Playlist for Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016 - Gambling, Chicken, Chops and more!

Tuesday, Aug. 16 will be a red hot show, full of sin and bluesy degradation.

We'll feature songs about the horror of gambling... then we'll serve you up some chicken and chops; as well as Tried, Slide and Side Eyed Blues.

If that isn't enough to make you lick the aforementioned chops, or your own, we've got the millennial winner of the International Blues Challenge as our "Word of the Mouth Productions Artist of the Week" - Richard Johnston, who will sing with one of my favorite female artists, Jessie Mae Hemphill.

I met Richard at a picnic in Como, Mississippi, along with his lovely mother, when he was just a tadpole and coming into his own with playing and awards. I made friends that day with Jessie Mae, who was there to eat, and with Othar Turner, who played and danced, as well as with progeny of many of the North Mississippi legends, such as R.L. Burnside. Also in attendance were many other illustrious players, but we'll tell those tales another time. The picnic took place on a beautiful Mississippi spring day in May of 2001, right after the Handy Awards (now called the Blues Foundation Awards). Fabulous time. Unforgettable.

So this cut takes me back to a wonderful afternoon, and Richard Johnston does a fine job on this tune. We enjoyed him again at the WOMP Columbia Blues Festival... and know you will love him, too... keep in mind, when you picture it in your head, that he plays a cigar box guitar (and did it to be authentic sounding... long before it was "the hip thang" to do).

Another Columbia connection is via the Indie Grits festival, which showcased an independent film called Richard Johnston: Hill Country Troubadour by award-winning filmmaker, Max Shores.

Tonight's music will come from this list:

~~~ and ~~~

 

Columbia music cognoscenti will all know our dear friend, Will Salley, who has been critically ill for several years. We're paying tribute to him and the upcoming fundraiser, WILLSTOCK II, which takes place Sunday. We'll play a few tunes in his honor, including a song by one Will's best friends, Elliott New, who is also one of the planners of the fundraiser, along with the Untouchables. You can find information about the fundraiser and how you can help at: WILLSTOCK II on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/507875106085599/



 

Our fill-in list will flesh out the rest of the two hours (some of these have been played on previous week's shows).

 

then, perhaps from this list:

 

Tune in at www.wusc.sc.edu from 6-8 for WUSC-FM and Blues Moon Radio - thanks for listening!

Clair DeLune and RockyDawg, Blues Defender

 

As always we thank our underwriters, who help bring great music to the Midlands, because we could not imagine our show without their input and support:  Papa Jazz Record Shoppe; the UU Coffeehouse; California Republic Stand Up Paddleboards in Leesville near Lake Murray; and Word of Mouth Productions, who present the Columbia Blues Festival each autumn - hold Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016 open for a great show!

You can link to these orgs by clicking on the visuals...