One man's opinion on The Blues

I've been asked in the past who my favorites are in the world of blues and I always say that it depends. The genre encompasses way more styles that a lot of folks realize. Are we talking pre-war? Post war? Mississippi Delta? Chicago electric? Acoustic? Solo? Ensemble? Big Band? Piedmont finger picking? West Coast? East Coast? It is the ol' apples and oranges in some cases or Granny Smith's to Red Delicious in other cases, but it is always tied into the taste of the consumer and my appetite changes from time to time. There are some folks, though, that will always be on my list of favorites--regardless. No over analyzing here, just off the top of my head and off the finger tips. Here's a few:

Pre-War:
1. Charley Patton--He could go from playing some of the deepest blues ever recorded to being a total clown, to singing a hymn book and he was a master at getting it all across. I think he influenced everyone who followed him out of the Mississippi Delta. He transformed the guitar into a percussive instrument that elicited a power that was definitive to the region's style. His recordings are an acquired taste, but once he settles into the soul, he stays awhile.

2. Robert Johnson--Arguably the most influential bluesman from the mid to late 1920s and I won't argue that he's not. His re-issued recordings went Gold 60 years after his death. The list of those that fell under his spell and the music is long. He was influenced by all who preceded him, but took what they gave him and created a window into the dark passages of man's existence and made it all his own. The man could play. His recordings sparked an interest in me to search out his influences and his contemporaries.

3. Blind Lemon Jefferson--He pretty much had everyone in the blues world beat out in terms of records on the market back in those days and he was from Texas and even T-Bone Walker cut his teeth by hanging with Lemon. Like Patton, his recordings suffer from needing a bit of a little modern techniques to clean up the sound, but also like Patton, once his message is grasped, it's hard to argue the genius of the man. Guitarists will tell you just how intricate his picking was and how difficult it is to master his stuff. Everybody who was anybody in 20th century blues owes a debt to Blind Lemon Jefferson. Many, many artists recorded his songs or stole lyrical lines from his songs that became famous down the line. Lightnin' Hopkins, who in his youth crossed paths with the blind man, covered a wealth of his songs and took his musical style and created in own methods and went of to influence succeeding generations. BB King goes back to his roots on his latest CD and knocks out a great version of See That My Grave Is Kept Clean. Roaring "20s" blues that remains important in the 21st century. Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley both did versions of his Matchbox Blues in the '50s.

4. Skip James--He was one of those "Re-discovered Bluesmen" uncovered by the folky musicologist in the '60s and they got him lined up with gigs and recording contracts, but the first time I heard his 1931 recordings and that eerie, falsetto voice of his, I was quite sure that he was summoning up spirits from the netherworld--Cypress Grove was particularly moving. The old recordings are a difficult listen with the snap, crackles and pops, but they are all so rewarding. Vanguard's '60s recording, Skip James Today, of course has the pristine sound of modern (for the time) equipment laying the tracks down. Although a Mississippian, his style of playing represents a recognizable difference from the Delta blues of Patton and has been tagged the Bentonia style, which is the hill country region of the state that James hailed from.

I'll just leave it at the big four here. This music does not represent a passive activity--ya' got to really listen to it to get it. There are oodles of others that I have listened to, but I always go back to these guys.

Blues Singers:
Blues music is as much about the human voice as any of the instruments used to get the emotion across and most time more effectively.

1. Otis Rush--His Cobra Records recordings are unequalled as an example as to just how much the voice can be a instrument in the blues. The hair on back of my neck stood up the first time I heard him sing Double Trouble (which by the way is where Stevie Ray came up with the name for his band).

2. Muddy Waters--He took what Robert Johnson and Son House were doing in the Delta into the city and sang it like his life depended on it, which was the only way the blues is supposed to be sung. No great octave leaps like Rush, but Muddy was the real deal deep blues dude.

3. Howlin' Wolf--I've had friends ask, "How can you listen to that?", in response to the Wolf's growling the blues. If you have to ask, then you just don't get it. He took his cue from Patton and like Patton, once he sinks in, he sticks. That's just it. Go ahead and listen to I'll Be Around and tell me that his message ain't gettin' to you.

4. Magic Sam--Died waayy to young, like Otis Redding, but Sam was a bluesman. I really believe that he could have ridden the wave of interest in the blues of the late '60s & early '70s to great success and I believe he could have sparked a great deal more interest had he lived longer. He threw in just enough R&B to excite the soul crowd and then he passed. He could wail.

5. Lightnin' Hopkins--To me, Ol' Lightnin' represents everything that people think of when they think of blues music--he's the prototype or stereotype or whatever you want to refer to him as, but the man could sing the blues in that deep East Texas drawl of his. He could read the contents off a cereal box and it would sound like the deepest blues ever recorded. HE WAS THE BLUES.

6. Bobby 'Blue' Bland--I'm not a big fan of soul/blues, but when Bobby sings the blues, he just can't be beat. His recording of Further On Up The Road grabbed me back in the day and never let go.

7. BB King--He hasn't been the King of the Blues for near 50 years for nothing. Don't know who the king will be after he passes, but he's still got it going on and his latest release, One Kind Favor (a lyric from the Blind Lemon song) proves that he is not about to abdicate.

8. Little Walter--I know, I know, but I think that part of being an effective blues singer is being about getting the song's emotional message across and no one could do Blues With A Feeling like Walter. Try singing that one sometime.

9. Kim Wilson--I know, I know that I'm sticking some of my favorite harp guys in here, but he fits the same mold as LW--he can just get a song across and proves that white boys can sing the blues.

10. Tad Robinson--Another white boy singer and like Bland, when he lays off the blue eyed soul music and sings the blues, it really sounds like it comes from the heart--if not then he gets my vote as being an excellent actor also.

You do know that this is difficult to do, don't you, and that this just scratches the surface of the wonder of the blues? Let's just say that these blues folks are at the surface of my psyche at this moment.

Blues Writers--
There is a lot of fluff out there and derivative lyrical sludge, but a great blues song last forever and a day.

1. Blind Lemon Jefferson--He could actually write fluff and give it a spin that made it sound so important and deep. When you listen to his songs, it dawns on you that you've heard it before and you have. Maybe as a credited cover or a disguised version or as a complete rip-off or in a lyrical snippet or two over the decades that followed him.

2. Robert Johnson--Like Jefferson, his influential songs had such a decades long reach that still hasn't relented. He had few recording opportunities before his death, but what he did write prevailed and has stood the test of time.

3. Howlin' Wolf--Chester Burnett wrote some of the most hair raising blues music put to wax. There's not many songs of despair that can beat examples such as, How Many More Years, Smokestack Lighting, Killing Floor, or Moanin' At Midnight.

4. Muddy Waters--I'm not going to reel off the number of blues classic written by McKinnley Morganfield because I'd get tired of typing and you'd get tired of reading.

