News


Shemekia Copeland's Talking To Strangers Reviewed in Billboard
9/18/2002
Shemekia Copeland's new Dr. John-produced CD, Talking To Strangers, received a rave review in the 21 September issue of Billboard. On September 16, Shemekia, along with Dr. John, opened for The Rolling Stones at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom.

ALLIGATOR RECORDS SIGNS CANADIAN DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH DISTRIBUTION FUSION III
7/9/2002
Alligator Records has announced a new exclusive Canadian distribution agreement with Distribution Fusion III. Based in Montreal, Distribution Fusion III began carrying the entire Alligator catalog as of July 2, 2002. The first new release for Distribution Fusion III will be HEADS UP!, the house-rocking new album from Chicago's Lil' Ed And The Blues Imperials.

ALLIGATOR RECORDS SIGNS CANADIAN DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH DISTRIBUTION FUSION III

Distribution Fusion III is one of Canada's largest independent distributors, founded in 1983 by Jim West. The company distributes all genres of music to retail outlets across Canada, including the catalogs of Arhoolie, Evidence, Green Linnet and Vanguard. Alligator was formerly distributed in Canada by Warner Music.
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ALLIGATOR TO RELEASE BUDGET SAMPLER
7/9/2002
Alligator Records will release LET THERE BE...BLUES, a 12 track sampler with a budget price of $3.99, on August 20. The CD will be available exclusively at over 500 Transworld retail record stores (Coconuts, FYE, Planet Music, Spec's and Strawberries) across the country.

ALLIGATOR TO RELEASE BUDGET SAMPLER

Track listing for LET THERE BE...BLUES is as follows:
Marcia Ball, Louella; Coco Montoya, Women Have A Way With A Fool; Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials, Never Miss Your Water; Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, Give Me My Coat & Shoes; Johnny Winter, Route 90; Albert Collins and Robert Cray, The Moon Is Full; Shemekia Copeland, Whole Lotta Water; W.C. Clark, Let It Rain; Hound Dog Taylor, Give Me Back My Wig; Koko Taylor, Put The Pot On; Little Charlie & The Nightcats, Desperate Man; Luther Allison, Cherry Red Wine (live).
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LITTLE CHARLIE AND THE NIGHTCATS FEATURED ON HOUSE OF BLUES RADIO HOUR
7/9/2002
Alligator's Little Charlie And The Nightcats will be the featured artists on the nationally syndicated program, The House of Blues Radio Hour, with host Dan "Elwood Blues" Aykroyd, the weekend of July 20-21. The program will run on nearly 200 stations across the U.S. Since the March 12, 2002 release of THAT'S BIG!, Little Charlie And The Nightcats have toured relentlessly and have been featured on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition, in Guitar Player magazine, and in many other national and regional publications and radio programs.

LITTLE CHARLIE AND THE NIGHTCATS FEATURED ON HOUSE OF BLUES RADIO HOUR

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THREE ALLIGATOR ARTISTS RECEIVE W.C. HANDY BLUES AWARDS!
5/24/2002
Alligator Records is pleased to announce that three of the label's artists have received W.C. Handy Blues Awards from the Blues Foundation. The 23rd Annual W.C. Handy Awards were presented by the Blues Foundation on May 23rd in Memphis at the Orpheum Theatre. Marcia Ball: Blues Album Of The Year- Presumed Innocent (This is Ball's 2nd career W.C. Handy Blues Award.)////Shemekia Copeland: Contemporary Blues - Female Artist of the Year (This is Copeland's 4th career W.C. Handy Blues Award.)////Koko Taylor: Traditional Blues - Female Artist of the Year (This is Taylor's 22nd career W.C. Handy Blues Award.)

THREE ALLIGATOR ARTISTS RECEIVE W.C. HANDY BLUES AWARDS!

Marcia Ball
Blues Album Of The Year- Presumed Innocent
(This is Ball's 2nd career W.C. Handy Blues Award.)


Shemekia Copeland
Contemporary Blues - Female Artist of the Year
(This is Copeland's 4th career W.C. Handy Blues Award.)


Koko Taylor
Traditional Blues - Female Artist of the Year
(This is Taylor's 22nd career W.C. Handy Blues Award.)

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Listen to Little Charlie & the Nightcats' appearance on West Coast Live May 2002
5/15/2002
Little Charlie & the Nightcats performed several songs from their latest Alligator Records release, That’s Big! on West Coast Live last weekend. Host Sedge Thompson also talked with guitarist Little Charlie Baty and vocalist/harmonicist/songwriter Rick Estrin about their new record, touring and musical influences.

W.C. Clark CD Review in Austin Chronicle
5/1/2002
Read Jay Trachtenbert's stellar review of W.C. Clark's new Alligator CD, From Austin With Soul, in the April 26 edition of The Austin Chronicle.

LITTLE CHARLIE AND THE NIGHTCATS ON NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO'S "WEEKEND EDITION"
4/18/2002
Jump/blues/swing masters Little Charlie and the Nightcats appeared on National Public Radio’s “Weekend Edition” on Saturday, April 20. The feature includes interviews with guitarist Little Charlie Baty and vocalist/harmonicist/songwriter Rick Estrin, as well as live performances from the entire band.

ALLIGATOR RECEIVES 2002 "KEEPING THE BLUES ALIVE" AWARD
2/12/2002
Alligator Records received a 2002 Keeping The Blues Alive Award from The Blues Foundation in a ceremony held at the Gibson Guitar Factory in Memphis on February 10.

