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King Biscuit Boys / Big Walter Horton: Well All Right! (1973) |
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Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festivals
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Tuesday, 24 January 2006 03:02 |
Well All Right!
King Biscuit Boys / Big Walter Horton
Recorded 'Live' at the Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival 1973
Schoolkids Records
By John Sinclair
The first Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival, held at Otis Spann Memorial Field (next to Huron High School) on September 8-9-10, 1972, offered a series of five shows designed to embody and reflect the musical aesthetic traced in the phrase a rainbow of sound--a heady mixture of great blues, jazz and R&B, irrespective of period or genre.
While blues purists and jazz critics shook their heads and wagged their fingers, the Festival audiences--12,000 strong--went wild time and time again, and their enthusiasm inspired the producers to venture even further into the realm of cultural diversity as we began to lay our plans for the 1973 Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival.
The success of our initial effort meant that this writer, as the event's Creative Director, was given an even freer hand in selecting the artists and putting the five 1973 concert bills together. Certain artists who had proved most popular with the crowd were invited back and presented in different settings, but there were significant new additions to the program as well.
One of my most cherished dreams was realized with the presentation of a Saturday afternoon Music of Detroit show featuring Yusef Lateef, John Lee Hooker, CJQ, and a massive Motor City Blues Revue that can finally be heard on Please Mr. Foreman, the first CD in this series of festival albums from Schoolkids Records.
Perhaps the most ambitious shows were the Saturday night concert with Ray Charles & The Raelettes, the Charles Mingus Jazz Workshop, the great Jimmy Reed, and blues harmonica legend Big Walter Horton; and the Sunday afternoon extravaganza that brought together blues queen Victoria Spivey (now heard on Volume 3 of this series, Grind It!), the Ornette Coleman Sextet, the fantastic Johnny Otis Show, the West Coast improvisational duo Infinite Sound, and the fabled King Biscuit Boys from Helena, Arkansas--guitarists Houston Stackhouse and Joe Willie Wilkins, harmonicast Sonny Boy Blake & company.
Both Big Walter Horton and The King Biscuit Boys, although little known by the thousands of festival-goers, had strong ties to the small Ann Arbor blues community by virtue of previous appearances in local clubs and concert halls.
Big Walter was a favorite at the Blind Pig, the city's pre-eminent blues showcase, and often travelled with Ann Arbor-based guitarist John Nicholas. Later in the 1970s they made a pair of fine LPs for the bar's fledgling Blind Pig Records label, both of which can now be found on CD.
Nicholas assembled a splendid little unit to back up Big Walter's 1973 Festival set, choosing bassist Sarah Brown and drummer Fran Christina (both then based in Ann Arbor) from his own working band, The Boogie Brothers.
The King Biscuit Boys (performing as the Mississippi Delta Blues Band) had been introduced to Ann Arbor blues lovers on July 24, 1971 at UM's Hill Auditorium, the site of a wildly successful benefit concert for the student affiliate of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers. My brother David had assisted in the production of the benefit, which took place while I was in prison, and his enthusiastic reports made me want to hear the music of these Delta old-timers while they were still with us. He tracked them down in Memphis, Tennessee, and helped secure their presence at the 1973 Festival.
As we were soon to learn, King Biscuit Boys is the generic name for the several sets of musicians featured on King Biscuit Time, the pioneering blues radio program broadcast on KFFA Radio in Helena, Arkansas. King Biscuit Time debuted in December 1941 as a 15-minute live blues program aired Monday through Friday, at first from noon to 12:15 and then from 12:15 to 12:30 pm.
Sponsored by the Interstate Grocery Company as a means of advertising its King Biscuit brand flour, the program featured Delta harmonica and singing star Rice Miller (renamed Sonny Boy Williamson by IGC president Max Miller for the purposes of the radio program) and guitarist Robert Lockwood Jr., who became "the first electric guitarist heard over the radio in the Delta, and the first many younger guitarists in the area heard anywhere" (Robert Palmer, in Deep Blues).