5. Sonny Boy Williamson I-Hey I'd take a dollar every time I heard a cover of Good Morning Little Schoolgirl or Sugar Mama Blues or Sloppy Drunk Blues or ideas stolen from John Lee Williamson. He took the country blues to the city before Muddy or the Wolf and his recordings were numerous, accessible, and influential throughout the African American communities, both urban and rural.

6.. Sonny Boy Williamson II--Alex Rice Miller, or whatever his real name was, wrote with a sense of humor that belied the nature of the genre. He showed that blues didn't have to be all downhearted with a hung down head and even when it was, it might just be funny. I mean, just think about having two fine chicks to romance, but just what the repercussions might be if they lived on the same street as in his classic Too Close Together or being put out in the cold in Nine Below Zero or looking for a way out of the house when the husband comes home in One Way Out (famously covered by the Allman Brothers Band). His songs had great twists of fate associated with the story.

7. Slim Harpo--James Moore was one of the first blues artists (Jimmy Reed was another)to cross over and appeal to teenage boppers back in the '60s. The Rolling Stones grabbed and covered a number of his tunes back in the day along with the Kinks and Van Morrison and numerous others that were nowhere near being African American or considered blues men. His songs such as, Raining In My Heart, Scratch My Back, and Shake You Hips became Top 40 hit singles on Anglo radio stations from coast to coast. He made the Louisiana Swamp blues sound cool.

8. Jimmy Reed--Ditto. He's got to be included for the same reason as Slim Harpo. We could hear him on OUR radios. Teen bands had to cover Baby, What You Want Me To Do, You Don't Have To Go or Ain't That Loving You Baby or some other of Reed's hits or be run off the stage.

9. James Harman--Another one of my triple threat guys. He plays harp and sings as well as anyone, but his written word captures stories and tales that are just so real. Sometimes they are comic, sometimes tragic and sometimes in between or both, but his songs are short novels that I can relate to, so they are relative--right?

10. Rick Estrin--Took me awhile to get Estrin, because I really dismissed songs that had a hokum quality to them. Once I really listening to what he was saying, I realized that he was singing the blues with a humor spin that wasn't a whole lot different than the take that Sonny Williamson II gave us. The more I listened, the more I understood that Rick had the ability to understand this side of the human condition and his method of getting across works well in the blues. Blues with a touch of irony from the soul.

So, that's it for now. Just a few blues guys that I thought about today. I'll come back around at some point with those I like best at the guitar or harmonica and maybe throw a few girls in the mix.

Little Walter R&R Hall of Fame induction

Chicago Sun-Times Takes a Look at Cadillac Records

Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert gives three stars to Cadillac Records, the dramatization of the Chess Records story. Here's how he begins:

An argument could be made that modern rock 'n' roll was launched not at Sun Records in Memphis, but at Chess Records, 2120 S. Michigan, and its earlier South Side locations since the early 1950s. The Rolling Stones even recorded a song named after the address. The great Chess roster included Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry and Little Walter. They first made Chicago the home of the blues, and then rhythm and blues, which, as Muddy said, had a baby, and they named it rock 'n' roll.

He seems most impressed with the portrayal of Howlin' Wolf by actor Eamonn Walker.

The Chicago Sun-Times also reports that a second movie about Chess Records is coming out next year:

Chess' son, Marshall, says a second Chess film, called "Who Do You Love," will be released early next year. It is directed by Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks ("Guys and Dolls").
"That has all the jazz in it," Chess said from New York. "The Macomba is very deep. They took a different tact. That movie starts with my father and uncle as immigrants. It's good. I'm in it up to 10 years old."

But that movie also has issues. Chuck Berry is missing in action because filmmakers couldn't negotiate a deal for rights to his music. ("Cadillac Records" bought Berry tunes -- including "Nadine" -- that are owned by Marshall Chess).

Leonard's brother, Phil Chess, has been left out of Cadillac Records, by the way. It's one of the many dramatic licenses the film takes, according to Sun-Times reporter Dave Hoekstra who does a fact check on the film.

Also, if you're going out to see the movie this weekend, keep an eye out for Hubert Sumlin. He played on the soundtrack for the movie, and I understand he's seen briefly in one of the band shots.

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What If You Could See Muddy Waters and Little Walter Jamming?

Cadillac Records Exclusive Clip


Wow...from the movie Cadillac Records, opens December 5.


Cadillac Records Exclusive Clip

Cadillac Records - Trailer!

Here is the golden age of Chicago blues on the big screen. I can't believe that the names of Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Leonard Chess, Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf, and so on will become familiar to people who aren't die-hard blues fans like us. It's likely to draw crowds, too, since it stars Beyonce Knowles (as Etta James), Adrien Brody (as Leonard Chess), Jeffrey Wright (as Muddy Waters) and Mos Def (as Chuck Berry).

The movie opens Dec. 5, and about the same time, the soundtrack, Cadillac Records (Music From the Motion Picture), will be released. Here's the track listing:

1. At Last (Beyonce)
2. I'd Rather Go Blind (Beyonce)
3. Once In A Lifetime (Beyonce)
4. No Particular Place To Go (Mos Def)
5. Nadine (Mos Def)
6. Hoochie Coochie Man (Jeffrey Wright)
7. I'm A Man (Jeffrey Wright)
8. My Babe (Columbus Short)
9. The Sound (Mary Mary)
10. Let's Take A Walk (Raphael Saadiq)
11. 6 O'Clock Blues (Solange)
12. Last Night (Little Walter)
13. Bridging The Gap (Nas w/Olu Dara)

Happy Thanksgiving

The First ThanksgivingIn 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. This harvest meal has become a symbol of cooperation and interaction between English colonists and Native Americans. Although this feast is considered by many to the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. Native American groups throughout the Americas, including the Pueblo, Cherokee, Creek and many others organized harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America.

Historians have also recorded other ceremonies of thanks among European settlers in North America, including British colonists in Berkeley Plantation, Virginia. At this site near the Charles River in December of 1619, a group of British settlers led by Captain John Woodlief knelt in prayer and pledged "Thanksgiving" to God for their healthy arrival after a long voyage across the Atlantic. This event has been acknowledged by some scholars and writers as the official first Thanksgiving among European settlers on record. Whether at Plymouth, Berkeley Plantation, or throughout the Americas, celebrations of thanks have held great meaning and importance over time. The legacy of thanks, and particularly of the feast, have survived the centuries as people throughout the United States gather family, friends, and enormous amounts of food for their yearly Thanksgiving meal.

What Was Actually on the Menu? What foods topped the table at the first harvest feast? Historians aren't completely certain about the full bounty, but it's safe to say the pilgrims weren't gobbling up pumpkin pie or playing with their mashed potatoes. Following is a list of the foods that were available to the colonists at the time of the 1621 feast. However, the only two items that historians know for sure were on the menu are venison and wild fowl, which are mentioned in primary sources. The most detailed description of the "First Thanksgiving" comes from Edward Winslow from A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, in 1621:

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed upon our governor, and upon the captain, and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."