ALLIGATOR RECEIVES 2002 "KEEPING THE BLUES ALIVE" AWARD

According to The Blues Foundation, "the Keeping The Blues Alive Awards are given each year to individuals and organizations that have contributed to the growth and vitality of the Blues industry. The KBA Awards recognize the outstanding accomplishments and contribution sof non-performers in teh Blues world."
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JOHN JACKSON 1924 - 2002
1/21/2002
Famed Virginia blues and ragtime songster John Jackson, whose gentle, acoustic guitar picking and warm, rich baritone voice won him a National Heritage Fellowship in 1986, died of complications from liver cancer on Sunday, January 20, 2002 in Virginia.

JOHN JACKSON 1924 - 2002

JOHN JACKSON 1925 - 2002

"Jackson is a brilliant technician and a master of East Coast blues."
--Living Blues

"A genuine blues legend, performing in his own distinctive style, beholden to no one else."
--Washington Post


Jackson was one of the last remaining first-generation country bluesmen. His music--East Coast Piedmont-style blues, ragtime, folk, old-time hillbilly songs and ballads--transcended race, class and intellectual backgrounds. The Chicago Tribune called Jackson, "a master of both songster classics and Piedmont-style blues fingerpicking...mingling engaging storytelling, authoritative musicianship and down home charm."

Over the years, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Luther Allison, Junior Wells and Son House all shared stages and swapped songs with Jackson. Carl Sandburg and Alex Haley, even Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers Neighborhood ) counted themselves among Jackson's close friends. With a strong desire to stay in Virginia and not take to the road very often, Jackson's accomplishments were truly astounding. He went from playing on his front porch to playing at President Jimmy Carter's Labor Day Picnic at the White House, Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, to points all over the world.

Over the course of his career, Jackson released a total of nine albums. His most recent recording, 1999's Front Porch Blues on Chicago-based Alligator Records, reintroduced Jackson to a national audience. The album received widespread critical and popular acclaim, and it also received three W.C. Handy Blues Award nominations in 2000, including Acoustic Blues Album Of The Year. His other albums were: 1965's Blues And Country Dance Tunes From Virginia (Arhoolie); 1966's John Jackson (Rounder); 1968's John Jackson, Vol. 2 (Arhoolie); 1970's John Jackson In Europe (Arhoolie); 1970's Don't Let Your Deal Go Down (Arhoolie); 1979's Step It Up & Go (Rounder); 1983's Deep In Bottom (Rounder); and 1999's compilation album, Country Blues & Ditties (Arhoolie).

Born in Rappahanock County, Virginia on February 25, 1924, John Jackson was the seventh son of 14 children. His parents were farmers as well as musicians who played parties on weekends and holidays. John first played around with his father's guitar at age four, and by eight he taught himself enough to accompany his parents at parties. His parents bought a second-hand Victrola when John was six, and John soaked up the sounds from the blues and country 78s by Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Blake, Blind Boy Fuller, Uncle Dave Macon and Jimmie Rodgers. Before he could learn to read or write, John had to drop out of school to work on the farm. He continued playing parties with his parents during the 1930s and 1940s but quit playing music a short time later. He felt music encouraged violent behavior, and he didn't want any part of it.

John moved to Fairfax County, Virginia in 1950 with his wife, Cora, and children to work on a dairy farm. A friend of John's, in need of some quick cash, pawned John his guitar, and John quietly started playing again. He became a gravedigger to support his family, occasionally pulling out his guitar for fun. One day, while John was playing guitar for some neighborhood kids, his mailman asked him for lessons. John agreed to meet him at the local gas station, where the mailman had a second job. While John was playing at the gas station, Chuck Perdue, the president of the Folklore Society of Greater Washington, pulled in for a fill-up. He heard John playing and knew that he had stumbled onto a true original. Within weeks, John was playing at coffeehouses in the Washington D.C. area, where he gradually regained all his old musical powers.

In April of 1965, John recorded songs for his first album for Arhoolie. He became an instant hit at blues festivals, easily winning a whole new generation of fans. Two more Arhoolie albums followed as John's reputation continued to grow. Two albums for Rounder kept Jackson busy on the international tour circuit. Besides constant trips to Europe, Jackson played Asia, Africa, South America, India and all over the United States. The National Endowment for the Arts awarded John their National Heritage Fellowship in 1986, giving official recognition to this giant of traditional blues.


DISCOGRAPHY
1999        Front Porch Blues                Alligator
1999        Country Blues & Ditties (compilation)        Arhoolie
1983        Deep In Bottom                                Rounder
1979        Step It Up & Go                                Rounder
1970        Don't Let Your Deal Go Down                Arhoolie
1970        John Jackson In Europe                        Arhoolie
1968        John Jackson, Vol. 2                        Arhoolie
1966        John Jackson                                Rounder
1965        Blues And Country Dance Tunes From Virginia        Arhoolie


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Sacramento Blues Festival founder and promoter Phil Givant dies
1/9/2002
Phil Givant, 66, the founder and promoter of the Sacramento Blues Festival from 1976 to 1993, passed away on Saturday, January 5th from complications of heart disease.

New York Times Recommends Alligator's 30th Collection
12/18/2001
ALLIGATOR RECORDS: 30th-ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION "Alligator Records started as a way for a fan named Bruce Iglauer to make an album of the Mississippi bluesman Hound Dog Taylor. Thirty years later, its roster extends from its home in Chicago all the way to Australia. This set concentrates on the labels last decade, with one CD each of studio and live recordings. With muscular, no frills production, Alligator catches the blues as it melds with soul, rock, gospel country and zydeco, trying to party away the pains of love." --Jon Pareles New York Times.