If Donnie Ray walked into this room right now, I would not know him.  Never had the occasion to meet the man.  I was first introduced to his music a few years ago, when a song called “She’s Got My Vote” caught my ear.  It’s on the “You’ve Got Me” BCD (Blues Compact Disc)   He has recently added another BCD from ECKO Records that just hit the streets. It’s called “I’m Goin Back.”

To make a long story short, I like “I’m Goin Back.”  I will admit, the title cut for me could have been a little stronger, but he more than makes up for it on some of the other tunes.  Let’s start with my favorite, “Bring The Blues Back.” This song is nothing but good old party blues.  This song was put together in the ‘jump blues’ fashion, but is still good old party blues. When you listen to this tune, there is a lady that’s talking about partying.  I don’t know if there is a connection, but Freddie King had a tune out in the 70’s called “Shake Your Booty.”  There was a lady on that tune that was talking, and these two women have got to be related in some kind of way.  I can’t prove that, but they sound so similar. I don’t know if this was accidental or intentional, but it works.  I have got to do some more research on this.  “Southern Soul Blues Slide” takes the party to the steppin and slidin floor.  This song is great for all of those that love to do the slide, and Donnie does it to perfection.  Great choice.  The first tune on the BCD is “I’m Looking For A Woman.” It’s a smooth upbeat party song that just jumps out at you from the beginning to the end.

When you listen to my show, “BluesTime In The City,” you hear a segment called “The Low Down Dirty Lying Cheatin Blues Song of the Week.” In the good old blues fashion, Donnie even included a great Cheatin tune called “She Was At The Hideaway.”  Great stuff. I’ve used this song already because it tells it like it is.

Donnie is one of those guys that can sing, play multiple instruments, and write.  He penned all but two of the songs on this BCD.  He managed to keep his oh so cool style while taking it to another level.  When you’re dealing with Blues and Southern Soul, that’s very difficult to do.

“I’m Goin Back” is a great BCD.  Thanks Donnie for doing what you do.  And doing it very well… Someday, I’ll get a chance to meet you in person….

MAY 5-6, 2012

Buddy Guy now has an official Ebay Store… At the Buddy Guy Ebay Store, you can get autographed copies of LP’s, CD’s, DVD’s, you can even get a poka dot Fender Stratacaster that Buddy Plays…. I’m sure it’s a copy of one……and you can bid on rare unique art by Morgan Smith autographed by Buddy Guy…. The Blues meets High Tech…. I love it…..

The Jus Blues Awards show is August 1^st through the 3^rd…..

You can go on line now at Jus Bluesmusic.org and vote on your favorite artist in different genre of the blues and southern soul…..There are 16 categories that you can vote on, and one in particular caught my eye…. It’s Best On-Line Blues and Soul Radio Show, and to my surprise, there is Rojene Bailey and BluesTime In The City… OK, we do have a pod cast up… But the next category is Best Blues and Soul Radio Show… Rojene Bailey and BluesTime in the city is not there…. What’s Up With That???….. We’re more on air than on Line…. Don’t know the rationale behind that, But as they say in the industry, it’s nice to be nominated…. Go to JusBluesmusic.org and cast your vote in the 16 categories….The Jus Blues Awards show is August 1^st through the 3^rd   in Memphis TN…..

WHERE THEY AT WHERE THEY AT:

Friday, May 11 in Vicksburt Mississippi….Mother Day Friday…Sir Charles, Tre Williams, Omar Cunningham, Calvin Richardson, Stevie J, Sweet Angel….

Friday, May 11 in Pittsburgh…Lee Fields

May 11…Grenada MS…T.K. Soul, Mr. Sam, Chris Ivy…

Sat May 12, Clarksdale MS…T.K. Soul, Steve Perry, Chris Ivy…

Sat May 12, Pomonkey MD…Big G… Jesi Terrell…Certified Slim

May 12 in Monroe LA…Sir Charles…Mel Waiters…Kenny Wayne…Latimore and Ms Jody

May 9^th through May the 16^th… B.B. King is on tour in Canada… He’s in about 6 cities through Canada…..