Did you know that lobster, seal and swans were on the Pilgrims' menu?

Seventeenth Century Table Manners: The pilgrims didn't use forks; they ate with spoons, knives, and their fingers. They wiped their hands on large cloth napkins which they also used to pick up hot morsels of food. Salt would have been on the table at the harvest feast, and people would have sprinkled it on their food. Pepper, however, was something that they used for cooking but wasn't available on the table.

In the seventeenth century, a person's social standing determined what he or she ate. The best food was placed next to the most important people. People didn't tend to sample everything that was on the table (as we do today), they just ate what was closest to them.

Serving in the seventeenth century was very different from serving today. People weren't served their meals individually. Foods were served onto the table and then people took the food from the table and ate it. All the servers had to do was move the food from the place where it was cooked onto the table.

Pilgrims didn't eat in courses as we do today. All of the different types of foods were placed on the table at the same time and people ate in any order they chose. Sometimes there were two courses, but each of them would contain both meat dishes, puddings, and sweets.

More Meat, Less VegetablesOur modern Thanksgiving repast is centered around the turkey, but that certainly wasn't the case at the pilgrims's feasts. Their meals included many different meats. Vegetable dishes, one of the main components of our modern celebration, didn't really play a large part in the feast mentality of the seventeenth century. Depending on the time of year, many vegetables weren't available to the colonists.

The pilgrims probably didn't have pies or anything sweet at the harvest feast. They had brought some sugar with them on the Mayflower but by the time of the feast, the supply had dwindled. Also, they didn't have an oven so pies and cakes and breads were not possible at all. The food that was eaten at the harvest feast would have seemed fatty by 1990's standards, but it was probably more healthy for the pilgrims than it would be for people today. The colonists were more active and needed more protein. Heart attack was the least of their worries. They were more concerned about the plague and pox.

Surprisingly Spicy Cooking - People tend to think of English food at bland, but, in fact, the pilgrims used many spices, including cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, pepper, and dried fruit, in sauces for meats. In the seventeenth century, cooks did not use proportions or talk about teaspoons and tablespoons. Instead, they just improvised. The best way to cook things in the seventeenth century was to roast them. Among the pilgrims, someone was assigned to sit for hours at a time and turn the spit to make sure the meat was evenly done.

Since the pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians had no refrigeration in the seventeenth century, they tended to dry a lot of their foods to preserve them. They dried Indian corn, hams, fish, and herbs.

Dinner for Breakfast: Pilgrim Meals:The biggest meal of the day for the colonists was eaten at noon and it was called noonmeat or dinner. The housewives would spend part of their morning cooking that meal. Supper was a smaller meal that they had at the end of the day. Breakfast tended to be leftovers from the previous day's noonmeat.

In a pilgrim household, the adults sat down to eat and the children and servants waited on them. The foods that the colonists and Wampanoag Indians ate were very similar, but their eating patterns were different. While the colonists had set eating patterns—breakfast, dinner, and supper—the Wampanoags tended to eat when they were hungry and to have pots cooking throughout the day.

The Blues and Politics: The Lee Atwater Story

Consider Lee Atwater, politico. Atwater was also a musician. He briefly played backup guitar for Percy Sledge during the 1960s and frequently played with bluesmen such as B.B. King. Atwater recorded an album with King and others on Curb Records in 1990 entitled Red Hot & Blue. He once sat in with Paul Shaffer and his band on Late Night with David Letterman.

As a teenager in Columbia, South Carolina, Atwater played guitar in a rock band, The Upsetters Revue. His special love was R&B music. Even at the height of his political power he would often play concerts in clubs and church basements, solo or with B.B. King, in the Washington, D.C. area. He released an album called Red, Hot And Blue on Curb Records, featuring Carla Thomas, Isaac Hayes, Sam Moore, Chuck Jackson, and B.B. King, who got co-billing with Atwater. Robert Hilburn wrote about the album in the April 5, 1990 issue of the Los Angeles Times: "The most entertaining thing about this ensemble salute to spicy Memphis-style '50s and '60s R&B is the way it lets you surprise your friends. Play a selection such as 'Knock on Wood' or 'Bad Boy' for someone without identifying the singer, then watch their eyes bulge when you reveal that it's the national chairman of the Republican Party…Lee Atwater."


The new PBS Frontline edition titled boogie man: the Lee Atwater Story paints him as a guy like Robert Johnson, a man who sold his soul to the devil. And if it is to be believed, I would say that he lived the blues too.

BB King Rolls Thru Texas

B.B. King is on our vid stream, on our CD shelf, and of course, on the road-- this week in the Lone Star State:

11/15 Thackerville, OK
11/16 Dallas
11/18 Corpus Christi
11/20 San Antonio
11/21 Houston
11/22 Houston

So with that in mind let's check out this video classic of B.B. and Slowhand covering John Hiatt's Riding With the King:







Summertime has passed, but there are still great blues festivals going on across the country! Head over to BluesFestivalGuide.com and find one near you!

Who Invented the Charcoal Briquette?

Ellsworth B. A. Zwoyer of Pennsylvania patented a design for charcoal briquettes in 1897. After World War One, the Zwoyer Fuel Company built charcoal briquette manufacturing plants in the United States with plants in Buffalo, NY and Fall River, MA.

There are stories circulating that Henry Ford invented the very first briquette in 1920 with the help of Thomas Edison. However, the 1897 patent obviously predates this and Ford and Edison both knew Zwoyer.

Ford is the man who popularized the gas-powered car in America and invented the assembly line for automobile manufacturing. Ford created a briquette from the wood scraps and sawdust from his car factory. E.G. Kingsford bought Ford's briquette and placed it into commercial production.

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“My Babe” Little Walter (Checker, 1955)

My Babe was a No. 1 rhythm & blues hit for Chicago blues singer-harmonica player Little Walter in 1955 on the Checker record label. With Robert Jr. Lockwood’s memorable guitar riffs propelling the arrangement, songwriter-producer Willie Dixon took an old spiritual with the line “This train is bound for glory, this train” and reworked it as “My babe don’t stand no cheatin’, my babe.” During the same period, Ray Charles had also brought gospel into the blues with I Got a Woman, as part of the process that eventually led to what we know as “soul music.” Walter had recorded an early attempt at My Babe in 1954, but the song only came to fruition when Walter went back into the studio with Dixon, Lockwood and drummer Fred Below on January 25, 1955.

Mr. Brown's Pork Butt Recipe

This is for all of you who want to try this at home. We have tracked down the famous "Mr. Brown's Pork Butt Recipe" This recipe is the Holy Grail to those who compete in sanctioned competitions across the country. Of course, it needs to be made with Red Hot & Blue Dry Rub Seasoning.


