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23Despite its historical importance and the reverence it inspires among fans, musicians and scholars, the survival of the blues tra-dition in the regions where it was born is threatened. The original blues pioneers have passed on and many of the elders who remain are struggling to get by. The social and economic disorders that first inspired blues musicians generations ago are still a long way from being cured. For that reason, we are donating an additional 5% of our proceeds from Blues Café to the Music Maker Foundation, which provides financial support to elderly blues musicians. The tracks we licensed for this album by Algia Mae Hinton, Alabama Slim and John Dee Holeman were recorded by Music Maker to benefit those artists and their families. We hope you’ll also help support elderly blues musicians by making a donation at www.musicmaker.org.The musical genre that has come to be known as the blues has made quite a journey. The blues has traveled back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean and meandered up the Mississippi River from the rural South to the urban North. It has crossed racial and class boundaries as well, migrating from rough and tumble juke joints to sophisticated concert halls. The blues was born on the cotton and tobacco plantations of the South, descending from field hollers and created to express the sorrow and tribulations that plagued enslaved African Americans and their sharecropper descendants. Although it was once consid-ered “devil’s music,” the blues is now recognized widely as a major American art form. It has influenced popular music for generations by providing the musical underpinnings for jazz, rhythm & blues, rock & roll and even hip-hop. These days, you can find blues aficionados, musicians, venues, festivals, and radio programs almost anywhere in the world. Yet despite its international appeal, the roots and soul of the blues remain in the silty waters of the Mississippi Delta, the dusty roads of east Texas, and the verdant fields of the Piedmont plateau.!"#$%&'(#!%"
45Samuel John Hopkins, better known by his stage name Lightnin’ Hopkins, was born in 1912 in Centerville, Texas, a small town located on the dusty backroads between Dallas and Houston. Hopkins grew up surrounded by the sound and spirit of the blues and built his first “cigar box” guitar when he was 8 years old. He first recorded his music in 1946 in Los Angeles, eventually putting nearly 1000 songs on tape during his long and influential career. While Hopkins had a few local hits, his fame went mainstream during the folk and blues revival of the 1950s and ’60s. Since then, Lightnin’ Hopkins has been one of the most recognized and appreciated blues musicians in the world.Hopkins originally recorded “Found My Baby Crying” for the Shreveport, Louisiana based label Jewel Records in 1965. Fellow Texan Elmore Nixon played piano on the session. A classic 12-bar blues, Hopkins tries to com-fort his lover with words of hope: “I come home this mornin’, yes, I found my baby crying / I said, ‘The Lord have mercy. What is wrong with that little babe of mine? / Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry, baby, you know things is bound to change / Whoa, if I don’t bring the bacon in the Winter, rest for sure, poor Lightnin’ bring it in the Spring.’”1. )!*+#"!",-+%./!"0 * 12345-67-89:7-(;7<4=You might not know it by listening to this song, but Arnaud Fradin didn’t grow up anywhere near the banks of the Mississippi; his childhood home was along the Loire River in Nantes, a city in the Brittany region of France. Long fascinated by African American roots music, Fradin has fronted the soul/funk band Malted Milk for nearly 20 years. In 2014, he turned his attention to Delta blues, forming a backing band with virtuoso harmonica player Thomas Troussier, upright bassist Igor Pichon and drummer Richard Housset. This version of Arkansas bluesman Luther Allison’s “Good Morning Love” appeared on Arnaud Fradin & His Roots Combo’s 2017 album Steady Rollin’ Man. Fittingly, Allison lived for over a decade in France, bringing authentic Southern blues to appreciative European audiences.2. >$">'&-1$>&!"-?-+!0-$%%#0-(%68% * *225-62;4<4=-)2@A