Sunday Mothers Day….Laurel MS….Sir Charles…T.K. Soul…Mel Waiters…Ms Jody…Latimore…..Kenny Wayne and Terry Wright…

Sun May 13 in Darlington SC…Roy C…Sir Jonanthan Burton, The Love Doctor and Maurice Wynn…..

May 13 in Jackson MS…..Willie Clayton….Denise LaSalle…Vick Allen…Calvin Richardson….Lacee…Shirley Jones…

May 13 in Whitehall AL…..Jeff Floyd…O.B. Buchana…Karen Wolfe….The Klass Band, and more….

Sunday May 13 in Slidell LA…Mel Waiters…

May 16 in St Louis Missouri…Chuck Berry…

May 19 in Pomonkey MD… Chick Willis and Bobby Parker and many more…

May 19 in Greensboro NC… Carolina Blues Festival… Eric Gale, ….and Bnois King, EG Kight and many more….

And the Hole In The Wall Juke Joint Shout Out this week goes to (The Hole… In Hooks Texas..) Don’t know where it is… or what they do… and may not want to go in the bathroom….But we do know they have lots of fun at The Hole in Hooks Texas.….

And that my friends is the bluesnews from the world of the bluesblues….And Where They At…Where They At….

The Top Of The Hour 5 Minute Mini Blues Concert Live Presents
KoKo Taylor ` An Audience With The Queen

The Top of the Hour 5-Minute Mini Blues Concert Presents
Presents “Eddie Cleanhead Vinson at Newport”

MAY 5-6, 2012

 Buddy Guy now has an official Ebay Store… At the Buddy Guy Ebay Store, you can get autographed copies of LP’s, CD’s, DVD’s, you can even get a poka dot Fender Stratacaster that Buddy Plays…. I’m sure it’s a copy of one……and you can bid on rare unique art by Morgan Smith autographed by Buddy Guy…. The Blues meets High Tech…. I love it…..

The Jus Blues Awards show is August 1^st through the 3^rd…..

You can go on line now at Jus Bluesmusic.org and vote on your favorite artist in different genre of the blues and southern soul…..There are 16 categories that you can vote on, and one in particular caught my eye…. It’s Best On-Line Blues and Soul Radio Show, and to my surprise, there is Rojene Bailey and BluesTime In The City… OK, we do have a pod cast up… But the next category is Best Blues and Soul Radio Show… Rojene Bailey and BluesTime in the city is not there…. What’s Up With That???….. We’re more on air than on Line…. Don’t know the rationale behind that, But as they say in the industry, it’s nice to be nominated…. Go to JusBluesmusic.org and cast your vote in the 16 categories….The Jus Blues Awards show is August 1^st through the 3^rd   in Memphis TN…..

WHERE THEY AT WHERE THEY AT:

Friday, May 11 in Vicksburt Mississippi….Mother Day Friday…Sir Charles, Tre Williams, Omar Cunningham, Calvin Richardson, Stevie J, Sweet Angel….

Friday, May 11 in Pittsburgh…Lee Fields

May 11…Grenada MS…T.K. Soul, Mr. Sam, Chris Ivy…

Sat May 12, Clarksdale MS…T.K. Soul, Steve Perry, Chris Ivy…

Sat May 12, Pomonkey MD…Big G… Jesi Terrell…Certified Slim

May 12 in Monroe LA…Sir Charles…Mel Waiters…Kenny Wayne…Latimore and Ms Jody

May 9^th through May the 16^th… B.B. King is on tour in Canada… He’s in about 6 cities through Canada…..

Sunday Mothers Day….Laurel MS….Sir Charles…T.K. Soul…Mel Waiters…Ms Jody…Latimore…..Kenny Wayne and Terry Wright…

Sun May 13 in Darlington SC…Roy C…Sir Jonanthan Burton, The Love Doctor and Maurice Wynn…..

