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
Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful. I too am a blues lover although I sound more like Howlin’ Wolf on a bad night, it is great to to see and hear this MAWFWOE Blues Singer.
Wow, thanks so much for the comment! It’s been a real pleasure for me to try and help promote this for my Dad. I didn’t have much money around christmas time, so my Dad and my Sister got blogs
As it turns out they’ve got much more real content to promote that me, my Dad the blues singer and my Sister the artist, I should put up a screenshot of the album cover, because it’s a wonderful painting my Sister did. BTW her website is FionaLongArt.co.uk
And blues afficionados will appreciate that in the painting he is 1) playing a resonator guitar…very cool and 2) he is playing in the “BB box” up around the tenth fret.
Right on, that’s his National resonator. He’s also got a nice Dobro resonator, and is currently getting a new guitar made by a Luthier in Paris: http://www.fineresophonic.com
couple of photo’s of the work in progress:
http://bobalong.co.uk/photos/album/fine-resophonic-guitar/page/1/photo/fineresophonic3/