Last year, we lost three bluesmen whose contributions to the blues will be felt by many for years to come. In December, Chicago's "hidden harmonica treasure" Jody Noa lost his battle with cancer, followed by Son Seals' death due to complications from diabetes. Last September, we lost Hoodoo King Raful Neal, who was a fixture in Louisiana swamp blues for over four decades.
I am very fortunate to begin another year in the blues, but I wanted to take a moment to honor the memories of Jody, Son, and Raful. Join me in a celebration of their lives in the blues as I hope that you would rediscover the blues through their contributions to it.
I had followed Jody Noa's star for years, and always dreamed that he'd break into a national recording contract. I've heard that Jody Noa and his Sho' Nuff Blues Band was the first professional blues band to play the historic Checkerboard Lounge in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood. An early line up of Jody's band was a Chicago blues dream team that included Sammy Lawhorn and John Primer on guitar, Bob "Have Bass Will Travel" Stroger, and Killer Ray Allison on the drums. Jody was a regular at Sopro's Annual Thanksgiving and Easter Blues Concerts, held at Tommy's Place in Blue(s) Island on the far South Side of Chicago. Best way to honor Jody's memory? For me, that's easy: get back to Chicago and check out live blues, particularly shows produced by his friends at Sopro Productions. As I get older, I notice that I have more than a few regrets, and near the top of my list is not catching Chicago's "hidden harmonica treasure" live.
As I type these remembrances, Chicago area promoter Bud Monaco and his crew are gearing up for the all-star tribute on Sunday, February 27th, which will raise funds to defray Jody's considerable medical expenses. Next issue, I'll have a re-cap of this historic evening of Chicago blues from the players who honored Jody Noa's memory. To sample the quality of Chicago blues shows produced by long-time blues supporter Bud Monaco, check out my review of his 17th Annual Chicago Easter Parade Blues over in our CD Reviews section this issue.
I last saw Son Seals at ChicagoFest more than 20 years ago and that performance was captured live by Alligator Records on the GRAMMY-winning Blues Deluxe album that featured a "who's who" of Chicago blues in the early 1980's. I wore out three vinyl copies of that record, largely because I kept returning to Lonnie Brooks soaring through "Sweet Home Chicago" and Son Seals' lightning-like leads on "Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong." My favorite Son Seals records on Alligator include Midnight Son (1977), Live - Spontaneous Combustion (1996) and the excellent Deluxe Edition (2002). What impressed me about Son's playing over the years is that it was consistently high energy blues. He played his heart out every night, and he was louder than many of his contemporaries. What impressed me even more was his dogged persistence. Son was a lifelong diabetic and he continued to tour after part of his leg was amputated, and he even overcame being shot in the jaw by his wife during an argument. The couple later understandably divorced.
Raful Neal was often called "Little Walter of Louisiana," and while Little Walter went down to Baton Rouge and lured Buddy Guy to the bright lights of Chicago, Raful stayed behind to define Louisiana swamp blues. The Hoodoo Kings' 2001 CD on Telarc was one of my favorite CDs from 2001. The Hoodoo Kings were Eddie Bo, Raful Neal and Rockin' Tabby Thomas, all New Orleans musical royalty. They released a great collection of Crescent City-infused blues, and when I first heard this CD, I called that record a "party in a CD case" on these Cosmik screens. To this day, it gets my guests off their butts and onto my living room dance floor by the end of the first cut, a swampified "I Fought the Law." Raful's contributions to the Hoodoo Kings release include some world-class harp, and I hope that you'd consider picking up this CD, or CDs from his son Kenny Neal (Kenny's Deluxe Edition on Alligator or One Step Closer on Telarc are good places to start). When the Hoodoo Kings played the Portland Blues Festival a few years ago, I thought about making that Summer event. Life interfered with those dreams, and I foolishly thought the Hoodoo Kings would come around again.
While grieving these losses is an important part of life, I'd like to think that Jody, Son and Raful would appreciate it if you'd support your local blues community and go out to see a live blues show. Let's honor Jody, Son and Raful's memories by going out and see a show. While I had the good fortune to see Son Seals tear it up several times, I regret that I missed experiencing Jody Noa or Raful Neal play the harp live in a club or at a blues festival.
I'll close by asking you please to support live blues, no matter where you live. Tonight.