67One of the most popular duos of the folk and blues revival of the 1950s and 1960s, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee truly embodied the acoustic folk blues tradition, specifically, its Piedmont blues variation characterized by ragtime-like guitar finger-picking and harmonica. Indeed, Terry virtually wrote the book on folk blues harmonica playing, and McGhee, who also acted in films and TV, was one of the guitar-picking innovators of the genre. Their partnership endured for 35 years.“Walk On” is a classic Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee track. McGhee’s robust vocals sing out “I’m gonna keep on walkin’, till I find my way back home / I see so many people happy, I can’t get used to happiness / Maybe it is true, happiness is not for me, I guess.” He’s supported by Terry’s ever-upbeat blues harmonica playing, replete with his signature “wah-wah” hand effects, warbles and chunky chords. 3. 0%""B-#C$$B-?-8$%D"!C-6(*+CC * D9EF-%4Harmonica ace Junior Wells secured his spot in blues history in 1952, when he replaced the legendary Little Walter in Muddy Waters’ band. Born in Memphis, Wells cut his musical teeth in the Arkansas stomping grounds of another harmonica wizard, hardscrabble poet Sonny Boy Williamson. Wells brought a similar tough attitude and musical genius with him to Chicago, where Muddy Waters took notice of the young firebrand. After his tenure in Waters’ band, Wells also formed a lifelong musical partnership with blues legend Buddy Guy, and the pair continued to play together occasionally until Wells’ death in 1998. Junior Wells’ immense talent extended beyond his in-demand sideman work; between the late ’50s and mid ’90s, he proved himself to be an exceptional bandleader and solo artist, cutting numerous influential albums, including his 1965 epic Hoodoo Man Blues on renowned Chicago label Delmark Records. “In the Wee Hours” was part of this classic session, which finds Wells sup-ported by Buddy Guy’s tasteful guitar licks, Bill Warren on drums and Jack Myers on bass. Guy was credited on the original pressing as “Friendly Chap,” probably to avoid a contract conflict.4. G'"!%$-DC))0-D!#+-8'&&B-*'B * !4-#HA-DAA-+23;I
89Lurrie Bell was born to play the blues. His father, legendary blues harmonica player Carey Bell, made sure of that, putting a gui-tar in his son’s hands when he was just five years old. Bell spent his early childhood surrounded by Chicago blues legends who frequently stopped by his family home to jam, most notably his father’s long-time employer, Muddy Waters. Bell moved at the age of seven to live with his grand-parents in Mississippi and, later, Alabama. There, he was schooled in the roots of the blues, and his regular participation in church bands revealed its inseparable link to gospel music. By the age of 14, Bell was back in Chicago, continuing to play in church and forming his first blues band.During his impressive career, Lurrie Bell has performed and recorded with many icons including Willie Dixon and Koko Taylor, and he is quickly earning his own place in the pantheon of blues legends. The Boston Blues News called him “the premier guitarist in the Windy City.” At last count, Lurrie Bell has appeared on over 50 recordings either as band leader or featured sideman. The quintessential Chicago blues song “Blues in My Soul” was the title track of his 2013 album on the Delmark label. 5. )'$$!C-8C)) * 8E3AI-!4-67-023EAnother legend of Texas blues, Eddie Vinson earned his nickname “Cleanhead” when his hair was damaged by a lye-based straight-ening product. Being fond of the look, he shaved his head bald from then on. Born in Houston in 1917, Vinson picked up the saxophone in high school and quickly became an in-demand member of some of the era’s top swing, jump blues and jazz bands. During his long career, Vinson played with scores of legends, including John Coltrane, Johnny Otis, Cannonball Adderley and Count Basie. He also com-posed the jazz standards “Tune Up” and “Four,” which were made famous by Miles Davis. Despite his advanced musical chops, Vinson often returned to his roots, as on this bluesy rendition of “Somebody Got to Go,”originally from his 1982 album Mr. Cleanhead’s Back in Town on JSP Records. Recorded in London, Vinson is joined on this track by Paul Sealey on bass, Martin Guy on drums, Les Davidson on guitar and Stan Greig on piano.6. C&&!C-J()C>"+C>&K-L!"0%" * 02MA:257-*2N-#2-*2
