| 25th February 2006 01:56 PM |
|
|
| Ten Thousand Motels |
Sumlin missed a Grammy but always gets respect
Friday, February 24, 2006
By IAN SPELLING
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
WHO: Hubert Sumlin.
WHAT: Blues.
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday.
WHERE: B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 W. 42nd St., Manhattan; (212) 997-4144 or bbkingblues.com.
HOW MUCH: $30.
Some kinds of music come and go, but the blues are forever. Likewise, musicians come and go, but Hubert Sumlin seemingly has been around forever.
"Well, I grew up with this music," Sumlin says by telephone from his home in Totowa; he splits his time between Totowa and Wisconsin. "I was born with the blues and I've lived them, too."
Sumlin's not kidding. One of 13 kids, Sumlin was born in 1931 in Greenwood, Miss., and raised in Hughes, Ark. Sumlin learned a bit about plucking strings from his now-84-year-old brother, A.D., who used baling wire wrapped around nails on a wall to create music. But it became a true calling when his mother spent a full week's salary -- the $8 she earned working at a funeral home -- to buy 6-year-old Hubert his first guitar.
Influenced by the likes of Delta bluesman Charlie Patton and modern bluesman extraordinaire Howlin' Wolf, Sumlin joined a friend, James Cotton, to form a band. Later, Sumlin played lead guitar for Wolf, complementing Wolf's growls with his perfect licks for 25-plus years.
In 1980, four years after Wolf's death, Sumlin went solo. So respected and revered is Sumlin by his peers, that everyone from Jimi Hendrix to the Rolling Stones has paid tribute to him. Sumlin even joined the Stones onstage, at their behest, during a 2003 concert. More recently, the likes of Levon Helm, Eric Clapton, David Johansen, Cotton and Keith Richards helped Sumlin record his 2005 album, "About Them Shoes," which features several Muddy Waters songs, four from Willie Dixon and one of Sumlin's own tunes. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award, but, earlier this month, lost in the best traditional blues album category to "B.B. King & Friends -- 80."
But Sumlin, who's been on the road lately, touring behind "About Them Shoes," bears no grudges. He will perform at B.B. King's in Manhattan Saturday night, where he will be accompanied by Johansen, Helm and special guests.
"You're gonna see David and Levon, and I think you're gonna see Elvis Costello at this show," says Sumlin.
"I love touring. I love music. I think it's what keeps me going, my guitar, man. ... I'm going to play with the Stones in Europe. I'm going to do another album. I'm going to work until I can't. I tell you what; I'm gonna have fun until I can't, man."
To hear songs from "About Them Shoes" go to:
hubertsumlinblues.com/ about_them_shoes.html
|
| 25th February 2006 04:59 PM |
|
|
| FPM C10 |
Anyone looking for a GREAT GREAT GREAT evening of the best Chicago-style blues on the planet needs to go to BB King's tonight.
I guess I've already said that a million times, but DAMN.
It's HUBERT SUMLIN. Not too many blues guys of his calibre left. |
| 25th February 2006 05:13 PM |
|
|
| glencar |
That was quite a tribute when he played Let It Bleed up there. |
| 26th February 2006 08:49 AM |
|
|
| Water Dragon |
Salutations - Did anyone go? How was the "big show?"
Love to read a personal review...
Regards,
W.D. |
|