Summary
- Purchase boneless or bone-in pork butts.
- Trim excess fat.
- Apply half of the Red Hot & Blue Dry Rub Seasoning and refrigerator overnight, then apply more rub just before cooking.
- Cook at 225-250°F to an internal temperature of 190°F.
- Baste with Southern Sop during cooking (optional).
- Wrap in aluminum foil and hold in an empty ice chest until ready to serve.
- Pull meat and serve with barbecue sauce on the side.

"The Renowned Mr. Brown", from the classic book Smoke & Spice by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison, is one of the definative recipes for pork butt. I think you'll like it, too, especially if you like black pepper, because this recipes uses a lot of it!


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Select And Trim The Pork Butts

Purchase whole, untrimmed pork butts, either bone-in or boneless. To maximize bark formation (that dark, chewy, delicious outside meat) during barbecuing, trim off the fat cap, any false cap, and other large, easily removed pockets of fat from the roast. Don't worry, there will be plenty of fat left in the meat to keep it moist during cooking.

If using boneless roasts, you may wish to tie them up with kitchen twine so they retain a compact shape and cook more evenly.

For this cook, I purchased four whole, untrimmed, boneless pork butts (two per Cryovac package) from my local warehouse store. One package weighed 16.13 pounds, the other 15.94 pounds, for a total of 32.07 pounds. After trimming excess fat, removing false caps from each roast, and trimming away other unsightly bits, I was left with a total of 25.07 pounds of meat--a loss of 7 pounds (22%) of fat.

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Prepare And Apply The Rub

There's only one rub recipe for pork butt. It's Red Hot & Blue Dry Rub Seasoning and it can be purchased here.

Since I had four pork butts, I used 3 bottles.

Pat the pork butt dry with paper towels, then apply half of the rub to the butt. Place the rubbed meat in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for 8-12 hours.

I rubbed the four pork butts at 10:00am in order to begin cooking them at 10:00pm that same day.

Reserve the leftover rub for use later in the cooking process.

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Select The Smoke Wood

Oak, apple, or other fruitwoods compliment pork nicely, either alone or in combination. Hickory is a favorite, too, but can be quite strong if too much is used. In the past, I have used a 2:1 ratio of oak to hickory with good results.

For this cooking session I used hickory chunks, plus some leftover apple wood chips from the bottom of the bag. I used the equivalent of about 3 fist-sized chunks of apple, 3 of oak, and 1 of hickory--so a 3:3:1 ratio.

This single application of smoke wood is all that's necessary for the entire cooking process, and it will produce a nice smoky flavor without being overpowering.

I did not soak any of the wood before using it.

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Re-Rub The Butts

Just before you fire-up the cooker, remove the pork butt from the refrigerator and apply another generous coating of rub. Put the re-rubbed meat back in the refrigerator or allow it to sit at room temperature until the cooker is ready to go, it's your choice.

Reserve any leftover rub for use in the Southern Sop that's applied later in the cooking session.

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Fire-Up The Cooker

Light the cooker using the Minion Method. Fill the charcoal chamber almost to overflowing with unlit Kingsford charcoal briquettes. Bury several chunks of dry smoke wood in the coals and place a few chunks of wood on top. This should be enough fuel to fire the cooker for 12-14 hours, maybe longer depending upon weather conditions and how much meat is being cooked.

Light 20-40 briquettes using a chimney starter and spread them over the unlit briquettes and smoke wood chunks.

Assemble the cooker and fill the water pan from above immediately with hot tap water. Foil the water pan before use for easy cleanup. If you have the larger capacity Brinkman pan, use it.

Put the re-rubbed pork butt(s) into the cooker.

Set the top vent 100% open and leave it that way throughout the entire cooking session. Start with all three bottom vents 100% open. When the cooker temperature hits 200°F measured at the lid, set the three vents to 25% open. Allow the cooker to come up to 225-250°F, adjusting the bottom vents as necessary to maintain that temperature range.

For this cooking session, I filled the charcoal chamber halfway with briquettes, then distributed the apple wood chips, then filled the chamber almost to overflowing with more briquettes, then nestled the apple, oak, and hickory chunks into the unlit charcoal on top.

Since I was cooking four pork butts weighing a total of 25 pounds, which is a lot of cold meat, and I would be cooking overnight in cool, nighttime temperatures, I started with 40 hot briquettes to get the cooker temperature up more quickly than if I had used only 20 briquettes.

Needless to say, the charcoal chamber was about to burst its seams with all that charcoal and smoke wood, but somehow it all managed to fit!


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Barbecue The Pork Butts

Cook the pork butt at 225-250°F to an internal temperature of 190°F.

Turn the meat once after 8-12 hours of cooking. One turn should be sufficient for even cooking. If you prefer Paul Kirk's method of turning meat at the "halftimes", do it that way: Turn and baste the meat at the halfway point of the cooking process, then divide the remaining cooking time in half and turn and baste at that point, continuing until the meat is done. When you have an hour or less of cooking time remaining, stop turning and basting.

I turned these butts only one time, after 12 hours of cooking, and swapped the butts between the top and bottom grates.

For authentic "Mr. Brown", baste several times using the Southern Sop described below. Baste for the first time when you turn the meat for the first time, then as often as you see fit, but not more than once an hour. If you want to baste with something simpler, use apple juice applied with a spray bottle--I like Martinelli's Premium Apple Juice.

I basted these butts once when I turned the meat, then one more time after that a few hours later.

Replenish the water pan with hot tap water, as necessary. I started with a full Brinkman pan and did not replenish it at all during the cooking session.

The cooker temperature dropped down to 210°F by 8:45am, so I tapped the legs of the charcoal bowl to dislodge some of the ashes around the hot coals, and stirred the coals gently at 9:00am to further refresh the coals.

Later in the morning, it became clear I needed to add a bit more fuel to the cooker, so I fired 40 briquettes in a chimney starter and added them at 11:30am. This fuel carried me through to the end.

At 9:00am, the internal temperature of the pork butts was in the 170°F range. At 1:00pm, they measured in the 180°F range. At 2:00pm, the two smaller butts measured in the 180s when probed in several spots, and 195-200°F in other spots, so I removed them from the cooker. The two larger butts reached similar temperatures at 3:00pm.

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Baste The Meat

Here's the recipe for the Southern Sop.

Southern Sop
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Remaining Red Hot & Blue Rub (Important: See text below)
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
3 Tablespoons ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons table salt
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon paprika
1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper
Warm ingredients over low heat, stirring occasionally.

This recipe calls for using all of the remaining rub from one batch of Rub (maybe 3 tablespoons of rub). In my experience, it makes enough sop to baste up to two butts 3-4 times during the cooking process. If you're cooking three or four butts, a single batch will allow you to baste two times.

Apply the baste to the meat using a string mop (shown in Pictures 1 and 3), a turkey baster, or as a last resort, a basting brush.

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Hold The Meat For Serving

At a minimum, place the pork butt on a rimmed baking pan, cover loosely with foil, and let rest 30 minutes before slicing or pulling.

