There have been a lot of very good releases this year so far. Here’s our selection of twelve of the best:
Joe Bonamassa/Beth Hart: Black Coffee
You really can’t go wrong with an album of music from guitar genius Joe Bonamassa and vocal tour de force Beth Hart. Individually brilliant. Together, they make magic.
Ry Cooder: Prodigal Son
An album of wonderfully reinterpreted old gospel songs and hymns, from the guitar virtuoso. Highly recommended.
Dana Fuchs: Love Lives On
Fine album of bluesy American from the talented singer-songwriter, which features her utterly engaging, raspy vocals and a wonderful set of 13 songs, including a blues-soaked, stripped back version of Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire. “Love Lives On is about hope and perseverance…I hope in some way this album can give some of that back to you,” said Fuchs.
Ian Siegal rages against the poison in the veins of the world in a very fine album of blues rock. His trademark rasping vocals never felt so menacing and appropriate.
Buddy Guy: The Blues is Alive and Well
15 tracks from the veteran bluesman, with Guy’s still formidable vocals and blistering guitar work aided and abetted by the McCrary sisters, Mick Jager, James Bay, Jeff Beck and Keith Richards.
Keeshea Pratt Band: Believe
One very fine album of soul-soaked blues, featuring an outstanding 7-piece band and the wondrous Ms. Keeshea Pratt, whose soaring and thrilling vocals sparkle on each of the twelve tracks. Here’s our full review here.
Chris Smither: Call Me Lucky
Double album of terrific acoustic songs from the gravel voiced and rhythmic guitar picker. As usual, the songs are clever, incisive and creative. Great stuff.
Paul Thorn: Don’t Let the Devil Ride
Unabashed album of gospel music, with Paul and his band, and a group of top notch collaborators including the Blind Boys of Alabama, the McCrary Sisters, Bonnie Bishop and New Orleans’ Preservation Hall Jazz Horns, all in scintillating form. Read our interview with Paul Thorn here.
Various: Strange Angels: In Flight with Elmore James
Top notch tribute album to Elmore James featuring Bettye LaVette, Keb’ Mo’, Warren Haynes, Shelby Lynne/Allison Moorer and others
Rocking, honest 15th album from Zito who sings about his “second chance at a first class life,” charting his journey from addiction to sobriety to a life in music.
Paul Thorn has just released his 13th album, Don’t Let the Devil Ride. It’s an unabashed album of gospel music, with Paul and his band, and a group of top notch collaborators including the Blind Boys of Alabama, the McCrary Sisters, Bonnie Bishop and New Orleans’ Preservation Hall Jazz Horns in scintillating form. It’s heady stuff, rockin’ gospel music with a wonderful, upbeat spirit. “This is the culmination of my whole life in music, coming back to my gospel roots,” Paul says, “I want to help lighten your load and make you smile.”
He goes on: “One of things that I take a lot of pride in is that I love everybody, and what I learned in church paid dividends. When I’m up there entertaining it’s also a glimpse of what my life has been and how gospel music has molded me into who I am.”
Who he is, is a class Americana act – great singer, guitar player and song writer with a quick sense of humour, who has shared a stage with Robert Cray, Bonnie Raitt, Sting, Jeff Beck and Huey Lewis, to name a few. But he’s also a thoroughly nice guy who’s happy to sign autographs and pose for photos with fans at his shows and who feels he owes a debt of gratitude to his mom and dad.
Down at the Crossroads was able to catch up with Paul in Savannah, Georgia, before his gig that night with the Blind Boys of Alabama.
DATC: Hi Paul. Thanks for talking to us today. We were very excited to listen to the new album – it’s been on constant play in my car over the past few days. So, congratulations on that – it really is outstanding. And it’s basically a gospel album – tell us why you wanted to make a record like this.
Paul: Well I grew up the son of a Pentecostal minister and I grew up singing to this type of music. My family are white people, but we always went to the black churches a lot and we worshipped with them, and I just love the black style of gospel music. That’s what I was drawn to and I always had it in my mind that some day I wanted to do a gospel record, and I just thought that this was the right time to pay tribute to my roots – and that’s what I did.
DATC: That’s interesting – going back to your boyhood, what was it like for white people going to a black church in Mississippi back then?
