Carnival of Soul

Bingo, you got it, they are all blues artists and all have played at various venues in Carbondale.

As a way point on the Amtrak line from the South to Chicago — home of the urban blues, Chess records and many of the greats of the genre — Carbondale has sponsored its share of great blues artists over the years, from Lonnie Brooks at the original Gatsby’s to B.B. King at the SIU Arena. (I was privileged to work both those shows.)

The Washington, D.C.-based Nighthawks played the original Hangar 9 when the late Richard Simpson, along with wife-at-the-time Sally Carter, ran the joint, and that was a great night. Musician, journalist, SIU alum and dedicated spelunker Gary Gibula (Four on the Floor, St. Stephen’s Blues, the Schwag, Jason Ringenberg Band) reminded me that I sat in with the Nighthawks at their Hangar 9 gig. That band featured — and still features — ace harp player Mark Wenner.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds played Shryock and it was reported that lead singer/harp player Kim Wilson painted the town afterwards. Koko Taylor (“Wang Dang Doodle”), with her cool-papa husband and manager Robert “Pops” Taylor always in tow, several times played Silverball (under Fat Patties on The Strip).

Relative newcomer Samantha Fox played Murphysboro Blues Fest in 2017, Roomful of Blues played in 2018, also a legendary outfit, and last year was Toronzo Cannon, one of my new personal faves. Ditto Mankster Davy Knowles— that would be a native of England’s the Isle of Mann — the great young guitarist now based in Chicago who played a recent Carbondale Rocks gig at the Washington Street downtown concert site.

Matt Murphy hung out with us one night at Hangar 9 after his show on campus, and many will recall him from “The Blues Brothers” movie as Aretha Franklin’s restaurant hubby. Buddy Guy famously played a very windy SIU Spring Fest gig in the Arena south lot. Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater with his chief’s headdress and 100-foot guitar cord wowed the college crowd at Gatsby’s. AC Reed, sax player who had played with Stevie Ray Vaughn (who played Du Quoin State Fair near the end of his run on the planet) even opened up a short-lived bar in Carbondale, eponymously named AC Reed’s, where the Buckwater Brewing Co. is now. Joe Bonamassa played Shryock, an artist with a style rooted firmly in the blues. The excellent James Armstrong has played at Blue Sky Vineyard’s Red, White and Blues Fest, and we have had the honor of mixing his shows there to date.

I do not have the room to research and mention them all, but you can see that the blues has been well-represented in the area. Some would argue that the popularity of the genre has waned in general, and that may be true to an extent, but there will always be purveyors to carry the torch. Area artists such as the Ivas John Band, Joey Odum, Rip Lee Pryor (son of Snooky Pryor), Shades of Grey, Cat Daddy ‘O, King Juba and Tawl Pawl are still on tap. The late, great “Big Twist” and “Big Larry” are of course from here, and treated regional listeners to a full plate of the blues for many a year.

When our band Devil’s Kitchen did our whirlwind run in the Bay Area, we were blessed to have been able to play shows and jam with an amazing array of blues artists. Elvin “Pigboy Crabshaw” Bishop, who had a massive hit record with “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” was one. The lead singer on that record is Mickey Thomas from Starship (Jefferson Starship) fame.

Harp player Charley Musselwhite was another blues artist we were fortunate to have jammed with. We backed up Texas bluesman Sam “Lightnin” Hopkins, I backed up Willa Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, and we jammed often with Harvey Mandel from Canned Heat. We opened up for blues artist Taj Mahal. I would add that the Grateful Dead’s “Pigpen” Ron McKernan deserves a mention in the blues pantheon, as that dude was down and dirty with the blues and was also the son of a blues radio DJ.

These are but a few past and present blues music connections in the ‘Dale. Coming right up, the excellent Corky Siegel of the Siegel-Schwall Blues Band will be performing solo in the Balcony Theater at The Varsity Center March 20 and 21. We have mixed sound for Corky several times at Shryock Auditorium for previous engagements, and this show is sure to entertain. The Varsity has a fully stocked bar. Tickets are available now.

Readers are encouraged to comment on blues artists that they have seen in the area. Remember … the blues is ALRIGHT!