Bob Stroger & The Headcutters - Bob Is Back!

Album: Bob Is Back!
Size: 101,8 MB
Time: 43:49
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2025
Styles: Blues, harmonica blues
Art: Front

1. Look Over Yonder Wall (2:50)
2. Champagne And Reefer (3:33)
3. Jazz Man Blues (3:53)
4. Don't You Lie To Me (3:35)
5. My First Love (3:06)
6. Loan Me Train Fare (3:28)
7. Thinking And Drinking (3:43)
8. Bob Is Back In Town (4:35)
9. Love You Baby (2:57)
10. Bob Is Back (3:45)
11. Gold Tailed Bird (4:26)
12. Let The Good Times Roll (3:54)

Bob Is Back! is Bob Stroger’s second album as a leader on Delmark Records, and the second with Bob’s favorite Brazilian blues partners, The Headcutters. After the huge success of “That’s My Name”, their first Delmark album, Bob, Joe, Ricardo, Cavera and Catuto decided to go into the studio again, this time with the addition of rising star pianist Ben Levin as a guest musician. The result is this “Bob Is Back!” - another selection of “old school blues” sure to delight audiences around the world.

In recent years Bob Stroger has received the Jus’ Blues Music Award, won several polls as Best Bass Player, including the prestigious Living Blues Award, was awarded a Lifetime Tribute at the Chicago Blues Festival, and the release of this new album aligns with Bob Stroger’s upcoming induction into the Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis, TN. The right thing at the right moment.

Personnel: Bob Stroger (bass, vocals); Joe Marhofer (harmonica); Ricardo Maca (guitar); Arthur Catuto (bass); Leandro Cavera (drums). Special guests: Ben Levin (piano, organ); Candice Ivory, Renée Gros (backing vocals).

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Bob Stroger & The Headcutters - That's My Name (Feat. Luciano Leaes)

Size: 122.8 MB
Time: 52:30
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2022
Styles: Electric Blues, Harmonica Blues
Art: Front

01. What Goes On In The Dark (3:47)
02. Just A Bad Boy (3:19)
03. CC Rider (4:07)
04. I'm A Busy Man (4:31)
05. Come On Home (3:28)
06. Move To The Outskirts Of Town (5:19)
07. Keep Your Hands Off Her (3:33)
08. Something Strange (3:18)
09. Stranded In St. Louis (4:47)
10. Pretty Girl (3:04)
11. Talk To Me Mama (4:04)
12. Just A Dream (4:53)
13. That's My Name (4:18)

Bob Stroger, Chicago's most prolific blues batsman has worked with a cavalcade of legends, from Otis Rush to Jimmy Rogers, Sunnyland Slim, Louisiana Red, Snooky Pryor and many others, earning Blues Music Awards in 2011 and 2013. He has performed on over 30 Delmark albums, and at the age of 92, he has joined forces with Brazil's The Headcutters for his first solo Delmark album, "That's My Name" which will be released on February 18. "That's My Name" is receiving huge interest on blues radio - it's week it is #1 on Airplay Direct.

Stroger was born on a Missouri farm, and his family arrived in Chicago when he was 16, settling into an apartment behind Silvio's nightclub. A self-taught guitarist, he formed a family band (The Red Tops) before joining Eddie King's band. In the late 70s he began touring with Otis Rush, ultimately playing on his "Live in Europe" and "Lost in the Blues". His work as a session musician brought him together with Sunnyland Slim, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Carey Bell and Pinetop Perkins.

For twenty-two years The Headcutters have been building their own blues scene in and around the sunny beach town of Itajaí in the state of Santa Catarina. They looked and sounded quite incongruous in their suits, with their vintage amps and guitars, singing traditional Chicago blues in English, but they persevered, sparked by their deep passion for the genre. Along the way they have toured in Argentina, all across Brazil and the US. They have backed great blues artists such as Billy Branch, Kim Wilson, Mud Morganfield, Eddie C Campbell. Just don't call Joe Marhofer and Ricardo Maca of The Headcutters bluesmen. In Joe's words, "we are just four white guys from Brazil, and we could never call ourselves a bluesman -- that belongs to the African American greats."

"That's My Name" was produced by Stroger and the Headcutters in Brazil in 2019 and 2020. It's 13 tracks include 5 originals by Stroger and versions of some of his favorite songs by Big Big Broonzy, Ma Rainey, Eddie Taylor, Jay McShann and others.

That's My Name (Feat. Luciano Leaes) MP3
That's My Name (Feat. Luciano Leaes) FLAC

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Bob Stroger & His Blues Legends - In The House: Live At Lucerne Vol. 1

Size: 157,0 MB
Time: 67:39
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2002
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Introduction By Fritz Jakober ( 0:07)
02. Talk To Me Mama ( 5:47)
03. Stranded In St. Louis ( 6:28)
04. Lovin' Man ( 5:27)
05. Extension 309 (10:37)
06. Gonna Make Some Changes ( 7:05)
07. Loan Me Train Fare ( 6:08)
08. Heads Up ( 6:09)
09. Thinking And Drinking ( 6:49)
10. Going To Chicago ( 8:37)
11. Keep Your Hands Off Her ( 4:19)

