WPRB Princeton 103.3 FM

New Jersey's Only Radio Station

WPRB is a community-supported, freeform radio station. Our FM signal (103.3) serves central New Jersey, Philadelphia, eastern PA and the northern tip of Delaware. We reach a global audience at wprb.com.

Blues, Off The Record

Jul 25, 2022 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

With Sonny Boy Williamson III

10:00 AM		The Mississippi Jook Band Hittin' the Bottle Stomp Blind Roosevelt Graves
10:03 AM		The Breaux Brothers Tiger Rag Blues Old Timey Louisiana Cajun Music vol 2: The Early Thirties
10:07 AM		Leona Buckles I'm Waiting (To Give You My Love) New Orleans Ladies: Rhythm And Blues From The Vaults Of Ric And Ron Rounder 1988
10:08 AM		Big Maybelle I Got It Bad Big Maybelle
10:11 AM		Big Mama Thornton Lost City Sassy Mama
10:18 AM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
10:18 AM		Screamin' Jay Hawkins There's Something Wrong With You Frenzy
10:21 AM		Memphis Slim Mother Earth Memphis Slim
10:24 AM		Little Brother Montgomery Santa Fe Urban Blues
10:28 AM		Roosevelt Sykes Hangover Urban Blues
10:30 AM		Muddy Waters Cold Weather Blues Folk Singer Geffen 1999
10:36 AM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
10:36 AM		James Cotton Honest I Do Take Me Back BLIND PIG RECORDS 1987
10:40 AM		The Diamonds A Beggar for Your Kisses Atlantic Rhythm and Blues, 1947-1974
10:43 AM		LaVerne Baker Tweedle Dee Atlantic Rhythm and Blues, 1947-1974
10:46 AM		Thumper Jones How Come It The Best of Ace Rockabilly
10:48 AM		Freddie King You Can Run But You Can't Hide Larger Than Life Polydor Records 1975
10:53 AM		Albert King Crosscut Saw Born Under A Bad Sign (Mono)
10:55 AM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
10:56 AM		Slim Gaillard Groove Juice Special Laughing in Rhythm
10:58 AM		Robert Petway Catfish Blues When the Sun Goes Down, Vol. 1: Walk Right In (Remastered) RCA Bluebird 2002
11:00 AM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
11:02 AM		Blind Roosevelt Graves Telephone to Glory Blind Roosevelt Graves: The Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order
11:06 AM		Blind Willie Johnson The Rain Don't Fall On Me Praise God I'm Satisfied Yazoo 2005
11:09 AM		Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee Jesus Gonna Make It Alright Sonny & Brownie A&M 1973
11:12 AM		Lightnin' Hopkins Home in the Woods Dirty Blues
11:15 AM		Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell Low Down Dog Blues Naptown Blues
11:18 AM		Barrelhouse Welsh Dying Pickpocket Blues Barrelhouse Blues (1927-1936) Yazoo 1992
11:21 AM		Josh White Frankie and Johnny Josh White
11:24 AM		Mississippi Sheiks Shooting High Dice Stop and Listen Yazoo 1992
11:28 AM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
11:28 AM		Ma Rainey Screech Owl Blues Black Bottom
11:31 AM		Peppermint Harris I'll Wipe Away Your Tears Being Black Twice
11:36 AM		Elmore James Coming Home Street Talkin' (Chief Records 1957-1960) Ronn Records 1975
11:38 AM		Dr. Ross Memphis Boogie His First Recordings
11:40 AM		Uncle Bud Walker Look Here Mama Blues Rough Guide to the Best Country Blues You've Never Heard World Music Network 2018
11:42 AM		Mance Lipscomb Tell Me Where You Stayed Last Night Mance Lipscomb
11:50 AM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
11:50 AM		Fred McDowell Mortgage on My Soul Somebody Keeps Callin' Me
11:53 AM		John Lee Hooker Storming On the Deep Blue Sea On the Waterfront Wand Records 1970
11:57 AM		Eddie Lang and Lonnie Johnson Hot Fingers Blue Guitars Vol. I & II

Chat is archived.

Mornin' all!

Mornin and BAM!

Ohhhh ... sing it big, Maybelle!

grooving and bluesin so hard!!

Scream it, Jay!

