Middle Aged, White, Fairly Well Off, English, Blues Singer
I just wanted to shamelessly promote my Dad (Bob Long) who just released an album of traditional blues and seems to be working on a second career as a musician. Now what is a middle aged, fairly well off, white, Englishman doing singing the blues? Well he’s been singing and playing since he was a teenager in the 60’s, and he is a fanatic. I’ve always suggested that growing up listening to “electric chair blues” and “st jameses infirmary blues” had an effect on me.
The album consists mostly of covers of pre-war country blues, “the old stuff” as they call it, and is very different from the electric blues in the mainstream. Anyway the entire album is online in a high quality mp4 format, and he has also written a bit about each track and what it means to him on the site, so check it out.
Bob Long’s Album - All By Myself
here’s a track list:
1. Dead Shrimp Blues (Robert Johnson)
2. All By Myself (Big Bill Broonzy)
3. Banty Rooster (Charley Patton)
4. Digging My Potatoes (Washboard Sam)
5. Travelling Riverside Blues (Robert Johnson)
6. Downhearted Blues (A Hunter L Austin)
7. Sugar Mama (John Lee Hooker)
8. Just A Dream (Big Bill Broonzy)
9. They’re Red Hot (Robert Johnson)
10. Hoodoo Lady (Memphis Minnie)
11. Little Queen Of Spades (Robert Johnson)
12. Little Red Rooster (Willie Dixon)
13. Screaming And Hollering The Blues (Charley Patton)
14. Crawlin’ Kingsnake (John Lee Hooker)
In the last couple of years my Dad has made various pilgrimages to the Delta, and has even played three songs on the longest running blues radio show in the US, the King Biscuit Time Flour Hour. He also played at last years Clarksdale Juke Joint Festival, and has been invited back again this year. Last year I had the pleasure to tour the Delta with him as we searched out old grave sites of musicians such as Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson, and Sonny Boy Williamson.
The “Long” Trek Through the Delta - photo’s on flickr
I don’t have the album cover but here’s a photo of my Dad looking at the painting that will be the album cover:
The painting was done my Sister, Fiona Long, you can see the rest of here paintings here http://fionalongart.co.uk





