Johnnie ‘Guitar’ Jones.

Soon after I first arrived in Nashville , a black musician friend of mine took me to a club on Jefferson Street ( then the hub of blues and R & B in town ) , to see Johnnie Jones play. I’d never heard of him , but he was held in awe by the local black community , and I quickly learned why . His playing was liquid , fiery and full-toned , and he was no slouch as a vocalist , although that was an area he seemed inclined to downplay .

I gradually heard about his role in mentoring and influencing the young Jimi Hendrix , and his contributions as a session man to many a noteworthy Nashville R&B record.

At one point he was hired by Bobby ‘ Blue’ Bland, and left town for a period , but eventually came back to his beloved Jefferson Street .

I finally got to work with him when the Champion Records Reunion Revue was booked into the Blues Estafette in Utrecht , Netherlands a few years ago. Blues entrepreneur Fred James assembled a crack house band to back Johnnie , Earl Gaines , Herbert Hunter and the granddaddy of Nashville R&B Ted Jarrett ( who also passed this year ) and I count myself fortunate that I got the call to play bass .

The rehearsals and warm-up shows were filmed by Peter Kimball for an as yet unproduced documentary , and Peter coined the term ‘Guitar Buddah’ to describe Johnny’s ever-present smiling demeanor....although he was a large man he never came off as threatening , just gentle, calm and constantly beaming.

On stage his presence was electric , however. In his signature Matador hat , with his blonde Epiphone hollow body , he was on fire. At that point he’d acquired a wireless rig instead of his 50 foot cord and he delighted in starting his set in his dressing room or when we got to Utrecht, on the cobbled square outside the auditorium , playing his way though the audience to the stage.

When we played the warm up shows in Nashville , there were many top-flight guitarists in attendance , including Scotty Moore and Richard Bennett , and Mr. Jones did not disappoint , unleashing searing solos with ease and aplomb.

His fame was never widespread , possibly due to a reluctance to stray too far from Nashville in general and Jefferson Street in particular  but he was a local hero  for sure. A memorial event ‘Tribute to a Legend - Johnny Jones’ is set for Monday evening, November 5th. at The Place , 217, 2nd. Ave S. 6 p.m. , with many a string-slinger in attendance.

I write this with a heavy heart.....Larry Knechtel has left us. One of the most prolific, in-demand session musicians of the last fifty years, Larry’s stylistic scope was vast, not only as a keyboardist, but also as a bass guitarist, and he leaves a dazzling legacy on record.

His most famous performance was probably his Grammy-winning turn as the piano centerpiece of ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ by Simon & Garfunkel, but the milestones are many. As a member of The Wrecking Crew , that legendary team of L.A. sessioneers throughout the sixties, he contributed to Phil Spector’s Wall Of Sound, was integral to Brian Wilson’s soundscapes for The Beach Boys, and was right there with Jimmy Webb on all of his ground-breaking productions. Randy Newman and Van Dyke Parks each employed him extensively and when I’d bring up some session he’d long forgotten he’d say , in his trademark growl, ‘I played on that ? If you say so’.

The bass on ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ by The Byrds ? Larry Knechtel. He played on both hit versions of ‘Light My Fire’ , bass on The Doors cut , and keyboards on Jose Feliciano’s. Elvis Presley’s 1968 comeback T.V. special ? You guessed it. He found time to produce a hit for Sammy Johns -‘Chevy Van’, and in the Seventies took a well-earned break from the studios to have his pop-star moment in the spotlight , joining Bread for their heyday years.

Although he took an early semi-retirement in his beloved Pacific Northwest after a bout with cancer , the calls kept coming, and he kept answering the bell, touring extensively and recording with Elvis Costello and later The Dixie Chicks, and recording Neil Diamond’s comeback album, produced by Rick Rubin.

I had become aware of him when he toured England in the late fifties as pianist with Duane Eddy & The Rebels, and his distinctive surname allowed me to keep track of his exploits through the years ( at least once the record companies started printing musician credits on albums ! ). I caught up with him in the Nineties, while he was exploring the Nashville scene, and had the honor and pleasure to co-write with him for a few years, as well as having him play on several of my productions.

Larry always brought his A-game to the studio. It was obvious that he loved to play piano, and his inventiveness was boundless....give him the sketch of a chord sequence and he’d almost telepathically color and voice it perfectly for you, usually adding something that would be the icing on the cake.