1011This track features the musi-cal meeting of two living legends of the blues. As his stage name implies, Alabama Slim (née Milton Frazier) was born in 1939 in Vance, Alabama and it was there that he developed his chops as a blues singer and guitarist. As a young man in the 1950s, Alabama Slim moved to New Orleans, where he met up with his cousin, blues guitar-ist Fread E. Martin, aka Little Freddie King. King, originally from Mississippi, had already established himself on the Crescent City music scene. With a guitar sound that reminded people of blues legend Freddie King, Martin took on the stage name Little Freddie King. Both musicians ended up becoming stalwarts of the New Orleans nightclub circuit.In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which upended both of their lives, Alabama Slim and Little Freddie King joined forces to record the album The Mighty Flood for the Music Maker Foundation. That album featured this understated yet propulsive version of “I Got the Blues.”7. >)>8>6>-0)!6-?-)!##)C-1$C&&!C-/!"* * !-*2N-#HA-8E3AIJohn Dee Holeman hailed from North Carolina and, while he began playing Piedmont-style blues guitar when he was 14, he pursued music as a hobby rather than a profession for most of his life. Born in 1929, Holeman was raised in the same tobacco country that produced legends such as Reverend Gary Davis, Arthur Lyons and Blind Boy Fuller, among others. As a young man, Holeman mastered the arts of “patting juba,” a centuries-old African American body percussion tradition, and “buckdancing,” a type of African American folk dance. While he made a living in con-struction, his knowledge of these old-time art forms led him to be invited to perform at Carnegie Hall and to tour in more than 40 countries. Holeman recorded several albums before he passed away in 2021, includ-ing the 1999 production Bull Durham Blues featuring a guest appearance by Taj Mahal followed by an album of duets with Taj Mahal in 2004. In 2007, the Australian folk rock group The Waifs joined Holeman in the studio to record an album for the Music Maker label entitled John Dee Holeman & The Waifs Band, which featured the song “Comin’ Home To You.” 8. G%+"-&CC-+%)C6>"-?-#+C-D>!10-8>"& * (2M<4,-+2MA-#2-B23
1213Another representative of the unique Piedmont blues, Algia Mae Hinton was born in 1929 and raised on her family’s North Carolina farm where she began working the fields as soon as she could walk. The youngest of 14 children, Hinton learned to play blues guitar from her mother and how to “buck-dance” from her father. Hinton married in 1950 but her hus-band passed away prematurely, leaving her to raise seven children on her own. Despite this challenge, she made sure to pass her musical knowledge on to the next generation. In 1978, Hinton met folklorist Glenn Hilson, who brought her to play at several music fes-tivals. Eventually, she performed at Carnegie Hall and in Europe. In 1999, Hinton released the album Honey Babe on the Music Maker label. It featured this version of the classic blues lament, “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad.” In the song, Hinton vividly relates the experience of losing everything you have and singing the blues to ease your sorrows. 10. >)*!>-6>C-+!"