Paul: Truth be told, there were two types of churches growing up. The black people had their own church and the white people had theirs, and we each had a different style of worship. But my family would go visit the black churches and we’d worship with them, and that’s where the music got me, man. White churches did more of a country and western style – which I do like too! – but the black music really got into me, I just loved it.
DATC: There’s always been a bluesy, gospel feel to your music, Paul, hasn’t there?
Paul: That’s exactly right. I live in Tupelo Mississippi which is the birthplace of Elvis Presley, and people always ask me what my influences were and they expect me to say somebody famous. But it’s really not – my biggest influences were people nobody’s heard of, people who sang in church. You know there was a spirit to what they did; it didn’t bother me that they weren’t famous, I was being touched in my heart by the sounds I was hearing.
DATC: So, how did you go about choosing this collection of songs? They’re all old gospel songs, spirituals and others from the African American tradition. How did you pick these songs?
Paul: Well, one thing I did not want to do; I didn’t want to sing gospel songs that had been done a lot. There are a lot of great gospel songs like Amazing Grace or I’ll Fly Away – but too many people have done them, so we just dug around – listed to old records, searched the Internet, we tried to find songs that were good gospel songs, but more obscure. Some of the songs were so obscure we weren’t even able to find out who wrote them. They’re songs that have been forgotten. So that’s how we chose them, we wanted songs that weren’t as familiar.
DATC: You know, one of the songs I was listening to today, The Half Has Never Been Told – your version is terrific – but I remember as a boy singing the original 19th century Philip Bliss hymn. I haven’t heard that song for 40 odd years, so it took me back!
Paul: Yeah, I wanted these songs to be fresh for a new generation of listeners who’ve never heard these songs.
DATC: And I love the version of You Gotta Move which you’ve changed from Mississippi Fred McDowell’s slow blues into a fantastic upbeat celebration. What’s that song about and why did you give it this sort of treatment?
Paul: Well that’s a good question. I think that song can be what you want it to mean. You got to move could mean get up and dance and rejoice and feel good. It could mean stop being lazy and get up and do some work! It could mean anything. It could mean you’re fixing to die. When you say, when the Lord get ready, it could mean the grim reaper’s coming to take you out. It could mean anything – that’s what I like about it; I want the listener to make it mean what it means to them. It’s got multiple meanings and it’s a good song for that reason.
DATC: I’ve always thought of that song as a resurrection song. You know, the policeman, the woman on the street – everybody’s in the same boat, but in the last day when God moves them bones, everybody’s the same.
Paul: Yeah, exactly right, That’s a strong message. We’ll all the same – whoever you look up to the most in life, your hero, whoever that may be, you have to understand, that person is very flawed. We’re all flawed. Nobody is all good and nobody is all bad. That’s the thing I think this record also says – we’re all in it together.
DATC: That’s interesting. Because the last song, the title track Don’t Let the Devil Ride taps into that old struggle between good and evil, often played out on an individual level. Which you see in a lot of the old blues songs and in the lives of some of the old blues artists. But that’s a struggle I guess we all face.
Paul: You know the hardest thing in life is doing the right thing. It’s easy doing the wrong thing. Doing the wrong thing is fun! When I think of Don’t Let the Devil Ride I think of temptation. In my world, I guess the strongest temptation for me, and for any man, is women. Know what I mean? My grandfather used to say, when the birds of temptation fly around your head, don’t let them build a nest.
DATC: Wise advice! Well, let me ask you this, Paul – your early history in the church, as I understand it, resulted in you getting thrown out. But here you are all these years later with a lovely dedication to your father and mother on the album sleeve, and saying what you learned in church paid dividends. Tell us how that works.
Paul: Well, you know, my mom and dad, when they got married they were very young, and they started singing gospel music and pastoring churches. They spent their entire lives serving God and serving others. And one of the things I learned from my Dad that has really served me well in life – there’s a lot of people you meet in life that are only nice to certain people, they pick and choose who they’re nice to benefit themselves, but my dad wasn’t like that, he was always a champion for the underdog. And…that’s what I wanna be.
DATC: That’s a great example to have in your life, for sure. Now you recorded the album at Sam Phillips Studio and FAME studio Muscle Shoals and Preservation Hall– 3 very historic locations. Tell us about that experience.
