9th Ward Daily Photo via rl reeves jr

Mr. Fool is the A-side to my favorite song by Dave Bartholomew, “Country Boy”

When I was hanging out with Mr Bartholomew’s son Dave Jr a few weeks ago in Treme I mentioned this to him and he spontaneously broke into song.

I could’ve fell over dead right there and considered it a full life.

This 10″ slab dropped back in 1949 and was the 391st most popular issue of that year.

Hank Williams’ “My Bucket’s Got A Hole In It” finished that august year at number 1.

9th Ward Daily Photo via rl reeves jr

Does any state have as rich a blues tradition as Louisiana? Texas and Alabama may have something to say about that but musicians like Lonesome Sundown (Cornelius Green) make our state’s claim as strong as any.

The itinerant bluesman spent 40 years recording and touring around the U.S and even had a brief trek through Europe before settling back stateside.

If you were at Jazzfest in the spring of 1979 you may have seen Sundown perform live.

Green was born on this day way back in 1928 in Donaldsonville. He died in Gonzales at the age of 66 in 1995.

“They Call Me Sundown” was the lead cut on Green’s 1977 LP “Been Gone Too Long”

9th Ward Daily Photo via rl reeves jr

“Unpredictable” came out 22 years ago and was only on the charts for a month before it went gold. You can find CD copies in pawn shops all over New Orleans for a dollar or two.

It did not stand the test of time.

9th Ward Daily Photo via rl reeves jr

Lord knows how many bluesmen have carried the appellation “Guitar Slim” but there can be only one originator. Eddie Jones aka Guitar Slim was born on this day back in 1926 in Greenwood, Mississippi. There would have never been a Jimi Hendrix had it not been for Slim. The young guitarist was experimenting with wild distortion when Hendrix was still in elementary school.

If you’ve ever seen Buddy Guy climb up into the rafters of the club or up on a fire escape whilst wildly soloing you can thank Guitar Slim. He showed Buddy the ropes when the young Louisiana cat was first getting his start.

On February 6th, 1959, Slim fell out after performing at a club in New Jersey. His band took him to a doctor in Harlem but he passed in the physician’s office. He’s buried in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

Slim died young of pneumonia at 32 years of age.

9th Ward Daily Photo via rl reeves jr

We’re listening to Chee Koo Baby by Lloyd Price this afternoon. This track was recorded on March 13th 1952 at Cosimo Matassa’s studio on Rampart Street in New Orleans. That’s Fats Domino on piano.