And now, Mose Allison

It's inevitable, I suppose, that as the years go by more and more of our music icons will die. But the Grim Reaper seems to be taking the piss at the moment.
The latest death, after various rumours on Facebook, is jazz and blues man Mose Allison at the age of 89. Allison was one of the few white artists who truly represented the blues in the sixties. Indeed, if it wasn't for him what would Georgie Fame have done in his early days?
Born in Mississippi in 1927, Mose was a jazz musician to begin with, recording his first album Back Country Suite for Prestige in 1957. When he moved into blues in 1963 he produced a string of excellent covers of blues standards by the likes of Sonny Boy Williamson (Eyesight To The Blind), Jimmy Rogers (That's Alright) and Willie Dixon (I Love The Life I Live). These weren't just covers but genuine reworkings, and original songs such as Parchman Farm showed that he was a true original. There was a purity about Mose Allison's music that set him apart from other white blues singers. He will be missed.