Paul: Well we just wanted to record this authentic music in authentic studios and there’s nothing more authentic than Sam Phillips Studio in Memphis and Rick Hall’s Fame Studio in Muscle Shoals. That’s as authentic as it gets. We recorded half the album at Sam Phillips and half at Fame, and PBS filmed the making of the album, they followed us to both studios. So it’s coming out as a documentary on PBS in May. It’s gonna be a great promotional tool for the record. But we wanted to record the record somewhere that had the spirit to match the music.
DATC: Yeah. It sounds great, And the production and the sound quality on the album is excellent. And you have some wonderful collaborators on the album – the Blind Boys of Alabama, the McCrary Sisters, Bonnie Bishop and the horns. What was it like working with those guys?
Paul: Oh man, it was awesome. The Blind Boys – I love those guys, they’re pros and they know more about gospel music than I’ll ever know, because they’ve been doing it longer than I have. And I like it, because they’re old enough to call me boy! I like that!
DATC: So, they are going to join you, and the McCrary Sisters as well, on some of the dates on your tour?
Paul: Yeah, I’m doing a show with the Blind Boys tonight. We’re going to take this gospel thing as far as we can take it. It’s off to a good start. I just found out yesterday that it debuted on the Americana chart at number 12 and next week it’s gonna be in the Top 100 Billboard chart in the United States. So we’re off to a really good start.
DATC: That’s great, Paul. How does this material go down with your audience, some of whom may have no interest in gospel music faith?
Paul: Well so far it’s gone over great. ‘Cause all of my fans that know me know that I grew up singing gospel music. And believe it or not, for years my fans have been asking me to cut a gospel record. You know, whether you’re a believer or not, the music is great. And when I go on stage, I’m not a preacher – I’m an entertainer. But I am sincere when I sing this music. And the fans love it! I haven’t heard one person say, why’d you do a gospel record? Actually they’ve all said, man, this is what we’ve been waiting on. So everybody wins!
DATC: The album is great, you’ve done a fantastic job. I wish you well for tonight and for all the rest of the tour. Paul, thanks very much.
Janiva Magness has recently released Love is An Army, her 14th album. She’s a highly accomplished artist, honoured with seven awards in the last 6 years by The Blues Foundation of Memphis, including B.B. King Entertainer of the Year and Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year. She was also nominated for a Grammy for her last album, Love Wins Again.
As well as being a talented songwriter, outstanding singer and hard-working performing artist, Janiva has served passionately as Ambassador for both Foster Care Alumni and Child Welfare League of America for many years, standing up for young people, having herself overcome much adversity earlier in life.
Love Is an Army has twelve hugely enjoyable songs which tap into a deep well of both Americana and Memphis soul. She is joined by a number of guest luminaries, such as Charlie Musselwhite, Delbert McClinton, Texas singer-songwriter Bryan Stephens, Poco frontman Rusty Young, Mississippi hill-country blues artist Cedric Burnside, and bluegrass guitar and banjo virtuoso Courtney Hartman. These are stirring songs of protest, empowerment and hope which will capture your soul and move your feet.
Down at the Crossroads caught up with Janiva prior to an extensive tour of the United States.
DATC: Janiva, congratulations on the new album. It’s very upbeat, it’s very inspirational and it’s already had very fine reviews. What was the impetus behind the album?
Janiva: I’m very glad you connect with the music. My producer, Dave, and I wanted to make a record that was very current, not just sonically current, but topically current. And we had quite a sense of urgency about it. There is so much stress in the world these days, there is so much, upset, anger, pain. In a global way. And we really wanted to speak to that. And do everything we could to encourage and inspire people to stand up and speak up, and for change. Because clearly – clearly great change is needed.
But the older we get the more we realize that change begins at home. The revolution begins at home. You know I’m old enough to have seen this before. It feels a little bit, in many ways, like 1968. And so we wanted to speak to that. And that’s really what the palette of the music was aimed towards.
DATC: And I saw that you said that you thought the album might be a challenge for some of your fans. Why do you say that?
Janiva: Because in the world of blues – contemporary or traditional – in the world of roots music, there’s a lot of love and affection for the tradition. And I think that this album contains some of that. But its pushing out further. And I think if you were to look at the arc of my recording career, if you were to listen to each album back to back, you would find a continuum. I have never wanted to make the same album twice.
