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Delmark Records is excited to present our WEST SIDE SOUL monthly showcase at B.L.U.E.S., featuring unsung legends of old school Chicago Blues - a BLUES WITH A FEELING revue, featuring current, past, and future Delmark recording artists. I want to feature some more tasteful, "less is more" style of playing, which is becoming more and more difficult to find these days on the flashy contemporary blues/blues rock scene of Chicago.

We had a wildly successful first show featuring the much anticipated Rockin' Johnny & Jimmy Burns reunion, along with special guests Willie Buck, Mary Lane, Scott Dirks, Charles "Delta Blues Hog" Hayes, Larry Taylor, and more! It even got written up in the Chicago Tribune!

This month's host is the amazing musician Billy Flynn (Cadillac/Chess Records movie/Kim Wilson's guitarist) and Friends, including Elmore James, Jr (yes, HIS son!) Jaguar James "Steady Rollin" Wheeler, Silas "Milwaukee Slim" McCratcher, and (most likely) Jody "Lucky Lou" Williams, and special guests - you never know who's gonna show up at this traditional blues throwdown!! The amiable Billy "The Green Bay Picker" Flynn has lots of friends- he not only is one of the most talented guys on the blues scene, but one of the nicest, most humble guys you'll ever come across



Billy 'The Green Bay Picker" Flynn

http://billyflynn.com/index.html

The amazing Billy Flynn is a musician's musician (guitar, sitar, mandolin, harp, keys, vox) who has been turning heads with his incredible guitar work for decades, not only leading his own band, but adding his head turning guitar licks to countless bands' recordings and live shows. He is the glue that keeps everything together in so many bands, including Jimmy Dawkins, Billy Boy Arnold, Jody Williams, Kim Wilson, Mississippi Heat, Legendary Blues Band (Pinetop Perkins & Willie "Big Eyes" Smith,) Cash Box Kings, Special 20's, and more! He has wide open ears, great taste, and an incredibly diverse repertoire of songs and styles in his shows. Did you know that Billy played the famous and diverse guitar parts of Chuck Berry, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Etta James, & Little Walter for the major motion picture Cadillac Records movie about Chess Records??!! He was handpicked to supply this timeless music for this film whose soundtrack was nominated for a Grammy with a band that included Kim Wilson, Hubert Sumlin, Eddie Taylor, Jr, Barrelhouse Chuck, Danny Kortchmar, Bill Sims, & Steve Jordan. Billy has an extensive discography, and recorded on many Delmark sessions, including James Wheeler, Little Arthur Duncan, Willie Kent, & Mad Dog Lester Davenport.Elmore James, Jr - vocals, guitar

http://www.myspace.com/elmorejamesjrthebroomdustersbluesband

A very rare North side appearance from Elmore James' son! You should hear this guy's powerful vocals and slide guitar!!

All Music Guide Bio by Michael Nastos

Earnest Johnson, aka Elmore James, Jr., is indeed the son of one of the most legendary of all bluesmen: slide guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Elmore James. Johnson was born in 1939 in Richmond, MS, and his mother ran a restaurant there; the person he thought was his father was mean and abusive during their subsequent time living in Chicago. He and his sister would be beaten for no reason, and were frequently refused meals. But around 1951, a traveling musician came to town, and Johnson's mother secretly smuggled Johnson and his sister to spend the day with him. The musician, Elmore James, was making a name for himself in Chicago, and earning steady income. He would take the children shopping but didn't tell them an important secret. Concurrently, the man Johnson thought was his dad died, so his mother finally came out with the truth, and told the children Elmore James was their actual father. The real story was that Johnson's mother had been romantically involved with James and became pregnant by him.

For the next decade, Johnson spent a lot of time with his famous father. He found his dad to be a bashful guy, although quite the talker when drinking. James became a dedicated father, and one of the stories from this time period involves James giving his family a 1951 Cadillac with money made thanks to his big 1952 hit, "Dust My Broom." As Johnson began blossoming into a young musician who was following in his dad's footsteps, James made sure to follow the progress of his son's rock & roll band, the Brigadiers of Jackson, in the late '50s (Johnson was performing as Earnest Jr., aka Mr. Soul).

Elmore James died in 1963, and in the mid-'60s, Johnson took the stage name Elmore James, Jr. upon meeting Willie Dixon, who told him he should name himself after his late biological father. The name change didn't start the blues career of a newly crowned Elmore James, Jr., as other popular music in the '70s supplanted the blues. He played away from Chicago and made few recordings, but was by then himself married with a wife and children and took a day job to make ends meet. Eventually, fans of his father in Britain found his recordings and released them in 1999 as part of the Genuine Mississippi Blues...Plus various-artists compilation for the WestSide label. This rousted James Jr. out of his self-imposed exile, as he started touring the U.S. and overseas in 2000. He plays the slide guitar and sings like his father, proving the adage that the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

James Wheeler - vocals, guitar

http://www.myspace.com/jameswheeler07

One of the most tasty, subtle, underrated guitarists on the scene- he has a really distinctive steady rollin' style on guitar that is so freakin' cool! He perfomed and recorded with so many, including leading the legendary Otis Rush's band for almost a decade. James has two killer Delmark CDs as a leader, Ready ('98) and Can't Take It ('00) and can be found leading the jam every Thursday at Rosa's. James and Billy Flynn played together for years in Mississippi Heat!

All Music Guide Bio by Al Campbell

Blues guitarist James Wheeler was born in Albany, GA, on August 28, 1937. His earliest musical influences were the big bands of the time, especially Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, and his first idol, Louis Jordan. Following his older brother Golden, Wheeler moved to Chicago in 1956. Golden had started playing harmonica in the clubs, becoming friends with many blues musicians, including Little Walter. It was after the move to Chicago that James Wheeler picked up the guitar and started jamming with local musicians. Wheeler's first big break came when he played guitar with Billy Boy Arnold, which lead to the formation of the Jaguars in 1963, backing up B.B. King, Millie Jackson, O.V. Wright, and Otis Clay. Clay was so impressed with Wheeler's playing that after the Jaguars broke up in 1972 he asked Wheeler to put together his touring band, which lasted three years. Following a brief tour with the Impressions, Wheeler took a non-music day job, picking up weekend gigs here and there for the next decade. In 1986, Wheeler received a call from Otis Rush asking him to play a weekend gig that turned full-time, lasting until 1993. After recording and touring stints with Mississippi Heat, Magic Slim, and Willie Kent, he released his much anticipated solo recording, Ready, in 1998 on Delmark Records. Featuring ten original tracks plus three covers, his band featured brother Big Golden Wheeler on harmonica and pianist Ken Saydak. Following a hectic tour schedule through Europe and South America, Wheeler's second release, Can't Take It, followed in 2000, again, on the Delmark label. Can't Take It spotlights all original compositions by Wheeler, fronting the same band, with the exception of Ron Sorin replacing Big Golden on harp.

Silas "Milwaukee Slim" McCratcher- vocals

This fantastic singer and nattily attired traditional bluesman just moved to Chicago from our northerly neighbor, and has been turning heads at the SmokeDaddy recently with Billy Flynn. I believe this will be this real deal bluesman's first appearance at B.L.U.E.S on Halsted.

"Proud Papa" Johnson

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Chicago Blues and Jazz since 1953!!