Last month, President Bush made an impassioned State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress. In his speech, the President described many challenges ahead for America. He talked about the importance of homeland security, and about the way the United States has risen to face the twin challenges of a recession and the terrorist threat.

That speech got me thinking about the state of the blues.

What if the President gave an annual State of the Blues Address looking ahead to a great blues year? Think about the possibilities. Instead of addressing this important and weighty topic to the more stuffy confines of the Congress in Washington, D.C., I'd suggest that he'd take his blues out and roll on the American road. To blues destinations like Biscuits and Blues in San Francisco, Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago, Tabby's Blues Box in Baton Rouge, or B.B. King's nightclub on Beale Street in Memphis. Along the way, I'd ask if he'd take the pulse of the blues.

I've heard lately that that many blues clubs are on the ropes, one paycheck away from insolvency. While some clubs may indeed be in dire financial straits, I'm heartened by the way blues fans have responded to those clubs I mentioned above. It's a good sign for live blues that there's more than a few high quality tours promoting the blues, like the roots- Americana caravan "Down From the Mountain" highlighting the music of the Coen Brothers' film, O Brother Where Art Thou (featuring the great Louisiana bluesman Chris Thomas King) and last summer's blues and BBQ tour sponsored by Lloyd's Barbeque headlined by B.B. King.

The President is a pretty busy man these days, so I'm going to suggest two other presidents to help me out. I'd call on another President, namely Bruce Iglauer or Edward Chemliewski to give this State of the Blues Union Address to the blues faithful. These movers and shakers in the blues world consistently go the extra mile in making sure that the blues is a vital force in American music. If you haven't heard of them, you've heard their artists. Let me introduce you to my leading candidates for the closest thing to a blues President that we've got, Bruce Iglauer and Edward Chmelewski.

Bruce Iglauer is the President and Founder of Alligator Records, one of the true pioneering labels in modern, post war blues. He discovered Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers in the 1970's, and this fledgling Chicago blues imprint went on to sign Koko Taylor, Big Walter Horton, Fenton Robinson, Son Seals, and Albert Collins, among many other bluesmen and blueswomen. New Alligator artists like Michael Burks, Rusty Zinn and Shemekia Copelan show me that the blues is in good hands with Iglauer's Alligator. I'm pleased to announce that The Blues Foundation has recognized Alligator Records with a 2002 Keeping the Blues Alive Award, which will be presented during the FirstBlues weekend in Memphis this month. Iglauer is also the President of the Blues Music Association, a Memphis-based trade association of blues professionals and a sister organization to the Blues Foundation. I've touted the importance of the Blues Music Association on these screens last year, and their groundbreaking sampler, Get the Blues, is just one example of the power of a concerted marketing campaign focused on getting the word out about about the blues. Or, perhaps more importantly, getting the blues out to a wider audience. This $1.98 sampler is one of the best introductions to the blues anywhere.

The next candidate for my State of the Blues speech is Ed Chmelewsi, one of the founders of Blind Pig Records (along with Jerry Del Guidice). Like Iglauer, Ed works behind the blues scenes in the Blues Music Association. He's part of the Founder's Advisory Committee, along with Mike Kappus (The Rosebud Agency) and Howard Stovall (The Blues Foundation), and other blues notables. I've heard about Ed's cross-country trip with stops along the way that involved a rodeo accident and a card game, but there's much more to Blind Pig Records than its storied beginnings from the back of an old MGB convertible.

Since then, Jerry and Ed's work have signed such blues giants as Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Norton Buffalo, Roy Rogers, Snooky Pryor, and James Cotton, among many others. Blind Pig has also attracted the younger generation of bluesmen and blueswomen, including Steady Rollin Bob Margolin, Jimmy Thackery, Debbie Davies, Coco Montoya, and the Chicago Rhythm and Blues Kings. Last month, they signed Austin's Omar and the Howlers, and I'm looking forward to some tasty Texas blues from these guys.

Well, to honor my nominees to give the State of the Blues Address, I want to let their anniversary compilations speak for themselves.

Alligator's 30th Anniversary Celebration is a treasure trove of the blues. There's a live CD and a studio CD, plus a bonus video of Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers. While Chicago blues are well represented here in the searing live guitar work of Lonnie Brooks' "Two Headed Man" and Luther Allison's "Soul Fixin Man," Alligator's blues are all over the map. There's C.J. Chenier's "Jambalaya" and "Maybe Someday Baby" from Delbert McClinton, and these tunes are just from the live disc alone. On the studio disc, my favorites include Michael Burks' "Got A Way with Women" and Rusty Zinn's "The Chill," but it's the kind of sampler I've grown to expect from Alligator over the years. From start to finish, I'll follow Alligator anywhere.

The Blind Pig 25th Anniversary Collection features two discs of great music from the likes of James Cotton, Big Bill Morganfield and Taj Mahal, and Blues Kings, and Muddy Waters, among many others. The third disc contains performance and interview videos with Tommy Castro with a crowd-pleasing "Nobody Loves Me But My Baby" and a concept video featuring Roy Rogers and Norton Buffalo doing "Ain't No Bread In the Breadbox." There's a lot of blues history here, too: we're treated to a backseat interview with Muddy Waters that was originally released as part of the Lost Tapes CD, and the interview with Snooky Pryor features this dapper bluesman reminiscing about coming up in the Mississippi Delta listening to Charley Patton.

Incidentally, each anniversary edition is priced as a single CD. Is this a blues heaven or what?

Since it's February, I'm going to go find my valentine and put these four discs in the CD changer and kick back. The State of the Blues is in good hands, both live and on record, thanks in part to the folks at Alligator and Blind Pig. Happy Valentine's Day!

(C) 2002 - Eric Steiner