Johnny Winter - ...and on guitar (1977)

John Dawson Winter III was born in Beaumont, Texas, on February 23, 1944, two years before his brother Edgar made an apperance in 1946. They were encouraged in their musical pursuits by their father John Dawson Winter Jnr, who was also a musician who played saxophone and guitar and sang at churches and weddings, and they appeared on a local children's show with Johnny playing ukulele when he was 10 years old. His recording career began at the age of 15, when his band Johnny and the Jammers released 'School Day Blues' on a Houston record label, and after recording a single with Roy Head And The Traits, he released his first album 'The Progressive Blues Experiment' in 1968. His big break came at the end of that year, when Mike Bloomfield, whom he met and jammed with in Chicago, invited him to sing and play a song during a Bloomfield and Al Kooper concert at the Fillmore East in New York City. Representatives of Columbia Records were at the concert, and after Winter played and sang B.B. King's 'It's My Own Fault' to loud applause, they snapped him up with reportedly the largest advance in the history of the recording industry at that time — $600,000. Winter's first Columbia album 'Johnny Winter' was recorded and released in 1969, using the same backing musicians who played on 'The Progressive Blues Experiment', plus blues legend Willie Dixon on upright bass and Big Walter Horton on harmonica. With brother Edgar added as a full member of the group, Winter recorded his third album 'Second Winter' in Nashville in 1969, with the two-disc album having just three sides of music, with the fourth side being blank. In 1970 the original blues trio disbanded, after Edgar left to record a solo album 'Entrance', and to form Edgar Winter's White Trash, an R&B/jazz-rock group, with Johnny playing guitar on both 'Entrance', and White Trash's debut album. He then formed a new band with the remnants of The McCoys who had just split, nabbing guitarist Rick Derringer, bassist Randy Jo Hobbs, and Derringer's brother Randy Z on drums, with the original name of Johnny Winter And The McCoys being shortened to Johnny Winter And. 

Winter's momentum was throttled when he sank into heroin addiction during the Johnny Winter And days, but after seeking treatment for and recovering from the addiction, he returned to the music scene with the release of the prophetically titled 'Still Alive and Well', a basic blend of blues and hard rock, whose title track was written by Rick Derringer. In live performances, Winter often told the story about how, as a child, he dreamed of playing with the blues guitarist Muddy Waters, and in 1974 he got his chance, when renowned blues artists and their younger brethren came together to honor Waters with a concert featuring many blues classics, and which was the start of an admired TV series 'Soundstage', with 'Blues Summit In Chicago' being the first episode. In 1977 he took Waters into the studio to record 'Hard Again' for Blue Sky Records, a label set up by Winter's manager and distributed by Columbia, and it was this record that kick-started the resurgence of Waters' career, with this and their subsequent two albums together producing three Grammy Awards. Throughout his career Winter has helped out friends and relatives on their records, contributing to solo albums by Rick Derringer and former White Trash singer Jerry LaCroix, as well as playing with James Cotton in 1970, who returned the favour by contributing harmonica to the 'Hard Again' sessions seven years later.

 

Track listing

01 She Moves Me (from 'Taking Care Of Business' by James Cotton Blues Band 1970)
02 Tobacco Road (from 'Entrance' by Edgar Winter 1970)
03 I've Got News For You (from 'Edgar Winter's White Trash' by Edgar Winter's White Trash 1971)
04 Funny Boy (from 'The Second Coming' by Jerry LaCroix 1974)
05 Skyscraper Blues (from 'Spring Fever' by Rick Derringer 1975)
06 King Tut Strut (from 'Temple Of Birth' by Jeremy Steig 1975)
07 Reggae Rock & Roll (from 'Hit It Again' by Tornader 1977)
08 Mannish Boy (from 'Hard Again' by Muddy Waters 1977)

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)

Todd Rundgren - ...and on guitar (1980)

After departing Nazz in 1969, the 21-year-old Todd Rundgren briefly considered working as a computer programmer, and then decided that his calling was as a producer. He moved to New York in the summer of 1969 and involved himself with the clubs of Greenwich Village, particularly Steve Paul's Scene, and met a number of Manhattan musicians and fashion designers. Michael Friedman, a former assistant of Nazz manager John Kurland, offered him a job as staff engineer and producer under Albert Grossman, which he accepted. Grossman, known for his management of folk rock acts, had just founded Ampex Records, a joint business venture with the tape company of the same name, and built Bearsville Studios near Woodstock, with the Bearsville name soon becoming its own record label. One of Rundgren's first gigs as a producer was engineering and mixing for The Band, and in 1970, while producing one of the artists in Grossman's stable, he added guitar to James Cotton's 'Taking Care Of Business' album, although generally he stuck to engineering and producing artists such as Jesse Winchester, The American Dream, Great Speckled Bird, Jericho, Halfnelson (later Sparks), and Badfinger. In 1972 he added guitar, keyboards, drums and even lead vocals to future band-mate Mark "Moogy" Klingman's eponymous album, and from then on he was much more hands-on with his productions, adding his guitar if he felt it was needed. In 1973 he was part of the 'Music From Free Creek' album, which brought together a multitude of stars to play what was pretty much a jam session, with Rundgren's contribution being the superb instrumental 'Cissy Strut'. 
In 1974 he provided some screaming guitar-work to 'I Am Free' from Felix Cavaliere's self-titled album, and the same year he played on Grand Funk's 'Shinin' On' record. 1974 also saw him collaborate with Daryl Hall and John Oates, to take the soft blue-eyed soul that they were known for and turn it into the hard-edged, political album 'War Babies'. 1976 was a quiet year, just producing Steve Hillage's 'L' and Bette Midler's 'Songs For The New Depression' records, but 1977 brought perhaps his most acclaimed production work, on Meatloaf's classic 'Bat Out Of Hell' album. He limited his guest appearances to one a year over the next few years, as he was still busy recording and releasing solo albums, as well as records with his band Utopia. In 1979 he played on The Tubes 'Remote Control' album, and we end with a somewhat surprising collaboration with Shaun Cassidy (half-brother of heart-throb David Cassidy), writing and playing on songs on an album which has been pretty much universally condemned as being the strangest and worst record of Cassidy's career, although I have managed to find perhaps the one song that is not that bad. Rundgren redeemed himself in 1981 by producing, arranging and engineering Jim Steinman's 'Bad For Good' album, and then moved on to produce bands like The Psychedelic Furs, Ian Hunter, Cheap Trick and Dragon throughout the 80's, and he continues to release solo albums and produce other artists to this day, although the production work has tailed off recently. Looking through his credits on albums from the last 50 years as writer, singer, multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer and mixer, it all just confirms that Todd Rundgren truly is a genius of modern music.      

Track listing

01 The Sky Is Falling (from 'Taking Care Of Business' by James Cotton Blues Band 1970)
02 Kindness (from 'Mark "Moogy" Klingman' by Mark "Moogy" Klingman 1972)
03 Cissy Strut (from 'Music From Free Creek' 1973)
04 I Am Free (from 'Felix Cavaliere' by Felix Cavaliere 1974)
05 Carry Me Through (from 'Shinin' On' by Grand Funk 1974)
06 Screaming Through December (from 'War Babies' by Daryl Hall & John Oates 1974)
07 Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad (from 'Bat Out Of Hell' by Meat Loaf 1977)
08 Late In My Bed (from 'Elizabeth Barraclough' by Elizabeth Barraclough 1978)
09 Telecide (from 'Remote Control' by The Tubes 1979)
10 Morning Chorus (from 'Air Pocket' by Roger Powell 1980)
11 Selfless Love (from 'Wasp' by Shaun Cassidy 1980)