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| Ten Thousand Motels |
A hero of the Delta in own right
June 5, 2005
BY JEFF JOHNSON Staff Reporter Advertisement
David "Honeyboy" Edwards has been playing and living the blues for almost all of his 89 years, but it's his friendship with legendary bluesman Robert Johnson for which he's best known.
Edwards has grown tired of talking about the so-called King of the Delta Blues Singers, but it's still fascinating to listen. So we'll give him a break and turn to his 1997 autobiography, The World Don't Owe Me Nothing, for his first-person account of Johnson's final days in August 1938 in Greenwood, Miss.
"Robert had got poisoned," Edwards writes. "Robert was crazy about whiskey, and this man was mad about Robert going with his wife. He had a friend lady give Robert a glass of whiskey that had poison in it. ... Robert stayed sick and lying around for two or three days. When I went to see him on Tuesday, he was really sick. He wasn't able to talk. He was bleeding at the mouth, heaving up and going on. ... They say at the end he was crawling around, crawling around like a dog, and howling."
Did Johnson renege on some deal with the devil? Edwards doesn't buy that myth. He elaborates -- somewhat reluctantly -- in a phone interview.
"He wasn't a big talker," he recalls. "He was an easygoing boy, kind of quiet, and I never did hear him cuss too much. He liked his women and his whiskey, and he was friendly, but you had to ask him questions a lot."
Michael Frank, Edwards' longtime manager and frequent harmonica accompanist, says promoters use the Johnson connection to get publicity for Edwards' gigs, particularly in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
"Here [in America] he's known on his own as one of the surviving members of the early generation of Delta blues guitarists," he says. "And he's probably the most active of those survivors. In the States, I don't promote that [Johnson story line] unless I need press. He gets tired of being totally pinned on his connection to Robert. He really should be known for his Mississippi country blues style and as a storyteller.
"As a live performer, he's very dynamic and exciting. He uses a lot of fancy tricks and runs, and his phrasing has echoes of other people but is really his own. You can hear Big Joe Williams and Tommy McClennan and Tommy Johnson [all of whom played with Edwards early in his career], but he makes them his own. He plays accurate, precise runs, and he's very keenly aware of his audience."
Frank, who founded Chicago's Earwig Records in the early 1970s to record Edwards and other artists with roots deep in the blues, is putting on a celebratory concert Saturday night at HotHouse in advance of Edwards' 90th birthday on June 28. In addition, Edwards, who has lived in Chicago since 1956, will make his annual appearance at the Chicago Blues Festival in a mainstage birthday celebration on Thursday night.
At least a couple of Edwards' nonagenarian Delta blues contemporaries, Robert Jr. Lockwood (Johnson's stepson) and Pinetop Perkins, will not only attend the HotHouse event, but also perform there. Edwards recognizes that playing the blues is a like having a fountain of youth.
"I believe it keeps you going after you get out there and get to playing professionally," he says.
Occasionally the traveling gets him down, admits Edwards, who is scheduled to play some 100 dates this year, including a dozen he played during his tour of Germany in March.
"When we got off the plane in Frankfurt, Germany, you couldn't see for all the snow and stuff," Edwards says. "They don't have gas heat over there. They heat with oil, and when you check in, the room is so cold, you can see your breath. It takes about two hours before you get comfortable."
Those conditions are like a night at the Ritz compared to Edwards' youthful experiences riding the rails in his native Mississippi and nearby states. He'd "ride the cushions," or buy a seat on a comfortable passenger train, when he had some money in his pocket, and the rest of the time he'd hobo it, hopping freights, sometimes sitting between cars or even on top of a car when the boxcar door was closed.
"I rode a lot of freight trains and made my money [playing music] on the streets," says Edwards, whose life story is the subject of the 2002 documentary "Honeyboy" by Chicago filmmaker Scott Taradash. "I was a pretty good gambler, and I'd make money hustling, too. The hands are quicker than the eyes. Craps was my favoritist game. If they was shooting sixes, I had some of them dice that same size in my pocket, and I'd switch 'em. I couldn't lose."
Edwards displays that same dexterity as a guitarist, his fingers unafflicted by arthritis, even though he has trouble walking. He plays both acoustic and electric guitar.
"I've got a Telecaster and a metal Martin that sounds like a National, and I bought a 1950 ES-125 Gibson about six or seven years ago," says Edwards, who prefers playing acoustic guitar because, "If you get a good acoustic guitar, it gives you the blues sound. If you play electric, you've got mostly a rock 'n' roll sound. You play the blues more than one way: the low-down dirty shame blues or the uptempo shuffle blues, and that's the boogie-woogie style."
Other musicians recognize Edwards as a rare link to the earliest recorded blues. The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards dropped by to jam at one 2004 gig, and blues-rocker Kenny Wayne Shepherd included his performance with Edwards on an upcoming DVD. Local blues artists hold him in high esteem as well.
