Singer's Husband Dies in Apartment
Fire
Sugar Pie DeSanto's Spouse was
Trying to Extinguish Blaze
 The
husband
of
well-known
Oakland
blues
singer
Sugar
Pie
DeSanto
died
Thursday
while
trying
to put
out an
early
morning
three-alarm
fire in
the
couple's
third-floor
apartment,
fire
officials
said.
Jesse
Davis,
52, died
inside
the
apartment
at 3833
Telegraph
Ave. in
the
blaze,
which
also
left a
firefighter-paramedic
hospitalized
in
serious
condition
with
second-degree
head
burns,
fire
Capt.
Melinda
Drayton
said.
Three
other
firefighters
were
treated
at a
nearby
hospital
for
burns
and an
eye
injury
before
being
released.
The four
injured
firefighters
were
hurt in
an
explosion
apparently
caused
by
superheated
gases
igniting
thick
dust in
the air.
Pop and
blues
singer
DeSanto
was in
the
apartment
with her
husband
when the
fire
broke
out and
was able
to flee.
The fire
started
in the
couple's
living
room and
was
believed
to be
accidental,
Drayton
said. A
smoke
alarm in
a nearby
hallway
failed
to work
because
its
battery
was
missing.
Davis'
body was
found
near a
window,
Drayton
said.
Davis
had
apparently
stayed
in the
apartment,
trying
to
extinguish
the
blaze,
failing
to heed
his
wife's
pleading
for him
to get
out.
Neighbors
said
Davis
had
difficulty
walking
and
occasionally
used a
cane,
which
might
have
hampered
his
ability
to
escape.
"The
fire
flashed
on the
third
floor,
so
superheated
gases
caused
basically
a fire
explosion,"
Drayton
said.
"All the
...
small
materials
like
dust
particles
get to a
point
where
they
ignite."
"She's
in
remarkable
shape,
given
the
circumstances,''
Tobey
said.
"She's
obviously
shocked
but
otherwise
does not
appear
to be
injured.''
DeSanto
began
her
recording
career
in 1955
and
recorded
her
biggest
hit, "I
Want to
Know,''
in 1960.
She is
known
for her
wide
range of
musical
styles,
including
soul,
jazz and
funk --
along
with her
energetic
delivery
and her
ability
to
perform
backflips
during
performances.
She has
shared
stages
with
James
Brown
and with
Ike
and Tina
Turner,
and
received
a Bay
Area
Music
Award,
or
Bammie,
for best
female
blues
singer
in 1999.
Over the
years
she has
written
in
excess
of 100
tunes
two of
which
she
recorded
as a duo
with
Etta
James
("Do I
Make
Myself
Clear"
and "In
the
Basement"
reissued
by MCA,
the
latter
being
included
in the
soundtrack
of the
1999
movie
"The
Hurricane").
Other
songs of
hers
have
been
recorded
by
Fontella
Bass,
Billy
Stewart,
Little
Milton,
Bobby
McClure,
Minnie
Riperton,
Jesse
James,
The
Dells
and
The
Whispers.
Davis
enjoyed
cooking
and
taking
care of
the
couple's
apartment
while
his wife
performed,
according
to
DeSanto.
He
married
her
twice,
the
first
marriage
ending
in
divorce
before
the
couple
reconciled.
"He's my
biggest
fan, and
he'll
try to
do
things
that
keep me
happy
and keep
me
mellow,''
she said
in an
interview
in the
current
Living
Blues
magazine.
Please
send
your
comments
and
condolences
to her
label at
jasmanrecords@comcast.net
or visit
Sugar
Pie’s
new
website
at
www.jasmanrecords.com
Besides
losing
her
husband,
Sugar
Pie
DeSanto
lost
everything
she
owned.
There
is a
fund set
up for
anyone
who
wishes
to help.
Please
contact
any
Wells
Fargo
Bank and
donate
to The
Sugar
Pie
DeSanto
Fund
Acct #
367-333-5752
|
BANDS UNITE TO SUPPORT
BLUES ON GRAND
(BOG) IN LEGAL BATTLE
 Four
Iowa blues bands will
appear in a benefit
performance to help the
Des Moines' nightclub pay
its annual performance
rights licensing fees on
Sunday, November 26.
Blues On Grand, located
at 1501 Grand Ave., is
embroiled in a legal
battle with Broadcast
Music, Inc. (BMI), which
collects fees from
radio, television, night
clubs and retailers for
use of music
broadcasted, performed
live or played in stores
and pays royalties to
song writers and
publishers.
