Blues

Music Critic Milo Miles reviews Downhome Sophisticate the new CD by Corey Harris.

Otis Taylor brings his banjo to the studio for a concert and conversation. We'll hear tracks from his new CD, White African. Taylor plays guitar and ukelele in addition to banjo. His music is often described as minimalist, and his lyrics are often stories of race and racism. He's been compared to John Lee Hooker.

Music critic Milo Miles reviews Avalon Blues, (Vanguard) a new tribute album to country blues performer Mississippi John Hurt.

Critic Milo Miles reviews White African (Northern Blues label) by blues man Otis Taylor.

Rock historian Ed Ward on the music of three blind bluesmen.

Singer and musician David Johansen was the lead singer for the 70s pre-punk punk rock band New York Dolls. Later he performed as Buster Poindexter, a pompadour tuxedo wearing lounge lizard swing bandleader of the band Banshees in Blue. Now he has a new roots-music band and a new album of straight blues, David Johansen and the Harry Smiths.

Music critic Milo Miles reviews a collection of early Muddy Waters material for Chess Records: “Rollin’ Stone: A Golden Anniversary Collection” (MCA)

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new album “Riding With the King” featuring guitarists B.B. King and Eric Clapton.

Nadine Cohodas is the author of “Spinning Blues into Gold: the Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records” (St. Martin’s Press). It’s the story of brothers Leonard and Phil Chess, Jewish immigrants from Poland, who knew little about music, but somehow created the influential blues label, Chess Records. Muddy Waters helped them see the potential in the music and they went on to record Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry, and others. Chess Records was located in Chicago.

We remember Tex-Mex rocker Doug Sahm. For many, he was best known for his stint with the Sir Douglas Quintet, a group of Texans and Mexicans who were packaged to look like a British Invasion band. Sahm had played a variety of styles since, including Tex-Mex, blues, rhythm and blues, rock. Sahm died last week. (Rebroadcast from 9/7/89)