WOW! "There's Something Wrong With You" is damn near good as his classic "I Put a Spell on You"! (Excuse me, folks, rushin' off to purchase a download ...)

Glad you liked it Richard! Such a great sound on both those records and his vocals... they make Tom Waits sound like Michael Buble.

that Elvis movie was a mess

Tom Hanks was really weird

Colonel Tom... totally unheimlich

Probably just me but the stream is a little buggy for me today, prob just the kitchen wifi. BAM!

needs more gaaahhhhlic

Soooooo good man!

Thanks for the jamz

Thanks!

🤘

It sounds like Blind Willie has an uncredited vocal accompanist.

I believe his wife sang with him

I haven't seen the Elvis biopic. Did Tom Hanks play Tom Parker? He's played a crooked manager before.

Yes he does!

Hanks has his own radio program now:

https://www.mixcloud.com/pinbot/playlists/songs-from-the-back-of-the-station-wagon-with-tom-hanks/

I played The Diamonds earlier. Apparently there is a legend that Hanks's father was in the group.

His son records rap music as Chet Hanx

and Zoltar will read your fortune

@ A Well Respected Mok A question re: the new Elvis movie (which I've only read about so far, haven't seen yet). I'm delighted that Big Mama Thornton AND Sister Rosetta Tharp are portrayed in it. But is there any depiction -- or even just a mention -- of the major country-"hillbilly" influence on Elvis and the other "rockabillies"?

And anyone else who's seen the new Elvis pic, also feel free to reply.

it was not the kind of movie I would show someone to learn about Elvis. It was just loud, frantic and confusing

@ A Well Respected Mok I'm sure! But was there anything about Elvis's deep country music roots? Not just his rhythm-and-blues influences.

Hank Snow is featured. Generally however the movie focuses on the influence of black sacred and gospel music on Presley. White country styles before Elvis are portrayed as boring, uncommercial, and unsexy before Presley brought in black influences.

Hank Snow is treated as a joke

@ Sonny Boy III (host) Very interesting -- and VERY depressing -- about the depiction of Hank Snow and country music in general.

Little Richard is portrayed as well. Missing are most or all other successful Sun Records artists of any race.

it was more concerned with glittery muscial numbers then biographical information.

@ Sonny Boy III (host) As you know, I wrote the biography Can't You Hear Me Callin': The Life of Bill Monroe, Father of Bluegrass, in which I documented that Elvis, Carl Perkins and Buddy Holly were all _huge_ Bill Monroe fans, and that he was the "hillybilly" in "rockabilly." Indeed, the B-side of Elvis's first Sun Records release was an up tempo version of Bill's bluesy waltz "Blue Moon of Kentucky." In much of the South that became the radio A side with "Hound Dog" effectively the B side!

Good to know Richard! Unfortunately, I think that people's justifiable anger at the fact that Elvis was able to enjoy greater success than any of the many very talented black musicians of his generation leads to a simplified narrative -- that Elvis drew exclusively from black musical styles and enjoyed success because of his race. Musical culture is of course more complicated than that -- Maybelline was based on Ida Red after all. Oh, and "Hound Dog" was written Lieber and Stoller...

@ Sonny Boy III (host) and A Well Respected Mok Thanks for the additional. I totally understand a movie like this can't depict _every_ historically influential person or style. The film would be 10 hours long! Still, sounds like although this flick honors great Black performers it also presents simplistic -- maybe even "woke" -- stereotypes about country music.

@ Sonny Boy III (host) Yes, good points you just made. As we've often discussed here in the chat, where does genuine respect & homage end, and cultural appropriation & rip-offs start? That remains a vital question.

I think there's probably an element of overcorrection -- any movie about Elvis is going to rightly need to emphasize his debt to black culture. Still it would have been nice to have seen his debt to country music portrayed in a more nuanced fashion. One of my favorite biopics -- I'm Not There -- portrays aspects of Bob Dylan through distinct vignettes with different actors

good info everyone. Enlightening. thanks for the tunes

@ Sonny Boy III (host) Thanks! I haven't seen I'm Not There and must admit that I didn't understand the point of having different actors (and even at least one actress) portraying different aspects of Dylan. Sounds intriguing and worthwhile, not just a gimmick.

Thanks, Sonny, for informing me of “Ida Red” by Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys. Where has it been all my life?

Thanks for listening everyone!