"He's what you call from the horse's mouth," says bassist-bandleader Aron Burton, one of nearly two dozen musicians confirmed for the HotHouse show. "He's a really genuine link. It's like talking with someone from the past who's alive. He plays the old way, and his humor is old."
Burton says he saw Edwards before a gig in late May at the Hideout, and the first thing he asked was, "How many women are up in the place?" That's par for the course for Honeyboy, Burton adds.
"You can picture him in his young days," he says. "He ain't changed. He still likes women, like most musicians do."
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| polksalad69 |
was that from the Sun Times? how'd I miss that? that Hothouse show is going to be packed. did I see Robert Jr. is playing too? sooo many good after fest gigs on Sat night. I saw him a few weeks ago so I may catch Jimmy Johnson @ BLUES. |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
>was that from the Sun Times?<
Yes
>how'd I miss that?<
I don't know.
The Chicago Blues Festival begins Thursday on six stages in Grant Park:
THURSDAY
At the Juke Joint Stage
Noon-12:30 p.m., Erwin Helfer
1-2 p.m., Roosevelt Purifoy
2:30-3:30 p.m., Fernando Jones
4-4:30 p.m., Roland Tchakounte
5-6 p.m., Chicago Blues Poetry Showcase featuring Marvin Tate, Tara Betts, AvantRetro, with a poem by Kim Berez, hosted by C.J. Laity
U.S. Cellular Front Porch Stage
1-2:30 p.m., "Blues in the Schools," "That's All Right, Mama" Arthur Big Boy Crudup. Stone Academy, Grant Academy, Reavis and Agassiz Elementary Schools featuring Erwin Helfer and Katherine Davis, Eric Noden, Les Getrex, Billy Branch, Doktu Rhute with the Blues Heaven Harmonica Kids and Roland Tchakounte
3-4 p.m., Nick Moss & the Flip Tops
4:30-6 p.m., From Linda's Lounge: L-Roy and the Bullet Proof Band with special guests Lady D, Lady Cat and Holly Maxwell
Gibson Guitars Crossroads
1:30-2:30 p.m., Tommy McCracken and the Force of Habit Band
2:45-4 p.m., Grana Louise
4:30-6 p.m., Toronzo Cannon and the Cannonball Express
Best Buy Showcase Stage
2-2:45 p.m., Planetary Blues
3:30-4:15 p.m., After Midnight Blues
4:45-5:30 p.m., Madman Blues Band
6:15-7:15 p.m., Steepwater Band
Route 66 Roadhouse
Noon-1:30 p.m., "A British Perspective" featuring Mike Rowe, Bill Greensmith, Bob Hall, hosted by Jim O'Neal
2-3:30 p.m., "Blues in the Schools" session
Petrillo Music Shell
Honoring the 40th anniversary of the "British Blues Invasion"
6-6:50 p.m., David "Honeyboy" Edwards: 90th Birthday Celebration
7-8:10 p.m., Kim Simmonds' Savoy Brown's 40th Year Celebration with special guest Bob Hall
8:20-9:30 p.m., John Mayall and the Blues Breakers with special guest Mick Taylor
FRIDAY
Juke Joint Stage
Noon-12:30 p.m., Piano Willie
1-1:30 p.m., Eddie Taylor Jr.
2-3 p.m., Detroit Jr.
3:30-4 p.m., Hubert Sumlin and Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin
4:30-5:30 p.m., Roy Meriwether
U.S. Cellular Front Porch
1-2 p.m., Sunnyland Slim Memorial Piano Set featuring Barrelhouse Chuck and Henry Gray
2:30-4:30 p.m., Eddie Taylor Remembrance, with Little Arthur, Johnnie Mae Dunson, Eddie Taylor Jr., Larry Taylor, Brenda Taylor, Edna Taylor, Demetria Taylor and the New Legends of the Blues All-Stars
5-6 p.m., Kim Simmonds & Bob Hall
Gibson Guitars Crossroads
1:30-3 p.m., Robert Jr. Lockwood
3:30-5 p.m., Eddie Kirkland with Eddie Burns
Best Buy Showcase
2-2:45 p.m., Pat Smillie Band
3:15-4 p.m., Scott Bradbury
4:30-5:15 p.m., Latvian Blues Band with special guests
5:45-6:30 p.m., Liz Mandville Greeson
7-8 p.m., The Perpetrators
Route 66 Roadhouse
Noon-1:30 p.m., Wolf's Family Birthday Party
2:30- 4 p.m., "Centennial Celebrations" with Henry Gray, Bob Hall, Roy Meriwether, Pete Crawford, and Jim O'Neal
Petrillo Music Shell
6-7:10 p.m., Jody Williams with the Willie Henderson Horns
7:20-8:30 p.m., Hubert Sumlin, Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin, Pinetop Perkins, Willie " Big Eyes" Smith and Mookie Brill