Although he chose to present a gruff, world-weary facade, I found him to be self-effacing , dryly humorous and great company over a drink - this was a man with a wealth of war stories, which could be coaxed from him with a little prompting, and I prompted often !

His discography is vast...along with his old comrade , drummer Hal Blaine, he might well be the most recorded musician ever, certainly among the top five. Larry was sixty-nine.

He will be missed.....

Michael Snow .August 22nd. 2009.

The name may not be familiar to you, unless you’re an aficionado of Nashville’s  R’n’B scene in the fifties and sixties, but Mr. Ted was at the core of it as writer, producer, label owner, and all-round entrepreneur. His passing last week certainly received substantial coverage in the local press, so I’m just doing my bit to spread the word a little wider.

His best-known song was the iconic “ You Can Make It If You Try “, originally recorded by Gene Allison, and later famously covered by The Stones, but he also wrote a Number 1 country hit “ Love,Love,Love “ for Webb Pierce, and the much-covered “ ( It’s Love, Baby ) 24 Hours A Day “, among many, many others.

I was honored and thrilled to travel as bass player to The Blues Estafette in Utrecht, Netherlands a few years back with Mr.Ted and the surviving members of his Champion Records roster.
As he presided over the proceedings from behind a vigorously played electric piano, an ecstatic
international audience got to hear those great songs performed by Earl Gaines, Johnny ‘ Guitar’ Jones, Herbert Hunter et al., and Mr. Jarrett’s pleasure at the reception was palpable.

Ted Jarrett was eighty-one years old.

You can see that I’ve happily added Elkie Brooks to my friends list. Let me tell you about Elkie, if you don’t already know.

Back in the Sixties, in London, there was a band called Vinegar Joe, fronted by Ms Brooks and a suave unit by the name of Robert Palmer. I not only shared stages with them, but was usually at a booth up front when they would play the legendary late night watering hole ‘ The Bag O’ Nails’, when Swingin’ London was really swinging.

Elkie was , and is, an absolute force of Nature.....as good as anyone who ever approached a microphone with intent to slay and maim, from a musical viewpoint, of course !

I’m so glad to see she’s still doin’ it to it !

Kudos to you Our Ms.Brooks !

M.S.

I haven’t blogged in a while because I’ve been seriously otherwise engaged.....a freak accident at Lime Street Station, Liverpool in January ‘07, resulted in an extremely smashed left forearm, which put me under the knife, and under the gun, under the National Health ! which left me on the musical sidelines for most of the year, although I buckled down to writing a memoir about my adventures in Swinging Sixties London, as idleness is frowned upon in this household, especially by my dear wife.

It was a great experience to decide to write a book, and then actually do it....the memories seemed to bring more along with them... and the fact that there have been so many re-issues on C.D. and D.V.D of things I was part of has just made this retrospective period pretty meaningful.

The surgical saga continued in October ‘07, when I underwent a bone -graft to fix one bone that wouldn’t heal, but I gradually have gotten the physical skills back on the various instruments.

But, hell, that was ‘07! Now,’08.

Started well, with a very fulfilling appearance in March at Liverpool’s Royal Philharmonic Hall as part of a charity concert for the British Cancer Society, to commemorate Buddy Holly’s seminal appearance there with The Crickets in 1958, a show I actually attended as a sprog rocker!

Did a solo piano/voice take on ‘ Valley Of Tears’...took it back to New Orleans!  I hear there’s a C.D and DVD of the show in the works.
< buddyliverpool.com>.  for info and updates.

But then, in a kind of slow-motion, but actually fast-moving spring and summer, I found I was going to need open-heart surgery before the end of the year to replace a congenitally defective aortal valve. Not a total surprise, as the medics had been following the situation for several years, but when they actually tell you the time has come, it changes a whole lot.

My priority was to get my 92-year old mother, who was still living alone in England, situated in a retirement home, and the reality of my medical condition helped persuade her to do so, which led me to spend the entire month of July in the U.K., taking care of her move, and putting her house on the market, as she saw no need to keep the place.

The intention was to have the surgery in early September, but mother passed suddenly ( if one can use that word for someone who’s 92 ) on August 20th. , which put me right on the plane back to England, postponing the chop.

