Living Blues #271 March/April 2021

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Kirk “Eli” Fletcher

My Playing Starts from the Core

By Bill Kopp

California bluesman Kirk “Eli” Fletcher fell in love with the guitar early and has spent his entire life following that passion. From the church to the blues stage, Fletcher is now one of the brightest lights in the blues.

Lucius Parr

Blues in the Valley of the Sun

By Roger Wood

Phoenix-based Lucius Parr may not have followed a common path in the blues but after 50 years, he is a bluesman to be reckoned with.

Willie J. Laws

The Last Prophet of the Funky Texas Blues 

By Scott M. Bock

The blues of Willie J. Laws are deeply rooted in his home state of Texas but this funky blues poet is now one of the top blues acts in the Northeast.

Let It Roll

Blind Boy Fuller, Blind Gary Davis, and Bull City Red, ARC, New York City, July 23–26, 1935

By Jas Obrecht

In July of 1935, J.B. Long drove three of the top bluesmen from North Carolina to the New York City studios of the American Record Corporation for their first ever recording sessions. Over four days, these artists recorded some of the most influential blues sides of all time.

Reviews

• New Releases: Don Bryant, Crystal Thomas, and Selwyn Birchwood
• Reissues: John Lee Hooker and Earl Hooker, Matchbox Bluesmaster Series, and Aretha Franklin
• Books

Editorial

Blues News 

Breaking Out: Shy Perry

LB Talks to Alabama Slim

Obituaries

Radio Charts

Cover photo by Rick Gould, Kirk Fletcher, 2020.