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Permalink Reply by Nate on September 4, 2014 at 2:25am

Now let’s look at some of the other great Harpists:

James Cotton: Still doing his stuff, “Superharp” is a superb artist as both side and front man.  A disciple of Sonny Boy Williamson II, and someone who had major boots to fill taking over from Little Walter in Muddy Waters band.  A common autograph so I would estimate a cut to be around $15 and a photo or album around $45:

 

George “Harmonica” Smith: heavily influenced by Little Walter he was a sometime stand-in for the Muddy Waters band.  He’s credited as tutoring the new wave of harp players in the 70s (artists like Rod Piazza and Charles Musselwhite).  I would estimate a cut to be around $20 and a photo or album around $50:

 

Junior Wells: Gangster strutting Blues harpist, and regular partner with Buddy Guy, his 1965 “Hoodoo Man Blues” album is seen as a classic in the genre.  He would sign both ‘Junior Wells’ and more commonly ‘Jr Wells’, he would also often date his signature.  I would estimate a cut to be around $25+ and a photo or album around $50+:

 

Sam Myers: Singer. Songwriter, Harpist and Drummer.  He was once the regular drummer for many of Elmore James’ recordings and later became the front-man and Harpist for Anson Funderburgh.  Legally blind his autograph takes on what my kid would call the ‘swirly whirly whirling pool’ style.  I would estimate a cut to be around $15 and a photo or album around $40:

 

Carey Bell: Learning from both Big and Little Walter he took up the mantle of harp in the Muddy Waters band in the 70s, and, as front-man, released some stand out records in the 90s.  I would estimate a cut to be around $20 and a photo or album to be around $50:

 

Charles Musselwhite: Along with Paul Butterfield and Al Wilson, Charlie took the harp to white audiences in the 60s.  He has worked with nearly every post-war Blue legend imaginable.  I would estimate a cut to be around $20 and a photo or album to be around $45:

 

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Permalink Reply by Nate on October 8, 2014 at 6:25am

Hi Carl,

I am happy to say that my first exposure to the Blues was as a student seeing the great Honeyboy Edwards playing a tiny (and I mean tiny) Arts venue in Norwich.  It was amazing to see him so close I could almost pick those Country Blues strings.  But although my first outing was pure American Delta my appreciation developed from listening to the predominantly English White Boy Blues Rockers of the 60s and 70s.  I confess to being one of the many sheep who thought ‘Spoonful’ was a magical concoction (or should that be ‘strange brew’) of Messrs Clapton, Bruce and Baker, and that Page and Plant weaved some magnificent lyrics into the rockin ‘Whole Lotta Love’.  What I didn’t realise was that these individuals, and many like them, had borrowed, parodied, immortalised and sometimes just downright stole this music from others.

Leaving aside the bitter taste of thievery and ill-gotten gains, what should be applauded is that a number of these artists gave the credit where the credit was due and opened the world of Blues up to a new audience, and in some instances gave much needed help to struggling originators.  I like to think that I would have found my way to Robert Johnson on my own but I have to credit Mr Clapton for showing me the way, the same can be said for Howlin Wolf and the Rolling Stones. 

Anyway, in this section I don’t want to look at the ultra-famous artists like Clapton, Hendrix, Page, Joplin etc. but at some of the others who carried the Blues to a new fan-base and also really helped the music along.  First is a favourite of mine; Peter Greenbaum, or Peter Green to most.  BB King famously said of him “he was the only one who gave me the cold sweats” and both Clapton and Page have given him much deserved praise and recognition.  A man not without significant troubles through his life including drugs, ultra-religion, reclusiveness, time spent in psychiatric hospitals and years of medication, these things have all kept this superior guitarist away from the music for prolonged periods of time (In fact for much of the 70s, 80s and 90s!).  However the output we do have from him is masterful.  Rising to fame as part of John Mayalls Bluesbreakers (replacing Clapton when he moved on to form Cream), he really came to the worlds attention as a founding member of Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, writing many of their greatest hits and releasing some amazing material from 1967 till he left the band in 1970.  It wasn’t until the late 90s that we got to see some further regular Blues recordings when he formed Peter Green’s Splinter Group.

