[Harp-L] What got me started.....

[tomsmics]

In the Summer of 1967 I was a beach lifeguard on a crew that included a fine
looking 22 year old woman who had recently relocated east from San
Francisco.  She brought copies of Rolling Stone Magazine with her, and there
was a story in one issue about how Butter felt the Doors paid lip-service to
the blues.  As a Doors fan (introduced to them by Jay Thomas, who was
hosting an AM show locally, playing deep album cuts and anything else he
wanted to program-=-but that's another story) who had heard or owned their
stuff, I wondered what that was all about.  

 

So I went right out and bought the first Butterfield album.  I remember my
Dad wandering into my room the first day I was listening, telling me that
"those guys really have the Chicago blues down";  he had spent a lot of time
in Chicago listening to jazz and blues before we moved to FLA.  

 

I was hooked.  But had to know more, and started to look for the original
recordings of the songs on that first Butter LP.  You know what follows.

 

Nearly 50 years later I'm STILL listening to that stuff (Butter just
yesterday), and I'm just as amped about playing now as I was for all  the
years I had/played in bands.  In fact, I just bought one of Tony Ayer's
Major Cross instruments and am having a blast with it playing everything
from jazz tunes to the Star Wars theme.  And I'm itchin' to get out and play
live again.

 

But there's still nothing like Butter. Please cue "Born Under A Bad Sign"
from the live sessions done for the Singer Sewing Company radio
broadcast...incredible..TOM