The National Blues Association is an organization founded in 1998 by blues professionals looking to expand the marketplace for blues. And when they managed to get the National Association of Record Manufacturers to put out an affordable blues sampler this year, they were understandably concerned, even as they were basking in the glow of a hard two year fight to convince NARM that the blues was viable enough to even warrant such a release.
Blues, like the men who play them, often don’t get the respect they should, after all, and since the songs on the sampler were going to be selected by record retailers themselves—well, who knew what sort of diluted product they’d wind up with.
But 2001 was, ironically, some kind of banner year for roots music, even as we vault headfirst into a brave new 21st-century world. First, the O, Brother, Where Art Thou? juggernaut reminded Nashville that country music used to come from the country, and now this. The NARM blues sampler was entitled, simply, Get The Blues! And like a command from on high, customers did. So much so, in fact, that the blues sampler’s performed far beyond anyone’s expectations, outselling the previous classical and jazz NARM samplers.
How popular, exactly? Well, at press time, it had spent eight weeks at Number One on Billboard’s blues chart, only to be knocked off by the twin heavyweights of B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The original pressing of 50,000 disappeared so quickly that an additional 20,000 have been ordered. The CD’s also sat atop Billboard’s Independent Albums chart for nine weeks—unprecedented for blues CDs, which rarely make that chart at all.
But the real news is this: New Orleans has apparently bought more of these samplers than any other city, even New York, which has a population about 20 times ours. That’s right—our sales of the CD account for 10 percent of the total. Is our city much more into blues than we’ve previously realized? Have we been missing something?
Maggie Mortensen, Executive Director of the Blues Music Association and a longtime resident of New Orleans, is at a loss to explain it. “I’m mystified,” she admits. “Maybe these are tourists, or maybe we just have more blues fans than we realized.” Of course, it helps that the sampler turned out better than anyone had a right to expect, a stylistically diverse mixture of household names and unknowns that serves as an excellent blues primer. (Note: OffBeat reviewed the CD in its November 2001 “Blues” issue). In fact, Macon, Georgia singer/guitarist E.G. Kight, represented here by “Let The Healing Begin,” didn’t even have a record deal when the sampler was released. Needless to say, she has one now.
“I’m quite proud of all the people who helped get this made,” says Mortensen, who notes that Sony Records’ Steve Berkowitz spent two years bringing the subject up at NARM meetings before the board relented. “It’s one of the major achievements the BMA can point to.” Blues Music Association president Bruce Iglauer is on record as saying, “By debuting at Number One, Get The Blues! proves that there are plenty of people out there who are eager to find out more about the blues, provided the music is priced and packaged right.” We’ll soon see if that holds up: Another blues sampler is already being readied for 2002. If you’d like more info on the Blues Music Association and how they benefit the blues community, visit their website at www.bluesmusicassociation.org.
In other news: legendary Texas bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins is about to be immortalized in Crockett, Texas, just a few miles from his birthplace of Centerville. On January 30, he’ll have a statue unveiled and dedicated there in his honor. Hopkins was/is the epitome of Texas country blues, and like a lot of his peers, he went through a period of flagging popularity in the late ’50s before being reintroduced to a generation of rock fans in the ’60s. Three generations of Hopkins’ family are expected to attend the ceremony.
In sadder news, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, a Memphis Slim sideman who may be best known for his appearance in the Blues Brothers films, suffered a stroke recently and is reportedly unable to perform. He is undergoing therapy, however, and if you’d like to wish him well, you can send your warmest regards here: Matt Murphy, P.O. Box 1002, Darien, CT 06820.
Delbert McClinton’s eighth Sandy Beaches Cruise will be getting underway on the 12th, leaving Port Manatee in Tampa, Florida and spending a week cruising through Nassau and other ports of call while grooving to the music of Delbert himself, Marcia Ball, Tommy Castro, Wayne Toups & ZydeCajun, and many, many more roots artists. It’s sold out as of press time, but you may luck out if you sign up for the waiting list and someone cancels. Of course, it’s never too early to sign up for number 9, either; you can do both at www.delbert.com.
And now, a special message from Roomful Of Blues, courtesy of their label, Rounder, regarding their upcoming 35th anniversary in 2003: The band wants YOU to help pick which members should appear on their anniversary disc! From the press release: “As many of you know, the band has seen a bunch of musicians come and go over the years; pretty much all of them are still in the business in one way or another. At last count there are around 43 folks that are ex-Roomies. As much fun as it might be to get all those musicians as special guests on this project, logistically it would be impossible due to touring schedules. We can’t include everyone. So whom should we include? We’d like you, the fans, to write and tell us whom you’d like to see as special guests on this record. Please write [email protected] and let us know the six or seven previous members you would like to see appear with the current band on this landmark recording.”
Not much happening on the local scene this month, but there are two giant concerts blues fans won’t want to miss: The Robert Cray Band has just been slated for Tipitina’s Uptown on the 21st, while B.B. King appears at the Mahalia Jackson PAC on New Year’s Eve. And if you find yourself stuck at home those nights, console yourself with the Blues Web Site Of The Month, which this time ’round goes out to “How To Sing The Blues,” a hilarious instructional page circulated by scores of internet sites but best represented at http://www.analogman.com/singblues.htm. Properly credited here, it’s a joke that’s been going around the ’net for years, and it only gets longer as folks add to it. Sample advice: “The Blues are not about choice. You stuck in a ditch, you stuck in a ditch; ain’t no way out.” Wise words, indeed.
