By Stefan Grossman 28

By Stefan Grossman ALLED BY SOME critics the British McPhee, lead guitarist for the Ground- Bristol and London when she was 21. “I’ve Queen of Country Blues, Jo-Ann hogs, while she was in the Swing Shop. always had a deepish voice,“ she says, “and C Kelly was first exposed to the Mis- “Money was tight in those days,” Jo-Ann I think that when I started I was definitely sissippi music, of Ford “Snooks” Eaglin, says, “and Dave and I would each buy an trying to copy Memphis Minnie. I’d sit at Robert Johnson, and Memphis Minnie album and take it home and listen to it. home trying to sing ‘Nothing In Rambling’ McCoy in 1963, when the Swing Shop, a McPhee bought a Memphis Minnie al- exactly as she sang it. But I think you lose local blues and jazz specialty record store bum from the shop and came over, saying the definitive version you’ve copied as you in Bristol, England, began featuring their ‘Listen to this—it’s terrific. This music will play it more and more. It changes because music. She found a particular affinity for really suit you.’ I clicked with Memphis you’re yourself, not the person you’ve the powerful voice and formidable guitar Minnie’s music immediately, and felt quite copied. On guitar, I was trying to do bottle- style of Memphis Minnie; 15 years and an affinity for it. I think you can trace a neck things in Fred McDowell and Robert thousands of performances later, Jo-Ann line between Snooks Eaglin, Robert John- Johnson styles. McPhee could sit down still performs Minnie’s songs in concert. son, Memphis Minnie, and Charley Pat- and learn a Charley Patton number abso- In 1969 Jo-Ann Kelly [Epic, 63841] was ton-they are all strongly rhythmic. I lutely note-perfect; mine was always much released, and since then Jo-Ann has re- didn’t much like Skip James and Blind more an interpretation. Although I tried to corded two more solo albums, and her Lemon Jefferson when I first heard them copy Memphis Minnie’s voice because I vocal and 12-string guitar work has ap- —they were a little bit too esoteric.” liked the sound of it, my guitar was always peared on over a dozen others, with such 1964 found Great Britain in the midst much more of an approximation—a much diverse acts as John Fahey, the John of a surge of interest for American blues; rougher thing.” Dummer Blues Band, Tramp, guitarist in May the Rolling Stones released their One night Giorgio Gomelsky, manager Tony McPhee, and Chilli Willi & The Red first album, featuring songs written by of the Yardbirds, listened to Jo-Ann and Hot Peppers. Muddy Waters and Jimmy Reed, and in invited her to rehearse with the group. “I Jo-Ann first became interested in October the Animals released House Of went down to the rehearsal,” Jo-Ann re- music when the Everly Brothers, Elvis The Rising Sun. The Yardbirds, whose members, “and Eric Clapton was there. I Presley, and the Skiffle music of England’s first album would appear in June 1965, had a background of Everly Brothers, and Lonnie Donegan were aired on British had just replaced the Rolling Stones as the the song we did was ‘Baby, What You Want radio. When she was 14 she began playing house band at the Crawdaddy Club in Me To Do,’ which is a Jimmy Reed tune. guitar. “In the very beginning,” she says, Richmond, and their repertoire included At the rehearsal I did an Everly Brothers “my brother Dave was learning Skiffle faithful renditions of blues classics by swing while Clapton’s guitar work just from a guy down the road. Dave showed Sonny Boy Williamson and Muddy Waters. knocked me out.’’ me three or four chords, and once I got “In Bristol there was a country blues re- Jo-Ann recorded several sessions for the basic, workable materials that I needed vival going on at this time,” Jo-Ann says, Liberty Records that were released on to play, I pretty much taught myself by “and there were a lot of young musicians blues sampler albums during the middle ear. By the time I was 15 we were playing playing electric blues too—Chicago stuff. Sixties, as well as Same Thing On Their Everly Brothers stuff in talent competi- This was the year the blues boom hap- Minds [Liberty/UA, SLS 50209], in colla- tions.” Jo-Ann accompanied her brother pened in England, and you could pick boration with Tony McPhee. She attended to the Swing Shop when she was 19, and Newcastle, Bristol, and London as the three several