The four bands-The
Bob Pace Band, Hot
Tamale & The Red Hots,
Sumpin' Doo and
Matt Wood & The
Thunderbolts-will be
performing between 4:30
p.m and 10 p.m. at the
famed club. Suggested
donations of $5 will be
received at the door.
Free food, silent
auction, and raffled
items are also on the
agenda.
Blues On Grand was
founded in 1999 and has
been the Des Moines
performance home for
most major touring blues
artists in the country,
as well as for regional
and local blues bands.
The club won the
Blues Foundation's
coveted Keeping The
Blues Alive Award in
2002 as the nation's
"Blues Club Of The
Year." Owner Ron
Boone and Manager Jeff
Wagner have recently
been contesting with BMI
over a judgment they
were unaware of for
unpaid licensing fees.
The club's receipts have
been confiscated under a
court order on multiple
occasions. Says Wagner;
"High music licensing
fees are no doubt one of
my toughest struggles in
the owning and operating
of a live music venue
dedicated to the blues
genre. I truly hope that
our blues heroes or
their families are
getting what's due
them."
For more information:
Silent auction or raffle
item donations contact
Scott Allen via email at
scott@vividpix.com
Music coordination
contact Bryan Church at
515.577.7749
Visit
www.bluesongrand.com
for details and updates
Other inquiries please
contact Jeff Wagner at
Blues On Grand by
calling
515.244.3092
B.B.
King
Films
Concerts
at His
Club in
Memphis
(Commercial Appeal/Memphis) B.B. King was feeling nostalgic for one of his old records.
 Not just any of his hundred or so albums, but the monumental "Live at the Regal," released in 1965 -- one of those desert island discs for the blues lover.
Could he ever recapture that magic? Or was the thrill truly gone away for good?
"We started with that sound in mind," said producer Jim Dollarhide. "B.B. said to me, 'If we do this right, it'll be like that.' That was the benchmark for what we were setting out to accomplish. I was like, whoa."
On Sunday night, the most famous living bluesman, 81, returned to Memphis and played the first concert of a two-night stand at the Beale Street club that bears his name, a continuation of two previous gigs at his Nashville club.
Surrounded by high-definition video cameras, hot lights, and a crew of about 50 technicians, King took the stage to remake history.
The forthcoming "Live at B.B. King's" DVD and soundtrack (a release date has not been set) will combine the best moments from all four performances.
Dollarhide gently coached the audience on the tone of the show. He played "Sweet Little Angel" off the 1965 album.
 He pointed out the give and take between the bluesman and his enrapt Chicago audience -- a crucial synergy that defines any live recording.
"B.B. is the happiest he can be when putting on a good show and the audience is loving it," he said. Then Dollarhide exited out the back door and climbed into the mobile recording studio parked out back.
He'd spend most of the concert behind a bank of television monitors, coordinating the eight cameras prowling the stage for moments of vintage B.B.
Warming up the crowd was easy for King's eight long-time band mates.
Finally, the legend appeared wearing a silk smoking jacket and a bow tie.
 It wasn't the first time he'd made a concert film in his club. In 1993, the popular Beale Street nightspot was the set for "Blues Summit," which piggybacked on his Grammy-winning album of the same name. That concert featured guest appearances by Buddy Guy, Irma Thomas, Robert Cray, Koko Taylor and the late
This show was all King, with much freedom given to his orchestra.
From the moment he took his seat front and center, King struck a convivial tone with the audience. "I feel like it's a town meeting," he remarked.
Dollarhide described him as a "guy sitting in his living room with friends."
Fans know that King plays fewer notes these days and does more talking, reflecting, advice giving and just feeling the love.
Few topics escaped his musing over the course of two hours.
His enthusiasms included Muddy Waters, the benefit of hot toddies, the Great Spirit, Eric Clapton, women ("God's gift to the planet"), women ("They all make me feel so good") and more women ("my chief doctor is Dr. Cialis").
Incidentally, his first big break in Memphis in 1948 was promoting a similar "cure for what ails you" on the radio.
 He even sang the tonic's jingle that launched his career as a deejay on the fledgling radio station WDIA.
"Pepticon, Pepticon, sure is good, you can get it anywhere in your neighborhood."
Mortality was also a recurring theme throughout the night.
