American Blues News - "Dedicated to the promotion and celebration of the Blues."

(Memphis, Tennessee) One of the world's most memorable blues shows was held this week in celebration of the 80th birthday of blues singer Bobby Blue Bland and his old friends and musical guests pulled out all the stops to honor him with songs and accolades. It all took place in Tunica, Mississippi, at Sam's Town casino. The line-up was most impressive and the performances and bands played flawlessly throughout the evening. At the end of the evening we were enthralled by songs from b.B King and Bobby bland and then a couple of songs from the birthday guest by himself. Having seen B.B. and Bobby in 1976 and playing with B.B. in Memphis in 1981 I was a bit concerned to see how the two had held up over this much time and I was genuinely moved by their great performances on this magic night.

The picture above is Junior Parker, Elvis and Bobby Blue Bland in 1957



The night began with rising BLUES star Grant Garland and a top notch band led by bobby Bland's son, Rodd, who is a frequent performer on Beale Street. Rodd was a member of Corey Osborn's band which I saw performing at B.B. King's before Corey's unfortunate demise.

My friend Marc Franklin on trumpet, Rodd Bland(Bobby's son) on drums, Grant Garland sings and plays guitar.

Here's a link to Grant's site: http://www.grantgarlandmusic.com/index.html








Bobby Rush, 74, used to swap sets with my band at the Club Paradise in Memphis in the early 1980's. It was one of many stops on what is called the Chitlin' Circuit. He is a genuinely kind man, a talented singer, accomplished harmonica player and one of the last of the great old school showmen. Despite a lifetime of hard traveling and an abundance of talent, he has gained notoriety primarily from his humor and his dancing girls in the past years. Simply stated, Bobby Rush entertains.




J. Blackfoot came on stage with his voice sounding a tiny bit ragged, but after downing a bottle of water, he really poured it on in honor of his old friend, Bobby Bland. This man had a wicked sweet raspy voice, strong high notes and commands the audience like the old pro that he is. I last saw him at Willie Mitchell's Memorial service in Memphis two weeks ago and as he said, he sang Willie on out of this world. He is a remarkable talent.




Taking the stage without his guitar, Lucille, B.B. King arrived to spend some time reminiscing with the crowd and his longtime friend, Bobby Bland. He met Bland in 1948 when he first came to Memphis from Mississippi and their loose-knit group, known as the Beale Streeters consisted of my late friend, Roscoe Gordon, Johnny Ace Alexander(who died on Christmas Day, 1954), and my mentor, B.B.'s drummer, Earl Forest.





I met again this night with Bobby Bland as I was leaving the restroom and he and about 3 of his security team were coming in, pushing Bobby in a wheelchair and urging me outside. He looked up at me, smiled, and said, "How's it going, big man?" I wished him Happy Birthday and let him take care of his business. He is still warm, friendly and always takes a moment for friends and fans. This was one of his best nights in his life and I am delighted I could be there and share a little of it with you.

Bobby Bland is helped on stage. He asked for a lower chair so he could sit even with his old friend, B.B.King. The two cracked jokes for a long time and teased and kidded one another just as if it were still 1948 and they were all living at the Mitchell Hotel(now called Ernestine & Hazel's) on South Main in Memphis.






The two blues greats sing the classic, "If You're Gonna Walk On My Heart, Take Off Your Shoes" by Frederick Knight and Bettye Crutcher. Both men have recorded this tune.





Note the tremendous discography of this great BLUES singer which I have printed at the end of this article. He is not only prolific and beyond talented, literally caressing a song, but in the words of B.B. King, "Bobby is the most versatile of all the great blues singers. He can literally sing anything, blues, jazz, soul, you name it." Bobby Blue Bland is indubitably the finest BLUES singer it has ever been my pleasure to encounter in the past 51 years and I have heard a lot of them.

Bobby Bland recorded many sides at Duke and Peacock Records, which originated in Memphis, was sold to Don Robey and later moved to Houston, Texas. In the 1970's he went on to record for Dunhill and MCA Records and then in 1985 he began a long history with Malaco.





RCT

©Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms, 2010