Bob Stroger, bass player and blues vocalist, was born in the state of Missouri. He moved to Chicago in 1955 where he lived in the back of of a night club on the westside. Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters were regulars there. 'It Looked like they were having a lot of fun, and I made up my mind that what I wanted to do was play music,' Bob remembers. A veteran of the Chicago blues music scene, Bob has recorded and worked with a long list of contemporaries. In 1998, Bob and an all-star group of fellow musicians played the 'Lucerne Blues Festival'. The recordings from those nights in Switzerland are now released as Bob Stroger's first album under his own name. Bob's supported by first-rate musicians, including in-demand session piano player and 'Delmark' recording artist, Ken Saydak and his trio, the soulful guitar of another 'Delmark' regular, James Wheeler, and Billy Flynn who's one of greatest today when it comes to soulful blues (slide)guitar playing. Swinging and groving Chicago style blues at its best!

In The House

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Dominic Schoemaker & Bob Stroger - The Soundfarm Session

Size: 67,0 MB
Time: 28:47
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Just A Little Bit (3:38)
02. Talk To Me Mama (5:44)
03. I Feel So Good (4:33)
04. Going To Chicago (6:09)
05. Every Day I Have The Blues (4:17)
06. Blind Man Blues (4:22)

Dominic Schoemaker has already shared the stage with Philipp Fankhauser, Aynsley Lister and Marc Broussard, toured Chicago from bar to bar with Blues legend Bob Stroger, won the 2016 Promo Blues Night in Basel and been a finalist of the Swiss Blues Challenge 2017.

Prior to that, Schoemaker had spent eight years as a member of various blues bands, learning his craft and developing his talent for lead and rhythm guitar. For the last 2 years, he has been on tour with his own band and thrilling audiences with his showmanship and instrumental ability. Schoemaker’s guitar playing shows a maturity beyond his years: exceptional tone and phrasing, subtle, yet incendiary when required. Little surprise then, he is considered to be one of the most promising newcomers on the Swiss Blues scene.

On November 23, 2018, his first longplay album “That’s Cold” was released with six original compositions and two songs by multiple Grammy award winner Dennis Walker. In 2020 see the release of the EP "The Soundfarm Session", which was recorded live in the studio together with Chicago's Bob Stroger.

The Soundfarm Session

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Bob Stroger & James Wheeler - Live Sessions At MJ Pub

Year: 2013
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:35
Size: 160,2 MB
Styles: Blues, Chicago blues
Scans: Front

1. Guitar Jump (4:37)
2. Look At Yonder Wall (4:24)
3. Stranded In St. Louis (10:27)
4. I Heard You (6:16)
5. You're Sweet (15:41)
6. G Shuffle (4:56)
7. Going Down Slow (9:27)
8. Sweet Home Chicago (8:18)
9. Jazz Man (5:25)

Bob Stroger (born December 27, 1930) is an American electric blues bass guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has worked with many blues musicians, including Eddie King, Otis Rush, Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor, Eddy Clearwater, Sunnyland Slim, Louisiana Red, Buster Benton, Homesick James, Mississippi Heat, Snooky Pryor, Odie Payne, Fred Below, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, and Billy Davenport. In 2011 and 2013, Stroger was granted a Blues Music Award as Best Blues Bassist. /Wikipedia

Blues guitarist James Wheeler was born in Albany, GA, on August 28, 1937. His earliest musical influences were the big bands of the time, especially Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, and his first idol, Louis Jordan. Following his older brother Golden, Wheeler moved to Chicago in 1956. Golden had started playing harmonica in the clubs, becoming friends with many blues musicians, including Little Walter. It was after the move to Chicago that James Wheeler picked up the guitar and started jamming with local musicians. Wheeler's first big break came when he played guitar with Billy Boy Arnold, which lead to the formation of the Jaguars in 1963, backing up B.B. King, Millie Jackson, O.V. Wright, and Otis Clay. /Excerpt from biography by Al Campbell, AllMusic

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Snooky Pryor - Snooky

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:49
Size: 93.5 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1987
Art: Front

[2:33] 1. Broke And Hungry
[3:55] 2. Nine Below Zero
[4:16] 3. Judgment Day
[3:51] 4. Why You Want To Do Me Like That
[3:19] 5. It Hurts Me Too
[2:30] 6. Look What You Do To Me
[3:48] 7. Cheatin' And Lyin'
[3:34] 8. Crazy 'bout My Baby
[2:52] 9. Key To The Highway
[3:44] 10. That's The Way To Do It
[3:35] 11. Money And Women
[2:48] 12. Don't Worry 'bout Me

Bass – Bob Stroger; Drums – Willie Smith; Guitar – Steve Freund; Vocals, Harmonica – Snooky Pryor.

