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What smoking music are you listening to? (2024)

The First Time I Saw Buddy Guy-

He wasn't the headliner.

It is summer of 1976 in Memphis Tn and I'm stationed at NAS Memphis. Now the base is really about 15 miles outside the city limits but you had to make the trip if you wanted to find anything authentic and not touristy. Once you got away from Graceland, Overton Square and Beale street there were still places you could find that started out as speakeasys and Juke Joints during Prohibition. Places you could still buy moonshine and peach juice if you became known or came in with a regular. Luckily, another Sergeant was originally from Memphis and knew a guy who knew a guy that knew damn near every place to go in South Memphis, One of those places that was more on the white side of things was Bad Bob's Redneck Lounge. Now it really was named Bad Bob's Saloon and if you were white that is what you called it. If not it was the Redneck Lounge.

It just so happened that Junior Wells lived in Memphis until he was 14 and would come back and visit family a couple of times a year. Since there was almost no advance planning he would call a few clubs once in town to see if he could make some money on the side while he was in town. Junior was very popular in Memphis being a hometown boy and Chess recording artist. So much so that Bad Bob's would let him play because he would fill the place.

About half the time Junior would bring 1-3 other musicians with him to split gas, eat southern cooking and just get out of town. Buddy made a number of these trips from the mid 60's to the late 80's and the summer of 1976 was one of them. I wasn't part of the word of mouth communications network. The 3 of us were going to Bad Bob's because it had cheap cold beer and usually free music with no cover if something wasn't announced. This night there was a $2 cover (about $11 now) and when we asked who was playing it was Junior Well and Buddy Guy. I was not into blues as much then as I am now so I had heard of both of them but not heard either of them while the guys I was with had no idea who they were. With a little nudging they agreed to pay the cover and stay for the first set at least. We got to the club just before 7 and the first set didn't start until 9:30 so by that time we weren't going anywhere. The audience seemed to be 85/15 black to white but we were northern whites and somehow better then the locals - it was noticeable.

The show started with Junior just shredding the harp with Buddy following along note for note. The local drummer and bass player tried to keep up and once some of the slower blues numbers were play the band sounded like they had been together for years. The place was packed, so much so that when you stood up from the table you had to scan the room to see how you were going to get to where you wanted to go, The second set started at midnight and the dancers were spilling out of the dance floor and into what few aisles there were. Black girls coming up and asking what types of moves we had with the answer being the very obvious very bad to none but had a good time trying anyway.

The bars can stay open until 4AM in Memphis and I know there was a third set that I don't remember at all nor do I know how we got back to the base. If how I felt Sunday morning meant anything that was as close to having too much fun as I've ever had.

This is one of the classic Chicago blues albums that any fan should own. I'd also recommend Alone And Acoustic which you can find on YT.

(full album)
 
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Had to have a dose of willie Nelson. You want to hear some sweet country fiddle and great steel guitar hang loose to the "bridge", damn that is sure pretty. Heck out Cold Cold Heart.
 
tomthirtysix said:
Put together a 2 hour Bob Marley playlist to enjoy the sun, playing on the JBL partybox on the left in the pic here

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Today's Smoke 2024

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Got 4 posts out of this pic. Happy Sunday everyone!
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HUGE Bob fan, even named my first Great Dane after him, 20 years ago. Have yet to see the new movie though.


This one started my love for the Smashing Pumpkins. I think I saw them 15 times, starting in 1992 through 1997.

 
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