Browsing: Alligator Records

Alligator Records has set a May 17 release date for ‘Hail To The Kings!,’ the dynamic new album from traditional blues innovators The Cash Box Kings.

“The blues, despite it being the roots of all American music, has always been relegated to an underground status. I was always acutely aware that blues was not on mainstream radio or television except on rare occasions. It has not been given the due that it legitimately deserves.” – Billy Branch

The album, captured at the 2016 Ramblin’ Man Fair in Maidstone, UK, has the loose energy of a live show, but the band is as tight as a military operation. Like they’re storming the English shores while also finding time to see some sights.

Reading Bruce’s memoir ‘Bitten By the Blues’ (University of Chicago Press) co-written by Patrick Roberts for me is like finding a brother’s secret diary under the bed.

One of the last and most accomplished practitioners of the golden 1950s era of Chicago blues, Williams was well-known for his instantly recognizable stinging guitar tone.

Walker, Robson, and Katz do an incredible job perfectly re-creating a classic blues sound. On ‘Journeys to the Heart of the Blues’ they’ve crafted the perfect omelet for your ears.

‘Bitten By the Blues’ takes readers behind the scenes, offering larger than life stories of musicians, recording sessions, and what it’s like to work with the legends of the genre.

Grammy-winning guitarist, vocalist and Blues Hall Of Famer Joe Louis Walker, virtuoso pianist/organist Bruce Katz and next-generation British harmonica ace Giles Robson take listeners on a musical journey of traditional blues.

“I love it when things happen organically, when it’s natural and not forced. That’s what it was like. That was the experience.” – Shemekia Copeland

What Shemekia Copeland does on ‘America’s Child’ is braid blues, folk, Americana, roots and soul, then bend them like a willow in the wind.