Went up to Phoenix’s Rhythm Room last night for the Elmore James Jr. show….. WOW! What a great time…. I’m sure like a lot of other folks, seeing the son of the legendary Elmore James was worth the price of admission alone, but it was a terrific show, and the guys in the band certainly have their chops down pat.
The backing band, Cadillac Zack, features two guitarists…. Zack and the oddly surname-less Steve, who both are proficient at slide, but Steve, moreso in the Robert Nighthawk, Earl Hooker vein. And of course, well, Elmore James Jr. plays slide too! Triple Threat!
I had a chance to chat with Elmore Jr. over a copy of my book, The Amazing Secret History of Elmore James, and some of the revelations were quite interesting.
His first comment that the color portrait on the cover was not actually Elmore James, but a cousin of Elmore’s. Hmmmmm– dunno about that one.
Inside, looking over some of the photos, other interesting comments came up– sometimes sandwiched between the band doing their soundcheck, so I was not always able to catch every word.
The photo of Elmore with a bow tie, and a lady leaning against him…. he knows who the lady is, he says. Couldn’t make it out.
The famous Kay guitar with the ‘EJ’ insignia in the corner was eventually stolen. Elmore Jr. said he had to go back to Mississippi in 1978 to bury his grandmother (that would be Leora, Elmore’s mother), and from what I understand, that’s when he picked up the guitar. He said that Louis Myers was always bugging him to play it, to borrow it, and finally he relented….. much to his regret. Apparently, while under the care of Louis, that’s when the guitar got stolen….. (makes you wonder what pawn shop it wound up in, eh?)
Another amusing story Elmore Jr. told involved a love interest that Elmore James AND his saxophonist, J.T. Brown, both were pursuing. One day, J.T. Brown came around to pay the love interest a visit, thinking no one was around. Much to his surprise, Elmore answered the door. After the exchange of a few choice words, such ‘what are you doing here, mother f***er,’ and what are YOU doing here, mother f***er,’ Elmore retreated inside, while J.T. went to his car, retrieved a shotgun, and yelled out to Elmore, ‘Stick your head out the window, mother f***er, so I can blow it off.’ As EJ Jr. said, ‘probably somebody went to jail that night.’
Other tales involved Mississippi. Such as Elmore, back in Mississippi between gigs, teaching his son a few pointers on playing slide guitar. Elmore Jr. thinks that it may have been because he somehow knew he didn’t have much time left, and wanted to share some of his knowledge with his son before he passed. Another story involved one of the ways that Elmore would cope with the harsh Mississippi life and economy…. he would apparently sign up on some plantation to be a sharecropper…. and be given a place to live, with some money to make it through the winter, and to be expected to produce a crop in the spring….. only, according Elmore Jr., his daddy would often split with the money and leave town. He says that Elmore spent some time on the County Farm over that one. Perhaps on more than one occasion. When I asked him if he’d ever heard any stories of Elmore going out to country churches, preaching a sermon and then absconding with the money in the collection plate (a story I’d run across researching the Elmore book but could never get corroboration on), he told me, no, he had never heard of anything like that. But, he did confirm the oft-repeated story of Elmore sometimes pawning the band members’ possessions and splitting with the proceeds, leaving the band stranded on the road. However, Elmore Jr., told me, he wouldn’t pull that crap in Jackson, because that was kind of like his ‘home turf,’ and he was too loved and respected there, and had too many friends.
Because of the times, Elmore Jr. moved from Mississippi to Chicago in 1965 (one story apparently involved Elmore Jr., at the time a member of the Freedom Democratic Party, outrunning the cops in a 1956 Ford that was a hand-me-down from his father). So, for instance, when I asked him about Little Johnny Jones, Elmore’s top notch ivory tickler, he had never had a chance to meet him, but, Magic Sam (coupled with Johnny in this one particular photo in the book), he did remember fondly. Other photos evoked memories a plenty…. Big Bill Hill, the radio D.J., a photo of Willie Nix (‘Nicest guy you’d ever wanna meet’), Eddie Taylor, Odell Campbell (I was distracted by someone or something before I could ask a follow up question), and of course Homesick James. The photo of Elmore drinking with a friend (see page 196 in the book), unfortunately, still remains a mystery…. when asked, Elmore Jr. couldn’t figure out who the other person in the photo might be.
Elmore Jr. and I agreed to spend some time chatting over the phone….. more details, and hopefully, some pics of last night’s gig, will be posted soon.
So, I guess the question on everyone’s mind? How was the music? Well, the band, with Elmore Jr., sound often like a mix of Johnny Littlejohn and Eddie Taylor, with some helpings of Otis Rush, Albert King and a pinch of J.B. Lenoir and Joe Carter thrown in for good measure. Elmore Jr. is no slouch on the slide either, but I think it is safe to say that he doesn’t quite have the chops of his old man (to be sure, a difficult accomplishment for any guitarist). However, with that vintage hollow body Epiphone of his, when he slides up to the twelfth fret and plays that old familiar ‘Dust My Broom’ phrase, the magic still rings out in the air. Somewhere, I have to think, Elmore surely must be proud to have his son as one of the ‘keepers of the flame’.
Oh yeah, and before I go, have to give a nod of the hat to Fiona Boyes, a blues guitarist from Australia that opened the set, in the company of Rhythm Room proprietor, Bob Corritore. She’s funny, smart, sassy, original, and passionate (you should hear her do ‘Smokestack Lightning’!), and, well, I think a force to be on the look out for. Oh yeah, did we mention she’s Australian too? Well, it just goes to show that even Aussie’s can get the blues.
Thanks to Bob Corritore for bringing Elmore James Jr. to Phoenix. Good on ya’ Bob! Keep up the good work.
And for those who missed the show, pick up Elmore Jr.’s latest CD. We need to encourage them to make more!