An outstanding comeback effort by Chicago harp pioneer Snooky Pryor, whose timeless sound meshed well with a Windy City trio led by producer/guitarist Steve Freund for this set. Mostly Pryor's own stuff -- "Why You Want to Do Me like That," "That's the Way To Do It," "Cheatin' and Lyin'" -- with his fat-toned harp weathering the decades quite nicely. ~Bill Dahl

Snooky

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Sunnyland Slim - Be Careful How You Vote

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:17
Size: 94.5 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1989
Art: Front

[4:40] 1. You Can't Have It All
[3:08] 2. Workin' Two Jobs
[3:47] 3. Have A Good Day Now
[4:13] 4. Chicago Jump
[4:48] 5. Past Life
[3:36] 6. Be Careful How You Vote
[3:47] 7. Johnson Machine Gun
[5:01] 8. Speak Once And Think Twice
[4:06] 9. Midnight Jump
[4:08] 10. Patience Like Job

Lurrie Bell/Guitar; Beau Biley/Trombone; Sam Burckhardt/Sax (Tenor); Chico Chism/Drums; Fred Grady/Drums; Nick Holt/Bass; Eddie Lusk/Organ; Magic Slim/Guitar; Mickey Martin/Drums; Hasson Miah/Drums; John Riley/Bass; Bob Stroger/Bass; Hubert Sumlin/Guitar; Sunnyland Slim/Composer, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals; Eddie Taylor/Guitar.

This CD reissues a variety of recordings cut by the veteran blues pianist/vocalist Sunnyland Slim during 1981-83 for his private label Airway Records. In his mid-70s at the time, Slim's energetic vocals and powerful piano playing belie his age. As is typical of the pioneer Chicago bluesman, he allocated plenty of solo space to his sidemen (which include Hubert Sumlin, Eddie Taylor, Lurrie Bell or Magic Slim on guitar) although there was never any doubt about who was in control. The intelligent lyrics, high musicianship, mood variation (including two excellent instrumentals) and spirited playing make this a highly enjoyable and recommeded date despite the LP-length playing time. ~Scott Yanow

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Detroit Jr. - Blues On The Internet

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:14
Size: 140.2 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[4:24] 1. Call My Job
[2:45] 2. Hot Pants Baby
[5:42] 3. Weak Spot
[3:40] 4. Money Crazy
[3:38] 5. Less Violence, More Love
[3:51] 6. Love No One But You
[3:32] 7. Rockin' After Midnight
[5:23] 8. Somebody Better Do Something
[3:57] 9. Just You My Love
[2:31] 10. When It Comes To Your Love
[6:51] 11. Blues On The Internet
[2:29] 12. Messin' With The Kid
[3:17] 13. Which One Of Us You Want To Please
[4:58] 14. Man Around The House
[4:09] 15. Party All Night Long

Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Eric Schneider; Bass – Bob Stroger; Drums – Kenny Smith; Guitar – Jimmy Dawkins, Lurrie Bell, Maurice John Vaughn, Willie Davis; Horns – Sonny Cohn; Piano, Vocals – Detroit Junior.

Veteran blues pianist (and longtime Howlin' Wolf sideman) Emery Williams Jr. -- known professionally as Detroit Junior -- has had a renaissance of sorts in the past decade, releasing three albums on Blue Suit Records, and now this one, Blues on the Internet, on Delmark Records. Williams is a throwback to the classic Chicago blues piano style, and his warm, expressive vocals fall somewhere between a hoarse Ray Charles and a latter-day Bob Dylan, while his songwriting, although hardly innovative, is solid and workmanlike, avoiding most of the obvious blues clichés. His intent isn't to move blues into the 21st century so much as preserve the way it was played in Chicago in the 1950s (where Williams played alongside the likes of Jimmy Reed, Eddie Boyd, Eddie Taylor, and Little Mack Simmons), and he succeeds wonderfully on original tracks here like his signature tune, "Call My Job," "Money Crazy," and "Somebody Better Do Something," as well as a nice cover of Lowell Fulson's "Rockin' After Midnight." The disc also includes a Quicktime video of Williams, along with a short interview. Fans of vintage Chicago blues piano will find this collection a delight, while listeners looking for gutbucket electric guitar leads will be better served turning elsewhere. ~Steve Leggett

Blues On The Internet

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Jose Luis Pardo - Ruccula For Dracula

Size: 137,6 MB
Time: 58:44
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Soul
Art: Front

01. Talkin' 'Bout My Baby (Feat. Kenny Wayne) (5:09)
02. Girl, Come Home (6:23)
03. J L Shuffle (Feat. Bob Stroger) (4:59)
04. Happy As A King (4:44)
05. Don't Treat Me This Way (5:46)
06. The Dirty Story Of Dirty D (4:14)
07. All You Got To Do (Feat. Vasti Jackson) (4:41)
08. I'll Go On (Without Your Love) (4:11)
09. Blues For Brenda (3:06)
10. Don't Leave Me (feat. Doug James) (5:38)
11. Ruccula For Dracula (4:14)
12. Walkaway (3:08)
13. Mabelle (2:25)

"Ruccula for Dracula" is the nineth disc of the argentine singer, guitarist and composer.
Pardo has been touring worldwide for the last 15 years, with his own project or playing as a sideman for american Blues artists like Michael Burks, Vasti Jackson, Kenny Wayne, Jimmy Burns, Bob Stroger just to mention a few.

Rolling Stone Magazine said " Pardo reminds us of Robert Cray, Clapton or John Mayer but with a new and disctintive approach"

In this album Pardo gets back to his Blues roots after flirting with spanish original "pop" tunes in his last record " 13 formas de limpiar una sartén" (2014)

The virtuous guitarrist found an exquisite balance between the search of fresh sounds and the Blues
Pardo is joined by american legends Kenny Blues Boss Wayne, Vasti Jackson, Bob Stroger and Doug James to make this record even better.