The two bluesmen would play 15 minutes of jukebox hits and their own material and announce the times and locations of their local engagements.
King Biscuit Time opened up the radio airwaves to the sound of the blues, and the program became immensely popular throughout the upper Delta. When the King Biscuit Entertainers added James "Peck" Curtis on drums in 1942 and Robert "Dudlow" Taylor on piano soon after, Sonny Boy and Robert Jr. helped create the prototype for the modern blues band which has dominated the scene for almost 50 years now.
Soon blues programs on the radio were widespread--Elmore James had a program in Belzoni, Little Walter was on KFFA, Howlin Wolf had his own show on KWEM in West Memphis, and B.B. King met his public as The Pepticon Boy, playing for Pepticon Tonic on WDIA in Memphis, by 1948 the first Black-oriented radio station in the USA.
But King Biscuit Time persevered through the 1940s, 50s, 60s and into the modern world, where it can be heard on KFFA today under the direction of veteran broadcaster Sunshine Sonny Payne, who spins the records (the show no longer features live music) and spreads the blues news throughout the upper Delta in the last days of the 20th century.
Joe Willie Wilkins and Houston Stackhouse began their association with the King Biscuit Entertainers in 1945 and 1947, respectively. Neither man enjoyed anything resembling a recording career, and both remained unknown outside the inner circles of the blues world for most of their lives.
But in the Delta, where they could be heard on KFFA and other stations every weekday for most of 20 years, their influence on an entire generation of blues players was vastly disproportionate to their impact on the world at large.
Joe Willie Wilkins, the younger of the two veteran bluesmen, was born January 7, 1923 in Davenport (Coahoma County), Mississippi, and first made his mark as a 10-year-old harmonica star in his father's band, playing country dances, suppers and picnics around Bobo, MS.
By the time Wilkins turned 12 he had learned to play the guitar and developed his talent playing in local churches. While still in his teens he traveled around the Delta playing with Rice Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson) & Robert Lockwood until he enlisted in the U.S. Navy after World War II broke out.
Upon his discharge in 1945 Joe Willie joined Rice Miller's King Biscuit Boys for their KFFA broadcasts and busy personal appearance schedule. Wilkins began his long partnership with Houston Stackhouse the following year when he joined Stack in Robert Nighthawk's little band, playing for Bright Star and Mother's Best Flour on KFFA.
Wilkins became a member of Willie Love's Three Aces in the early 1950s, playing the popular Greenville pianist's Broadway Furniture Store show on KWEM in West Memphis and recording with Love for Trumpet Records in Jackson, Mississippi.
Joe Willie also backed up Arthur Big Boy Crudup for Trumpet and appeared on most of Sonny Boy's historic Trumpet dates during 1951-54 as well, beaming his distinctive electric guitar sound out across the country as sides like Eyesight to the Blind, Pontiac Blues, Cool, Cool Blues and West Memphis Blues captured the attention of blues deejays and their burgeoning audiences.
In the mid- 50s Wilkins travelled with Roosevelt Sykes, Willie Nix and Sonny Boy, ranging as far afield as Detroit, where he is purported to have worked the King Solomon Bar in 1954, probably during Sonny Boy's well-known residency in the Motor City.
After Trumpet Records folded in 1955 Joe Willie moved to Memphis and mostly worked outside music until 1970, when Stackhouse joined him and his second wife there (Wilkins had earlier been married to Robert Nighthawk's sister) and revived his performing career.
Wilkins and Stackhouse began appearing as the King Biscuit Boys, toured with the Memphis Blues Caravan, and continued to thrill and amaze blues lovers throughout the 1970s with their deep Delta blues and their warm, relaxed personalities. Upon his death in 1979, Joe Willie Wilkins was lauded by Jim O Neal in Living Blues as one of the greatest blues guitarists Memphis has ever known.
The history of Houston Stackhouse reads like a map of the development of the blues itself. Born September 28, 1910 on the Randall Ford plantation near Wesson, MS, as a youth Stackhouse moved with his family to Crystal Springs, where he studied violin with Lonnie Chatmon of the Mississippi Sheiks, learned the mandolin and soon switched to guitar.
