Photos

Here's a shot for the blues today - I'm down to the end of my favorite photos from Memphis in May, but I have lots of nice ones left from the Beale Street Music Festival, which I will spread out over the course of some Mondays to come.

This is Hubert Sumlin, one of Rolling Stone magazine's Top 100 guitarists of all time. He played alongside Howlin' Wolf for many years, then after the Wolf's death, the band kept going for several more years. To hear him play "Killing Floor" is an extreme treat - he plays it like it was meant to be played, like it was the first time it was played, every time.

I've seen this guy on a few occasions - he never fails to impress and attracts other musicians to him who want to experience what it is like to stand on that stage with the real blues. This day was no exception, the other Elvis, a Mr. Costello, made an appearance and actually sang the song while Hubert played "Killing Floor".

I liked this photograph of Hubert Sumlin. I like the action it shows - you can see the guitar interplay between the two musicians. I'm sorry, but I cannot come up with the name of the guy in the background. I believe he is a member of Billy Gibson's band, which backed up Hubert (and Elvis) for this set. Billy Gibson was tremendous, too, he's a local Memphis harp player, very energetic and talented.

So, enjoy the blues this Monday - I hope your week is great! I've been busy with a money making venture so have been unable to participate for the past few days, but I plan to get back to it soon.

Thanks for looking!