The CD was recorded mainly at Escuela de Blues de Madrid Studios and produced entirely by Jose Luis Pardo. The artist is also the principal of the Madrid Blues School since it´s been founded in 2011

In this new recording, 35 years old Pardo, shows his unique and personal approach to the guitar playing that mixes influences from Mississippi John Hurt to Al Greeny, from Jimmie Vaughan to James Brown and everything in between.

Ruccula For Dracula

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Mark Hummel - Heart Of Chicago

Year: 1997
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:53
Size: 130,0 MB
Styles: Harmonica blues
Scans: Full

1. My Kind Of Baby (3:48)
2. Rockin' At The Riverside (4:08)
3. Lost A Good Man (2:58)
4. Rollin' From Side To Side (6:12)
5. Trying To Make A Living (3:38)
6. Love Shock (3:48)
7. I Want Your Love (3:35)
8. Peaches Tree (4:00)
9. Step Back Baby (3:25)
10. But I Forgive You (3:41)
11. Out On A Limb (5:19)
12. Ready For Eddie (4:24)
13. Drinkin' Again (3:32)
14. Living With The Blues (3:17)

Harmonica player, songwriter, and singer Mark Hummel is a practitioner of the West Coast blues style, which typically includes elements of jazz and swing. A seasoned bandleader, Hummel achieved wider recognition through nearly constant touring. Hummel was born in New Haven, Connecticut but raised in Los Angeles, California. He became fascinated with the blues-rock of Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and the Rolling Stones. After seeing songwriter credits on the albums, he began to dig further back into those bands' blues roots. He began playing harmonica in his teens in order to be different from the huge pack of guitar players in his high school.

Hummel studied the styles of the Chicago-based players, including James Cotton, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Walter "Shakey" Horton, and Little Walter Jacobs. Hummel moved to Berkeley, California in 1972 and played with local bluesmen there, including Boogie Jake, Cool Papa, Johnny Waters, and Sonny Lane. After graduating high school, he hitchhiked around the country for three years, making stops in New Orleans, Boston, and Chicago to learn from those cities' top players. In 1980, he formed the Blues Survivors, subsequently performed at numerous blues festivals around the U.S., including the Chicago Blues Festival and the San Francisco Blues Festival. /Excerpt from AllMusic biography by Richard Skelly

Personnel: Mark Hummel (vocals, harmonica), Billy Flynn (guitar, slide guitar), Steve Freund (guitar, background vocals), Dave Myers (guitar), Barrelhouse Chuck (piano), Willie "Big Eyes" Smith (drums), Bob Stroger (bass).

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Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith - Way Back

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:19
Size: 108.3 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 2006/2014
Art: Front

[4:07] 1. Don't Say That No More
[4:17] 2. I Don't Trust You Man
[3:01] 3. Read Way Back
[4:03] 4. Tell Me Mama
[3:40] 5. If You Don't Believe I'm Leaving
[4:48] 6. Lowdown Blues
[5:15] 7. Woman's World
[4:12] 8. Don't Start Me Talkin'
[4:40] 9. Blues And Trouble
[2:37] 10. I Want You To Love Me (Trust Me)
[6:34] 11. Eye To Eye

Willie "Big Eyes" Smith is most often recalled as the longtime drummer in the Muddy Waters Band (he occupied the drum chair in the group from 1961 through 1980), but he was a harmonica player well before he was a drummer (his hard-charging harmonica can be heard on Bo Diddley's "Diddy Wah Diddy" from 1955) and he has led his own blues ensembles from time to time. Way Back, a pleasant set recorded in 2005 and produced by Bob Corritore, puts Smith front and center, and while no one would accuse him of being the equal of Muddy Waters as a bandleader, the 73-year-old Smith projects an intangible joy through the 11 songs here, half of which he wrote. Backed by what amounts to a superstar blues band, with the great, unsung Bob Margolin on guitar, a seemingly ageless 93-year-old Pinetop Perkins on piano, and guest shots by James Cotton and others, Smith delivers several variations on the good, old and undeniably durable Chicago blues shuffle, including the opener, a cover of Jimmy Reed's "Don't Say That No More" and a gleeful version of Waters' "Read Way Back," both of which feature Smith's steady and somehow endearingly fragile vocals, and his strong, unhurried harmonica lines. Smith does play drums on a pair of tracks, "Lowdown Blues" and "I Want You to Love Me (Trust Me)," as well, but most of the drumming is from Kenny "Beady Eyes" Smith, Willie's son. The clear highlight is a wonderfully simple, atmospheric, and haunting Willie Smith original, "Blues and Trouble," which builds powerfully on just Smith's vocal and harmonica and Margolin's brilliant electric slide guitar playing. Nothing here is going to reshape the contemporary blues world, and truthfully, these kinds of Chicago blues shuffles have been done a thousand times by a thousand blues bands. But maybe that's the point, actually. Smith is one of the musicians who helped create and shape those rhythms, and this album is evidence that he still knows what to do with them. ~Steve Leggett

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Bob Stroger - 2 albums: Bob Stroger & Friends/Live At The Morris Performing Arts Center (w. Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith)

Stroger was born on a farm outside of Hayti, Missouri, United States, and in 1955 when aged 16 he relocated with his family to Chicago, Illinois. His family settled in an apartment on the West Side in an apartment in the back of Silvio's nightclub. Stroger was inspired by the sights and sounds emanating from the club. Subsequently he was further encouraged to try to have a career in music after being casually employed driving his brother-in-law to play in a blues band alongside J.B. Hutto. Self-taught in the art of guitar playing, Stroger got together a family based band known as the Red Tops, named after wearing black berets with a red circle daubed on top. He moved on to play jazz for a period with Rufus Forman but it was his meeting with Eddie King which started his lengthy career playing blues. Having now adopted playing bass guitar, Stroger played on King's single "Love You Baby" (1965). He backed King for fifteen years before King relocated which caused Stroger to stop his playing for a couple of years.

