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.

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.

Guy Davis Wins Award

  Guy Davis won the INDIE AWARD at AFIM (Association for Independent Music - formerly NAIRD) for Best Acoustic Blues CD for his album, "You Don't Know My Mind".

  Blues Artist Lazy Lester will be in the Studio to record a new album project. Joining him will be several guest musicians
from Austin, the Beaumont-Port Arthur Area, and from Louisiana.
Lazy Lester is best recognized by Blues fans from his work with Slim Harpo, Lightin' Slim and others. He has written songs like "Sugar Coated Love" and "I'm A Lover Not A Fighter". For more info visit: www.great-recordings.com.