby Rush has a great story about Pinetop the prankster. Ike Turner, Bob Margolin, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Ann Rabson, Paul Oscher, Dr. John, Lonnie Brooks, Hubert Sumlin, Taj Majal, Kim Wilson, Marcia Ball, Koko Tayler, and Bernard Allison are all interviewed during the documentary as is Pinetop himself....

Pinetop Perkins is a blues icon, and Born in the Honey does a fine job of telling his story....Also included in the package is a 10-song CD, Pinetop Perkins on the 88s. The first nine tracks are taken from a live performance.

(Read the full article here.)

Howlin Wolf Festival

Columbus Commercial Dispatch: The festival honoring great blues legend Chester “Howlin' Wolf” Burnett is set for Saturday, June 10 at Waverly Waters in Columbus, and will feature plenty of entertainment and barbeque. The event should help finish raising the remaining funds needed to purchase the Howlin' Wolf marker for the Mississippi Blues Trail. Entertainment will feature Daniel “Slick” Ballinger, 19th Street Red, Big Joe Shelton and Flathead Ford. (Full Story)

In other news, Howlin Wolf and others are featured on the "The American Folk-Blues Festival: The British Tours" DVD reviewed by the LA Times.

Friday Roundup

Gold suit? Black sideburns? Must be Elvis Fest time. Elvis Fest in Tupelo.

From New Jersey's Courier Post: Mississippi native Steve Forbert, meanwhile, is touring in support of his soon-to-be released album, "Strange Names & New Sensations," which includes a new version of his biggest hit, 1980's "Romeo's Tune." "After all these years, it's still my signature song and I still like to sing it," Forbert said recently, adding that for the remake "we didn't try to repeat the original. The song has magic which made it a hit, and you can't get that out of a bottle," he said. "It stands on its own, so we just changed it a little, slowed it down a bit. It's the same song, only different."