His interest was rekindled when he was recommended to Otis Rush, whom he backed in the late 1970s and 1980s. He toured Europe with Rush and played on a couple of his albums, "Live in Europe" and "Lost in the Blues". Stroger then became a session musician for a while, and worked with Sunnyland Slim and Mississippi Heat during the late 1980s and early 1990s before joining Odie Payne as the regular rhythm section for the series of American Blues Folk Festivals. Encouraged by Sunnyland Slim, Stroger began singing and writing his own material. In 1996, Stroger played on Mark Hummel's album "Heart of Chicago", and in 1997 he played bass on Golden "Big" Wheeler's album "Jump In". The following year, Stroger played with a group of musicians at the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland. This led to the recording of his debut solo album "In the House: Live at Lucerne Vol. 1" where he was accompanied by Ken Saydak and Billy Flynn. In 2011, the Blues Foundation presented Stroger with a Blues Music Award in the Best Blues Bassist category, and he took home the Best Bassist Award again in 2013.

Album: Bob Stroger & Friends
Year: 2009
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:15
Size: 140,2 MB
Styles: Blues, Chicago blues
Scans: Full

1. I Gone' To Move (10:32)
2. Talk To Me Mama ( 4:18)
3. Sweet Thing ( 3:21)
4. Going To Chicago ( 8:25)
5. Loan Me A Train Fare ( 6:07)
6. Keep Your Hands Off Her ( 4:17)
7. If You Don't Believe I'm Going ( 3:42)
8. Stranded In St. Louis ( 6:32)
9. Fire On The Crossroads ( 3:11)
10. Hear Me Calling ( 4:19)
11. 12 Days Of Rain ( 6:27)

Personnel:
Bob Stroger - bass, vocals
Andy Egert - vocals, harmonica, electric & acoustic guitars
James Wheeler, Billy Flynn - guitar
Robi Schweizer - bass
Ken Saydak, Tino Forlin - piano
Ron Sorin - harmonica
Marty Binder, Martin Stoffner, Tosho Yakkatokuo - drums

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Album: Live At The Morris Performing Arts Center
Year: 2010
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:17
Size: 103,7 MB
Styles: Blues, Chicago blues
Scans: Full

1. Flirting Around (2:18)
2. Look Over Yander Wall (2:40)
3. Key To The Hwy (5:13)
4. Young Woman Sweetheart (6:35)
5. Jammin' (3:47)
6. Womans World (5:07)
7. Last Night (5:53)
8. Born In Arkansas (4:29)
9. Rub My Back (7:13)
10. You Are The One (1:58)

Personnel:
Bob Stroger - bass, vocals
Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith - harmonica, vocals
Little Frank Krakowski - guitar
Jimmy Mayes - drums

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Wild Child Butler - Sho' 'Nuff

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:49
Size: 125.5 MB
Styles: chicago blues
Year: 2001
Art: Front

[5:08] 1. I Got To Go (Sweet Daddy-O)
[3:32] 2. Funky Things
[4:13] 3. Maryanne
[2:19] 4. Slippin' In
[4:28] 5. Can You Use A Man Like Me
[4:54] 6. Loving
[4:20] 7. Achin' All Over
[3:16] 8. Open Up Baby
[6:28] 9. Moaning Moaning
[5:31] 10. You Had Quit Me
[6:51] 11. I Changed
[3:44] 12. It's All Over

WILD CHILD BUTLER - hca/voc, JIMMY D. LANE - gtrs, BOB STROGER - bass.

Butler never was my favorite Chicago style harmonica player. I was disappointed by most of his recordings. This album is different. Not because I had to change my mind concerning his playing, but because the production is superb. You can feel the tension in the studio. Good vibrations. Chicago blues albums of this calibre in the new millennium are rare. ~Amazon

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Snooky Pryor - Shake My Hand

Year: 1999
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:39
Size: 97,9 MB
Styles: Harmonica blues
Scans: Full

1. Shake My Hand (2:27)
2. Work With Me Annie (4:18)
3. Someday Baby (3:07)
4. Tomorrow Night (2:50)
5. Telephone Blues (4:34)
6. In This Mess (3:36)
7. Pistol Packin' Mama (3:16)
8. My Baby (4:29)
9. Headed South (5:43)
10. Jump For Joy (3:34)
11. Don't Like To Brag (4:40)

Veteran harp man Pryor (who claims to be the first to amplify his harmonica) was still capable of some potent blues when he released this album in early 1999. Kicking off with a solo version of Faye Adams' "Shake a Hand" (its lyrics reworked heavily into the title track) that owes a huge debt to idol Sonny Boy Williamson II, Pryor settles into a comfortable groove with a tight little trio behind him consisting of Bob Stroger on bass, Billy Flynn on guitar and Jimmy Tilman on drums. His version of Hank Ballard's "Annie Had a Baby" is so radically different that it almost qualifies as an original, while his covers of Al Dexter's "Pistol Packin' Mama" and Sleepy John Estes' "Someday Baby" stay closer to the originals.