When I returned to the States, a series of further delays, partly due to events that effected the surgeon, led to the actual event taking place on December 8th. ( I was willing to wait, as this particular scalpel wielder is reputed to be one of the best in the business ).

So, I now recuperate, and hope to be back in fighting trim by late spring, or so. In the meantime, there are now over 100 of my songs posted on < americansongspace.com >, the largest selection of my work in one place, so check it out.

GEORGE FORD (a.k.a. GEORGE SWEETNAM)

R.I.P.


I'm doing too many of these!

I first met George when I joined The Checkmates, the band he co-led with his brother Dave back in early 1965. They had enjoyed great success with their half-brother Emile Ford in the 50's on a string of hits, and were a very well thought of group of musicians .In fact, I replaced Alan Hawkshaw, who became a prominent film music composer, and the band had a very solid reputation for superior musicianship, not least for their rock-solid rhythm section, George Ford on bass and Barry Reeves on drums.

George was a serene presence, one of the most even-tempered people I ever met. He and Dave ceded me the musical control of the band as we made the transition to becoming Ferris Wheel, but I always knew whose band it was, and I was a grateful contributor to the Ford brothers' endeavours.

George was a brilliant bass player, and after Ferris Wheel he played with Cockney Rebel and for many years was part of the Cliff Richard / Shadows organization. He was always my first call for studio work, and the live album by Doris Troy, "The Rainbow Testament," shows how deeply he could get down! He continued to work prestigious live shows and was a busy studio player until leaving for Canada with his wonderful, devoted family in the '80's.

In Toronto, he worked with Long John Baldry and Roy Young, but changed his focus to restoring homes, given the fact that he was always a handy lad!

George always exhibited extra-ordinary patience with me in my youth when my talent surpassed my social skills, and I'm forever grateful for meeting and working with such a high-class gentleman and musician early on in my life and career.


12 March 2007.

IAN WALLACE and JIMMY CAMPBELL



We lost two fine artists in the last couple of weeks: Jimmy Campbell,on February 13th. ,
after a long struggle with emphysema; Ian Wallace, on February 22nd. , due to  esophagal
cancer .Jimmy died in his beloved Liverpool, and Ian's final stop was Los Angeles.

I doubt that they ever crossed paths, or even knew of each other. Ian played out most of his
career on the big stage, from his emergence with King Crimson in the seventies to high -profile
stints with Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, Don Henley and countless others.
Jimmy's path was a brief arc of brilliance in the late sixties and early seventies ,followed by  
self-imposed obscurity, and an unwinnable battle with his personal demons.
Ian was professionalism personified, Jimmy was shambolic  and as "anti- showbiz" as they came.
Ian played drums with superb technical skill, while Jimmy only played enough guitar to get his songs across.

I was fortunate to know and work with both of these men, although thirty years elapsed between
one and the other

I first became aware of Jimmy when he was making his second solo album,  Half- Baked .I played piano on a couple of tracks, which led to my involvement in the Rockin' Horse group project, with Billy Kinsley, Stan Gorman and Bobby Faloon., and then subsequently his
 swansong, Jimmy Campbell's Album.
 Yes It Is , the sole Rockin' Horse album, was a  tour de force of pop  songwriting ,mostly by
Jimmy , which has since been recognized as a template for the power -pop genre. The solo
record was sensitive, scarily confessional ,spare, and heartbreakingly melodic.
Jimmy hated having to spend time in London ,and seemed to have no relish for the recording process .In fact, he recorded all the songs that became Jimmy Campbell's Album alone,
warts and all, then skedaddled back to Liverpool, leaving Billy  Kinsley  and I to "dress it up a bit". I remember him almost pleading with me to keep the orchestral arrangements sparse, as he
had disliked what he considered to be the over-arranging on "Half-Baked",and I tried to honor his wishes.
Although his dark clouds were never far away, he could have a laugh, and I particularly
remember the fun he seemed to have when Rockin' Horse backed Chuck Berry on a now-legendary European tour, with Jimmy laying down surprisingly confident rhythm guitar behind
the Master.
After I moved to the States in 1973, I kept abreast of him through his ever loyal friend,
Billy Kinsley, as Jimmy seemed to almost embrace his obscurity and lost promise .I saw
him once in the mid-eighties in Liverpool, and journeyed to Liverpool this January, knowing
he was losing his struggle with emphysema.
Unfortunately, fate dealt me a dirty, by way of a fall at Lime Street Station, which put me in the hospital ,while he was in another across town. I never got to say goodbye ,but he probably
wouldn't have gone for any of that, anyway.
Jimmy left only a small body of work, but it's quality is slowly being rediscovered by a
dedicated following. I'd like to think that would please him...it was always about the songs.