Sometimes he laughed about getting older.
"My hair got white," he said. "I never thought I'd have anything turn white."
Other times his musings seemed more fateful. While talking about how he expects the music to keep on living after he's gone, King shook his head. "Should this be my last live concert, the only thing you'll miss is this big black face." 
Meanwhile, the cameras gobbled it all up.
When his guitar, Lucille, finally got a word in edgewise, she was often the more elegiac and concise of the two -- distilled, electrical emotion saying in just a few notes what King expressed in soliloquies.
How close did he come to invoking the spirit of "Live at the Regal" by a then 39-year-old bluesman?
Dollarhide said they'll know in time, once the editing is finished and the best musical moments are fleshed out of the four shows.
The only certainty is that the blues is still keepin' on at a nightclub on Beale. And by the sound of it, the singer's come down with a bad case of it.
"Got a good mind to give up livin' and go shopping instead. / Gonna get me a tombstone, 'cause I'm better off dead."
Delta
Blues
Like
You've
Never
Seen
Before
That's
Delta
Blues,
the race
horse.
Japanese
owned,
racing
in New
Zealand,
named
after a
style of
music.
The same
owners
also
race a
horse
named
"Pop
Rock",
but my
money is
on Delta
Blues.
Why?
Because
he has
the
endurance!
Ray
Charles
Estate
Helps
Dillard
University
 NEW
ORLEANS,
Oct.
28
(UPI)
--
The
estate
of
legendary
singer
Ray
Charles
has
donated
$1
million
to
Dillard
University
to
help
the
Louisiana
school
rebuild
its
Katrina-battered
campus.
Dillard
awarded
Charles
an
honorary
Ph.D.
in
2003,
a
year
before
he
died.
He
reciprocated
with
a $1
million
gift
to
establish
a
chair
in
black
culinary
studies,
the
Times-Picayune
of
New
Orleans
reported.
Charles
never
attended
college.
The
second
$1
million
gift
was
announced
last
weekend.
 In
2005,
Katrina
caused
$400
to
$500
million
dollars
in
damage
to
the
campus
in
Gentilly,
which
will
be
offset
at
least
somewhat
by
the
latest
gift.
Ray
Charles
was
born
in
Georgia
and
went
blind
at
the
age
of
7.
He
later
found
his
calling
as a
singer
and
piano
player.
SXSW 2007 Music Festival Showcase Application Final Deadline
 For over 20 years, South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference and Festival has been bringing musicians, record company executives, club owners, radio programmers, journalists, publicists and countless other people working in the music industry together. Over one thousand showcasing artists and solo acts from around the globe perform on 60 stages over the course of five nights, March 14 - 18, 2007 in Austin, Texas. Online applications to perform at this extraordinary event are being accepted until Friday, November 10, 2006.
Applications to perform, MP3s and press materials are now being accepted electronically. Please access the website at www.sxsw.com/showcase and fill out the application online. The final application deadline is November 10, 2006 for domestic acts, with a fee of $30. (The late application deadline for international acts has passed.) This year, all showcase applications must be filled out and paid for by credit card online. (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and Diner's Club are accepted.) Once the online application has been completed, the primary contact will be sent a confirmation email with instructions on how to upload MP3s, a biography, an artist photograph and a press kit. No more packing CDs, paying postage or worrying if SXSW received the packet!
Some of the musical genres featured at the SXSW Music Festival include alternative country, bluegrass, blues, country, DJ, electronic, experimental, hip-hop, jazz, Latin, metal, pop, rock, punk, singer/songwriter, world, and reggae.
2007 will be the 21st Anniversary of SXSW Music taking place March 14 - 18 at the Austin Convention Center and on stages throughout downtown Austin. In addition to the music festival, the conference will gather music business professionals to participate in panel discussions, workshops, one-on-one interviews and the Trade Show and Exhibition.
For more information or to register for the conference, visit www.sxsw.com or e-mail sxsw@sxsw.com.
|
15 MILLION DOLLAR GAMBLE
 An unidentified bidder spent $15 million to purchase guitar legend Jimi Hendrix's entire song catalog, but the rock star's family said Friday that the music, including classics "Purple Haze" and "Voodoo Chile," still belongs to them.
The rights to the rock legend's songs were auctioned off Thursday by the estate of former Hendrix manager Michael Frank Jeffrey, said Wendy Chou, spokeswoman for Ocean Tomo Auctions LLC. She declined to identify the winning bidder.
