Article & Photos: Jim Summaria
L to R -- Downtown Charlie Brown, Donna Herula, John Primer
Delta Blues Trio
John Primer, Donna Herula, Downtown Charlie Brown
Live Show Review
by Jim Summaria
Blues Hall of Famer and multiple Grammy nominee John Primer (band leader for Muddy Waters and Magic Slim) along with folk-blues slide guitar master and Old Town school guitar teacher Donna Herula and the versatile multi-instrumentalist Downtown Charlie Brown put on a wonderful and informative show of Delta Blues at the Arcada's Legend Stage in St. Charles, IL Wednesday (7.24.26) night.
All three sang and played guitar (dobro & slide, acoustic, and electric hollow body). Charlie Brown contributed keyboards played in all manner of blues stylings, from barrelhouse to gospel-tinged to Chicago blues traditions.
They paid homage to the great Delta Blues pioneers by telling background stories about the artists and the songs they performed. The trio played songs by Robert Johnson – “Crossroads,” “Sweet Home Chicago” and “Love In Vain” (the Rolling Stones did their version on the 1971 Sticky Fingers album) and they covered Muddy Waters – “Feel Like Going Home,” I Can't Be Satisfied,” “Hoochie Coochie Man” (written by Willie Dixon) and “My Home is in the Delta.”
The trio also covered early hard core Delta blues including: Son House's “Death Letter Blues”; “Rollin' & Tumblin'” (written and originally recorded by Hambone Willie Newbern and made famous by Muddy Waters) along with Blind Willie Johnson's “In My Time of Dying” (Led Zeppelin borrowed heavily on their self-penned version on their 1975 Physical Graffiti album and Bob Dylan did his version in 1962). Donna, John and Charlie had the crowd howling along with Howlin' Wolf's classic “Little Red Rooster” (also covered by the Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, Big Mama Thornton and countless others).
The Chicago blues sound was created by these many rural artists who moved up north from the Mississippi Delta with their folk style of blues. The urban landscape lent itself to a louder, electrified, rough and rowdy danceable style of blues by the legendary Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter and Willie Dixon and more, whose music influenced bands all over the world, especially in England. The blues had a baby; they named the baby rock ‘n roll! Brits like Led Zeppelin, The Animals, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck seriously studied the blues, tracing it back to its roots in the Delta; they went on to record their own electrified versions of these early blues songs, which are now part of the classic rock cannon.
Playing acoustic blues, especially traditional folk style Delta blues, requires great skill and knowledge, but most of all, the ability to play with feeling. Much to our delight, this talented trio was up for the task. These three individuals enjoy their own careers with their own bands and this acoustic trio is a very new venture for Donna, John and Charlie. Let’s hope this collaboration continues into the future!
photo: Linda Cain
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