Bluestone's Track of the Day: Blue Guitar

The Chicago bluesman Earl Hooker, born in 1929, was a master of the slide.  He played a lot of open tunings and mixed finger soloing in with his slide.  B.B. King said, "To me he is the best of modern guitarists. Period."  That's a fine compliment coming from a man like B.B. 
The instrumental, Blue Guitar, has a fine piano and brass section, but Hooker's lead guitar takes the cake.  He plays mostly a classic blues solo and he plays it so well, throwing in a couple wild slides to make it his own.  Hooker was born in Mississippi, but came to Chicago and picked up his style at the age of one.  He didn't move because of a record signing, it was his parents' choice, but he was clearly destined to be great.  Hooker grew up with Bo Diddley and was greatly influenced by T-bone Walker.  Hooker began his career in 1946 by touring through the South with Robert Nighthawk and his band.  Here's a version of Blue Guitar with Junior Wells.

Earl was a real showman, watch him live here, playing with his teeth!

Bluestone's Track of the Day: Stormy Monday

I chose this track so we could talk a little bit about Eva Cassidy, likely my favorite female vocalist.  She's really a folk singer, but she does Stormy Monday, so welcome to Champagne n' Reefer.  Cassidy's first album wasn't released until 1992 and she died four years later.  From what I've heard, she was virtually unknown when she died in 1996, but has come into much more popularity since then.  Her biggest song, Over The Rainbow, got exposure in the UK three years after its release, where it blew up.  She also topped charts in a few other countries.  Read more about her here.
And now for a little bit about Stormy Monday.  Stormy Monday was released by T-bone Walker in 1947 and became a blues standard, recorded by artists including Albert King, B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Buddy Guy, and Eva Cassidy.  Stormy Monday reached #5 on the charts and supposedly inspired B.B. King to pick up the electric guitar.  They call it stormy Monday, oh but Tuesday's just as bad...
Stormy Monday, T-bone
Stormy Monday, Eva Cassidy
Stormy Monday, Albert King
Stormy Monday, B.B. King
Stormy Monday, Buddy Guy
Here are a few more tracks from Eva Cassidy - Ain't No Sunshine, Fever, Wade in the Water, Wayfaring Stranger, The Letter, Over the Rainbow, all worth listening to!