Mike Bloomfield - ...and on guitar (1977)

Michael Bernard Bloomfield was born into a wealthy Chicago Jewish-American family in 1943, a part of the family that ran Bloomfield Industries, formed by his grandfather Samuel Bloomfield. When he was twelve his family moved to suburban Glencoe, Illinois, where he attended New Trier High School for two years. During this time, he began playing in local bands, putting together The Hurricanes, which later led to his expulsion after his band performed a raucous rock and roll song at a 1959 school gathering. In 1957 Bloomfield had attended a Chicago performance by blues singer Josh White, and began spending time in Chicago's South Side blues clubs, playing guitar with such bluesmen as Sleepy John Estes, Yank Rachell, and Little Brother Montgomery, and by the early 60's he'd played with Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and many other Chicago blues performers. At this time he met musicians who would later become part of his professional life, such as harmonica player and singer Paul Butterfield, guitarist Elvin Bishop, fellow Chicagoan Nick Gravenites, and Bronx-born record producer Norman Dayron. With help from his friend Joel Harlib, a Chicago photographer who became Bloomfield's de facto manager, they took an audition tape by Bloomfield to Columbia producer and talent scout John Hammond in 1964, and he was signed to Columbia's Epic Records label. He recorded a few sessions for Columbia in 1964 that remained unreleased until after his death, and in early 1965 he joined the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, which included Elvin Bishop and keyboardist Mark Naftalin, along with drummer Sam Lay and bassist Jerome Arnold, and their debut album 'The Paul Butterfield Blues Band' was recorded in September and released the following month. In June 1965, Bloomfield had recorded with Bob Dylan, whom he had met in 1963 at a Chicago club called the Bear, adding his chiming Telecaster guitar licks to 'Like A Rolling Stone', and he also played on most of the tracks on Dylan's 1965 'Highway 61 Revisited' album. After Sam Lay fell ill after a series of dates in November 1965, the Butterfield Band brought Chicago-born drummer Billy Davenport into the group, and this line-up recorded the ground-breaking 'East-West', with the title track exploring modal music, being based on a song Gravenites and Bloomfield had been playing since 1965 called 'It's About Time'. 

Bloomfield played on a number of recording sessions between 1965 and 1967, and his guitar playing had a huge impact on San Francisco Bay Area musicians after he played with the Butterfield band at Bill Graham’s Fillmore West. Eventually Bloomfield tired of the Butterfield Band's rigorous touring schedule and, relocating to San Francisco, he sought to create his own group and he formed the short-lived Electric Flag in 1967, with two longtime Chicago collaborators, Barry Goldberg and vocalist Nick Gravenites. The band featured a horn section, and the rhythm section was composed of bassist Harvey Brooks and drummer Buddy Miles, and the first recordings were for the soundtrack of director-producer Roger Corman's 1967 movie 'The Trip'. Their first proper studio album 'A Long Time Comin'' was issued in April 1968, and critics complimented the group's distinctive, intriguing sound but found the record itself somewhat uneven. By that time, however, the band was already disintegrating, and shortly after the release of the album Bloomfield left his own band, with Gravenites, Goldberg, and bassist Harvey Brooks following. He next teamed up with keyboardist Al Kooper, who had also played on 'Like A Rolling Stone', and after playing together on Moby Grape's 1968 'Grape Jam' album, they decided to record an entire jam album, with the result being the classic 'Supersession' album, with Bloomfield, Kooper, and Stephen Stills, Barry Goldberg, Harvey Brooks, and Eddie Hoh. Bloomfield continued with solo, session and back-up work from 1968 to 1980, playing on Mother Earth's cover of Memphis Slim's 'Mother Earth', and producing the 1968 sessions for James Cotton's 1968 album 'Cotton In Your Ears'. He released his first solo album 'It's Not Killing Me' in 1969, and the same year he helped Janis Joplin assemble her Kozmic Blues Band for the album 'I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues, Again Mama!', playing the guitar solo on Joplin's blues composition 'One Good Man'. He also reunited with Paul Butterfield and Sam Lay for the Chess Records album 'Fathers And Sons', featuring Muddy Waters and pianist Otis Spann. 

During 1970 Bloomfield gave up playing because of his heroin addiction, and it wasn't until 1973 that he recorded his second solo album 'Try It Before You Buy It', which was rejected by Columbia, and didn't appear until 1990. Also in 1973, he cut 'Triumvirate' with Dr. John and guitarist and singer John Hammond Jr, and the next year he was back with The Electric Flag for their 'The Band Kept Playing' album. In 1975 he recorded an album with the group KGB with singer and songwriter Ray Kennedy, and Barry Goldberg, with the band name coming from their initials, but it was not well received by critics, and Bloomfield left soon after its release. The same year found him performing with John Cale on Cale's soundtrack for the film 'Caged Heat', and in 1976 he recorded an instructional album for guitarists, 'If You Love These Blues, Play 'Em As You Please', which was financed through Guitar Player magazine. In 1977, Bloomfield was selected by Andy Warhol to do the soundtrack for the pop artist's last film, 'Andy Warhol's Bad'(also known as 'BAD'), and an unreleased single 'Andy's Bad' was produced for the project. During 1979-1981 he often performed with the King Perkoff Band, sometimes introducing them as the 'Michael Bloomfield And Friends' outfit, and he continued to play live dates, with his performance at San Francisco State College on 7th February 1981, being his final appearance. Bloomfield died in San Francisco on 15th February 1981, at the age of just 37, found seated behind the wheel of his car, with all four doors locked. According to police, an empty Valium bottle was found on the car seat, but no suicide note was found, and the medical examiner who performed the autopsy ruled the death accidental. In his short life he became known as the epitome of the white bluesman, with his searing guitar gracing a multitude of songs from the early 60's right up until a few years before his death. 

Track listing

01 Flat Broke Blues (from 'Cherry Red' by Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson 1967)
02 Mother Earth (from 'Living With the Animals' by Mother Earth 1968)
03 Blues For Barry And... (from '2 Jews Blues' by Barry Goldberg 1969)
04 One Good Man (from 'Got Dem 'Ol Kozmic Blues Again, Mama!' by Janis Joplin 1969) 
05 Pigs Head (from 'Weeds' by Brewer & Shipley 1969)
06 Killing My Love (from 'My Labors' by Nick Gravenites 1969)
07 Mean Disposition (from 'Fathers And Sons' by Muddy Waters 1969)
08 Nose Open (from 'Taking Care Of Business' by James Cotton Blues Band 1970)
09 Sidewalk Stanley (from 'Brand New' by Woody Herman 1971)
10 Settle It In The Bedroom, Baby (from 'Casting Pearls' by Mill Valley Bunch 1973)

11 Andy's Bad (from the film 'Andy Warhol's Bad' 1977)
12 If You Love These Blues (intro) / WDIA (from 'If You Love These Blues...' 1976)