For even better results, wrap the pork butt tightly with aluminum foil, place in an empty ice chest, and hold until ready to serve. The meat will continue to cook for a little while because of carry-over heat, making the meat even more tender. More importantly, the extended rest results in moister meat, and the collected juices inside the foil will soften any tough crust on the exterior of the meat. The meat will remain safely above 140°F for 2-4 hours.

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Pull The Pork

After resting for two hours in an empty ice chest, I pulled all four pork butts. The meat was still very hot, so to protect my hands I wore thin knit cotton gloves (from the hardware store) covered with latex gloves.

Make sure to mix the pulled pork so everyone gets some of that dark, peppery, "Mr. Brown" outside meat along with the light interior meat.

The meat was dark and crusty on the outside, with a very nice smoke ring. The pork pulled very easily, and most of the fat had rendered, leaving very little waste during pulling. The meat tasted smoky and very peppery! Like I said at the beginning of this article, you've got to like pepper to like The Renowned Mr. Brown!

Here's the recipe for Carolina Red, also from Smoke & Spice.

Carolina Red
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1-1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or hot dried red chile flakes
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
Stir together all ingredients, dissolving the sugar and salt. Serve at room temperature.

Earlier I said that I started with 32.07 pounds of meat. I weighed all the pulled pork, and ended up with 12.88 pounds of edible meat. That's a 40% yield. I lost 22% to trimming before cooking, and 38% to fat and moisture rendered during cooking plus some fat and unsavory bits discarded during pulling.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Store The Leftovers

Needless to say, there was a lot of leftover Mr. Brown! I used my Foodsaver to vacuum-pack the leftovers in portions and froze them to be enjoyed later or given as gifts to very special friends.

Vacuum packing prevents freezer burn, extends storage life, and makes for a very professional presentation when you share your barbecue with friends and family.

Southern Hospitality at Red Hot & Blue

BBQ in the south is part of the culture – inseparably linked to gatherings from friends and family to civic groups and business communities. At Red Hot & Blue southern hospitality is not an option. It’s an injunction. Everybody is family, and every gathering is a reunion.


Southern Hospitality means:


- you will be treated with kindness and respect

- you never walk away from the “dinner table” hungry

- friends and family are always welcome…the more the merrier

- there are no strangers…only friends we haven’t met yet

- you always have a choice of meats to go along with your “sides”

- there is always something sweet to finish off a great meal

- there is always an extra pecan pie or fruit cobbler in the fridge; just in case friends or family show up announced

- the host/hostess will do everything they possibly can to make you comfortable and happy while in “our house”

- you will be sent on your way with good memories and a little something extra “for the road”

It’s impossible to say “Southern” without smiling. Nothing puts a smile on your face like the words, “Southern Cooking”.

White BBQ Sauce

The color spectrum of barbecue sauce is rich and diverse--one reason why sampling different styles from all over the South is so much fun and so delicious. Ask the average person the color of their favorite sauce, and you’ll probably get answers such as brick red, mahogany, or caramel.

I read today that if you pose the same question to a resident of North Alabama, though, and you’re sure to get only one answer: white.

From Southern Living:

"It’s the only sauce we know here, because it’s what everyone grows up on," says world barbecue champion Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama. Bob Gibson is credited with concocting white sauce back in 1925. Today, this tangy, mayonnaise-based condiment, traditionally used to dress chicken, is as synonymous with the state of Alabama as legendary football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. "We marinate with it, use it to baste, plus we use it as an all-purpose table sauce," explains Chris.

Yet because white barbecue sauce is such a regional anomaly and because grocery shelves are dominated by the myriad incarnations of tomato-based sauces, many Southerners have never tried it. Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s time to get out the chicken and fire up your smoker or grill.

Yes, We Have No Tomatoes

Like its tomato- and mustard-based cousins, white barbecue sauce comes in shades ranging from porcelain to putty. There are also differences in consistency. Some sauces flow like fat-free milk, while others are more reminiscent of a creamy dressing. As for the ingredients, well, purists such as Myra Grissom, owner of Miss Myra’s Pit Bar-B-Q in Birmingham, insists there are only four: mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, and coarsely ground pepper.

"Everyone says they have a special recipe, but there’s really no secret. You start with the basics, and you can’t go wrong," recommends Myra, whose family tree leads back to Decatur. She’s been serving up her version of white barbecue sauce in Birmingham for more than 19 years. "I love it as a dip for pretzels," she says with a smile, "but we also use it to perk up salads and to top pulled pork sandwiches and grilled fish."

One taste and you’ll understand why Myra says, "no Southern home should be without it."

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon coarsely ground pepper
1 tablespoon Creole mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish

Preparation:
Whisk together all ingredients until blended. Store in the refrigerator up to 1 week.

Yield:
Makes 2 cups

Happy Halloween!

Election 08

Blind Lemon Jefferson

Country blues guitarist and vocalist Blind Lemon Jefferson is indisputably one of the main figures in country blues. He was of the highest in many regards, being one of the founders of Texas blues (along with Texas Alexander), one of the most influential country bluesmen of all time, one of the most popular bluesmen of the 1920s, and the first truly commercially successful male blues performer. Up until Jefferson's achievements, the only real successful blues recordings were by women performers, including Bessie Smith and Ida Cox, who usually sang songs written by others and accompanied by a band. With Jefferson came a blues artist who was solo, self-accompanied, and performing a great deal of original material in addition to the more familiar repertoire of folk standards and shouts. These originals include his most well-known songs: "Matchbox Blues," "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean," and "Black Snake Moan." In all, Blind Lemon Jefferson recorded almost 100 songs in just a few years, making his mark on not only the bluesmen of the time (including Leadbelly and Lightnin' Hopkins) but also on music fans in the years to come. The legacy of Jefferson's unique and powerful sound did not fade with the passing decades.

Many specifics on the life of Blind Lemon Jefferson are not available, but general information on the man and his career can be traced somewhat through recordings, a few public records, and the memories of those who knew him. Although his birth has long been placed in July of 1897, research almost a century later uncovered a census record that listed his birth in September of 1893. Despite the uncertainty surrounding his birth date, a few things are certain: Jefferson was born on a farm in Couchman, TX, outside of Wortham, and, blind from the time of birth, he grew up as one of seven children. Around 1912, he began playing guitar and singing at picnics and parties in his home area. His musical influences included not only the singing of the cotton pickers and local guitar players but also the guitarists among the area's Mexican workers who often incorporated flamenco patterns in their playing. These influences eventually led to Jefferson's unique style of complex phrases and intricate, yet fast, finger work. Within a couple of years, Jefferson widened his performing radius to include Groesbeck, Buffalo, Waco, and other surrounding towns. Sometime around 1915, Jefferson also began playing in Dallas and, by 1917, was a resident of the city. He was most often found playing in the Deep Ellum area of Dallas where he eventually met another bluesman who would one day be famous, Leadbelly. Although Leadbelly was the senior bluesman of the two, it is generally recognized that Jefferson was the better guitarist. Leadbelly was so impressed with Blind Lemon Jefferson, in fact, that he would later record songs in tribute to Jefferson's ability, including the song, "Blind Lemon's Blues." The two men even played together for a short while, sometime before Leadbelly's first prison sentence.

