Homesick Takes An Early Bath
Here’s a funiosity. On the surface this Press Release from some 46 years ago appears to be about a…
Detroit Black Bottom
Black Bottom was a predominantly black neighbourhood in Detroit, Michigan. A lot of folk wrongly believe that it got its…
Eddie C.C. Rider
One Sunday morning, probably in 1984, there was a knock on my front door. I was surprised to find Chicago…
Basie and The Blues
Count Basie in Birmingham (photo by Jim Simpson) A lot of stone blues fans out there are probably unaware of…
Whatever Happened To Billy The Kid?
For a man known for taking every opportunity to cuss out his fellow musicians and anyone else who would pay…
Bob The Bear
Bob ‘The Bear’ Hite was the leader and the singer with the massively successful Canned Heat. Formed in Los Angeles…
Chico’s High-Rise Blues
It’s hard to think of a more appropriate place for a blues musician to be born than on a steamboat…
Muddy’s Men
Photo: Muddy Waters at Birmingham Town Hall, 1964. Copyright Jim Simpson. In honour of Muddy Waters’ birthday on 4th April,…
The Lone Cat
In the early 1960s I was working days as a photographer at Birmingham College of Advanced Technology, now known as…