upcoming shows
| The Flamekeepers |
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| In memory of our friend the legendary Chico Chism 1927-2007 |
Photo by Randy Lowrey
from Chico's Collection
from Chico's Collection
The Rhythm Room is located at
1019 E. Indian School Road,
Phoenix, AZ 85014. For more
information, call (602)265-4842
or visit www.rhythmroom.com
1019 E. Indian School Road,
Phoenix, AZ 85014. For more
information, call (602)265-4842
or visit www.rhythmroom.com
| Blues on the radio... "Those Low Down Blues" with Bob Corritore on KJZZ 91.5 FM Sunday 6:00-11:00PM |
| Support the Blues in Arizona Contact the Phoenix Blues Society at phoenixblues.org |
George Thomas &
| The Original Flamekeepers, Chuck Peterson, Chico Chism & George Thomas |
| The original Flamekeepers formed in the spring of 2005. George named the group "Chico Chism's Flamekeepers", to honor his friend and mentor. "We started hanging out at the Rhythm Room then we moved things to my Mom's house to rehearse. That was the beginning of the "Grandma's House Jams." We recorded our first album Crabby Road (out of print) in my Mom's living room. Thanks Chuck, thanks Chico, thanks Mom." -George Thomas |
For the latest information on the
Valleys growing jam scene visit.
Valleys growing jam scene visit.
www.theflamekeepers.com
The Rhythm Room 1019 E Indian School Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85014 (602-265-4842 |
| GEORGE THOMAS & THE FLAMEKEEPERS wish you the very best for this holiday season and the upcoming New Year! Thanks for supporting us throughout 2011. Merry Christmas!!! |
| Chico Chism, George Thomas, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith at Rosa's in Chicago photo by Tom Johnson |
| Hubert Sumlin, George Thomas |
| George Thomas & The Flamekeepers photo by Chet Provorse |
Chicago Sun Times - Hubert Sumlin put the
bite behind Howlin’ Wolf.
And he then influenced a new pack of electric
blues and rock guitarists.
Mr. Sumlin died Sunday in a hospital in
Wayne, N.J., reportedly of heart failure. He
had turned 80 on Nov. 16. Mr. Sumlin was
best known as lead guitarist for Howlin’ Wolf
(Chester Burnett) from 1953 until Wolf’s
death in 1976.
This was no small feat. The combustible
guitar parts in Wolf’s big-voiced tracks —
“Smokestack Lightning,” “Spoonful,” “Ain’t
Superstitious” — set Wolf on fire at Sun
Records in Memphis and later at Chess
Records in Chicago.
The 1953 summit of Mr. Sumlin and Wolf
was to blues what the meeting of Scotty
Moore and Elvis Presley was to rock just a
year later.
In the current issue of Rolling Stone, Mr.
Sumlin is ranked 43rd on the magazine’s list
of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Led
Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page told the magazine, “I
love Hubert Sumlin. He always played the
right thing at the right time.”
continued below
bite behind Howlin’ Wolf.
And he then influenced a new pack of electric
blues and rock guitarists.
Mr. Sumlin died Sunday in a hospital in
Wayne, N.J., reportedly of heart failure. He
had turned 80 on Nov. 16. Mr. Sumlin was
best known as lead guitarist for Howlin’ Wolf
(Chester Burnett) from 1953 until Wolf’s
death in 1976.
This was no small feat. The combustible
guitar parts in Wolf’s big-voiced tracks —
“Smokestack Lightning,” “Spoonful,” “Ain’t
Superstitious” — set Wolf on fire at Sun
Records in Memphis and later at Chess
Records in Chicago.
The 1953 summit of Mr. Sumlin and Wolf
was to blues what the meeting of Scotty
Moore and Elvis Presley was to rock just a
year later.
In the current issue of Rolling Stone, Mr.
Sumlin is ranked 43rd on the magazine’s list
of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Led
Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page told the magazine, “I
love Hubert Sumlin. He always played the
right thing at the right time.”
continued below
| Chico Chism, Hubert Sumlin |
| George Thomas, Hubert Sumlin, Chico Chism |
| Hubert Sumlin |
Mr. Sumlin’s menacing lead on Wolf’s “Killing Floor” inspired Jimi Hendrix to
sit in with Eric Clapton during a 1967 London gig. It would be the only time
Clapton and Hendrix would play together.
