JOHNSON & CLAPTON
I dug the double review of Eric Clapton’s latest travesty (somebody slap me!). I could just hear myself ranting some of your [Bunny Matthews] lines.
—Spencer Bohren, New Orleans, LA
In lieu of printing any further Bunny Matthews music reviews, just print this every month:
Black = good – White = bad.
—Jim Benoit, New Orleans, LA
I just read with great interest the two reviews you ran regarding Eric Clapton’s new CD on Robert Johnson. Before I go on, let me say I have not heard this CD, neither am I a real fan of Eric’s. Allow me to make a few points if you will—first, from his beginnings, Clapton has ALWAYS credited his blues heroes. To lambaste his sincerity, and to essentially accuse him of pulling a Pat Boone (ripping off Fats Domino or Little Richard) is far off base. Second, with Robert Johnson’s estate finally settled (as I understand it), his heirs will benefit from this. Third, why pick on Clapton? The Allmans, Hot Tuna, Stones, Bonnie Raitt, Aerosmith, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bob Dylan, the Winter Brothers, and hordes of others have all done blues by known and not so known artists. Should this not have happened? If wealth seems to be a criteria for criticism, Eric is no more guilty than some of these people. Fourth, maybe not in New Orleans, but believe me if I stood outside my local diner tomorrow morning and asked 100 people who Robert Johnson was (or Professor Longhair) I doubt I’d get a correct answer. B.B. King, maybe, but not Johnson and that’s the non-insular world of most 9 to 5! Therefore—isn’t the point to enhance Johnson’s reputation? If Eric’s CD hits big (and his always do) doesn’t it follow it will stimulate interest on Robert’s original recordings (all of us blueshounds are irrelevant here—we HAVE them, we’re a “dead market”). Perhaps this will lead people to other past blues artists. Then just maybe to the older people like Gatemouth Brown, Snooky Pryor, James Cotton, Pinetop Perkins who will benefit—and finally to the newer talents on the scene such as Anson Funderburgh, Kenny Neal, and my favorite lady, Marcia Ball.
Personally, the “first time I met the blues” with names like Larry Williams, Jimmy Reed, and Slim Harpo was via the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Kinks in 1964, a cliché, but true for me. You know, with all the hoopla regarding the PBS series on the blues, all I read in blues magazines was about how it failed to stimulate interest, didn’t up CD sales, etc.—as if Martin Scorsese was personally responsible (pretty idiotic presumption—if I saw a movie on baseball, you think I’m going to automatically run to Yankee Stadium?). With the music industry consistently crying over lack of CD sales, CD burning, etc., Eric’s tribute could be a plus for everybody. Without even hearing this CD (and my point is really not quality of the music here by Eric Clapton but the intent) I applaud and encourage Old Clapper’s sincere and hopefully effective effort for blues music! Take care.
—Andy Semon, Bridgeport, CT
Thank God for Bunny Matthews. I have been waiting for somebody, anybody, to dare criticize Eric Clapton for his latest imitation of the Mississippi Delta blues. It’s time for more people to realize that Clapton has sold his soul too—to Warner Brothers. Granted Clapton had a lot of fire when he played with John Mayall, inspiration when he played with Cream, and even soul when he created Layla, but ever since the tepid atrocity that was From The Cradle Clapton has aimed straight for the dollar, mining musical raceporn out of African-American culture. I differ with Matthews strongly on the singular primal importance of Johnson, he was not the Shakespeare of the Blues that Charlie Patton was, nor was he the virtuoso that Blind Willie Johnson was. But he was an original. And that is something that Eric Clapton ceased to be about half a generation ago.
—Skip Henderson, New Orleans, LA
I was very pleased to see Richard Skelly’s review of my new blues anthology, Back To The Crossroads: The Roots of Robert Johnson (Yazoo Records), but there are a couple of things I think are worth adding.
First, the CD is not a stand-alone project; it was put together as a companion to my new book, Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues.
Second, while your reviewer rightly noted that “Johnson was clearly influenced by some of the artists on this collection,” he does not indicate the extent to which these records were direct models for Johnson’s work. Peetie Wheatstraw’s “King of Spades” was not just an “influence”—it prompted Johnson to write a direct answer song, “Little Queen of Spades.” Johnson was not just “influenced” by Lonnie Johnson’s “Life Saver Blues”—he copied the guitar part note for note. Likewise Leroy Carr’s moaning, wordless verse in “When the Sun Goes Down,” which Johnson recycled in “Love in Vain.” And so on and on. None of this is to diminish Johnson’s talent or brilliance, but he was a young guy trying to get a hit in a scene dominated by stars in Chicago and St. Louis, and he did his best to latch on to the latest trends—alongside the Son House-inspired Delta slide and the Skip James-inspired existential poetry.
—Elijah Wald, New Orleans, LA
THE FUTURE OF CAJUN MUSIC
I was very surprised and somewhat disturbed to read the quotes from Belton Richard in Herman Fuselier’s Bayou Boogie article in OffBeat Magazine, where he commented negatively about the future of Cajun music. He made a general statement that the market was flooded with young musicians who couldn’t hold a conversation in Cajun French and would hurt the market in the long run. He also stated that these young musicians didn’t know how to get a crowd going and couldn’t even understand what they were singing about. Maybe he should know about the following young musicians who DO speak French and who ARE the future of Cajun music. There may be some who are as he described, but I thought it only fair to young musicians for someone to point out there there is a STRONG presence of the opposite. I have supported and encouraged many of these musicians. I have watched them work too hard on the music AND language side of this to stay silent about this article. The following 16 young musicians represent 11 different bands, who are very successful representatives of Cajun music and the French language. I would like for your OffBeat readers to be aware of this if they aren’t already.