#%" * *2<4=-&2O4-#HA-$295-1AAE<4=-895Blues pianist and singer Otis Spann is best-known for his association with one of the “founding fathers” of modern blues, McKinley Morganfield, who performed under the name Muddy Waters. In the middle of the 20th century, when a large portion of America’s Black citizens migrated from the South to find work in other parts of the coun-try, a great many came to live in Chicago. There, rural musicians traded acoustic instruments for electrified amplification, and solo playing for band performances.Muddy Waters was at the forefront of this “electric blues” movement and his band was always considered among the very best. From 1953 to 1968, Otis Spann was Muddy Waters’ “right hand man” and a blues pianist also recognized as a major figure in the development of the genre. On this 1964 recording, legendary harmonica player James Cotton, bassist Milton Rector, drummer S. P. Leary, and guitarists James “Pee Wee” Madison and Dirty Rivers (actually, Muddy Waters, who couldn’t contractually use his real name) play together, with Spann on the keys, in a relaxed Chicago style that recalls the genre’s roots in the laidback blues of the Mississippi Delta.9. %#!0-0.>""-D!#+-G>6C0-(%##%"-?-6'&&B-D>#C$0#HA-8E3AI-"A@A;-&<A
($C&!#0-Lightnin’ Hopkins “Found My Baby Crying” (Sam Hopkins, Stanley J. Lewis) from the album The Very Best of Lightnin’ Hopkins on Tradition Records ! Su-Ma Publishing Company "1973 43 North Broadway. Photo courtesy of Library of Congress.Arnaud Fradin & His Roots Combo “Good Morning Love” (Luther Allison) from the album Steady Rollin’ Man ! SDRM, GEMA " 2017 Arnaud Fradin. Photo by Aurelie Piel.Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee “Walk On” (Brownie McGhee, Ruth McGhee, Sonny Terry) from the album An Introduction To Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee on Fuel 2000 ! Hollis Music, Inc. " 2006 43 North Broadway. Photos courtesy of Nambassa Trust and Peter Terry. Junior Wells with Buddy Guy “In The Wee Hours” (Amos Blakesmore) from the album Hoodoo Man Blues on Delmark Records ! Bluesharp Publ., BMI; admin Delmark Records LLC " 1996 Delmark Records LLC. Photos by Masahiro Sumori and Sky O’Brien. Lurrie Bell “Blues In My Soul” (Lurrie Bell) from the album Blues In My Soul on Delmark Records ! Eyeball Music BMI " 2013 Delmark Records LLC. Photo by Lionel Decoster CC by SA.Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson “Somebody Got to Go” (William Lee Conley Broonzy) from the album Blues, Boogie & Bebop - “Meat’s Too High” on JSP Records ! Songs of Universal, Inc. "1998 JSP Records. Photo courtesy of Universal Attractions.Alabama Slim & Little Freddie King “I Got The Blues” (Milton Frazier) from the album The Mighty Flood on Music Maker Foundation ! Lucky Guitar Music " 2007 Pinnacle Productions LLC. Photos by Greg Roth and Derek Bridges.John Dee Holeman & The Waifs Band “Comin’ Home To You” (John Dee Holeman) from the album John Dee Holeman & The Waifs Band on Music Maker Foundation ! Lucky Guitar Music " 2007 Pinnacle Productions LLC. Photo by Timothy Duffy.Otis Spann with James Cotton & Muddy Waters “The Blues Never Die” (Otis Spann) from the album The Blues Never Die on Concord Music Group ! Prestige Music " 1965 Prestige, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc. Photos by Michael Ochs, Brian McMillen and Lionel Decoster CC by SA.Algia Mae Hinton “Going Down The Road Feeling Bad” (Traditional) from the album Sisters of the South on Music Maker Foundation ! Copyright Control " 2007 Pinnacle Productions LLC. Photo by Timothy Duffy.Link to 11 photo licenses: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode andhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcodeExecutive Producer & Song Selection: Dan Storper A&R & Liner Notes: Jacob Edgar A&R & Project Coordination: Guthrie StoltzfusDesign: Lisa Lee Mastering: Lane Gibson Recording and Mastering, Charlotte, VTWhile you’re there, be sure to sign up to receive information about Putumayo releases, events and special promotions. Hear song samples from more than 50 albums. Listen to the weekly Putumayo World Music Hour on demand Putumayo CDs are available in thousands of record, book, gift andother specialty stplease visit www.putumayo.comwww.putumayo.com&<IP2@A;-#HA-D2;E5-D<NH-.3N3M972andAlso check out the Putumayo pages on Listen to new playlists on Apple Music, Spotify and Pandora each week. Watch global music videos. View more than 25 multicultural books & activity sets for children. Discover Putumayo world art & photography cards. 5% of Putumayo’s proceeds from this album will be donated to the Music Maker Foundation in support of elderly blues musicians.