Classics! The Blues Legends You Love--and More Bad Movies!
Join us for some primary blues education and more silly movie stuff this week on Time for the Blues (8/26/12) as Henry and I will play nothing but "Classic" blues by the most legendary names! It's a great way to start being a blues fan!
Classics. That’s a word that’s never been used to describe either Henry Cook or me. We’ve been called a lot of things in the past, but that’s not one of ‘em. But every so often we get requests from newcomers to the blues to offer up a show made up entirely of the classics of blues.
That’s impossible to do in just one show, but we’re going to give it the old college try.
See, Henry and I think a lot about classics. What makes something a classic to one person, or even a group of people, and makes the same thing seem like junk to the rest of the world? See, ever since that hoity-toity film magazine Sight and Sound issued its latest list of the 10 Greatest Films and ”Citizen Kane” was dethroned by Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” we’ve been in a little funk. (Decide for yourself, you can see the entire Top Ten list here:Sound and Sight poll.)
Anyone who has ever listened to Time for the Blues more than once (and I know that’s a big stretch for most of you) knows that Henry and I love movies. But we’ve got sort of a skewed view of the art form. We are both drawn to the outcasts and misfits. If you are ever lucky enough to visit Henry’s office, you’ll notice his posters for “Navy vs The Night Monsters” and at least two Elvis movies. Neither of which were included on this recent poll.
My office? That’s actually the dining room table and Mrs. Professor won’t let me hang up my original reproduction Ed Wood posters for “Glen Or Glenda” and “Plan 9 From Outer Space” anywhere where company might see them.
But Blues classics, we’ve got those all over the joint this week. We’ve got Howlin’ Wolf himself teaming up with Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood and a couple of Rolling Stones from the classic London sessions. We’ll hear John Lee Hooker working with Johnny Winter from '91. How about Big Mama Thonrnton joining the Muddy Waters Blues Band from 1966? And it just gets better with the late great Stevie Ray Vaughan recorded live for that amazing PBS show Austin City Limits. You’ll hear more about that on a later show.
Could we have a classics show without Ray Charles? Nope, so he’s here as well as a young B.B. King and Elmore James from his Fire Records Sessions. Want more? How about four of the greatest harpists that ever lived and their connections to one another? We’ve got that as well.
We’ll even play some recent classics by John Hammond, The Legendary Blues Band and Koko Taylor. It’s a primer of the best of the best and it’s coming your way this week! So be sure you get a nap, wash your jammies and stay up late with us! Time for the Blues with John Porter and Henry Cook airs Sundays at 1:00 AM on WCVE Public Radio.
Got a favorite bad movie? Feel free to share it with us and it could be subject for discussion (or a bad joke) on a future show!
Bill:
Thank you very much for your kind and thoughtful letter. Henry and I are always delighted to hear from people who have heard us and who are not asking us to pay back rent, student loans, or alimony. While we always take the music seriously, we try to keep the rest in perspective and laugh at ourselves and much of the world around us. Glad you’ve come along for the journey and we hope we’ll be able to bring a little humor and great music into your life and the life of your friends.
We love the Mystery Science guys. In fact, if we could trade careers with anyone in show business (like anyone would trade with us), it would be those guys. Henry and I love bad movies and we are always on the lookout for new bad flicks to share with our world.
You ask about Halloween and honestly we haven’t planned our show yet. There may be a few “special” songs, but other than that I just don’t know. But we’re always open to suggestions.
Bill, we are really happy to hear about your progress. Our journeys are sometimes long and circuitous, but that’s what defines us. Henry and I stopped walking on the path less traveled and started going where there was no path. Easier to blaze a trail. As an actual college professor who went back to school for another degree when I was already older than both my teachers and the other students in my department, I applaud you for finishing your program and wish you well.
And make sure all your friends listen will ya?
Thanks my friend. Be well, stay strong, and laugh while you can.
John
Aka Professor Johnny P
I've missed you guys. My doctor says I need a full night's sleep on my meds, and now that I finally finished my bachelor's degree (in 2010, at age 51), I haven't had any more (nearly) all-nighters. I think I'll always remember the night I drove back from Chesapeake to the west edge of Richmond, after visiting my old high school room-mate and his family. It was your Halloween special show, with lots of Screamin' Jay, and others. It was a great way to stay away behind the wheel as the miles went by. And last night, after a longer-than-usual night role-playing (We're the Good guys.) in Hopewell, I was still driving, back to my place after dropping off a friend out past the Tyson chicken plant and the new fire house, and you came on. I listened closely, as I really have missed listening to your show. I love the banter you with which you begin your opening, and then your audio collage/montage of tunes kicks in. I really love it. Then you mentioned "Slap Shot." I had never seen "Slap Shot" until that morning. I love Netflix disk subscription! They have let me catch up on some great stuff that I've missed over the years, mostly from being too poor to go to the movies as much as I would have liked. What a coincidence! I watched it twice, the second time with commentary from the hockey players who played the Hanson brothers. Until I heard the commentary (and the separate interview piece), I never would have guessed those weren't all professional actors. I really enjoyed that movie, and it's good to know we have something in common. I'm pretty sure you guys have heard of Mystery Science Theater 3,000. I hope you don't hate them, and the follow-on projects, RiffTrax.com and Cinematic Titanic, for what they do with ... not-so-great movies (They've even taken on "Plan 9" a couple times.). I think you'd enjoy the comments about the actor playing the police detective who GESTURES WITH HIS PISTOL. The Riffers are actually responsible midwesterners, and take the opportunity to speak up for firearms safety, in a humorous, and thus memorable way. One of the reasons I was so late to complete college was decades of clinical depression (thankfully in remission since about 1998), I've met with a group of other people who are brought together by our history of mental illness. Several of us also have in common a love for the blues, and I made sure they knew about "Time for the Blues." At least one had never heard of it. I suggested, and will keep suggesting, that we get together, on occasion, and stay up playing cards, so we can listen to the show. I hope I can get them to listen in for your Halloween show. Please let me know if you're NOT doing something special for Halloween. Well, thanks for reading all this. And thank you for a show that's fun, educational, and good for morale.
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