Quick note: this is a redo of my earlier lesson which needed some fixes.
Blues guitarist and singer Smokey Smothers, (known as Big Smokey, 1929-1993), was part of the Great Migration from Mississippi to Chicago. He recorded with Howlin' Wolf, and even wrote some tunes for Muddy Waters (My Dog Can't Bark, Recipe for Love). He was from a musical family including Abe Smothers (Little Smokey), who was also a great guitarist who made an Alligator CD along with Elvin Bishop. Harpman/bassist Lester Davenport and singer Lee "Shot" Williams were also part of Smokey's family, and they all left behind some great recordings. Smokey had an engaging, sincere personality which came out in the many memorable songs he wrote. Lots of folks still do his songs today, including Mark Hummel and yours truly. He played guitar with his fingers and had a Jimmy Reed/Jimmy Rogers kind of sound, but he managed to do everything in his own way. Smokey often let me sit in with him often at BLUES on Halsted in Chicago (Bob Stroger was usually on bass!). Smokey played a Strat with a Peavy Bandit and had a stinging style, but he always had that Jimmy Reed WAY behind the beat thing, and a way of playing just enough of a phrase to get the idea across, as if to say, "you know the rest". That made him very earthy, yet very savvy or subtle at the same time. Smokey was a wonderful person who is still very missed in Chicago and by blues lovers everywhere. If you have some Smokey memories or stories, please share them in the comments.
"Smokey Smothers Sings the Back Porch Blues" was recorded by King Records in Cincinnati in 1962 with Freddie King and Fred Jordon on guitars, Sonny Thompson on piano and Phillip Paul on drums-- the same band who played on all of Freddie King's great instrumentals. If you haven't heard this record, you owe it to yourself to listen to it with headphones and without distractions. This raw and loose record is all about guitar interplay and group dynamics, with lots of spontaneous and charming moments. The effortless blending of Freddie's metal fingerpicks and aggressive guitar, Smokey's down-home, "finger tone" style, and Fred Jordan's savvy chords and basslines will put you in blues nirvana. For all those reasons, I didn't go into one particular song in deep detail, but rather tried to show a few highlights and open the door to appreciating the style of this great record, and this style of ensemble Chicago blues playing in general. Down the road, I think a more specific Part 2 is in order! Smokey photo credit: Lance Dobersek
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