Stevie Ray Vaughan was a fan. In the early 1980s Vaughan gave Mr. Sumlin a
vintage Rickenbacker guitar, one that Mr. Sumlin loved so much he was afraid
to take out of his house.
Born in Greenwood, Miss., Mr. Sumlin was part of the great blues migration to
Chicago. He and Burnett arrived in Chicago in 1953. Mr. Sumlin had been
playing with James Cotton in West Memphis, and Burnett hired him in
Chicago.
“We were playing Silvio’s [at Lake and Oakley], and he said, ‘You go home
when you find out you’ve got my courage, then you can come back and play
my songs,’ ” Mr. Sumlin told me in a 1988 interview from his South Side
home. “Man, I got home and cried all night. I slept with my guitar by my head.
Then about 4 o’clock in the morning something said, ‘Hey man, why don’t you
put the [guitar] picks down. You ain’t got no business using picks!’ ”
At that moment, Mr. Sumliln said, he discovered his own style, which evolved
into an individualistic mix of African syncopation and itemized structure that
forced the notes to stand alone. Clapton once called Mr. Sumlin’s style “just
the weirdest.”
Chicago blues guitarist Dave Specter began playing with Mr. Sumlin in 1985.
Wolf and Paul Butterfield drummer Sam Lay had hired Specter to join him and
Mr. Sumlin on a three-week tour of Canada. Specter was 22 years old.
“Hubert was just the sweetest guy and very encouraging and supportive of
younger players,” Specter said on Sunday. “I wouldn’t use ‘tough’ as an
adjective for his playing. He had a totally unique sound. When you listen to his
famous solos on [Wolf’s] ‘Hidden Charms’ or ‘300 Pounds of Heavenly Joy’
[later a hit for Chicago’s Big Twist and the Mellow Fellows], there is so much
style to it. A lot of it had to do with his touch and playing with his fingers. There
are lot of guitar players who played with their fingers and had a more
aggressive approach, like Albert Collins. Your sound and your tone is a
reflection of your personality.
“And Hubert had larger-than-life charm and devilishness.”
In recent years Mr. Sumlin relocated from Chicago and then Milwaukee to
Totowa, N.J. Specter last saw Mr. Sumlin in 2009, when he was touring with
the Nighthawks and they appeared at S.P.A.C.E., the popular Evanston music
room that Specter co-owns. .
In 2010 young guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Mr. Sumlin received a
best contemporary blues album Grammy nomination for “Live! in Chicago.”
Mr. Sumlin was also nominated for Grammys in 1998, 1999 and 2005 in best
traditional blues album categories. He never won.
Mr. Sumlin’s patience likely came from his years of traveling with Burnett.
“Once we were on the road for three months and I had to drive because Eddie
Shaw [the saxophonist who became Wolf’s bandleader] wasn’t with us,” Mr.
Sumlin said in 1988. “I had to set up the instruments, load the instruments.
And nobody would help with nothin’. We were at Silvio’s and we were beat. I
was sitting up at a table and the folks hadn’t even walked in yet. Wolf was
tired and just hauled off and hit me. I hit him back. We both knocked each
other’s teeth out. And the whiskey went upside the wall. I figure we tore down
about $1,800 or $1,900 worth of whiskey displays.
“Yes sir.”
Mr. Sumlin had been scheduled to appear at last summer’s Chicago Blues
Festival with David “Honeyboy” Edwards in a tribute to Robert Johnson. They
canceled their appearances because of health issues. Edwards died at age
95 on Aug. 29.
Mr. Sumlin had a lung removed in 2004 and last year appeared at the
Crossroads Guitar Festival with his oxygen tank. Earlier this year the New
York Times reported that Keith Richards was assisting Mr. Sumlin with his
medical bills. Richards was a guest on Mr. Sumlin’s 2005 Grammy-
nominated “About Them Shoes.”
