Happy House no more

Sad to see that the end has come for the Happy House, Bobby Robinson's record store in Harlem, which closed its doors today. The nearby shop owned by Shikulu Shange will be closing soon. Last July The Vinyl Word reported the threat to the store and now this threat has been carried out. Bobby (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Robinson_(record_producer), now 91, is a true legend of R and B, having recorded acts such as Lee Dorsey, the Shirelles and Wilbert Harrison on his Fire and Fury labels and it's tragic that his life's work has been destroyed. What is the world coming to?
Another day and another passing - this time John Stewart, former member of the Kingston Trio and composer of Daydream Believer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stewart_(musician)
At least I have a trip to New Orleans, Memphis and Clarksdale to look forward to. And Porretta looks interesting, with a line up comprising Bishop Joe Simon, Etta James, Mable John, Sugar Pie DeSanto, Henry Butler and Davell Crawford. Davell apparently has his grandfather Sugar Boy Crawford as a special guest. That will be quite a treat as he rarely performs these days. Famous as the originator of New Orleans classic Jock-omo (better known as Iko Iko) in the mid 50s, I saw Sugar Boy at Jazzfest just once, in the early 90s.