National Blues Conventions in there discovered her first taste ,of Ameri- cities with the strongest interest. Muddy London, including one that featured can country blues. “They were playing Waters, John Lee Hooker, and Jimmy Reed Canned Heat. Jo-Ann recalls: “1 had a Skip James, and I didn’t like it at first,” came over, and the Groundhogs used to little jam with AI Wilson—their guitarist, Jo-Ann remembers. “But as I became back them up at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go in who was then playing harp-and Bob more exposed to this kind of music, Snooks Newcastle, and I’d go and listen to them.” Hite, Heat’s singer, came up and said, ‘We Eaglin and Robert Johnson became my Jo-Ann began performing acoustic sets really enjoyed that stuff—would you like favorites.” A year later Jo-Ann met Tony in pubs, Colleges, and folk Clubs around Continued on page 94 28 JO-ANN KELLY with what you could do with a band. Any- straightest people when it comes to deal- Continued from page 28 way, when it came to the crunch, CBS ing on the level. He talked me into record- offered me $80 a week for the tour. I said, ing live in clubs; he made a special trip to to join the band? I approached the whole ‘Man, that won’t even take care of my England with a Revox recorder and made thing with a totally non-business attitude, plane fare, let alone my hotel.’ I really the tapes—but I think the CBS album that and turned them down. I now think it didn’t know what was going on—I had no resulted from them isn’t too good.” Jo- would have been great to do a year with idea that a manager pays for the tour, or Ann recorded in a studio in the U.S. for Canned Heat, because then I would have about management of anything like a tour the Blue Goose album, and the sessions had the experience and made my name. I -I had steered clear of all that. So the were not without difficulties. “I was just was just so much into acoustic blues- tour didn’t come off, largely because they singing then,” she says, “and I really didn’t a bit of a purist, I’m afraid.” weren’t prepared to sink any money into like Nick’s attitude very much on those On the strength of her 1969 Epic album, it, and they expected the management to. songs—saying things like, ‘Okay, Kelly, Jo-Ann was invited to attend the Mem- They were lazy about the whole thing, get in the studio and sing, you made a phis Blues Festival later that year. At the really, and I was too ignorant to push for mistake there, you were out of tune,’ and festival she met Johnny Winter. Several anything” things like that—it really wasn’t a very months later CBS flew Jo-Ann back to Jo-Ann recorded Jo-Ann Kelly With happy session at all. I enjoyed playing gui- the U.S. to perform at their record con- John Fahey, Alan Seidler, Woody Mann tar with Woody Mann, because Woody’s a vention in Los Angeles. “The people at And John Miller [Blue Goose (245 Wav- really easy person to get along with; I CBS said, ‘All we want you to do is come erly Pl., New York, NY 10014), BG 2009] particularly like his music. I would like to over, and then we’ll fly you to Johnny in 1972. “I had met Nick Perls [director of do something in the future with Woody. Winter’s house in New York and you two Blue Goose] several years before, when I There wasn’t a great deal of time in which can see what you can do together,’” Jo- was helping to run a Club in England,” to do the album, and I think we were all Ann recalls. “Johnny and I sat down and Jo-Ann says. “John Lee Hooker and Big having personal problems at the time. I played some acoustic blues and that was Joe Williams used to come down there to enjoyed working with John Fahey—his great, but again I was very much out of a play, and we had some good sessions with blues are kind of rhythmic and basic, and band scene. I was very keen to do a tour, them. A friend of mine brought Nick down his picking stuff is not very complicated. though. The idea was that I would start to see me singing, and Nick asked me to All in all, though, it was a very difficult the show with an acoustic set by myself, sign a record contract. In those days I was session.” and then Johnny would play a couple of still very much non-business—there was a Later in 1972 Jo-Ann founded Spare acoustic numbers with me at the end of common attitude at the time that said big Rib, a rock band which included Bruce my set.

Load more