News
XM'S BLUESVILLE SHOW BROADCASTS THE HOLMES BROTHERS
6/21/2005
XM Satellite Radio’s Bluesville program will broadcast the Holmes Brothers’ performances live on Sunday, June 26, 2005 from 5:45 – 7:00pm. The Holmes Brothers will be performing at the National Capitol BBQ Battle in Washington, D.C. Critics hailed their latest CD, SIMPLE TRUTHS, as the best of their career. The group recently picked up the prestigious 2005 W.C. Handy Blues Award for “Blues Band of the Year.” In 2004, The Holmes Brothers appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and performed with Willie Nelson on his television special, “Willie Nelson & Friends: Outlaws and Angels.”
KOKO TAYLOR AND SHEMEKIA COPELAND TO HAVE SONGS FEATURED IN FILMS
6/21/2005
Queen of the Blues Koko Taylor and vocalist Shemekia Copeland will each have one a song featured in upcoming Hollywood films. Taylor’s “I’m A Woman” will appear in the film “Grilled,” starring Ray Romano. Copeland’s “Turn The Heat Up” will be heard during “The Thing About My Folks” starring Peter Falk, Olympia Dukakis and Paul Reiser.
Tinsley Ellis' LIVE-HIGHWAYMAN Reviewed in Billboard
6/21/2005
Writer Philip Van Vleck reviews the new Tinsley Ellis CD, LIVE-HIGHWAYMAN, in Billboard issue #26.
GuitarOne Praises Tinsley Ellis's LIVE-HIGHWAYMAN
6/20/2005
Writer Sean McDevitt, in the August 2005 issue of GuitarOne magazine, raves about the new Tinsley Ellis CD, LIVE-HIGHWAYMAN.
TINSLEY ELLIS' LIVE-HIGHWAYMAN RECEIVES RAVE REVIEW IN GUITAR WORLD
6/14/2005
Writer Alan Paul, the August 2005 issue of Guitar World magazine, raves about Tinsley Ellis new CD, "Live-Highwayman."
MAVIS STAPLES DAY IN CHICAGO JUNE 12, 2005!
5/18/2005
In an honor unlike any other, the City of Chicago presented Mavis Staples with a proclamation declaring Sunday, June 12 “Mavis Staples Day” throughout Chicago. That evening, Staples headlined the annual Chicago Blues Festival in front of an audience of over 100,000 people.
MAVIS STAPLES AT THE JAMMYS!
5/5/2005
Legendary soul/gospel singer Mavis Staples is back in the headlines, with a recent appearance at the Jammy Awards held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Staples sat in with the North Mississippi All Stars before joining Umphrey's McGee, Sinead O'Connor and Huey Lewis for a rousing rendition of the Staple Singers' classic, “I'll Take You There.”
LITTLE CHARLIE & THE NIGHTCATS' “NINE LIVES” AND MARCIA BALL'S “LIVE! DOWN THE ROAD” BOTH DEBUT ON THE BILLBOARD BLUES CHART!
5/4/2005
LITTLE CHARLIE & THE NIGHTCATS' “NINE LIVES” AND MARCIA BALL'S “LIVE! DOWN THE ROAD” BOTH DEBUT ON THE BILLBOARD BLUES CHART! Alligator Records' two latest releases, Little Charlie & The Nightcats' “Nine Lives” and Marcia Ball's “Live! Down The Road,” hit the #6 and the #3 spots on Billboard's Blues Chart respectively. Ball's CD was the #4 overall seller in New Orleans during the annual Jazz & Heritage Festival. Both CDs have received critical praise across the country, with reviews running in “The Chicago Sun-Times,” “The Austin Chronicle,” “The Austin American Statesman,” “The Sacramento Bee” and upcoming coverage in “Billboard,” “GuitarOne,” “Singer,” and many other outlets.
“GUITAR ONE” MAGAZINE CHOOSES FOUR ALLIGATOR ALBUMS AMONG 200 GREATEST GUITAR RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME!
4/6/2005
“GuitarOne” magazine, in their May 2005 issue, chooses four Alligator Records albums among the Top 200 Greatest Guitar Recordings Of All Time. Writer Bob Gulla, picking the 30 best blues recordings, writes:
ALLIGATOR PREPARES DOUBLE RELEASE
3/25/2005
Alligator Records released new CDs from Sacramento’s blues/jazz/jump masters Little Charlie & The Nightcats and critically acclaimed, Austin-based pianist/vocalist/songwriter Marcia Ball on April 26, 2005. NINE LIVES, Little Charlie & The Nightcats’ ninth release, is a foot-stomping mix of Chicago blues, West Coast swing, jumping jazz and R&B, anchored by harpist/singer Rick Estrin’s original songs and vocals and Little Charlie Baty’s out-of-this-world fretwork. LIVE! DOWN THE ROAD is Ball’s first-ever full-length live album. Backed by her road-tested touring band, the CD features a fan’s dream set list of songs from throughout Marcia’s long career.
COCO MONTOYA’S SONG, “I NEED YOUR LOVE IN MY LIFE” SUNG BY SOLOMAN BURKE ON “THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN”
3/1/2005
Alligator recording artist and master blues guitarist/songwriter/vocalist Coco Montoya, who is currently at work on a new CD, had his composition, “I Need Your Love In My Life” (written by Montoya and Dave Steen) performed by soul legend Solomon Burke on “The Late Show With David Letterman” on Monday, February 28.
“LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O’BRIEN” REBROADCASTS MAVIS STAPLES APPEARANCE ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2005!
2/17/2005
Gospel/soul legend Mavis Staples, fresh from her celebrated, nationally televised appearances on the “47th Annual Grammy Awards” and NBC Television’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” will again hit the national airwaves. Staples’ October 20, 2004 performance of “Have A Little Faith” (the title song from her Alligator CD) on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” will be rebroadcast Monday, February 21 on NBC and again on Tuesday, February 22 on CNBC