From the late teens into the early '20s, Blind Lemon Jefferson traveled and performed his passionate brand of blues, hitting (at the very least) the Mississippi Delta and Memphis regions, although it is likely that his travels took him further. In 1922 or 1923 he married a woman named Roberta with whom he would have children, including a boy in the mid-'20s. It was in 1925 that a Texas talent scout finally made a demo recording of Jefferson and sent it to Mayo Williams at Paramount Records in Chicago. Jefferson was soon (circa 12/25 and 1/26) brought to Chicago to record for the first time. The results were two gospel songs: "I Want to Be Like Jesus in My Heart" and "All I Want Is That Pure Religion," both of which were released under the pseudonym Deacon L.J. Bates. Two months later, Jefferson began recording blues 78s under his own name, but that initial session wasn't the last time Jefferson recorded under a pseudonym. In 1927, "He Arose From the Dead" and "Where Shall I Be?" were released under the names Deacon L.J. Bates and Elder J.C. Brown for the Paramount and Herwin labels, respectively. Jefferson recorded over 90 songs total in less than four years' time. Almost all of his recordings were for the Paramount label, with the exception of his two-day session for Okeh, which took place in Atlanta in March of 1927. This session resulted in the second version of "That Black Snake Moan," (11/26) this time entitled "Black Snake Moan," as well as the first recording of another song that became one of Jefferson's most famous originals, "Matchbox Blues," which he recorded again for Paramount just one month later. Jefferson's records did well immediately, making him one of the best-selling race recording artists of the time. This is surprising considering his decidedly noncommercial sound; his high, eerie voice (often described as having a "lonesome" sound), the desperate (and sometimes suggestive) nature of his lyrics, and his often-complex guitar work all combined into a particularly raw and hard-hitting blues.

In addition to his frequent recording sessions in Chicago throughout the late '20s, Blind Lemon Jefferson still performed in Texas and traveled around the South. He played Chicago rent parties, performed at St. Louis' Booker T. Washington Theater, and even worked some with Son House collaborator Rev. Rubin Lacy while in Mississippi. In late September of 1929, Jefferson went to Paramount's studios in Richmond, IN, for a fruitful session that included two songs — "Bed Springs Blues" and "Yo Yo Blues" — that were also issued on the Broadway label. Jefferson was back in Chicago in December of 1929 when, sadly, he was found dead following a particularly cold snowstorm. There are several stories regarding his death: It has been said that he got lost in the storm after leaving a friend's party at a late hour, or that he was abandoned by his chauffeur, or was killed in a car accident, while yet another version claims Jefferson had a heart attack and froze in the snow. Regardless, the influential bluesman was still in his thirties when he died, and no death certificate was issued, so the date of his passing is only known to be toward the end of December. Pianist and labelmate Will Ezell escorted Jefferson's body back to Wortham, TX, where Blind Lemon Jefferson was laid to rest, purportedly on New Year's Day, 1930. Unfortunately for the author of the pleading "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean," the grave itself went unmarked. This was finally remedied in 1967 when a metal Texas Historical Marker was placed on the approximate spot. By the 1990s, however, Jefferson's grave was discovered to be in disrepair. A fundraiser was organized and, thanks to the efforts and donations of blues fans around the world, a granite headstone was finally placed upon Jefferson's grave, inscribed with his lyric, "Lord, it's one kind favor I'll ask of you. See that my grave is kept clean." It was also discovered during the preparation of the headstone that there is no support for the date widely believed to be that of Jefferson's birth — July 1897 (which even appeared on the original grave marker) — while the census documents in the State Archives listed Lemon Jefferson's birth to be in September of 1893. Thus, the new date was put on the gravestone.

Blind Lemon Jefferson was to Texas blues what Charley Patton was to Mississippi blues. His performances had a direct influence upon such legendary Texas musicians as Lightnin' Hopkins, T-Bone Walker, and Leadbelly, while his recordings helped bring his influence to an even larger audience. In the decades since, Jefferson's songs have been covered by countless musicians including Bob Dylan, John Hammond, Jr., and Kelly Joe Phelps, to name just a few. The late '50s and early '60s brought the reissue of some of Jefferson's recordings on the Riverside and Milestone labels, sparking a renewal of widespread public interest in the bluesman. As a result, Blind Lemon Jefferson Clubs were opened in California and New York during the '60s, and the rock band Jefferson Airplane reputedly chose their name after the great bluesman. A good single album compiling selections of Jefferson's music remains the Yazoo label's appropriately titled King of the Country Blues, which was eventually remastered for CD release. For completists, the Document label has since issued his entire recorded works in a four-volume CD series. In 1980, Blind Lemon Jefferson was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame.

George Thorogood

New Catering Offer!

This offer is valid at participating Washington DC area locations.

How to Sing the Blues

1. Most blues begin “woke up this morning.”

2. “I got a good woman” is a bad way to begin the blues, unless you add something nasty on the next line. “I got a good woman- with the meanest dog in town.”

3. Blues are simple. After you have the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes. Sort of. “Got a good woman With the meanest dog in town. He got teeth like Margaret Thatcher And he weighs ’bout 500 pounds.

4. The blues are not about limitless choices.

5. Blues cars are Chevies and Cadillacs. Other acceptable blues transportation is the Greyhound bus or a southbound train. Walkin’ plays a major part in the blues lifestyle. So does fixin’ to die.

6. Teenagers can’t sing the blues. Adults sing the blues. Blues adulthood means old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis or Ann Arbor. But Memphis sounds better.

7. You can have the blues in New York City, but not in Brooklyn or Queens. Hard times in Vermont or North Dakota are just a depression. Chicago, St. Louis, Ann Arbor and Kansas City are still the best places to have the blues.

8. The following colors do not belong in the blues: a. violet b. beige c. mauve, d. taupe.

9. You can’t have the blues in an office or a shopping mall, the lighting is wrong.

10. Good places for the Blues: a. the highway b. the jailhouse c. the empty bed. Bad places: a. Ashrams b. Gallery openings c. Weekend in the Hamptons

11. No one will believe it’s the blues if you wear a suit, unless you happen to be an African American man in his advanced years.

12. Do you have the right to sing the blues? Yes, if: a. your first name is a southern state-like Georgia b. You’re blind c. You shot a man in Memphis. d. You can’t be satisfied. No, if: a. You were once blind but now can see. b. You’re deaf c. You have a trust fund, d. Your baby didn’t leave you.

13. Neither Julio Iglesias nor Barbara Streisand can sing the blues. Somewhat suprisingly, Willie Nelson can sing the blues.