I got to know Ian when he arrived in Nashville in the late '90's.,and hooked up with the Brit.
ex-pat. musical brigade .He loved his football ,and hosted many a  T.V ..game ,for the crew.
He worked on the final volume of my "Skelly Trilogy "series ,and not only contributed the
kind of stellar  drumming one would expect, but also showed a remarkable aptitude for
high tenor harmony singing, which I was quick to utilize.
I think he felt under-appreciated in Nashville, despite the endorsement of Rodney Crowell, and I wasn't  too surprised when he returned to L.A., the scene of his greatest triumphs.

There will be professional obituaries for both men, no doubt, but I wanted to put my own
ten cents in.

February, 25th. '07.

A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR YOU
The Christmas ... ass-kicking classicos

A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR YOU. From Phil Spector.  (Philles Records.)

'Tis the Season for dusting off Mad Phil's monsterpiece, and the damn thing never fails to deliver ... roaring out of the speakers, freshly minted every time.

I've bought it in the original mono vinyl , on cassette, on digitally remastered C.D., you name it, and it's soundtracked my Xmases for forty years.

The Wall of Sound in all its extravagant glory; the Wrecking Crew in full cry; Darlene Love, surely the most under-rated singer ever, wailing over the oceanic swell; The Ronettes sexing up everything they touched, even Rudolph ( no wonder his nose was  red  ); Hal Blaine's relentless, masterfully manic drum assault, mountainous with reverb and slap, driving all before it .... and they cut it in the heat of an L.A. summer

This ain't no relic, folks; if you've never wallowed in its riches, you don't know what you're missing.

THE BEACH BOYS CHRISTMAS ALBUM. (Capitol).

Brian Wilson , the self-confessed Spector obsessive, goes for it with the Wrecking Crew, and the glorious harmonies,  with Brian acknowledging his debt to the Four Freshmen, using their orchestral arranger, Dick Reynolds  on several   songs. This is the sweet companion piece to
Spector's more subversive vision.



There are a ton of Christmas albums out there, including the wonderful, guest -filled Chieftains record,  THE BELLS OF DUBLIN, and Fats Domino's   CHRISTMAS GUMBO    but for my money these two have set the bar to be beaten.

So, I'm going to sample them delicately between now and Xmas morn......then FULL THROTTLE

And I mean that  

M.S.

Just back from a swing through the Isles.......

Ports of Call: Dublin, Carlow, Waterford, Dungarvan, Lismore, Cappoquin, Youghal, then over to the U.K. .... Northampton, Richmond, Aberdeen (a performance with Brian Willoughby and the Riverdance troupe, livecast on Scottish T.V. at the Northern Star Awards show), then to Brentford, Shepperton, (writing and recording with Brian), Towcester, and out.

Joined in at a trad Singers Night in Carlow, courtesy of my dear pal, Bernard Jennings, the host with the most  Wonderful "Sean Nos" singing;... cool bodhran player in Dungarvan ...did an after-hours piano & vocal bit at our hotel, Lawlor's. Good Craic. Got a song and track started with Brian in Shepperton ... two acoustic guitars, bass, and a string quartet. Going to build on that here at Ceolta Central.

As usual, great sightseeing ... ventured into the Gaeltacht of An Rinn and Helvick Head, lunched at the "Moby Dick" a.k.a..Linehan's  in Youghal, where John Huston filmed the epic, and where the cast stayed.  Fabulous b/w 8 x 10's of cast in costume, autographed by the actors, on every wall ... and as it was a brisk and squally day the pub's soup of the day hit the spot.

We took our favourite ferry , Passage East to Ballyhack, and wandered all the way down the Hook Peninsula to the Hook Head Lighthouse, the oldest active light house in the world, then to Tintern Abbey, in it's secluded valley.