Peter Green’s autograph is one of those that should cost a lot more than it currently does.  As an example I have recently been most fortunate to acquired one for about $15 (which included the rest of the Splinter Group as well), now an early piece up to the point of him leaving Fleetwood Mac is going to be worth more than a Splinter Group signature, but even so that is crazy low for such a magnificent and important artist.  Realistically I would put a value of around $50-$75 for a cut and $100+ for better objects, but I have seen many-a-bargain on eBay for him, so now is the time to hunt and buy.  A couple of points to note with his autograph – firstly he signs both Peter Greenbaum and Peter Green (with the latter being the most common), and, secondly, his signature can either be neat or rather messy (especially the ‘Peter’ part).  Here are some examples:

The aforementioned recent acquisition:

 

A couple of nice full and neat signatures:

 

A messy example:

 

An early example from mid 60s (prior to joining Fleetwood Mac):

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Permalink Reply by Nate on October 8, 2014 at 6:35am

As mentioned Peter Green got his first major break as part of John Mayalls Bluesbreakers.  The Bluesbreakers were an ever shifting group of artists that rose to prominence as part of the UK Blues explosion of the early-mid 60s.  In its time the band has featured artists such as Peter Green, Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, John McVie, Jack Bruce and Mick Fleetwood.  As Allmusic so eloquently put it the Bluesbreakers “acted as a finishing school for the leading British blues-rock musicians of the era”, and the headmaster of this school was John Mayall.  Mayall was born into a musical family (his father was a Jazz guitarist) and he learnt how to play a number of instruments from a fairly early age.  It was the Godfather of British Blues, Alexis Korner, who persuaded Mayall to become a full time musician in the early 60s and with Mayall at the forefront his band played regular spots in and around London (including supporting the touring John Lee Hooker in 1964). They reached their pinnacle in 1966 with the release of the seminal ‘Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton’ (or the ‘Beano’ album as it’s more commonly known).  Mayall throughout his career has experimented with personnel, instruments and sounds, but it always seems to be the Blues that he comes back to, now in his 80s he’s still going strong and has quite rightly earnt the title of ‘elder statesman of the Blues’.

John Mayall’s autograph is pretty common.  He’s been touring most of his performing life and he is a good signer.  The vast majority of autographs take on the same format and are easily recognisable.  You are certainly not going to be able to retire on his autograph and I would not look to pay more than about $50 for a piece unless it was very special.  Here are some examples:

A recently sold rare Bluebreakers with Clapton page, which sold for about $850:

 

Another 60's example:

 

Some later examples (first one with a messy Peter Green):

 

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Permalink Reply by Nate on October 8, 2014 at 6:44am

Of course it wasn’t just the British who were having a Blues explosion in the 60’s, America’s Blues-Rock scene was just as eruptive.  One guy who stands out from the rest for shear passion for the early Blues and for keeping the music alive is Alan Wilson or Al ‘Blind Owl’ Wilson (so called due to his severe near-sightedness).  Wilson was a well-educated music scholar, ardent environmentalist and a devout follower of the original Blues.  He, with fellow worshipers, formed the band ‘Canned Heat’ (aptly named after a pre-war Tommy Johnson classic).   Wilson is a key figure in the development of the Blues in the 60s thanks not only to his Canned Heat output (and his Skip James like vocal talents) but also because of the work he did in bringing some of the forgotten, and some of the down-on-their-luck, original Blues artists back.  He was the guy called upon to ‘teach Son House how to play like Son House’ shortly after House was re-discovered, due to the fact that Wilson knew all of House’s recordings off-by-heart and years away from music had meant House had lost his mojo.  He also, with the rest of the band, helped put Sunnyland Slim back in the studio after recognising him as the driver of the cab they were in, then there is their assistance in getting Albert Collins a record deal, and finally re-invigorating John Lee Hookers career after giving him his first charting album with ‘Hooker n Heat’.  All great work, but Wilson’s life was not without troubles.  He was socially awkward (wearing unwashed clothes, not washing his hair or cleaning his teeth) and had a depressive disposition.  In 1970 he lost his life to a barbiturates overdose (it’s still unclear as to whether this was intentional or not) and by doing so took his place in the ’27 Club’ (a title given to an artists who passed at the age of 27.  Within 30 days the ‘Club’ would also include Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin).