14. If you ask for water and your baby gives you gasoline, it’s the blues. Other blues beverages are: a. wine b. Irish whiskey c. muddy water. Blues beverages are NOT: a. Any mixed drink b. Any wine kosher for Passover c. Yoo Hoo (all flavors)

15. If it occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it’s blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is a blues way to die. So is the electric chair, substance abuse, or being denied treatment in an emergency room. It is not a blues death, if you die during a facelift or a liposuction treatment.

16. Some Blues names for Women: a. Sadie b. Big Mama c. Bessie d. Bertha e. Josephine f, Lucille.

17. Some Blues Names for Men a. Joe b. Willie c. Little Willie d. Big Willie, e. Willie B., f. Lightning, g. Blackburn.

Note: Persons with names like Sierra, Sequoia or Skye will not be permitted to sing the blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.

17B. Other Blues Names (Starter Kit) a. Name of Physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Asthmatic) b. First name (see above) or name of fruit (Lemon, Lime, Kiwi) c. Last Name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.)

18. A Blues way to communicate is to dial up the telephone or to “holler.” E-mails (sorry) or faxes are not Blues ways to communicate.

19. People with the Blues eat barbecue, corn bread, beans, and their last meal.

20. Good blues instruments: Guitar, Slide Trombone, Saxophone, Harmonica. Bad blues instruments: everything else, especially the oboe, french horn, viola.

21. You got the blues if you have lumbago or a bad back. You don’t have the blues if you have a mental disorder ending in “syndrome.”

22. Black Jack is a good blues game. Keno is not a good blues game.

23. Blues jobs include working on the railroad, picking cotton, musician, just got fired.

24. Blues animals include the junkyard dog and mule (not donkey).

25. Most country songs can be interchanged with blues songs (woman left me, crop didn’t come in, dog died, etc pretty much work in the blues). Most alternative songs cannot be interchanged with blues songs for obvious reasons.

Finally: Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone:
“I didn’t wake up this morning”

Searching for Robert Johnson

Vanity Fair.com's culture and entertainment section has a very interesting article on Robert Johnson titled Portrait of a Phantom: Searching for Robert Johnson. It chronicles the control for the rights of Johnson's music and even his images.

The article does a good job of reporting on the few known images of Johnson and how they were found and where they come from. Specifically the article tells the story of Zeke Schein and a photo that he bought on eBay.

The article also gives details from those who were inspired by Robert Johnson's music over the years. For example, Eric Clapton is quoted;

“At first the music almost repelled me, it was so intense and this man made no attempt to sugarcoat what he was trying to say, or play,” Clapton writes in his recently published memoir, Clapton: The Autobiography.

An Introduction to BBQ

Barbecue, barbeque, bar-b-q, BBQ: there are almost as many spellings as there are kinds of barbecue, as if the proliferation of words could express the mastering tastes and aromas of the food, all the experiences that can fill the mouth, the place where also words begin.

Today, barbecue is more popular than ever and can be found by a hungry Southerner in almost any American city, but barbecue will always be Southern because, as an American cuisine, that’s where it began and because that’s where it continues to evolve most interestingly.

Though the word barbecue devolves from Taino, a pre-Columbian Caribbean language, the native method described by the word — the slow drying of sliced, spiced meat, over a low, smoky fire — seems to have been fairly widespread in the eastern Caribbean at the time of European contact, being practiced in what would become Brazil as well as in what would become Virginia.

But it was in Virginia and in the Carolinas that barbecue as we know it would begin to evolve. In Virginia, British colonists observed the Native American method of drying meat on a grill of green sticks over a smoking fire and soon married this method to their own interest in spit-cooking hogs and other small animals. The British introduced their own native practices, including basting — either with butter or with vinegar — to keep the meat from drying while cooking.

Slaves of African descent, imported from the Caribbean, brought a taste (developed in the islands) for New-World peppers, especially red pepper. Along the Atlantic seaboard, then, when the vinegar and butter combined with the spices and peppers, barbecue sauce arrived on the Southerner’s and the Briton’s favorite hog. Even today in eastern North Carolina, you can find whole-hog barbecue, lightly seasoned with vinegar and black and red peppers, colonial style.

In South Carolina, in the Broad River Valley, German and French immigrants brought their taste and recipes for mustard, which helped repel malarial mosquitoes, and these mustards found their way into that colonial food, barbecue, and remained there, through the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and two World Wars, to be found even today in the same Broad River Valley.

To the west, in the Piedmont area of North Carolina, probably toward the end of the 19th- or the beginning of the 20th-Century, barbecue cooks began using just the shoulder of the hog when barbecuing, an innovation perhaps encouraged by the growth of the meat curing and packing industries. In this same area, populated largely by Germans, German-style coleslaw, both sweet and spicy, dressed the pork, and the tomato, only recently determined edible, sweetened the fare.

From these come all the rest, or almost all the rest. The whole-hog style that developed along the Atlantic seaboard has drifted into western Tennessee, and the Piedmont style, with some variations, can be uncovered in northeast Alabama and, with American-style coleslaw, in Memphis. Mustard-based barbecue, though still centered in South Carolina, can be found as well in Georgia and eastern Alabama, where one can also find an orange sauce that combines mustard and tomato-based sauces, as if to say, Does one really have to choose?

Of course, Kentucky has its barbecue mutton and its burgoo, which resembles Georgia’s own Brunswick Stew, a traditional barbecue accompaniment. In Texas, German settlers in a cattle-friendly land developed barbecue sausage and the holy brisket, where today Mexican influence directs the emergence of barbacoa and other delicacies. And in that far edge of the South, Kansas City, have Missouri and half Kansas, it has all come together, as it has come together now in so many cities across the South and across the United States.

But there are still new barbecue plates being dreamed up by the hungry and the resourceful. How about north Alabama’s white-sauce chicken, northwest Mississippi’s taste for goat, or the barbecued gator that turns up in Louisiana and Florida?

Whatever it is, it is slow-cooked. If it’s done right, it’s smoked. Honestly, it could be anything. But, whatever it is, it better be good.

– Jake Adam York

Washington Area Radio Partner WJFK

Here is a rundown of our current advertising with WJFK in Washington, DC - this link also includes the spots we are producing for nationwide usage.

Link

Saturday Night Drive In

RED HOT & BLUE NAMED A 2008 BEST OF CITYSEARCH - 2008 WINNER

Citysearch, a leading online local guide, announced Red Hot & Blue as its 2008 Best of Citysearch 2008 winner in the Best Barbeque category.

Red Hot and Blue offers the best in barbecue and catering. They make sure that the barbecue is authentic, using hickory logs, low temperatures and long cooking times with only top quality meats and ingredients.

