Ronnie Hawkins RIP

Ronnie Hawkins, who has died at the age of 87, was a true giant of rock and roll - as the Monument LP pictured below clearly states. Born in Arkansas, he formed his band The Hawks in 1957, including drummer Levon Helm, but made his name in Canada where new members joined. These included Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson who, together with Levon Helm, went on to become The Band when they split from Ronnie in 1964. Ronnie's early records on Roulette were rowdy covers of R and B hits such as 'Hey Bo Diddley', 'Forty Days' (a version of Chuck Berrys' 'Thirty Days') and 'Mary Lou' and I particularly liked his wild cover of Bo Diddley's 'Who Do You Love', released in 1963. Other singles included 'Southern Love', 'Clara', 'Down In The Alley' (for Cotillion) and 'Cora Mae' (for Monument). Ronnie settled in Canada and continued to record excellent material, including the 'Ronnie Hawkins' LP (pictured above), which was recorded at Muscle Shoals. Ronnie discovered guitarist Pat Travers in the early seventies and was cast as Bob Dylan in Dylan's film 'Renaldo and Clara'. He took part in The Band's farewell concert - 'The Last Waltz' - which was recorded on film and record. He celebrated his 6oth birthday in 1995 with a show in Toronto with Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and the Band which was documented as 'Let It Rock'. Rockin' Ronnie was one of the greats of rock and roll and it's sad that he has passed on. RIP.

More music deaths

There have been several music deaths of note over the last couple of weeks. The latest is Ben Moore, who took over as one half of James and Bobby Purify in 1974 after the original 'Bobby' - James's cousin Robert Lee Dickey - left the duo. The new pairing had several notable soul hits in the seventies, including a re-recording of I'm Your Puppet', 'Get Closer' and 'Morning Glory'. all of which were featured on the album 'Purify Bros' (pictured). Before joining up with James, Ben Moore worked with James Brown and Otis Redding and was one half of the duo Ben and Spence in the sixties. As a solo singer he recorded the album 'Purified' in 1977 but lost his sight to glaucoma in 1998. He returned to performing and appeared memorably at Porretta in 2006 where he sang five numbers. (see photo above).

Another recent death is that of country singer Mickey Gilley (86), a cousin of Jerry Lee Lewis. He recorded some unsuccessful singles with Huey Meaux in the sixties and eventually had success with 'Room Full Of Roses' in 1974. Other successful recordings included 'City Lights', 'Honky Tonk Memories', 'Chains Of Love' and 'Here Comes The Hurt Again'. I was never particularly interested in Mickey's musical output but was quite impressed when I visited Gilley's in Las Vegas, a plush honky tonk bar which is notable for its bucking broncos and scantily dressed waitresses (see photo below). Mickey's first bar in Pasadena, Texas, inspired the movie 'Urban Cowboy, starring John Travolta, and other similarly themed bars opened in Dallas and Durant, Oklohoma.

The Vinyl Word also says farewell to Susan Jacks, who was a member of the Poppy Family, who had a hit with 'Which Way You Going Billy', and seventies solo success with songs such as 'You Know What Love Is', 'I Thought Of You Again', 'Anna Marie' and 'Evergreen'.

Robert Cray Band at the Anvil

It's over 40 years since Robert Cray recorded the first of his 20 odd albums. Over the years he has toured extensively and I've seen him in places as far apart as London, New Orleans and Sacramento. But I'm pretty sure that his show at the Anvil Theatre yesterday was the first time he had ever played Basingstoke on a Tuesday night. Robert has aged well - indeed he doesn't look much different from the way he did when I first saw him over 30 years ago. His unique voice is still as strong as ever and his guitar work is sublime - often understated, instantly recognisable. As a force in southern soul and blues he remains at his peak. Yet he scarcely moved from the microphone and there was nothing showy about his act. His band - comprising Dover Weinberg on Hammond organ, Les Falconer on drums and Richard Cousins on bass - provided excellent support as Robert performed a selection of songs from his extensive back catalogue. He began with 'You Can't Make Me Change' from his latest album 'That's What I Heard', which included a superb organ solo by Dover. 'Bouncing Back' from 'Midnight Stroll' followed and then came 'You're Everything', which showed off Robert's anguished vocal style to good effect and which included a great drum solo. 'I Don't Care', written by Mack Rice, was one of several songs taken from the 2017 album he recorded with the Hi Rhythm Section and showed that Robert can still reach those ultra high notes, and then came 'Won't Be Coming Home', from the 'Nothin' But Love' album, and the rock influenced 'Ask My Baby'. The rather gloomy 'You Had My Heart', another Hi Rhythm track, followed and Robert slowly turned down the volume towards the end. The audience was enthralled and you could have heard a pin drop as it ended in complete silence. Superb. Next up he delved into his earlier work with 'These Things', from 'Midnight Stroll', 'Phone Booth', from 'Bad Influence', and 'I Can't Fail' from the 2009 album 'Time Will Tell'. One of his best known songs 'Strong Persuader' followed and then came 'You Must Believe In Yourself' from the Hi Rhythm album, which also ended with a gradual reduction in volume to silence. As an encore Robert finished off with 'I Shiver' (from 'Shame + a Sin') and 'Time Will Tell'. Throughout his show Robert oozed class and showed off his talent to the full. Long may he continue.

Michelle David and the True-tones

It was good to be back at the Jazz Cafe last night - for the first time since the pandemic - and particularly good seeing Michelle David and the True-tones for the first time. They have toured extensively in Europe for the last few years and were supposed to be appearing at the Jazz Cafe at the end of last year but the show was delayed because of COVID. It was worth the wait. Michelle is a force of nature. Backed by Dutch trio the True-tones the North Carolina born singer tore the place apart with a series of high energy gospel infused soul and funk numbers which got the audience dancing and waving their arms. The group - led by Onno Smit and Paul Williemson - provided excellent backing as Michelle showed that she has talent a plenty. Her upbeat numbers were exciting while slower numbers showed that she has a light soft voice when necessary. The group have recorded four albums of 'Gospel Sessions' and many of her songs - all original apart from an excellent rendition of Curtis Mayfield's 'Keep On Pushing' - came from the latest of these. She began with 'Yes I Am', which answers the question of whether she is her brother's keeper in the affirmative. Other soulful gospel numbers followed and there was a decidedly revivalist gospel edge to numbers such as 'Taking It Back', (from 'Gospel Sessions Volume Three'), which featured Michelle performing some 'crazy dancing' as she termed it, which resulted in her kicking off her shoes and some of her jewellery. Things slowed down for 'There's A Place' which showed her excellent voice off to good effect, and 'Keep On Pushing', followed by another great song from her new album 'Second Chance'. More up tempo gospel soul followed with 'Good Good Good', the lead off track on the latest album, and Michelle was really belting it out by this stage as she urged the audience to raise their hands, which they duly did. As an encore she sang a couple of funk filled gospel numbers including 'Love', another song from the latest album. All in all this was a highly enjoyable show. Comparisons with Sharon Jones come to mind, but Michelle definitely has enough individuality to make a mark on her own account.