At one point Stack lived across the street from the pioneering blues recording star Tommy Johnson, whose music made a profound impression on the young guitarist and remained a life-long influence.
Stack moved a bit north and west to Hollandale in 1931 and hooked up with his cousin, Robert Lee McCollum, a harmonica player he taught to play guitar. McCollum gained blues fame following the release of his BlueBird Records single, Prowling Night Hawk, in 1937 and reigned for almost 30 years as a seminal--and very influential--electric slide guitarist under the name Robert Nighthawk.
Stackhouse teamed up with Robert Johnson in late 1936 and played with him off and on until Johnson's untimely death in August 1938. He then joined his old mentor Lonnie Chatmon in the Mississippi Sheiks and formed a very popular Delta string band known as Mississippi Sheiks No. 2, which entertained local dancers and partiers all through the war years.
In 1946 Robert Nighthawk, back from Chicago, persuaded Stack to move with him to Helena, Arkansas and gave him an electric Gibson guitar, which Stackhouse quickly mastered as a member of Nighthawk's band on KFFA and on gigs throughout the area.
The following year Stackhouse joined Joe Willie Wilkins, pianist Robert Dudlow Taylor, and drummer James Peck Curtis in the King Biscuit Entertainers and remained with them well into the 1950s, extending his influence throughout the upper Delta and working outside gigs with Sonny Boy, Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Little Walter, Earl Hooker and Roosevelt Sykes.
When Sonny Boy came back to Helena in 1965, Stackhouse and Peck Curtis backed him up on King Biscuit Time and on local engagements until his death later that year.
Houston Stackhouse finally left the Delta in 1970, moving to Memphis and reuniting with Joe Willie Wilkins to tour as the King Biscuit Boys. When his old friend passed in 1979, Stack went back to Crystal Springs, gave up music, and died quietly at home the following year.
Stackhouse's recorded legacy is criminally slight, with only two CDs available to contemporary listeners: half of a fine album shared with Robert Nighthawk on Testament Records, recorded in Dundee, MS, in 1967; and Cryin Won t Help You (Genes Records), recorded in 1972 but not released until 1994. Blues scholars will enjoy reading Steve LaVere's compassionate tribute to Houston Stackhouse in the liner notes to the latter CD.
The King Biscuit Boys performance at the 1973 Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival was probably a typical one in terms of repertoire, relaxation, depth of feeling and musical brilliance; at any rate, it's the only live performance by this important ensemble that we re likely to hear, and it's a blessing to have it in release here.
Joe Willie Wilkins leads off the set with Little Car Blues, a tune he had played with Willie Love back in the early 50s, and nods to the spirit of Robert Johnson with "Me And The Devil Blues."
Harmonica man Sonny Boy Blake is brought to the fore on Down So Long before Houston Stackhouse takes charge to deliver his powerful readings of Tommy Johnson's "Cool Drink of Water Blues" and two Robert Nighthawk classics, "Bricks In My Pillow" and "Sweet Black Angel." Joe Willie returns with a mournful "It's Too Bad" and a sparkling tribute to his old bandleader, Sonny Boy's magnificent composition Mr. Downchild, to close out the show.
Big Walter Horton, whose 1973 Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival performance is featured on the second half of this compact disc, rivalled Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) and their brilliant protege, Marion Little Walter Jacobs, in importance as the most innovative instrumentalists to apply their talent, intelligence and amplified sound to the blues harmonica.
Although well-known and much admired by his peers as a player of great creativity and emotional depth, Horton--unlike Sonny Boy and Little Walter--was never accorded the opportunity to register the full range of his musical genius in a regular series of well-produced recordings during his prime.
Yet Horton continued to perform with great definition and power throughout the 1960s and 70s, and this scintillating 1973 Ann Arbor appearance--where he was selected to open the Saturday night show for Jimmy Reed, Charles Mingus and Ray Charles--is convincing testament to the gigantic stature of this unjustly neglected amplified harmonica virtuoso.