There is a big shift in the sonics of the album. Some of the instrumentation in there some of the traditional blues people might absolutely love – or might absolutely be upset by! And there is also an element of empowerment that upsets people.
Just yesterday on social media, I got called out by one of my fans for posting too much political stuff.
DATC: Oh dear!
Janiva: I’ve never been the person, the woman, who has gone quietly into the night! And I have no intention of beginning that now.
DATC: Good for you!
Janiva: Yeah, I was getting called out – “I love your music, you have an amazing voice, one of the best voices in the blues today, but you’re upsetting me by putting all these posts about people asking in this county about gun control. Stop it!”
DATC: Yeah, well, in looking at this album you’ve already been quite outspoken about that. If you read the lyrics to Love to a Gunfight – which incidentally is a wonderful song – in the light of recent events that’s hugely topical – you say “now is not the time to pray” You know, thoughts and prayers and all that – it’s the time for action and not simply platitudes.
Janiva: I believe this to my soul. These are not just things I say, or – what’s going to be the popular thing, let’s see if I can catch a wave? The place that I come from and have always come from is to stand up and speak out. And be accountable. Accountability as a human being; accountability as a neighbourhood; as a state, as a nation. Wait – how about accountability as the human race?
So clearly that person who was calling me out on social media has not heard the new record. I’m not the shut up and sing type!
DATC: You’ve talked about the loss of kindness and respect for each other and how upset you are about that. We see that, clearly, in American politics – but is it the same more generally, do you think?
Janiva: Absolutely. A lack of consideration of other human beings. A lack of basic fundamental kindness. Please and thank you – where did that go? Where did respect for the older generation go? Where did the basic fundamental capacity to listen to someone else go? Because we don’t listen any more.
And that is global in my experience; it isn’t just the United States or the UK – it isn’t just anywhere. It’s all of us. And I am saddened by that and I think it has a great deal to do with the state of affairs we are collectively in. Add in the level of greed to that and it’s quite ugly.
DATC: The good thing about this album though, is you don’t dwell on the problem too much – you move pretty swiftly to the answer. Your album asks: But what if love was in charge and calling the shots? So, I suppose my question is, how possible do you think that is? People seem so entrenched in their mindsets; hemmed in by the social media they subscribe to – can we get to the place where love is in charge?
Janiva: I absolutely believe we can. I’ve seen such magnificent transformations in people as individuals; I’ve seen transformations in communities; I’ve seen absolute miraculous transformations in…myself. So – how is it not possible?
But – there is a caveat. My experience says I have to be willing. Change is always closer than I think it is. It’s more within reach than I imagine. But I have to be willing. And that means there needs to be a burning to change. There can be so much fear. Fear is such a negative force. It’s cruel. And yet, it’s part of the human condition. So, what do we do about that? I have to be willing to face these things. And move beyond them. My mind tells me it’s a great brick wall, but my experience is that it’s simply a veil. Every time I have faced these fears, it’s a veil, not a brick wall. I practice a lot of yoga and they say the mind is a monkey [i.e. unsettled, restless] and I can’t disagree with that.
DATC: You’ve said you believe in the power of helping others. That love is an action. That reminds me of John Mayer’s song – Love is a Verb; or St John, who a long time ago said, “if you see your needy brother or sister and you look the other way, you know nothing about love.” So, fs that’s what it’s about, if love is an action, what would you like to see happening? What do we need to do?
Janiva: Along the lives of it begins with us; it begins with us, it begins at home. Helping someone who is in need. It begins there. Do it. Do something every day to help someone else.
DATC: “Swing the hammer every single day …and watch the walls come down”
Janiva; Yeah, pretty much! So what is that – is it carrying someone’s groceries? Helping an elderly person across the street? Is that taking a meal to someone, feeding someone? Does that mean going and volunteering for an hour or two? Does that mean canvassing locally to get the news out about some current legislation that is on the chopping block or is about to be passed, that is harmful, or that is helpful? Or about going out and helping people register to vote? To engage with our neighbour, our community. And by the way – do something kind and tell no one. Just do it.
That was something I learned long ago and it has been a profound practice.
DATC: It reminds me of a YouTube video I’ve seen of Bob Dylan, it’s called the Holiday Blues. And in his own inimitable fashion, with that laconic drawl of his, he asks, “what’s the cure for the holiday blues?” And he says, just go out and do something for somebody, volunteer in a soup kitchen, whatever, and you’ll soon find your blues go away.