About Citysearch
Citysearch is a leading local search and directory company that provides the most up-to-date information on businesses, from restaurants and retail, to travel and professional services. Citysearch empowers consumers to make informed decisions about where to spend their time and money by delivering trusted content, local expertise and helpful tools, including 18 million local businesses listings and over 1.5 million user reviews nationwide. For more information, visit: www.citysearch.com

Review - B.B. King / One Kind Favor

From Rolling Stone (9/4/08):

This isn't just B.B. King's best album in years, it's one of the strongest studio sets of his career, standing alongside classics such as Singin' the Blues and Lucille. Where those early titles highlighted his youthful, wailing vocals and stinging guitar, this one plays to King's current strengths: the tear-stained vibrato of his mature voice, punctuated by raunchy licks. For too long, King has drowned in slick production, propped up by stiff duets with the likes of Eric Clapton. Here, King is front and center, with a killer backing band — Jim Keltner (John Lennon, Mick Jagger) on drums, Nathan East (Clapton) on stand-up bass and Dr. John on piano — that remains in the background. King is heartbreakingly intimate on standards like Blind Lemon Jefferson's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" and Leroy Carr's "Blues Before Sunrise." How did the 82-year-old find his old passion? With T Bone Burnett, naturally — the producer whose understated touch helped bring Robert Plant and John Mellencamp into their twilight years with dignity. Those projects were mere dress rehearsals for this one.

The All In Burger

This was recently posted to the blog "A Hamburger Today" -

Dear AHT: The All-In Burger at Red Hot & Blue in Dallas, Texas
Posted by Robyn Lee,

"I was in Dallas last weekend and stopped in for lunch at barbecue chain restaurant Red Hot and Blue. I don't normally eat restaurant barbecue, so I skipped over the barbecue and checked out the burgers.There it was—a burger fit for a king. The All-In Burger—half a pound of beef, topped with pulled pork, onion rings, cheddar cheese, and barbecue sauce.

The burger would have been very good even without the extras. I ordered it medium and it had a good amount of pink in the middle. Toasted bun, lettuce pickles and tomatoes served on the side. We're off to a good start.

The pulled pork was surprisingly good for restaurant barbecue. I do barbecue competitions, so I get a bit picky about barbecue. The pork was juicy and had a small amount of bark on it. I would have liked a heavier smoke flavor and more bark, but still very tasty.
If you ever make it down to Texas, you should give it a try."

Kirk, Thanks for the tips. I work from home and our company office is out in Dallas. I have been trying to make a short list of places near Irving/DTW area to hit when I'm there and this one looks great.
mmakis at 11:22AM on 08/29/08

And they serve it with fries? The only thing that should come with this burger is a lobster bib.
JudgeFudge at 11:31AM on 08/29/08

Those fries look amazing though!!!
nichole at 11:35AM on 08/29/08

I don't know about the pork beef combo - I would have to taste it for myself. I do love the idea of onion rings on a burger.
AliNC at 12:02PM on 08/29/08

Red Hot & Blue isn't just a Texas chain.
Click the "outside Texas" button on the linked site, and you'll find it in a number of other states. I'm in Washington, DC, and regularly visit a Virginia branch. This write-up made me realize I'm overdue for another visit.
bcarter3 at 12:52PM on 08/29/08

Maybe they should call it the "do you in" burger instead of "all in."
lambowner at 1:03PM on 08/29/08

@bcarter3: Thanks for the info; I've updated the post!

roboppy at 1:48PM on 08/29/08

I eat lunch at this RH+B location at least once a week...but have never tried the burgers.
MMmakis...try these very good burger joints next time in Dallas.
-Snuffers-Root Burger-Keller's Drive In-Goff's-Burger House (Hillcrest Road)-my backyard (un-disclosed Dallas location)

Uglycuss at 4:38PM on 08/29/08

A small restaurant near me does the BBQ + Burger combo. I've always thought it was interesting, though not my cup of tea.
Prairie at 8:30PM on 08/29/08

I used to eat at their original restaurant in Arlington, VA, I was never disappointed by any of their food. I particularly liked their key lime pie which is nice followup to a half pound burger.
redfish at 12:38PM on 09/02/08

New Washington Wizards Contest in the DC Area!

from The Richmond Times Dispatch, Wednesday, October 8

Barbecue in, out or catered
WORKING LUNCH: Red Hot & Blue
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2008 - 12:06 AM Updated: 10:13 AM
By OLYMPIA MEOLA

TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

I am not a barbecue expert. I can't tell you which regions certain varieties come from and why folks there do things the way they do.
But I enjoy tearing into a barbecue sandwich every now and again, and this time, I took a crack at Red Hot & Blue on West Broad Street.
It's tucked back from the street, and even its large sign featuring guitar-wielding pigs is camouflaged in the commercial corridor's clutter.
I went early to avoid the lunch crush and was the only customer-- so A+ for speedy service, and for not making me feel like a weirdo for arriving so early for a chicken sandwich.
The blues stars whose pictures hang on the walls kept me company as I waited at the bar, which is separated from the restaurant by a low barrier. For cubicle dwellers who want a little sunshine with their rib platter, there is an outdoor patio. Others may prefer the video poker machine at the bar.
The menu features about what you'd expect: wings, catfish fingers, meat-topped salads, chili, St. Louis-style ribs (half rack for $13.99 and $22.99 full slab), pork and chicken sandwiches, barbecue platters, burgers, stick-to-the-ribs sides and entrees such as meatloaf.
Most of the burgers, barbecue sandwiches, salads and stews won't set you back more than a Hamilton. Several lunch specials -- offered through 2 p.m. -- were also offered.
I ordered pulled chicken, which was piled on a pretty typical hamburger bun. The accompanying coleslaw wasn't too "mayonnaisey," which "Grandma's potato salad" made up for. All that and a pickle cost $7.99. Barbecue sauce comes on the side, and you can pick from a handful of varieties: mild, sweet, spicy, etc.
The portion should satisfy a healthy appetite, though the chicken was a little dry for my liking. The more sauce I added, the better it tasted.
A separate entrance off the parking lot caters to the takeout crowd; you can also order party-sized portions of food. You can pick it up or they will cater.
The Richmond location of Red Hot & Blue joins others in the chain across Virginia, and several other states you automatically think of when you think of barbecue -- such as New Jersey.
Contact Olympia Meola at (804) 649-6812 or Omeola@timesdispatch.com.

Southern Hospitality

BBQ in the south is part of the culture – inseparably linked to gatherings from friends and family to civic groups and business communities. At Red Hot & Blue southern hospitality is not an option. It’s an injunction. Everybody is family, and every gathering is a reunion.


Southern Hospitality means:

• you will be treated with kindness and respect


• you never walk away from the “dinner table” hungry


• friends and family are always welcome…the more the merrier


• there are no strangers…only friends we haven’t met yet


• you always have a choice of meats to go along with your “sides”


• there is always something sweet to finish off a great meal


• there is always an extra pecan pie or fruit cobbler in the fridge; just in case friends or family show up announced


• the host/hostess will do everything they possibly can to make you comfortable and happy while in “our house”


• you will be sent on your way with good memories and a little something extra “for the road”
  

It’s impossible to say “Southern” without smiling. Nothing puts a smile on your face like the words, “Southern Cooking”.