Living Blues #279 July/August 2022

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Gaye Adegbalola

The Trailblazing Blues Raconteur

By Frank Matheis

There is nothing conventional or conservative about Gaye Adegbalola. She has been speaking up and speaking out her whole life. A founding member of Saffire—The Uppity Blues Women in 1984, Adegbalola continues to make her life in music matter.

Dee Dee Simon

I’m a Creator

By David Whiteis

California-based Dee Dee Simon has lived the highs and lows of the music industry but she has landed on her feet during the pandemic, producing several “Queens” projects focusing on women of the soul blues scene.

Andy Story

Cover New York City from Greenwich Village Up to Harlem

By Frank Matheis

Virtually unknown outside of New York City, guitarist Andy Story should have been more widely appreciated. Story died while we were producing this feature on him. We hope this will stand as a fitting legacy to an overlooked blues guitar master.

Tia Carroll

Late Bloomer Ready to Take Her Blues to the World

By Jim Trageser

Vocalist Tia Carroll cut her teeth in rock cover bands but after hearing a Koko Taylor CD she realized her calling was the blues. With one of the top albums of last year, Carroll is finally getting the attention her talent deserves.

Let It Roll

Victoria Spivey and Lonnie Johnson– OKeh Records, New York City, October 13–18, 1928

By Jas Obrecht

Two of the giants of pre-war blues, Victoria Spivey and Lonnie Johnson, had a special bond. The two recorded together several times but their October 1928 session was rife with songs of striking visual imagery and some of the steamiest double-entendre songs ever recorded. 

Record Reviews

• New Releases: Charlie Musselwhite, Vaneese Thomas, and Mavis Staples & Levon Helm
• Reissues: Wayne Bennett, Earl Hooker, and Otis Spann

Editorial

Blues News

Book Review

Obituaries

Radio Charts

2022 Living Blues Awards Winners