Al Wilson’s autograph is a rare thing.  I have been unable to find a genuine clear example.  I do have 2 to offer up, one from Roger Epperson which is in a bad way and pretty difficult to make out from the photo I have, and one which sold a couple of years ago which may or may not be genuine.  With so few examples it is hard to put a value on his autograph.  If I were to guess (and it would be a pure guess) I reckon somewhere around $400 would be right for a clean signature.  Anyway, here are the 2 examples I can find (please add more if anyone has them):

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Nate on October 8, 2014 at 6:53am

I’ll end this little section on the 60s White Boy Blues with Johnny Winter.  I think it is fair to say that the recently deceased Winter was the whitest of all the white boy Blues artists (and I hope I have not offended anyone with that comment).  John Dawson ‘Johnny’ Winter III and his brother, Edgar, came from a musical family and learnt music from an early age.  He released a number of singles through the early-mid 60s mainly on small local labels and his big break came in 1968 after a glowing review in Rolling Stone magazine lead to a bidding war to sign him, this ended up with CBS forking out a record-breaking (for CBS) $600k advance.  Not bad for “a cross-eyed albino with long fleecy hair” (Rolling Stone quote).  In the mid-late 70s, after a number of successful albums and tours (and a short time spent away due to a heroin addiction), Winter was able to complete a life-long ambition by working with Muddy Waters; After the fall of Chess records Winter produced and played on 3 studio albums for Muddy, 2 of which won Grammy Awards and firmly put Muddy where he belonged at the pinnacle of the post-war Blues tree.  Winter spent the next decades recording sporadically and touring regularly.  He was always much respected, he was always a crowd pleaser and he never stepped away from the Blues (when others did).  He was a true believer.

Johnny Winter’s autograph is fairly common in the market.  He was a good signer, undertook many tours and the vast majority of examples out there are pretty much the same.  There are a number of great signed albums and photos, so a cut is not going to be worth as much.  You would think with the number of examples available his autograph would be dirt cheap, well it’s not expensive, but there are much rarer signers who are ‘worth’ less.  I would estimate a cut to be around $40-$50 and a nice signed picture or album to be $150.  Here are some examples:

 

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Permalink Reply by Sidney Fields on October 9, 2014 at 3:57pm

No doubt Johnny Winter loved and played the blues. But having seen him three times in the last 2 or 3 years before he died, I can tell there was a lot of rock in his show.  In fact, I think he has one of the great shouts in the history of rock on the old "Johnny Winter Live And" record when he bellows, "Rock and roll!" and then goes into Johnny B. Goode.

When I saw him, he didn't seem very fan friendly. He ignored the half dozen or so fans waiting outside the venue for him.  Jimmy Vivino (who was a guest player one night) said it was because the bright lights bothered his eyes. Perhaps. Johnny had had cataract surgery. 

But I got the sense it may have had more to do with the fact Johnny seemed to be embarrassed to be in a wheelchair. He'd hurt his hip a few years ago and that's how he was transported to and from the venue...in a wheelchair. He was able to stand on his own and walk a few steps and get in the car.  So I guess the wheelchair just made it easier and safer for him.

Two other things.

At the time he died in July, Newbury Comics was offering his signed True to the Blues box set.  It appears to be sold out there now.

And tomorrow night there's a tribute to him at BB King's in NYC featuring his band and blues players living in the area including Joe Louis Walker and Debbie Davies.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Jacobs on October 9, 2014 at 11:32pm

my johnny winter moment..I met and photographed johnny winter a few years ago in his trailer bus for my weekly celebrity photo-column. he was gracious, but I could see that something wasn't right with him, I don't know what it was. it's not really possible for me to explain it, still he let me do whatever I wanted to. I was  going to photograph bonnie raitt the following day, so I asked jw if he had a message for her.  he said tell her she owes me $10.

the next day I told her and she looked me right in the eye, and failing to see any humor in it said, "I don't owe him any money!"  I didn't ask either for autographs, I was there as a photojournalist. but I did take a pic with the texas guitar slinger.

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Permalink Reply by Nate on October 8, 2014 at 7:04am

Here is a quick look at some of the other White Boy Blues artists who were around in the 60s (I have intentionally left out some artists who were predominately Rock but with a solid Blues influence like Jeff Beck and Duane Allman):

Alexis Korner: The Godfather of British Blues.  Instrumental in the Blues explosion of the 60s, bringer of many American Blues artists to the UK shores, and creating the blueprint for John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers when he form his “Blues Incorporated” in the early 60s.  I would estimate a cut to be around $50 and a photo/album around $100:

 

Roy Buchanan: The Best Unknown Guitarist in the World.  Highly regarded amongst his peers, he was a man who wanted to play his blues.  He influenced a who’s who list of artists such as Clapton, Beck and SRV before his tragic passing in the late 80s.  I would estimate a cut to be around $50 and a photo/album around $100+: 

 

Mike Bloomfield: Much revered Blues rock god.  Key member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, he also gave assistance to ‘electric’ Dylan and to a young Johnny Winter.  Lover of the music but not of the fame, drugs took his life in 1981.  I would estimate a cut to be around $100-$150 and a photo/album to be $250+:

 

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Permalink Reply by Nate on January 14, 2015 at 6:14am

Hi Carl.