8:40-9:30 p.m., Koko Taylor and Her Blues Machine
SATURDAY
Juke Joint Stage
Noon-1 p.m., Don Washington
1:30-2:30 p.m., Waymon Meeks
3-4 p.m., Jon McDonald with Eddie C. Campbell
4:30-5:30 p.m., Bob Seeley
U.S. Cellular Front Porch
1-2:30 p.m., Aron Burton's salute to Jimmy Walker with Homesick James, Steve Freund, Tino Cortez, Jake Crosby, Glenn Davis and Aaron Moore
3-4:30 p.m., Carey Bell with Lurrie Bell's Blues Band
5-7 p.m., Chicago Blues Harmonica Project, 2005: Dusty Brown, Larry Cox, Russ Green, Little Addison and Omar Coleman with Chicago Bluesmasters
Gibson Guitars Crossroads
1:30-3 p.m., Linsey Alexander with Joanne Graham
3:30-5 p.m., Latimore
Best Buy Showcase
1-1:45 p.m., Diamond Jim Greene
2:30-3:15 p.m., Michael Powers
3:45-4:45 p.m., Howard and the Whiteboys
5:15-6:15 p.m., Noah Wotherspoon Band
7-8 p.m., TBA
Route 66 Roadhouse
11 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Soul Cooking with Marie Dixon, Koko Taylor and Katherine Davis
2:30-3:30 p.m., "Cultural Tourism: the Authenticity of the Blues"
Petrillo Music Shell
5-6:15 p.m., Erwin Helfer and His Boogie Woogie Ensemble
6:25-7:50 p.m., Billy Branch and the Sons of the Blues with special guests Pete Crawford, Lurrie Bell and Steve Freund
8-9:30 p.m., Buddy Guy
SUNDAY
Juke Joint Stage
Noon-1 p.m., Frank "Little Sonny" Scott Jr. and Dancin' Perkins
1:30-2:30 p.m., TBA
3-3:30 p.m., Lucky Peterson
4-5 p.m., Carlos Johnson
U.S. Cellular Front Porch
1-2 p.m., Victory Travelers
2:30-3:30 p.m., Geraldine and Donald Gay
4-5:30 p.m., Calvin Cooke
6-7 p.m., George Stancell
Gibson Guitars Crossroads
1:30-3 p.m., Sharrie Williams and the Wise Guys
3:30-5 p.m., Fernest Arceneaux and the Thunders
Route 66 Roadhouse
Noon-1:30 p.m., "Songwriters" with George Jackson, Bruce Bromberg, Bob Jones, hosted by Larry Hoffman
2:30-3:30 p.m., an hour with Al Bell
Best Buy Showcase
1-1:45 p.m., Steve Arvey and Kraig Kenning
2:30-3:15 p.m., Big G and the Real Deal
3:45-4:30 p.m., Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne
5-5:45 p.m., Matt Besey
6:15-7:15 p.m., Molly Nova & the Hawk
Petrillo Music Shell
5-6:30 p.m., Howard Scott and his Southside Review featuring Miss Jessi and Stan Mosely
6:40-8:10 p.m., Lucky Peterson Band
8:20-9:30 p.m., Mavis Staples
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
DAVID 'HONEYBOY' EDWARDS 90TH BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE CONCERTS
When: 6 p.m. Thursday, Chicago Blues Festival, Petrillo Music Shell, Grant Park
When: 10 p.m. Saturday, HotHouse, 31 E. Balbo
Tickets: Free (CBF); $20 in advance, or $25 at the door (HH)
Phone: (312) 362-9707 (HH)
NOTE: The lineup for the HotHouse show is long and strong. More musicians are jumping on the bandwagon almost daily, but on board so far are 95-year-old slide guitar master Homesick James Williamson; 91-year-old piano great Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins; 90-year-old guitarist Robert Jr. Lockwood; 86-year-old pianist Aaron Moore; Burton; drummer-guitarist Sam Lay; guitarist-harpist Johnny "Yard Dog" Jones; acoustic blues preservationists Devil in a Woodpile, with Rick Sherry, Tom Ray and Joel Patterson; guitarist-mandolin player Paul Kaye; soul-blues diva Liz Mandville Greeson; harpist Rob Stone and the C-Notes; guitarist Rocky Lawrence; guitarist-harpist Tom Shaka; guitarist-bassist Steve Arvey, and pianist James "Piano C. Red" Wheeler.
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| polksalad69 |
thanks for posting the schedule. I'm going to be out of town until Friday. hopefully I can make it in time for Jody Williams set. any Jody fans? I know Hubie gives everyone wood but Jody played w/Wolf too. saw the same band Hubert is playing with in a club setting last year so if I don't see that, I'll survive.
Devil in a Woodpile is the best damn blues band in this town too. |
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