The rest of the set features Snooky's great originals, with the minor-keyed "Headed South", "In This Mess", "Jump for Joy" and a nice remake of his "Telephone Blues" being particular standouts. Simple, no-frills production makes this a modern-day blues album that delivers the wallop of the old singles. /Cub Koda, AllMusic

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Bob Stroger - Bob Is Back In Town

Size: 132,9 MB
Time: 56:58
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2006
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. What Goes On In The Dark (3:58)
02. I'm A Busy Man (3:58)
03. Bob Is Back In Town (5:40)
04. Don't You Lie To Me (3:56)
05. Indigo Bunting (6:02)
06. Just A Sad Boy (3:31)
07. Something Strange (5:38)
08. Stranded In St. Louis (5:52)
09. Blind Man Blues (5:08)
10. I Gotta Move (5:38)
11. Jazz Man Blues (4:21)
12. Key To The Highway (3:11)

After moving to Chicago as a teen in 1955, the great blues bassist Bob Stroger didn't even have to get out of bed in order to hear the music he would wind up spending the rest of his life playing. He lived in the back of a night club on the windy city's west side. Not just any night club, either, this was one that happened to book some blues artists, along the lines of Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters. It probably makes sense that the bass is what he heard first, as it is always the sound of the electric bass which carries the furthest distance, disturbing the most people. Peeking in at the action at the club encouraged Stroger further. Despite the melancholy association of the blues, to Stroger "it looked like they were having a lot of fun and I made up my mind that what I wanted to do was play music," he wrote in a little autobiography on his own website. His older brother-in-law happened to be Johnny Ferguson, who played alongside blues legend J.B. Hutto in a group called the Twisters. While not as important as playing bass, Stroger's first taste of the music business was performing a task that is certainly a foundation of doing a gig: he would drive the Twisters to the club. Improving on his own through steady practice, Stroger got an enthusiastic family band project going with harmonica blowing cousin Ralph Ramey and brother John Stroger, a drummer. A few months later an audition landed this new group a club job, with one little problem. The owner wanted the band in uniforms, so the typically broke and busted bluesmen showed up in black tams with red circles scrawled on the top, announcing that the combo was now officially the Red Tops. Ramey was out of the picture as soon as the new band became in demand for touring work, as his wife would allow no such drifting. Willie Kent was the replacement, and the new group was called Joe Russel & the Blues Hustlers. As for Russel, this was simply a stage name adopted by John Stroger. From here Bob Stroger got into a bit of jazz, working sporadically with Rufus Forman for three years. Meeting guitarist Eddie King in 1969 was the next big development, as the ensuing collaboration became very dear to Stroger, to the point where he stopped playing bass completely for two years following King's decision to relocate. This was after Eddie King & the King Men had been together off and on for about 15 years, followed a few years later by a shorter stint as Eddie King & Babee May & the Blues Machine. All of this firmly established the leader as yet another gripping string choker named King, just what the blues world needed as it has almost as many Kings as the English empire. Morris Pejo was one of the bandleaders who got Stroger going again, leading to an '80s bass assignment backing up the great guitarist Otis Rush. In the following decade, the bassist worked with pianist Sunnyland Slim and Mississippi Heat in what has become much more of a freelance career. Stroger and drummer Odie Payne became the rhythm section for European promoter Horst Lippman, whose productions include the American Blues Folk Festivals. Stroger's discography resembles a stuffed New York deli sandwich, beginning with the first Eddie King single, "Love You Baby" in 1965. He has also recorded with Rush, Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor, Eddie Clearwater, Sunnyland Slim, Lousiana Red, Buster Benton, Homesick James, and Snooky Pryor, among others. Blues rhythm section enthusiasts should enjoy Stroger's personal list of great drummer sidekicks: Odie Payne, Jr., Fred Below, S.P. Leary, Ted Harvey, K.C. Jones, Robert Covington, Sam Lay, Jessie Green, Willie "Big Eye" Smith, Jim Telmin, and Billy Davenport. ~Biography by Eugene Chadbourne

Thanks to Marc.
Bob Is Back In Town

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Otis RUSH - Troubles, Troubles: The Sonet Blues Story

Styles: Modern Electric Chicago Blues,
Recorded: 1977
Released: 2005
File: mp3 @ 320 k/s
Size: 129.20 MB
Time: 54:04
Art: Full

1. Baby What You Want Me To Do? (4:55)
2. Little Red Rooster (4:43)
3. Whole Lotta Lovin' (4:21)
4. Gotta Be Some Changes Made (6:20)
5. You Been An Angel (2:47)
6. You Don't Have To Go (4:22)
7. Troubles, Troubles, Troubles (6:24)
8. Miss You So (3:39)
9. Hold Your Train (5:38)
10. Same Old Blues (2:54)
11. You Been An Angel-alt. (5:06)
12. Same Old Blues-alt. (2:55)

Personnel: Otis RUSH - Guitar, Vocals
Bob Lewis - Guitar
Bob Stroger - Bass
Jesse Lewis Green - Drums

Notes: This album was originally recorded for Sonet, but is probably better known through its re-release in US, as "Lost In The Blues" by Alligator. "Lost In The Blues" was justifiably criticized because of the decision to have Lucky Peterson overdub a bunch of keyboards in order to give it a more "contemporary" (read: more Alligator) sound.

