Happy Birthday, Miss Fitzgerald

Today would have been Ella Fitzgerald's 100th birthday, isn't that crazy?  She suffered through a lot of tragedy, this songbird who gave us beauty through her jazzy, bluesy, incredible voice.

Seymour Wanted to Be A Cowboy

Seymour had wanted to be a cowboy even before he had heard of Kid Rock. But he loved the Blues, too. After torturing himself on picking a life path, he put on his 10-gallon hat & decided to be both. He changed his name to Tex, wrangled cattle on horseback, and played the blues circuit like his idol, Albert King, at night. Let's just say he was very lucky with the ladies (oh, and in fulfilling his life, too.)

By the way, I cut out the word "Blues" and the little stars under the handkerchief from strips that were used to wrap up a Hatch Show Print poster that I bought from that famous Letterpress printer a couple of years ago.  Here's a link to their website and if you're in Nashville, make sure you go visit them!

Bluesman

Painted on the inside of an old j.crew box with one paint color.

Keith Richards

I was so bummed that I forgot to initially include that Keith Richards / Rolling Stones' video on the Blues (in Britain) at the end of my last post until after it sailed off into the universe, I decided to post it again.  Along with it, I give you a fast portrait drawing of Keith from a shot at the very end of the clip after he dispenses the bit of wisdom below.

Here it is done in black ink.  One of my favorite rocker dudes ever to grace the planet.

"I mean, what do you want to do in this world, ya' know?  

Why did you start it?  

How do you want to finish it?  

Now that's the blues."

Keith Richards talks about The Blues in Britain:

Floppy Hat over Cool Blues

Hmm.  I have nothing to say about this fellow, except that I really like him.  Ha!  You just know that he was out in the fields, rolling up hay bales or coming in from riding his horse all over some mountains in Montana, weary from corralling cattle and newborn calves.  Anyway, that's what I think. (-;

Buddy Guy (SOLD)

I woke up this morning at 6:10 a.m., an unheard of event...well, not unheard of. Wait, let me begin again.  I woke up this morning at 6:10 a.m. feeling refreshed and well-rested.  Yes, that's more like it.

Yesterday, Saturday, I slept 13 hours!   I woke up briefly at 8 a.m. and still felt exhausted, and I crawled back into bed and slept until 2:15 p.m.!  I hadn't felt well at the end of the work week and my hound way lying next to me like an insulator (my husband long ago had went to work), both leading me into a brief coma.

As you can imagine, the day unfolded quite languorously.  Around 5 p.m., I found myself watching Cadillac Records, about the great blues label run by Leonard Chess in Chicago that helped launch Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry, Willie Dixon and Etta James.  No one represented Buddy in the film, but he's a Chicago Bluesman through and through and was heavily influenced by all these greats.  Anyway, watching it reminded me of Buddy, which led me to rewatch a favorite part of Martin Scorsese's 2005 rockumentary of the Rolling Stones (playing at the Beacon Theatre in New York City), Shine A Light.  The next step of course, was that I needed to paint Buddy Guy as he appeared in that film, during the playing of Muddy Water's hit, "Champagne and Reefer."

Feeeeeeeeeeeeeel the power of his voice and guitar playing.  Oh, so wonderful to behold visceral virtuosity, no?  I've seen Buddy twice in person.  The first time was at Alpine Valley, playing with Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmy Vaughan, and Robert Cray, the night before SRV's fatal crash.  Ugh, I can barely type it even 14 years later.  The second time was 2007 in Bridgeview, IL at Eric Clapton's "Crossroads" Guitar Festival.  (I was thinking I saw him once more playing at Kingston Mines in Chicago, but perhaps I'm hallucinating.)  Anyway, he is always, always phenomenal.

"Champagne and Reefer" from Shine A Light featuring Buddy Guy:

Here's a little blast from the past.  One of the drawings I did for my 2010 Brooklyn Art Library Sketchbook project, "Coffee and Cigarettes," was Keith Richards spitting out his cigarette during that same song.

Day 326. I'd Rather Be in a Blues Bar (SOLD)

Here's a recent conversation my friend Lisa and I had.

Me:  "I don't know.  I just don't like stuffy events anymore.  I'd rather be in a blues bar."
Lisa:  "I'd rather be in any bar!"

Ah, ha, ha, ha!  Hilarious!  Good one, Lisa. (-;