Ashley Hayes: Singer/guitar player, Kevin Naquin and ex-member of Feufollet. Fluent in French, schooled in French Immersion her whole life.
Christopher Stafford: Singer/accordionist/fiddler/guitar player, member of Feufollet, Racines and Boxed Wine Boys. Fluent in French and schooled in French Immersion throughout school years.
Chris Segura: Fiddler, member of Feufollet and Lafayette Rhythm Devils. Attended St. Anne’s University in Nova Scotia three times to learn French language and functions very well in the language.
Anna Laura Edmiston: Singer, member of Feufollet. French is her first language at home with her mother, a native of Quebec.
Erin Daigle: Accordionist/fiddle player with Allons-y. Fluent in French, schooled in French Immersion her whole life.
Emily Vidrine: Aspiring singer/guitar player. Daughter of John Vidrine (accordionist) and Jane Vidrine of the legendary Magnolia Sisters. Schooled in French Immersion all throughout her school years.
Joseph Vidrine: Bassist. Son of John and Jane Vidrine. Schooled in French Immersion.
Adrien Huval: Accordionist, the Bluerunners. Fluent in French.
Courtney Granger: Fiddler, Balfa Toujours. Sufficient in French language. I can promise you that there’s not a song he sings where he doesn’t sing with feeling and know what he’s singing about.
Steve Riley: Accordionist/fiddler/singer, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys and Racines. Proficient in the French language and attended St. Anne’s University in Nova Scotia to improve his French. Still represents a long future in Cajun music.
Louis Michot: Fiddler/bassist/singer, Lost Bayou Ramblers and Boxed Wine Boys. Fluent in French.
Christine Balfa. Guitarist/singer, Balfa Toujours. Fluent in French; also attended St. Anne’s University.
Wilson Savoy: Accordionist/singer, Savoy Family Band and Boxed Wine Boys. Proficient in French, son of Mark and Ann Savoy.
Joel Savoy: Fiddler/singer, Red Stick Ramblers/Savoy Family Band. French speaker, son of Mark and Ann Savoy. Attended St. Anne’s Univeristy for French Immersion.
Lindsay Young: Fiddler/singer, Red Stick Ramblers. French speaker, attended St. Anne’s University.
Josh Caffery: Red Stick Ramblers and Boxed Wine Boys. Fluent in French.
—Lisa Stafford, Programming Coordinator, Festival International de Louisiane, Lafayette, LA
A NEW LOW
Some of your covers have sunk to a new low in taste, in my humble opinion.
Case in point, some sleazy broad is closing in on the testicles of some dude [Chris Lee of Supagroup] using a set of heavy duty battery clamps, the other ends of which seem to be going to some battery in a truck in which a lot of “wasted” individuals appear to be waiting with unabated breath. November 2003. Is this poor taste? Is this really the happy image of New Orleans you want to send around the world? I think it is dangerously close to S&M.
A couple of months later December 2003 some chicks from a local club languish around a dude [Eric Lindell] who looks like a farm galoot about to be taken to the cleaners by the city chicks. I am sure these are sweet girls. Those outfits are awful. Theirs, I mean. After reading the story about this artist inside the issue, I feel sorry for him getting introduced to your readership in such a setting. Of course, getting on a cover has some positive value. It’s not good PR in my book, however, in this instance for him or for you!
Sorry to be nitpicking.
Finally, as I ponder renewal again, I wonder why there is no free incentive promo CD being offered to subscribers (as in past years, as memory recollects).
—Frank Luppino, Jr., Glenview, IL
While the notion may come as a surprise to some, the idea that New Orleans is a bastion of sin and sleaze has been widespread since Mark Twain’s first visits to the city in the 1850s. The latest of OffBeat’s annual Louisiana music CDs, offered as a premium to subscribers, is now in production.—Ed.
A WONDERFUL HONOR
I am very grateful to you [Jan Ramsey] and the staff of OffBeat Magazine and the Louisiana Music Directory for your comprehensive coverage of the music and musicians of our City and State, and providing a one-stop guide for locating musicians and music industry entities. I am very aware that people far beyond our borders rely on these publications to keep up with our music.
I would also like to thank you and the readers of OffBeat and listeners of New Orleans music for naming me for a Best Of The Beat award. It is a beautiful and wonderful honor.
—Tim Green, New Orleans, LA
SWEET JUSTICE
The OffBeat [Best Of The Beat] awards will come and go this year and the Little Freddie King band will (still!) not even receive a nomination. Thankfully, no less than Fat Possum Records, for the first time ever, has gone outside of Mississippi to record Little Freddie and the boys, who remain one of this city’s finest blues bands. Little Freddie has joined R.L. Burnside, T-Model Ford and other great blues artists on a nationally-recognized label. Later this spring, Little Freddie fans like myself will be crowding into a local speakeasy or two to celebrate a national CD release. And next year—I predict—OffBeat will beg Little Freddie to play at the awards ceremony. That will be sweet justice indeed for Wacko Wade Wright (drums), Anthony Anderson (bass), Bobby Lewis DiTullio (harmonica) and Little Freddie himself. And it will be a long time comin’.
—Dr. Neil “Bad Chicken” Boris, New Orleans, LA