Walter Horton was born April 6, 1917, in Horn Lake (DeSoto County), Mississippi, just south of Memphis. He began playing harmonica at the age of 5 and performed as a kid sensation at country dances and house parties.
Walter's family soon moved to Memphis, where Walter played for tips on the streets and hung out with the Memphis Jug Band, who took the 10-year-old harmonica sensation on tour playing theatres and shows around the Midwest and featured him (as Shakey Walter ) on two of the band's Victor 78s recorded in Chicago in 1927.
Walter continued playing around Memphis and the Deep South with musicians like Sunnyland Slim, Honey Boy Edwards, Buddy Doyle, Homesick James and others, purportedly recording with Doyle in Memphis for OKeh/Vocalion in 1939.
Horton moved to Chicago in 1940 and became a fixture on Maxwell Street throughout the decade (you can see Big Walter in the Maxwell Street market scene in the Blues Brothers movie, playing harp with the John Lee Hooker combo).
When Walter returned to Memphis he lucked into the beginning of his recording career when engineer/producer Sam Phillips picked him off the street to cut some sides at the Memphis Recording Service (later Sun Records) in January and February 1951.
Phillips released one 78 each on Modern and RPM (calling Walter Mumbles ), Chess ( Walter's Boogie ), and Sun ( Easy as Jimmy & Walter ) before Big Walter went back to Chicago in the Winter of 1952-53 to replace Junior Wells in the Muddy Waters Band.
Big Walter appeared on two of Muddy's Chess sessions in 1953 that's him on She's All Right (Chess 1537) and Blow Wind Blow (Chess 1550)--but Little Walter was used on Muddy's subsequent recordings, even though he had left the band in 1952.
Horton's efforts attracted the attention of composer/producer Willie Dixon, who produced Big Walter's momumental recording of Hard Hearted Woman for States Records in 1954 (the first 45 in this writer's collection, acquired as a cut-out for 25 cents on my 14th birthday the following year) and tried again for Cobra in 1956 (using Otis Rush on guitar), but Big Walter remained unable to make any significant impact in terms of sales.
Horton continued to work the Chicago club circuit with Muddy, Johnny Shines, Jimmy Rogers, Johnny Young, Howlin Wolf and others into the first half of the 1960s before he recorded his first full-length album for Chess (issued on their Argo label in 1964) and subsequently toured Europe with the American Folk Blues Festival.
Willie Dixon picked Big Walter for his touring unit, the Chicago Blues All Stars, and Horton made several important recordings under his own name and with others for Testament, Vanguard, Arhoolie, and other small blues labels.
In the mid- 70s Horton formed his own group, Big Walter & the Rhythm Rockers, with guitarist Johnny Nicholas and drummer Martin Gross, and released the extremely tasty Fine Cuts album on Blind Pig Records in 1977 (now available on CD).
Big Walter died in Chicago on December 8, 1981, leaving behind the fond memories of his many friends and colleagues, a handful of obscure singles, a couple of fine albums, and this rare live recording from the Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival 1973, finally seeing the light of day [very briefly] on Schoolkids Records in 1996.
Big Walter is brought onstage at Otis Spann Memorial Field by a lively though unidentified announcer and takes the microphone himself to introduce the band, wryly revealing his great affection for the three young blues acolytes who accompany him so freshly and with such great sensitivity throughout the set.
Johnny Nicholas impeccable Robert Lockwood-influenced guitar parts and overall playing are a momument to restraint and good taste; Sarah Brown is steady and firm at every point; and the young Francis Christina (later to achieve fame as drummer with the Fabulous Thunderbirds) provides crisply affirmative support from behind the battery.
The band eases into a slow blues and Big Walter unholsters his harmonica to open the show, following with a definitive reading of his own "Hard Hearted Woman" and a briskly swinging instrumental that shows off the band's dynamic range. "That Ain't It" suffers from level fluctuations in the harmonica and vocal microphones, but Big Walter and the band play the song so beautifully that it was impossible to leave it behind on the cutting room floor.