Janiva: It’s a funny thing, but it works. It seems almost too simple.
Photography by Nathan David Kelly.
DATC: I really like that song Hammer where you sing “Just got to swing the hammer every single day …and watch the walls come down”. Charlie Musselwhite is fantastic on this. And you’ve got some other great contributors on the album.
Janiva: I’m very excited about this. Very few of my albums have had special guests, but we decided to just take the gloves off on this one and just go for it. And I was very, very grateful that we got yeses from the people that we asked that ended up appearing. I’m very grateful that it worked out.
DATC: And how would you characterize the style of the album? Some have said it sounds like Memphis R&B, or soul, and one reviewer wanted to term it Americana-Soul, which I think is quite interesting. How would you characterize it?
Janiva: I would say Americana Soul covers it. Because the definition of Americana as a genre encompasses elements of several different kinds of American roots music. So it encompasses folk music, blues and also soul music. It encompasses elements of early or traditional country music. And so I think Americana Soul is a pretty accurate place to put it.
DATC: It’s very listenable. I think people from various backgrounds and tastes will find something to really like in this.
Janiva: I hope so. My digits are crossed!
DATC: Let me ask you this: Yesterday was International Women’s Day. What has it been like for you, as a woman, building your career in this industry?
Photo: Earl Gibson III
Janiva: It’s been a tremendous amount of hard work. I’m grateful that I have a very strong work ethic. If you are pushing on the idea that women have a different experience than men in business, I can absolutely speak to that, of course I think that that’s true.
I do not believe that it is the case that men have an easier time than women, overall. I do believe it is difficult for men on different levels. But the fact that there are certain disadvantages because I have different plumbing than you – that’s real. That’s not based on skill, or ability, it’s certainly not based on talent, so those prejudices are based on some very old distorted thinking and philosophy.
And I have to raise my hand on the #metoo movement. So, it’s been very real; it’s been part of the experience. I have absolutely dealt with sexual harassment my entire life. I’m a woman in the world. Anyone who is surprised by that is either not paying attention or is on some level some kind of perpetrator.
Now, it took me quite some time as a young woman in business of music to understand that these prejudices that exist in the business world and in the world at large – it’s really not my problem. If someone sees me as worth less, that’s not my problem, it’s theirs. I get to make a decision whether or not to endorse that perspective. The song Hammer speaks to it: when they tell you “you’re too black, too white, too blues – they’re just words.” Now those can be hurtful. But I have to make a decision. Whose problem is that? Am I going to take that on, am I going to carry that prejudice? – “yes, I’m not worth as much because I’m a woman, or I’m not worth as much because I’m not a white blues artist” – who’s problem is that?
That’s not my problem. I’ll leave that with the person that brought it into the room. Take it with you when you leave. I’m not taking that. Now that needs some discipline. And there are some days – well I’m an artist and some days I’m going to question myself, I’m a human being. But this is not my problem, it’s their problem.
We fight it. I stand up to it all the time, it’s very real.
DATC: Janiva, you’re touring the US during March and April?
Janiva: And May, June, July and August! It’s looking to be a good year and I’m grateful for that. But I definitely want to come over to Europe in October – November. So digits crossed.
DATC: Janiva, great to talk to you, thank you so much.
What a great year for music! Here’s a list of Americana albums we enjoyed most in 2017. It’s really too hard to rank these – they’re all great. But in our view the top five listed were really outstanding. The Blind Boys of Alabama’s Almost Home is full of vitality and poignancy, and is very inspiring; Jason Isbell continues to set exceptional standards for song writing and performance; Dori Freeman’s second album showcases her lovely voice and outstanding song writing skills; Rhiannon Giddens’ Freedom Highway is a powerful set of timely songs featuring her amazing musical talents; and Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’s collaboration on TajMo was our Blues Album of the Year. All quite mouth watering.