Aberdeen was odd. A twelve hundred mile, twenty-four hour round trip, albeit by air, to do one song ... But it's all about the "step 'n' lep," so our guitars and vocal interlude was basically fill-in for the costume changes. But, with the travel figured in, it wasn't necessarily the easiest buck

At Shepperton Brian treated me to a listen of the just released (web only) Mary Hopkin Festival Hall farewell concert in 1972, on which he played with Danny Thompson, Tony Visconti, and a fine string quartet. Highly recommended, folks.

So, that's the brief .... soon.

Michael.

THE RIVER IN REVERSE

( Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint as Renaissance Men .)

Although I have been an admirer of Allen Toussaint's bounteous talents since first hearing the incredible string of hits he masterminded on the Minit label in the early 60's, I was slow to warm to Elvis Costello. I had left London for the States in 1973, so viewed his post-punk rise to prominence from a distance (you might say, a safe distance).

Although there was evidently songwriting talent there, I found the musical tracks a bit one dimensional , and I couldn't get past the voice. I didn't like the timbre, he sounded pitchy to me,and it seemed that he often crammed too many syllables into lines that could have used some judicious editing.....so during the series of albums that cemented his initial reputation, I was listening elsewhere.....frequently to the music that Allen Toussaint continued to make with such style and finesse, as writer, arranger, producer, and solo artist.

My songwriting partner at the time, Dennis Locorriere, the sublime singer of Dr. Hook fame, was/is a man of great musical breadth, both as artist and connoisseur ,and was always on me to "get into Elvis ".....to no avail until he played me "The Juliet Letters ", Costello's collaboration with the Brodsky Quartet. I later learned Mr. McManus had prepared by learning formal notation, and taking serious vocal coaching. The record hit me like a ton of bricks...

I had been fortunate to tour and record with Colin Blunstone in his post -Zombies, Bartok-influenced String Quartet period, and this seemed like a continuation of that, albeit with more of an aggressive stance. The rough edges on his voice, now tautened with the noticeable improvement in pitch and breath control, particularly in his upper register, provided an exciting counterpoint to the masterful work of the quartet, and I thought the songs were flat-out brilliant. Now I was really paying attention.

Meanwhile Mr. Toussaint had been going to the bank on a regular basis due to his work with LaBelle, The Pointer Sisters, et al.;his mastery of the studio, the arranging, and the exquisite perfection of the writing, had now come to seem almost effortless, which his publicity-shy, preternaturally elegant cool only re-enforced.

Next up for me was "Painted from Memory", the multiple Grammy- winning collaboration of Costello and Burt Bacharach...whoda thunk it ? This one floored me entirely. I would imagine Hal David is a hard act to follow, and Elvis took the challenge fearlessly.

You can tell where this is going, can't you.?

I continued to drink at the well of Mr. Toussaint's classic work, and was always refreshed.....

Fast forward......Elvis is cutting and performing the very early rap precursor, Dave Bartholomew's "The Monkey Speaks His Mind ".His mind's on New Orleans.

BOOM! KATRINA!!!

The images, none more potent than Fats Domino's rescue, on front pages wordwide...............the benefit concerts in the immediate aftermath.....Toussaint everywhere...Costello, too.

It had to be....."                                                                                         

THE RECORD.

The accompanying DVD is worth the admission price alone...Costello's contained, yet undeniably sincere passion for the dreadful situation they find when they finally get into the Easy...Allen ,unquestionably saddened, but incredibly dignified in his grief, all business when The Imposters and The Crescent City Horns convene at the only functioning studio in town...

The covers lean heavily on the Lee Dorsey /Toussaint overlooked masterpiece,"Yes We Can", and while the rhythm section of Pete Thomas and Davy Faragher don't attempt the idiosyncratic moves of Zigaboo Modeliste and George Porter, they swing mightily in support of their boss's agenda.

To me, the highlight of a deeply brilliant record is "Ascension Day."

Over a breathtaking, minor -key interpolation of "Tipitina", the Professor Longhair Mardi Gras staple, Costello nails a lyric and performance of such depth and integrity that "Can a white man sing the Blues?" becomes irrelevant.

Because Toussaint's music is always rooted in the blues...albeit an elegant form... Just like Basie and Ellington, and Elvis knows it and responded magnificently.

FINALE:

So, two wonderfully gifted artists eventually got together.. Ain't life grand ?

In case you don't know, Declan McManus,(E.C.s real name), is a Liverpool/ Irish lad, just like meself, but that doesn't influence my opinion in any way.!!!!!

Slainte, M.S.