A Hendrix family spokesman said the term "winner" was relative.
"You may buy the right to become a defendant in a lawsuit," said Bob Merlis, a spokesman for Experience Hendrix, a Seattle-based company owned by the family. "If someone infringes on our rights, we'll deal with it."
Hendrix, whose brilliant career ended from a drug overdose in London, created some of the 1960s most indelible music on such albums as "Electric Ladyland," "Axis: Bold as Love" and "Are You Experienced?"
Hendrix, who was born in Seattle, died in 1970 at the age of 27 in London, after choking on his own vomit. About 600,000 of his albums are still sold annually.
Jeffrey died in a plane crash three years later. Fourteen charities based in the United Kingdom, including the Asthma Research Council, the British Heart Foundation and the Kings College Hospital are the beneficiaries of Jeffrey's estate.
According to Merlis, the Hendrix family had warned before the auction that they believed the Jeffrey estate had no claim to the catalog. In a variety of previous court cases, the family's ownership of the catalog was established and reaffirmed, Merlis said.
"We sounded many, many cautionary notes," he said of the latest auction. "Basically, somebody bought the Michael Jeffrey estate claim, which was heretofore judged worthless. I'd file this one under 'go figure.' "
Blogcritics Celebrates the Blues
November 01, 2006
Welcome to the Blogcritics' Blues Bash!
 This month, the music section will be shining the spotlight big and bright on the blues.
Look no further than these pages to see news, reviews, and interviews on a genre that isn't always so easy to define. By nature, blues is wide and varied, always evolving, always challenging the boundaries with each and every performance and interpretation. Though the commonality seems to be a state of mind, the terminology is a reference to the often depressed -- or blue -- tone of the lyrics. Of course, anything can happen along the way!
Not unlike jazz and rock, blues has taken its share of knocks over the years, sometimes being referred to as the devil's music. In fact, if not for the blues, jazz and rock wouldn't exist. The genre has also had its share of time in the spotlight as well, serving as the focus of several movies. The Blues Brothers, Sounder, and Crossroads are just a few of the stories built around this type of music.
So join us this month as our writers tip their hats and sing the praises of the music that got its start right here in America, drawing inspiration from African, Caribbean, and other cultures, and gave birth to the wide variety of musical styles we hear each and every day.
Visit http://blogcritics.org/music/
FROM THE
BLUES FOUNDATION:
Membership Push Continues
 The
Blues Foundation will be continuing its
membership drive in November. October saw a
net increase of 109 which puts us at 417 on
our drive to our goal of 1000 net new
members by the end of the year.
When we review our database, we find
hundreds of members who have not renewed,
many industry folks who interact with us on
a regular basis who are not members and even
many blues society officers who are not
members. To survive and to thrive, The Blues
Foundation must be a member-supported
organization. We cannot count on government
funds, corporate sponsorships or foundation
grants to be the lifeblood of this
organization. The people who believe this
music is important to their lives have the
duty to support it and one of the ways is to
be a member of The Blues Foundation.
We have some pretty good premiums these days
at each and every level of support. And only
members are allowed to cast their vote for
the Blues Music Awards. Think how important
that is to your favorite nominee.
visit
www.Blues.org
Percy
Brown Leaves Hospital
Blues Foundation Staff
Member Percy Brown, who handles
Membership, Advertising & Technology
Administrator for the Blues Foundation has
been released from the hospital and is
resting at his downtown digs. He is barely
able to walk and thinks he will not be back
to the office for several weeks. You may
send greetings to him:
Percy Brown
9 N 2nd Street #1712
Memphis, TN 38103
By his own words he "dodged a bullet"
Sunday, October 22 because his friend Connie
was with him and sensed the urgency of the
situation and called 911 and there was a top
vascular surgeon available to perform a
6-hour surgery as a result of an abdominal
aortic aneurysm he suffered earlier that
day.
|
|
John Hammond Becomes a Songwriter
 Veteran
bluesman John Hammond has turned his
attention to songwriting.
The Jersey City-based musician has spent most of his
long career interpreting blues songs by the likes of
Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and others.
He wrote his first song, "Slick Crown Vic," a few
years ago and recorded it for his 2003 CD, "Ready
for Love."
A year ago, he released another CD, "In Your Arms
Again," which included two more of his original
songs, the title track and "Come to Find Out."