Here’s our first ten:
Blind Boys of Alabama – Almost Home
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit – That Nashville Sound
Kenny Meeks makes great bluesy sounding Americana music. He has worked extensively alongside artists such as Sixpence None the Richer, Buddy and Julie Miller, and Al Perkins, and has four albums to his credit over the past 12 years or so. He’s a great guitarist and gritty singer – and an accomplished songwriter. His new album, New Jerusalem, which we had in our Best Americana list for 2016 is a very fine collection of original songs, all with a gospel flavour. Down at the Crossroads has the opportunity to talk to Kenny recently, and he was gracious enough to be very open and honest in response to our questions –
DATC: Kenny, congratulations on the new album, New Jerusalem. It’s great – chock full of very cool bluesy Americana songs, with unmistakable gospel content. Tell us a bit about how the album took shape.
Kenny: Thank you very much Gary. What got these songs flowing, and this record, was the suicide of an elderly neighbour who was a bit of a grandfather-figure to our kids (especially my boys) – which impacted our family deeply. Also, the sadness of the sudden death of my brother Paul was pretty rough.
These events stirred something in me that became a response to suffering, pain, and isolation. As I began writing songs, a little bit of my history came out. I wrote all but one of these songs through this season of grief and reflection. Also, it’s a bit of a legacy record for my progeny……a peek into my soul and my story. I’m not sure I’ll ever make another record this personal again. It’s not just about those topics, but that’s what got things going.
DATC: Tell us about the title track, New Jerusalem – what is that all about?
Kenny: It’s about the afterlife. I do believe in it, in a biblical way. I wanted to sing about it. I wanted the song to be a celebration and a proclamation. It’s also about a vision of greater unity among followers of Jesus. The absence of schisms, and unity, in Heaven. It’s for me as much as for the listener.
DATC:Mercy Pays the Toll is an interesting song. It talks about “when pain moves in to stay,” and “when this world wears us down…and leaves us tired and sore.” It sounds like there’s some personal experience in there. You ask the question – “how do we live?” What’s the answer, in your experience?
Kenny: This song is in response to the pain I was seeing around me. I’ve certainly had – and caused – my share. But people live with chronic pain, chronic poverty, chronic sadness, post-traumatic stress, or mental impairment. I don’t think I necessarily ask the question looking for an answer. I think the question is meant to be a meditation. How can we share burdens of others? Some so heavy, they think their only way out might be to take their own life?
But, I think the answer is to always love. If only love could be my default response to every situation….. and when it isn’t, we have mercy. Maybe “How Do We Love” would have been better said?
DATC: There’s a bluesy feel to your music, but it’s never downbeat. How have the blues as a genre influenced you and your music?
Kenny: Maybe the blues has been misunderstood as a sad genre. It’s not. I mean, life is sad, and the blues are certainly about life. But, I hear a lot of joy in blues music. But…there is the presence of a yearning in all music, and certainly in the blues. So, I think you’re right in a sense.
I read in a Time article about Delta music history, that lyrics like ‘I’m gonna leave you baby’ were sharecroppers speaking in code that they were going to leave their landowner for a better deal. That was the author’s take. Dunno if there’s any truth to it. But, allegory has always been very present in African American oral tradition and music.
American blues music shaped me early, through a trip to a family farm in Horse Cave Kentucky, where I wandered to the sharecropper home next door. I was real little. The neighbour was on the front porch, playing a dimestore electric guitar through a little amp with a jack-knife slide. That’s where they found me, slack-jawed, standing in front of that porch. This instantly became the music to which I would compare all other. It’s still in my mind like it happened yesterday.
I also really liked Dixieland music as a 9-year old trumpet player. My dad took me to meet Al Hirt at a record store. But, when I bought my first guitar with paper route money at 12, it would most certainly be manipulated with a jack-knife slide. When my mother passed away that same year, the blues became important to me. But, beyond sadness, maybe yearning? Some folks equate tempo with …you know – fast = happy, slow = sad. Man, the slower the better for me. And sometimes the real slow stuff is downright joyous!
DATC: How come the blues, with some of its associations with the crossroads and the devil and so on, can be a vehicle for gospel music?
Kenny: As for the ‘deal with the devil’ I kinda see the “Crossroads” legend, as we know it, as a deal for fortune and fame, not specific to the blues. I’m fairly certain the music we consider to be the genre called the blues was uniquely born from the music of the African American slave population in America. And if their spiritual music wasn’t the birth mother, it certainly was the midwife. So, I think the blues have more kinship with the music of the African-American church than any other genre. It seems really natural to me, in an organic kind of way. I’m not fond of obvious “repurposed” blues-Gospel music. But Rev. Gary Davis …man… that is the absolute loveliest stuff ever!
