Frank Frost Dies

  Frank Frost, one of the foremost Delta blues harmonica players of  his generation, died on Tuesday at his home on the street named in  his honor in Helena, Ark. He was 63.  

  Frank Frost first played as an electric guitarist with Sam Carr and harmonica player Little Willie Foster in 1956 and later with Sonny Boy Williamson in St. Louis from 1957-1959. Frank played with Sam Carr as Frank Frost and the Nighthawks until 1975. They reunited in 1978 to record their first Earwig record as The Jellyroll Kings and toured the world to critical acclaim for many years. Frank's harmonica playing can be heard on motion pictures such as Crossroads and many others. Their last recording as The Jellyroll Kings was done in 1998. 

          King Biscuit Goes On Despite Protests

  The King Biscuit Blues Festival will kick off in Helena, Arkansas, on Oct. 7, despite protests from many of the city's residents.

  Black business owners, with support from the NAACP, had attempted to block the three-day festival in court, claiming that festival merchants prevent regular customers from reaching local stores. However, the court refused to block the festival.

  Scheduled performers at King Biscuit include headliners Terrance Simien, Little Milton, and Son Seals, and Robert Jr. Lockwood, Pinetop Perkins, Sugar Blue, Billy Branch, Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets with Sam Myers, Little Charlie and the Nightcats, Magic Slim and the Teardrops, and Cephas & Wiggins.

Grace Brim Dies

  Grace Brim passed away recently, she was 75. Blues drummer and vocalist Grace Brim was best known for performing and recording with her husband, the legendary John Brim. Grace performed and recorded with John from 1948 until the early 70's. Grace played drums on John's classic 1953 Chess Recordings, including: "Lifetime Baby", "Tough Times", and "Ice Cream Man"

Beau Jocque Dies

  Zydeco great Beau Jocque died unexpectedly on the morning of September10th of a heart attack at his home in Kinder, Louisiana. Easily the biggest new zydeco star of the 1990s, Beau Jocque heralded the rise of the genre's new, modern style; infusing his high-octane sound with elements of rock and funk. His last record, Zydeco Giant, was released in March.

Katie Webster Dies

  Katie Webster passed away on September 5th at her home in Texas. A piano-pounding institution on the southern Louisiana swamp blues scene during the late '50s and early '60s, Katie Webster later grabbed a long-deserved share of national recognition with three recent Alligator albums before a 1993 stroke temporarily shelved her. In addition to her own recordings she was a valued session pianist playing with Guitar Junior (Lonnie Brooks), Lazy Lester and Otis Redding among others.

Brewer Phillip Dies

  Brewer Phillips, best known as a member of Hound Dog Taylor's Houserockers, died on September 3rd. Since Taylor's death in 1976, he has recorded on his own and worked sporadically with J.B. Hutto, Lil Ed, Cub Koda and others while remaining a largely shadowy figure in Chicago blues circles

Blues Foundation Lifetime Achievement Awards Set 

  The Blues Foundation Lifetime Achievement Awards are set for The House of Blues in Los Angeles on Oct. 18. Honorees Ruth Brown, Etta James, and Koko Taylor will all receive special recognition for their lasting contributions to the blues. The proceeds from the event, which will feature performances from a variety of as-yet-unannounced performers whose careers have been influenced by the honorees, will go to Magic Johnson's National Breast Cancer Awareness Initiative.

Tommy Ridgley Dies

  Vocalist Tommy Ridgley, a veteran performer from the  
golden age of New Orleans rhythm and blues, died August 11th of lung cancer. He was 73. Though Ridgley never had a national hit, his more than 70 recordings have endured around the globe. He was a fixture in the city's nightclubs and at private functions for 50 years, and has been featured at the New Orleans Jazz  and Heritage Festival since 1972.  

Charlie Patton 78 Sets Record Blues Price

  Charlie Patton's 78 RPM "Screamin' And Hollerin' The Blues" in EX condition sold for a blues world-record price of $11,550. This example is one of the finest known of the fewer than 20 copies in existence with the "Masked Marvel" pseudonym. Another Patton record, "Lord I'm Discouraged" on Paramount, sold for $3,300. Perhaps only 25-30 copies remain of this two-sided gospel record. The record was sold through the Good Rockin' Tonight auction house. For more information click here.

Chess Family is Back in the Music Business

  Marshall and Kevin Chess, sons of the co-founders of the legendary Chess Records, Leonard and Phil Chess, proudly announce the launching of their new label, CZYZ. CZYZ  is the original family. Marshall and Kevin Chess have chosen blues artist Murali Coryell, to kick off the CZYZ label. Murali's first recording for CZYZ Records is entitled "2120". The release date for "2120" is September  21, 1999

Library of Congress Presents Southern Mosaic Collection 

  Southern Mosaic: The John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip documents folksingers and folksongs collected during a three-month, 6,502-mile trip through eight Southern states: Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia. The recordings represent a broad spectrum of musical styles, including blues, children's songs, cowboy songs, fiddle tunes, field hollers, lullabies, play-party songs, religious dramas, spirituals, and work songs. The collection is a multiformat ethnographic field collection that includes nearly 700 sound recordings, as well as photographic prints, fieldnotes, dust jackets, and other manuscripts

1999 Handy Winners Announced 

  At the Orpheum Theatre the 20th Birthday of the W.C. Handy Blues Awards launched the Blues into the new millenium with a ceremony that was highlighted by the rich diverse styles of Blues. Blues radio pioneer and legendary performer Rufus Thomas co-hosted the show with Joe Louis Walker. To view the complete list of Handy Award winners click here.

British to Make Video About Maxwell Street

  An e-mail received just before Christmas 1997 has led two Brits to come to Chicago this month to make a TV documentary about Maxwell Street. The e-mail was from the Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition asking producer Paul Baldwin of Nowmedia to write a letter of support for the Coalition. This he did and became further interested in the Maxwell Street saga and decided to produce a documentary. The film is to be the story of Maxwell Street that demonstrates its importance to developing blues music in the 20th century and will focus on the history of the area. In addition to the video, they will be making an accompanying radio documentary which will be freely available to radio stations worldwide later this year.