This release is of the original album (with two bonus alternate takes) without all the overdubbing, and is a vast improvement over the Alligator version. But how does it stand as an Otis Rush album? It's a very good set - perhaps "comfortable" says it best - recorded with Rush's longstanding band of Bob Levis on rhythm guitar, Bob Stroger on bass, and Jesse Lewis Green on drums (despite what the package says). Recorded during an afternoon at a Stockholm studio while on tour, the band is tight and Rush's guitar and vocals are both in fine form, but the set seems to be lacking the fire that makes Otis Rush such a riveting performer when he's on his game. It's not really that he's going through the motions, because there is some passion to the performances. They just seem, well, comfortable, offering what's expected but little more on this set of covers (with none of Rush's signature tunes). Maybe it was the afternoon recording time, maybe it was the lack of an audience, but Rush just doesn't take it up to the next level the way he's able to. That's really the story of his recording career in microcosm. Considering his very inconsistent discography, you can put this one in the "good" column, but there are several Otis Rush albums you should own before this one. ~~ by Sean Westergaard.

                                                              Troubles, Troubles
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James WHEELER - Can't Take It / Ready!

Born in Albany, Georgia, Wheeler joined his brother, Golden 'Big' Wheeler, in Chicago at the age of 19. He immediately began playing guitar, inspired by Freddie King, and within a few years was playing fulltime in clubs with Joe Carter, initially on bass, later on guitar. From the early '60s to early '70s he was in an R&B band, The Jaguars, and later worked with Otis Clay, Buddy Scott, Otis Rush (1986-92), Mississippi Heat (1992-96), Magic Slim (1997-2000) and Willie Kent. He has recorded with Aaron More too.

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Album: CAN'T TAKE IT
Styles: Modern Electric Chicago Blues
Recorded: 1999
Released: 2000
Bitrate: 320k/s
Size:  169.08 MB
Time: 72:40
Art: Full

1. Who Loves You Baby? - 3:36        
2. Wasting My Time - 5:04        
3. The Weaker Sex - 4:04        
4. This Can't Be Happening To Me - 7:20        
5. Sometimes - 5:29        
6. She's Gonna Pay - 5:42        
7. Come Home - 3:31        
8. You Make It Hard Baby - 7:58        
9. I Can't Take It - 4:50        
10. These Hard Hard Times - 5:14        
11. Goin' To The Station - 5:36        
12. My Baby's Gone - 3:59        
13. Where Did You Stay Last Night? - 6:55        
14. Sweet Thang - 3:22

Personnel: James WHEELER - Guitar, Vocals
Billy Flynn - Guitar
Ken Saydak - Piano
Ron Sorin - Harmonica
Bob Stroger - Bass
Marty Binder - Drums

Note: Cant Take It is the second release from Chicago blues guitarist James Wheeler. Backed by pianist Ken Saydak, guitarist Billy Flynn (heard on the right channel), bassist Bob Stroger, drummer Marty Binder, and harp player Ron Sorin taking the place of James brother Golden Big Wheeler on this session. Wheeler's guitar playing is consistently flashy through this set, while other bright moments include Flynn's twangy solo on the dirty blues "You Make It Hard Baby" and Saydak's funky organ playing on the lazy shuffle "Goin to the Station." Wheeler isn't the strongest vocalist around but he gets his message across on tracks like "This Can't Be Happening to Me," "My Baby's Gone," and "I Can't Take It."

                                                                 Can't Take It
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Album: READY!
Styles: Modern Electric Chicago Blues 
Recorded: 1997
Released: 1998
Bitrate: 320k/s
Size:  154.74 MB
Time: 66:46
Art: Full

1. Ready - 4:43
2. This Old Freight Train - 6:12
3. Gonna Make Some Changes - 3:40
4. My Key Won't Fit That Lock No More - 5:02
5. Cold Hearted Woman - 5:05
6. Blues At Midnight - 6:59
7. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl - 4:06
8. Bad Girl - 3:44
9. Extension 309 - 6:36
10. I'm Just Your Fool - 3:41
11. My Baby's Comin' Home - 3:21
12. Hound Dog - 8:45
13. Looking For My Baby - 4:04

Personnel: James WHEELER - Guitar, Vocal
Billy Flynn - Rhythm Guitar
Ken Saydak - Piano
Bob Stroger - Bass
Vernon Rodgers - Drums
and:
Golden 'Big' Wheeler - Harmonica tr.2,10
Gloria Thompson-Rodgers - Vocal tr.8

Notes: James Wheeler, begin the notes on 'Ready!', 'is a quiet man'. You might guess as much. Both his singing and his playing are unaggressive, the expressions of a temperate personality. Compared with the strenuous, emphatic music of many of his Chicago colleagues, his has a smooth, unruffled texture that evokes the cool manner of a T-Bone Walker-almost explicity in numbers like 'Extension 309' or 'Hound Dog', which is not the Leiber-Stoller breed but a hound of different colour, sleepy and slow-moving.Nonetheless, this is, for the most part, essentially Chicago-style music, as with these accompanists it could hardly fail to be, and if it taps discreetly at the listener's door rather than shout through the keyhole, there are respectable precedents for that.