Starting in 1962 the American Folk Blues Festival (AFBF) was an annual event that toured Europe right through the 60’s and beyond.  The brain child of Joachim-Ernst Berendt (A German Jazz enthusiast and journalist) the tours were brought to life by his fellow countrymen Horst Lippmann and Fritz Rau with a lot of help from the great Willie Dixon.

The tours are credited with helping to light the fire of the blues explosion that took place in the UK in the 60’s, with audience attendees at the early shows including the likes of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton.  The shows presented a mix of both Country and Electric blues artists, with some never before seen on stage combinations and rare footage (e.g. Little Walter on stage, and John Lee Hooker playing the Harp).

From an autograph perspective the AFBFs were prime opportunities for collecting, with many of the artists being only too happy to give their time to eager fans and to sign one of the many items available (tour posters, flyers and/or programmes).  In fact many of the autographs already shown will have been obtained during one of these tours.  Some will be rarer than others, for instance John Lee Hooker often wouldn’t be available to sign, Little Walter wasn’t always keen to sign and some of the old Country Blues artists often found it difficult to sign (like Fred McDowell and Son House).  But for many of the fans this was the only opportunity they would ever have to get these ‘stars’ autographs, and for some of these ‘stars’ this was the only opportunity for wide-scale adoration before heading back to their hometowns and to small-scale gigging.

In this section I will look at the 60’s heyday of the AFBF and take each year and show autograph examples of the stars not already seen previously in this post.

So to start at the start in 1962 the primary acts were: T Bone Walker, John Lee Hooker, Memphis Slim, Willie Dixon, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Shakey Jake and Helen Humes.  Of these Willie Dixon, Sonny Terry, Shakey Jake and Helen Humes have not been covered in this post previously.

So Willie Dixon…the maestro and the creator of so much Blues magic.  The biggest name in post-war Blues writing/arranging.  Surprisingly not yet covered in this post.  His autograph is starting to gain the value that it deserves considering his place in the history of the Blues.  You could (and if you are really lucky can still) get a Willie Dixon autograph for the $20-$30 range.  But more often now he is going for $50 upwards.  If you ignore the frankly stupid prices they are going for at some auction houses, you are probably going to pay $50-$150 for his autograph, as an example I, in the past 6 months, got a nice signed LP (also signed by the likes of Lafayette Leake, Buster Benton and Carey Bell) for $75.  Here are some examples:

First is a multi-signed 1962 AFBF programme shown previously (which also shows examples of Sonny Terry, Shakey Jake and Helen Humes):

 

A couple of signed pages:

The crazy price examples (first for a little over $2.7k, then the second for a little under $5.8k (which was close to the same price as a Lead Belly signed picture and Charlie Parker signed photo from the same auction!):

 

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Permalink Reply by Nate on January 14, 2015 at 6:19am

Now to Sonny Terry.  We’ve seen a few by him already because of his close musical relationship to Brownie McGhee who he toured and played with extensively.  A blind (though not born blind) Master Harpist, Sonny, with Brownie, would appear at the AFBF on 3 separate occasions.  Sonny Terry’s ‘autograph’ is one of 2 – you either get an ‘X’ normally with his name written next to it by Brownie McGhee or you get a stamp specially made for Sonny saying “YOURS TRULY SONNY TERRY” (over 2 lines).  I have seen a couple of “ST” handwritten autographs but I’m not sure whether these are genuine or not.  For value I would estimate about $50, but you would nearly always find his autograph with Brownies so you will probably have to shell out double that to get one.  Here are some examples:

 

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Permalink Reply by Nate on January 14, 2015 at 6:24am

Next is “Shakey Jake” James Harris.  Not a well known Blues artist, and he probably reached his peak at the time of this festival.  He would spend much of the 60s gigging and playing second fiddle (or that should be Harp, as that was his chosen instrument) to his nephew Magic Sam in and around Chicago.  His autograph is probably going to cost somewhere between $25-$50, they are quite rare but not very expensive.  Here are a couple of examples (and you can see a third example in the multi-signed 1962 AFBF page shown previously):

 

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Permalink Reply by Nate on January 14, 2015 at 6:26am

Finally for 1962 there is Helen Humes.  A singer that crossed the blurred line between Jazz and Blues, having once belonged to Count Basie’s orchestra and touring with various Jazz ensembles, she also recorded a number of classic Blues numbers.  Her autograph will cost much like Shakey Jakes, around $25-$75.  Here are a couple of examples:

 

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