The KRFC Blues Circus Radio Hour Tribute to Guitar Slim: NOW WITH VIDEO!

The KRFC Blues Circus Radio Hour Tribute to Guitar Slim: NOW WITH VIDEO!

The KRFC Blues Circus Radio Hour is about bringing together amazing artists to celebrate, honor and perform blues music. Some of the best blues players and singers on the planet are involved in this monumental endeavor. John Magnie and Steve Amedee from The subdudes, Erica Brown, West Side Joe and The Men of Soul, Lionel Young, Eric Thorin, Diana Castro, and MJ Johnson and The Hallelujah Horns are all taking part of this special evening paying tribute to the one and only Guitar Slim.

Eddie Jones, otherwise known as Guitar Slim, was born in Greenwood, Mississippi in 1926. His mother died when he was five years old, and he was raised by his grandmother. His time was spent in the cotton fields and juke joints. Growing up, he would often sit in as a singer and dancer whenever he could until he left to serve his country during World War II. After returning from military service, New Orleans bandleader Willie D. Warren introduced him to the guitar. He took it very seriously and honed his craft and unique stye. Around 1950 he adopted the stage name Guitar Slim. He wore bright-colored suits and even dyed his hair to match them. He had an assistant who followed him around the audience with hundreds of feet of cord between his guitar and his amplifier. He even took his guitar outside the club, bringing traffic to a stop. His sound and look were unusual, and he played his guitar with distortion more than a decade before rock guitarists did. On top of all the crazy stage antics, his influences were mainly gospel and blues and particularly T-Bone Walker and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown.

Guitar Slim is a legend, and his influenced the likes of Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughn, to name a few. Jimi and Stevie recorded Slim’s most popular chart-topping hit “The Things That I Used To Do.” The song was released in 1954 and was produced by Ray Charles. It spent several weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B charts and sold over one million copies. “The Things That I used To Do” is recognized as a blues standard today.

Fort Collins was treated to an unbelievable blues show Saturday, March 26, at Washington’s. Jen Parker from KRFC 88.9 FM Radio Fort Collins was the host of the station-sponsored event. John Magnie from The subdudes put this show together with help from his talented friends including two of his bandmates, Steve Amedee and Tim Cook. The flavor these three musicians bring to the table stem from blues, zydeco, rock, and soul. All of the musicians who performed have diverse backgrounds, but the foundation for all of them is the blues. The crowd was excited and ready to dance to a literal gumbo of goodness.

Musicians rotated on and off the stage, covering many blues standards including “Oh Mary Ann,” “CC Rider,” “Dynamite” and many others. Joe Schicke and the Men of Soul played a couple of tunes from their latest album Keep On Climbin’.

The Blues Circus Band told a brief story of Guitar Slim with everybody contributing a piece of his short but storied career. Lionel Young on vocals absolutely crushed Guitar Slim’s most notable hit “The Things That I Used To Do.”

Diana Castro, Peaches Embry, MJ Johnson, and Amanda Hofer all contributed stunning vocals throughout the set, with each musician singing lead vocals on select numbers.

The songs kept coming as did the musicians. Lance Ruby showed up to lend some mind-bending guitar licks as well as Jason Downing on vocals and Harmonica. John Magnie is just a rock on the keyboards, and Greta Cornett, Phuong Nguyen, and Ben Myers were keeping it groovy on horns. Colony Funk was on hand to back up Amanda Hofer on a fiery version of “Tell Mama,” and Erik Lunde and Eric Straumanis rocked the blues classic “I’m Going Down.”

Lionel Young is a powerhouse vocalist and guitar and fiddle player, and his skills were on full display on several numbers. His voice has incredible range and depth. Diana Castro, Erica Brown, MJ Johnson, and Peaches Embry sang with power and passion and delivered an incredible cool vibe the entire night.

Overall the blues was the only item on the menu, and it was played with respect, emotion, and incredible musicianship by all of the artists. The final set was an open jam that was twisting and turning out incredible performances by everyone in the house. What an incredible evening, and apologies if I missed any of you.

Thanks to KRFC, all of the musicians, Washington’s staff and guests, and Christopher Fernald for the great lighting. Below find the video just made available by KRFC Radiovision and a gallery of photos!

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