                                                                       Ready!
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Sven 'Pee Wee' ZETTERBERG & Friends - Snake In My Bedroom (Blues Meeting In Chicago)

Styles: Modern Electric Chicago Blues
Recorded: 1983/1984
Released: 1983/1984
File: mp3 @ 320 k/s (Vinyl Ripp!)
Size: 174.71 MB
Time: 74:16
Art: Full

1. For You My Love (2:48)
2. I Can't Stop (4:27)
3. When The Cat Is Gone (2:20)
4. Take A Walk With Me (3:29)
5. You Can't Lose What You Never Had (4:37)
6. Snake In My Bedroom (2:15)
7. 'Bout The Break Of Day (4:32)
8. Doing The Dishes (2:50)
9. Blues For An Unhappy Girl (5:56)
10. You Got To Notify Your Lover (3:25)
11. Fine Body (4:04)
12. Tribute To Walter Horton (2:40)
13. Bad Boy (2:57)
14. SGoing Down Slow (3:48)
15. How Long (2:27)
16. Left Handed Woman (4:07)
17. Pee Wee's Boogie (2:04)
18. Tough Times (3:18)
19. My Daddy Was A Jockey (2:49)
20. West Helena Woman (4:42)
21. Got A Thing Goin' On (2:16)
22. True Love (2:25)

Personnel: Sven 'Pee Wee' ZETTERBERG - Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals
SUNNYLAND SLIM - Piano, Vocals
Knut REIERSRUD - Guitar
Tor Einar Jacobsen - Guitar, Bass
'Hungry John' Bernes - Vocals
Kristine Berglund, Zora Young - Vocals
Slim Notini - Piano
Johnny Oakland - Organ
Jan Eric Salater, Bob Stroger - Bass
S.P. Leary, Ray 'Killer' Allison, Carsten Loly - Drums
and others...

Notes: CHICAGO BLUES MEETING: It was started in 1983 when a group of Scandinavian musicians went to Chicago. The plan was to work there, play with American musicians and have recorded a record with American musicians. Before departure was made agreements with the legendary Chess studios, studio where Muddy Waters, Howlin 'Wolf, Chuck Berry and others had made their recordings.
                    Several of Chicago's leading musicians were contacted with a request for participation in the recording, including "The Grand Old Man of Chicago," 80-year-old Sunnyland Slim on piano and vocals. SunnyLand was the man who was responsible for the launch of Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry, and he had a long solo career. A career actually dates back to the 20's. Otherwise, the team found the former drummer for Muddy, S.P. Leary and Bob Stroger (ex. Otis Rush) played the bass. 

This session'en brought for "Blues Meeting In Chicago".

Album was released by Strawberry Records on 1983, received very good reviews when it came out, both at home and abroad. 

The Scandinavian tribe on the recording in Chicago consisted of Knut Reiersrud, Sven Zetterberg, John Magnar "Hungry John" Bernes and Tor Einar "Daumann" Jacobsen.                                             

The stay was very successful and the American musicians were invited on the next year, to Norway and Scandinavia, for a month long tour. The crew was the same as in Chicago, with the exception of drum space. Here was Buddy Guy's right hand, Ray "Killer" Allison, over all.

Also, the tour went very well, and LP # 2 was recorded. It was LP "Chicago Blues Meeting" 1984 of Strawberry Records with Knut Reiersrud. This time in Norway and international press lavished recording with superlatives.      

             

LP # 3, "Snake In My Bedroom" with the same lineup as the previous one, published in the famous British company Red Lightning and distributed worldwide. To released have two added bonus track.    

German Cross Cut records described the disc as the best blues LP ever released in Europe.(sic!!!)

The time has passed and the Chicago Blues Meeting has been resurrected with new members. Repertoire alternates between blues and soul, and with Darryl McDade as vocalist band is right up there in the top league of the current Scandinavian blues. The band poses in Vanse Saturday with eight crew. So here it is cramped for space both on stage and in the concert hall. The musicians are with now besides vocalist McDade, Tor Einar "Daumann" Jacobsen (guitar), Bruce Rasmussen (drums), Wallen Mjaland (bass) and Vidar Bo (piano). In addition, they brought their own horn section called The Fat Back Horn's. This consists of Tore Brathen, Havard putty box.

And now we have ripp of full tracks from Red Lightning-0073 (1988) titled "Snake In My Bedroom" and from "Chicago Blues Meeting" from Strawbery LP on 1984. But you must know - this is not my choice of ripp from this two vinyl's.

This is great example of colaborating by scandinavian musicians with chicago blues legends and this is GREAT MUSIC!

A little precision information will be warmly welcome :-)

This post I dedicated to our close friend of Scandinavian blues, one and only - MrWalker - Thank you Man!
                                         Snake In My Beedrom/Blues Meeting In Chicago
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