Now he has teamed with producer G Love (aka
Garrett Dutton) on his forthcoming CD, "Push
Comes to Shove" (Blue Note), which includes five of
Hammond's new songs. "It's all blues," said Hammond.
"It's what I've been doing for 44 years and all my
life. It's all coming from a focus on a way of
seeing the world."
"I wanted to make a good record. I had written five
songs. I'm not known as a songwriter, so this was a
big deal for me," he
said. "I got to work with
G Love. He's from another generation and he has a
different take on blues and hip-hop and that kind of
thing. It was a dynamic combination and it worked
out really well. He really respected what I wanted
to do."
The New York native grew up around music. His father
discovered Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen
and signed them to Columbia Records. John Hammond
Jr. bought his first guitar at age 18 and
immediately started to emulate his blues heroes
Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters.
In recent years, Hammond has expanded his repertoire
by performing songs by Billie Holiday, George
Jones, Freddy Hart, Tom Waits, Percy Mayfield
and Bob Dylan. In fact, he recorded an entire
album of Waits' songs, "Wicked Grin" in 2001.
PIEDMONT TALENT
LOVES THEIR WOMEN OF THE BLUES
Piedmont Talent, booking agency for
great roots and blues music since 1989 has announced
2 major signings of blues talent.
 Ruf
Records recording artist Sue Foley has
recently signed with Piedmont. They will handle Sue
Foley's band tours, as well as Sue's touring as part
of the 2007 Blues Caravan tour with fellow
guitar women Deborah Coleman and Roxanne
Potvin.
Piedmont has also recently announced
a 2007 tour for the dynamic duo of guitar
woman Debbie Davies and songstress Janiva
Magness.
The 2007 Blues Festival Season is
going to be HOT!
|
|
The Blues Festival E-Guide and
Sonicbids
proudly announces our selection for the
latest "Blues Artist on the Rise"...
Terraplane Blues
Takes you back to the
Delta with their juke joint flair
 Terraplane
Blues defines diversity - Men and a
woman, black/white, young/mature,
electric/acoustic all meeting on a common
ground, the blues. Think sweaty dancers,
raunchy rhythm, mean slide guitar, heartfelt
vocals from one superb blues diva, and
gritty harp they take you back to juke joint
times.
This New Jersey Band has been
having a very good year. Check out
these accomplishments!
 •
July/August 2006 - Lead vocalist Jennifer
Wright is featured on the cover of
"State of the Art" magazine, including cover
story on Terraplane Blues and their
successful audition for MUNY (MTA's Music
Under NY Program).
• June 2006 - Terraplane Blues selected by
audition as a MUNY artist - Music Under New
York, a program run by MTA to perform in the
subways, train stations and parks of NYC.
• June 2006 - Terraplane Blues performs at
the 20th Anniversary Red Bank Jazz & Blues
Festival (200,000 attendees) opening for
TJ Wheeler. After the performance, a
promoter offered a performance slot in
FestiBlues (Montreal, Canada) for 2007.
• May 2006 - Terraplane Blues signs with
prestigious Canadian booking agency to
explore performance opportunities outside
the U.S., including the Montreal Jazz
Festival.
Discography:
Jubilee Stomp (2004)
Yesterday's Blues (1998)
Song Clips Available,
click on CDs
Upcoming Shows:
SUNDAY, November 5
Giamanos Upstairs Jazz Lounge
Bradley Beach, NJ
SATURDAY, November 11
MUNY
Music Under New York
LOCATION: Penn Station at LIRR #2 by the
McDonalds & Flower Shop
FRIDAY, November 24
Giamanos Upstairs Jazz Lounge
Bradley Beach, NJ
FRIDAY, December 8
Pine Tavern
Old Bridge, NJ
SATURDAY, December 9
Private Party
Tinton Falls, NJ
SATURDAY, December 16
Giamanos Upstairs Jazz Lounge
Bradley Beach, NJ
For more information visit:
www.TerraplaneBlues.com
or
http://www.sonicbids.com/TerraplaneBlues
|
James
Luther Dickinson is a legendary Memphis producer, songwriter, and sideman.
He has played piano with Aretha Franklin and The Rolling Stones.
He is also the father of Luther and Cody Dickinson, founders of
The North Mississippi All Stars. And Jim Dickinson has a new CD called Jungle
Jim and The Voodoo Tiger. Elwood Blues will give it a spin next time on The
House of Blues Radio Hour. 
