Bobby Blue Bland died today. He was 83. What a giant blues singer. Put me in mind of Hound Dog Taylor, a fabulous blues singer and guitarist I saw at the El Mocambo several times in Toronto in the early '70s. These guys were giants. By the way, the El Mocambo was the same club the Rolling Stones played when Margaret Trudeau was being naughty. You had to walk up a flight of stairs to get to the venue. Must have been a complete fire-trap.
Seeing Hound Dog Taylor, born Theodore Roosevelt Taylor in Natchez Mississippi in 1915, I knew he was a genius. He died at 60, but I remember talking to him at the El Mocambo after a set and sadly, he looked 80. He inspired George Thorogood, imagine that. Life on the club circuit for these guys was very rough.
Bobby Blue Bland? Google him and you will learn he was also a master blues singer. He made it to 83.
Rare.
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