The blues classics "Trouble In Mind" and "St. Louis Blues" are given Big Walter's patented treatment--deep and soulful on the slow lament, hot and swinging on the W.C. Handy perennial. Horton contributes another fine instrumental showcase before closing things down with a great performance of "It Hurts Me Too," the Tampa Red tune popularized by Elmore James. The crowd goes wild and won t let Big Walter off the stage until M.C. Roland Young placates them with the promise of a musician from Leland, Mississippi--Jimmy Reed.
That's the way it sounded in the early evening of Saturday, September 8, 1973, at the Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival--and, dear friends, dare we say that it sounds even better today, many years after these beloved bluesmen have passed from our earthly sphere.
But their music lives on in our hearts and minds, as a blessing beyond compare, for us to share and enjoy as long as we may live.
--New Orleans
February 10, 1996
(c) 1996, 2006 John Sinclair. All Rights Reserved.
Well All Right!
King Biscuit Boys / Big Walter Horton
Recorded 'Live' at the Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival 1973
[1] Intro by Joe Willie Wilkins > Little Car Blues (Willie Love)
[2] Me And The Devil Blues (Robert Johnson)
[3] Down So Long (Sonny Blakes)
[4] Cool Drink of Water Blues (Tommy Johnson)
[5] Bricks In My Pillow (Robert Nighthawk)
[6] Sweet Black Angel (Robert Nighthawk)
[7] It's Too Bad (Joe Willie Wilkins)
[8] Mr. Downchild (Rice Miller)
Joe Willie Wilkins, electric guitar, vocals (1,2,7,8); Houston Stackhouse, electric guitar, vocals (4,5,6); Sonny Blake, harmonica, vocal (3); probably Melvin Lee, electric bass, and Homer Jackson, drums. Sunday, September 9, 1973.
[9] Introduction > Walter's Slow Blues (Walter Horton)
[10] Hard Hearted Woman" (Willie Dixon)
[11] Swingin Blues" (Walter Horton)
[12] That Ain't It (Walter Horton)
[13] Trouble In Mind (Richard Jones)
[14] St. Louis Blues (W.C. Handy)
[15] Walter Jumps One (Walter Horton)
[16] It Hurts Me Too (Hudson Whitaker)
Walter Horton, harmonica & vocals; John Nicholas, electric guitar; Sarah Brown, electric bass; Fran Christina, drums. Saturday, September 8, 1973.
Produced by John Sinclair for Big Chief Productions
(c)(p) 1996 John Sinclair
The Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival 1973 was produced by Peter Andrews, Darlene Pond & John Sinclair for the Rainbow Multi-Media Corporation and was presented on stage at Otis Spann Memorial Field, Ann Arbor, Michigan, September 7-8-9, 1973.
These live recordings were produced by John Ryan for the Rainbow Multi-Media Corporation under the supervision of John Sinclair and recorded by the Butterfly Mobile Recording Service. Director of Recording and Chief Engineer: Jeff Jones. Recording Engineers: Karl Shojdahl, Robert Fries, Al Jacquez and Dave "Ball" Bartlebaugh. Special thanks to Steve Gebhardt & Robert Fries.
Digitally transferred from the original 7" stereo master tapes, edited and mastered by Keith Keller at Chez Flames, New Orleans, March 6, 1995.
The producer would like to extend special thanks to David Sinclair, Gary Grimshaw, Peter Andrews, Darlene Pond, Frank & Peggy Bach, Roland Young, John "Chinner" Mitchell, John Ryan, Jeff Jones, Bob DeDeckere, Rick Cioffi & Greg Reilly, Steve Bergman, Keith Keller, Anthony Dunbar Esq., Celia Sinclair, Bill Lynn, Elsie Sinclair, and to my wife Penny for her understanding and support.
The producer would also like to express his appreciation & gratitude to Jerry Brock & Barry Smith at the Louisiana Music Factory for their extraordinary assistance & support during the course of this project.
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