DATC: Who are the blues and other artists that have influenced you most, either musically or lyrically?
Kenny: Robert Johnson. Ray Charles (my desert island artist…just Ray…all I need…ha!) I love John Lee Hooker. I love Taj Mahal. Jimi Hendrix. Aretha Franklin. Ralph Stanley. Leon Russell. Grant Green. Les McCann and Oscar Peterson. Bob Dylan. John Prine. Rev. Gary Davis. And Duane Allman. I could go on and on (laugh). If you go back, listen to some of Robert Randolph’s mentors in the Sacred Steel tradition…oh boy. I know I’m forgetting some real important musicians that have influenced me, sorry!
DATC: Tell us a bit about yourself, Kenny – first of all, your website mentions your “migratory childhood, and blue-collar upbringing.” Explain that and how that plays into your art.
Kenny: We moved to Dearborn Michigan from Henderson Kentucky when I was 7. It was like a foreign country. So, exile, longing for the familiar surroundings of home. And the music I was hearing through this time kinda changed from country music to Motown, plus British invasion stuff and psychedelia. So the migration to Detroit brought lots of new music into my world. The blue-collar aspect is simply that my dad was a working guy. He was a brilliant mechanic, and he could fix stuff that other guys in the shop couldn’t figure out. I miss him. [Kenny’s father Alvis passed away in 1992].
DATC: You’ve been performing and writing songs for nearly 30 years – how has your music and career evolved over that time?
Kenny: Thanks!…Actually, about 40, but who’s counting? (laughs) Ummmm, pretty much same ol’ Kenny (laughs). I’m trying to learn how to learn better. And learning how to unlearn stuff I’m supposed to forget! I try to make honest music; hopefully that comes through. I think my songwriting has improved a bit. And, I learn from my kids and all the younger people I work with.
And, I’ve always really loved playing with other artists too. That hasn’t changed. I have made music with insanely talented people. Pretty humbling. If I started naming them…well, I’d leave out someone. But you know, it’s very humbling. As for my artist career, I mean, my friends know I always say “why would someone come to see me when they could stay home and listen to a Ray Charles record?” These days I sometimes play guitar for a very special lady named Sandra McCracken, whose music just takes your breath away. We’re going to play with Liz Vice next week. I’m really looking forward to that.
DATC: How do you find audiences at your shows react to the gospel feel of your songs – people, perhaps, who don’t share that faith?
Kenny: Very positive response, not unlike, maybe…a Mavis Staples audience? I think my music is non-confrontational, so the listener isn’t ‘put on the spot’. I never ‘preach’ with lyrics. Proclamation is kind of a good Gospel music method (and I guess that is a kind of preaching). Not all my music is Gospel music, but I think a song like Jesus Knows communicates that He is tuned in to you even if you’re not tuned into Him, you know?…and that’s ok. I just want my songs to make the listener feel welcome. Does that make sense? The important thing about Gospel music is to express that God loves us completely. We ARE loved. Just as we are. Nothing we could ever do could make God love us more. And there is nothing we could ever do to make God love us less. That is the grace of God.
DATC: Are your touring the album at the minute, and where will that take you over the next few months?
Kenny: I don’t have any shows coming up, but thanks for asking. I’d love to play some in the UK. I go where I’m invited, and that’s always such a pleasure. And it has been a pleasure speaking with you Gary. Thanks so much for your interest in my music. God bless you and yours.
2016 was a bumper year for Americana and Roots music. With such variety and quality, it’s hard to grade them in any meaningful way. So here’s the ten we’ve enjoyed most in alphabetical order by artist, followed by our next 10, and a final 5.
RT @RockBluesMuse: ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons announces new blues album, "The Big Bad Blues" out Sept. 21st, via Concord Records. Video in anno… 12 hours ago
Joe Bonamassa/Beth Hart: Black Coffee
Ry Cooder: Prodigal Son
Dana Fuchs: Love Lives On
Janiva Magness: Love is an Army
Buddy Guy: The Blues is Alive and Well
Keeshea Pratt Band: Believe
Chris Smither: Call Me Lucky
Paul Thorn: Don’t Let the Devil Ride
Various: Strange Angels: In Flight with Elmore James
Luke Winslow King: Blue Mesa
Mike Zito: First Class Life