Funeral arrangements are pending.
sit in with Eric Clapton during a 1967 London gig. It would be the only time
Clapton and Hendrix would play together.
Stevie Ray Vaughan was a fan. In the early 1980s Vaughan gave Mr. Sumlin a
vintage Rickenbacker guitar, one that Mr. Sumlin loved so much he was afraid
to take out of his house.
Born in Greenwood, Miss., Mr. Sumlin was part of the great blues migration to
Chicago. He and Burnett arrived in Chicago in 1953. Mr. Sumlin had been
playing with James Cotton in West Memphis, and Burnett hired him in
Chicago.
“We were playing Silvio’s [at Lake and Oakley], and he said, ‘You go home
when you find out you’ve got my courage, then you can come back and play
my songs,’ ” Mr. Sumlin told me in a 1988 interview from his South Side
home. “Man, I got home and cried all night. I slept with my guitar by my head.
Then about 4 o’clock in the morning something said, ‘Hey man, why don’t you
put the [guitar] picks down. You ain’t got no business using picks!’ ”
At that moment, Mr. Sumliln said, he discovered his own style, which evolved
into an individualistic mix of African syncopation and itemized structure that
forced the notes to stand alone. Clapton once called Mr. Sumlin’s style “just
the weirdest.”
Chicago blues guitarist Dave Specter began playing with Mr. Sumlin in 1985.
Wolf and Paul Butterfield drummer Sam Lay had hired Specter to join him and
Mr. Sumlin on a three-week tour of Canada. Specter was 22 years old.
“Hubert was just the sweetest guy and very encouraging and supportive of
younger players,” Specter said on Sunday. “I wouldn’t use ‘tough’ as an
adjective for his playing. He had a totally unique sound. When you listen to his
famous solos on [Wolf’s] ‘Hidden Charms’ or ‘300 Pounds of Heavenly Joy’
[later a hit for Chicago’s Big Twist and the Mellow Fellows], there is so much
style to it. A lot of it had to do with his touch and playing with his fingers. There
are lot of guitar players who played with their fingers and had a more
aggressive approach, like Albert Collins. Your sound and your tone is a
reflection of your personality.
“And Hubert had larger-than-life charm and devilishness.”
In recent years Mr. Sumlin relocated from Chicago and then Milwaukee to
Totowa, N.J. Specter last saw Mr. Sumlin in 2009, when he was touring with
the Nighthawks and they appeared at S.P.A.C.E., the popular Evanston music
room that Specter co-owns. .
In 2010 young guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Mr. Sumlin received a
best contemporary blues album Grammy nomination for “Live! in Chicago.”
Mr. Sumlin was also nominated for Grammys in 1998, 1999 and 2005 in best
traditional blues album categories. He never won.
Mr. Sumlin’s patience likely came from his years of traveling with Burnett.
“Once we were on the road for three months and I had to drive because Eddie
Shaw [the saxophonist who became Wolf’s bandleader] wasn’t with us,” Mr.
Sumlin said in 1988. “I had to set up the instruments, load the instruments.
And nobody would help with nothin’. We were at Silvio’s and we were beat. I
was sitting up at a table and the folks hadn’t even walked in yet. Wolf was
tired and just hauled off and hit me. I hit him back. We both knocked each
other’s teeth out. And the whiskey went upside the wall. I figure we tore down
about $1,800 or $1,900 worth of whiskey displays.
“Yes sir.”
Mr. Sumlin had been scheduled to appear at last summer’s Chicago Blues
Festival with David “Honeyboy” Edwards in a tribute to Robert Johnson. They
canceled their appearances because of health issues. Edwards died at age
95 on Aug. 29.
Mr. Sumlin had a lung removed in 2004 and last year appeared at the
Crossroads Guitar Festival with his oxygen tank. Earlier this year the New
York Times reported that Keith Richards was assisting Mr. Sumlin with his
medical bills. Richards was a guest on Mr. Sumlin’s 2005 Grammy-
nominated “About Them Shoes.”
Funeral arrangements are pending.
| Hubert Sumlin at the Rhythm Room for Amanda's Roller Coaster Show |