May 13 in Jackson MS…..Willie Clayton….Denise LaSalle…Vick Allen…Calvin Richardson….Lacee…Shirley Jones…

May 13 in Whitehall AL…..Jeff Floyd…O.B. Buchana…Karen Wolfe….The Klass Band, and more….

Sunday May 13 in Slidell LA…Mel Waiters…

May 16 in St Louis Missouri…Chuck Berry…

May 19 in Pomonkey MD… Chick Willis and Bobby Parker and many more…

May 19 in Greensboro NC… Carolina Blues Festival… Eric Gale, ….and Bnois King, EG Kight and many more….

And the Hole In The Wall Juke Joint Shout Out this week goes to (The Hole… In Hooks Texas..) Don’t know where it is… or what they do… and may not want to go in the bathroom….But we do know they have lots of fun at The Hole in Hooks Texas.….

And that my friends is the bluesnews from the world of the bluesblues….And Where They At…Where They At….

FOR APRIL 28-29, 2012

 It was announced last week that the Jus Blues Music Foundation and Carl Marshall worked out an agreement to make the song ‘Jus Blues’ the official song for The Jus Blues Music Foundation Awards program in Memphis in August….A third of the profits from the song Jus Blues will benefit the Blues Music Foundation……

It was announced in Greenwood Mississippi last week, and a ceremony was held for Early Blues DJ’s in Mississippi are getting markers on the Mississippi Blues Trail…. Some of the early Black DJs that played a role in the music of Mississippi are Early Wright, Ike Turner, Charles Evers, and Bruce Payne, just to name a few…. These names will be placed on a markers throughout the state of Mississippi…. This Mississippi Blues Trail is a very impressive project.  Throughout the entire state, you can see the history of the musicians that created the blues, the stations that played the blues, the record companies that recorded the blues, and much more of the blues history of Mississippi…The entire history of the Blues in and out of the state of Mississippi is referenced on these markers… Now, you can see some of the early DJ’s that played the blues are being referenced on these markers……

WHERE THEY AT WHERE THEY AT:

Friday, May 4 in Gulfport Mississippi….Sir Charles Jones Birthday Bash…

Friday, May 4 in Thackersville Oklahoma….Al Grit Green (we just though we’d throw that in)

May 5^th on the Campus of Northwestern University at the School of Law…Otis Clay…

Saturday May 5^th in Dallas…Willie Clayton and Lil Jimmie..

May 3^rd in Wichita Kansas and May 5^th in Memphis TN…Buddy Guy will be there..

Wednesday May 9^th in Chicago…It’s Lee Fields

Friday May 11^th in Vicksburg Mississippi..It’s a Mother’s day special with Sir Charles, Omar Cunningham, Calvin Richardson, Sweet Angel, Stevie J and many more…

Saturday May 12 in Clarksdale Mississippi, another Mother’s Day Special….T.K. Soul and Steve Perry…

Sunday, May 13^th (mothers day) in Darlington SC…Roy C, Sir Jonanthan Burton, The Love Doctor and many more….

Sunday May 13^th in Jackson MS….Willie Clayton, Lacee, Denise LaSalle, Vick Allen, Calvin Richardson and Shirley Jones..

Sunday, May 13^th in Whitehall Alabama, O.B. Buchana, Jeff Floyd, Karen Wolfe, and The Klass Band,

May 19…Greensboro NC, It’s the Carolina Blues Festival….Eric Gale, Smokin Joe Kubec and Bnois King, EG Kight, and many more…emailer asked about this festival

And the Hole In The Wall/Juke Joint Shout Out this week goes to (The Excellior Club in Charlotte NC….)

If you have a hole in the wall in your town that you want a shout to go to…just reach out to me at ro@bluestimeinthecity.com….

And that my friends is the bluesnews from the world of the bluesblues….And That’s Where They At…Where They At….

The Top of the Hour 5-Minute Mini Blues Concert Presents Muddy Waters….Muddy Mississippi Waters Live