February 6, 2005

• Well, I sent copies of the video out to two persons whose opinion I really respect. I guess in some ways, I'm asking  "Whaddya think?" In other ways, I guess I'm saying, " Here's a buncha old guys having a good time. We are what we are." We are not the most dynamic act you have ever seen; no flips, no pyros, no flamboyant dance routines. I think I sway once or twice. A lot of things influence that. For one thing, we are not playing that often, and my memory does not always serve me correctly as to what key we might do something in.. Believe it or not, I remember the key we did it in 38 years ago, but our voices are not the same, and so, something we may have done in C major back then we do in Bb major now. There are many guitarists to whom the change would mean little if anything.  I am not among them. I find it much easier to play in C than I do in Bb. Not that I can't do it; I just have to concentrate more, and make sure I don't slip back into old habits. Sometimes it's a big key change, because a different person sings it than used to be. For example, the old Gary "U.S." Bonds number, "New Orleans:" we always did it in C. Now, because a different person sings it, we do it in F! Do you remember the movie "Back to the Future," where Marty McFly does "Johnny B. Goode?"  He gives the band the instruction, "Blues in B. Try to keep up with the changes." I never did check to see if he plays it in B; no reason he wouldn't, but the original that Mr. Berry did is in Bb! What a crazy key for guitar! And nobody is using a capo! Of course, everybody could have tuned down to A, which would have been much easier for the guitarist, but where does that leave the piano?  I don't know. Next time I'm in Chicago, in June, I will make my annual pilgrimage down to 2120 S . Michigan Avenue, ( that's where it all happened, folks!) to see if they have any idea. The history in that building is incredible. It's now called "Willie Dixon's Blues Heaven," a foundation dedicated to the preservation and furthering of the Blues. Quite a place. I have have some photos I'll have to show you sometime. None inside; they don't allow it. 

  
  

  Here's an internet article I found:

  
  

  John Mellencamp used to hang around outside just to catch a glimpse of his musical idols. Minnie Ripperton worked the reception desk. Berry Gordy picked up recording industry tips. Chuck Berry wandered in off the street at a previous Chess location hoping someone would listen to his music. The Rolling Stones recorded "(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction" here though they found some by taking their name from a Chess Records song and immortalizing its address in their instrumental "2120 South Michigan Avenue." But this generation of artists built upon the musical foundation laid by musicians up from the Mississippi Delta who found the opportunity to record through brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. The raw and natural sound they produced turned the music industry on its ear and established Chicago as the "Blues Capitol of the World." The Blues influenced other musical forms as noted by singer-guitarist Muddy Waters when he said, "The Blues had a baby and they called it Rock ‘n’ Roll." Chief among the Blues greats who worked here was Willie Dixon, prolific songwriter, producer and bassist. In his later years, he founded the Blues Heaven Foundation to protect Blues artists of the past and inspire future generations with the straightforward power of the Blues tradition. His widow, Marie Dixon, and other Foundation donors, restored this modest building and opened it to the public in 1997, but further restoration of the recording facilities is still needed to fully re-capture the heart and look of its 1950’s and 60’s heyday. The conservation needs of original sheet music, master recordings, instruments and memorabilia held here offer a glimpse of the widespread threat to the survival of irreplaceable music collections all around the country.

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