{"id":1325,"date":"2015-05-21T20:27:38","date_gmt":"2015-05-21T20:27:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honesdalerootsandrhythm.com\/?p=1325"},"modified":"2015-05-21T20:27:38","modified_gmt":"2015-05-21T20:27:38","slug":"wall-street-journal-premiere-meet-bluesland-beginning-monday-may-25-kentucky-headhunters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/honesdalerootsandrhythm.com\/?p=1325","title":{"rendered":"The\u00a0Wall Street Journal\u00a0To Premiere Meet Me In Bluesland Beginning Monday, May 25 Kentucky Headhunters"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (May\u00a021, 2015) \u2013 On Monday, May 25,\u00a0The Wall Street Journal<\/em>‘s\u00a0Speakeasy<\/b><\/a>\u00a0blog will host the world premiere ofMeet Me In Bluesland<\/i><\/strong>, a previously unreleased 2003 recording by Grammy-winning Southern blues-rockers\u00a0The Kentucky Headhunters with pianist Johnnie Johnson<\/b><\/a>, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. These last recorded performances of Johnson’s career found the man\u00a0Rolling Stone<\/em>\u00a0called \u201cthe greatest sideman in rock and roll\u201d for his groundbreaking piano work with Chuck Berry playing some of the deepest and most rocking blues piano of his legendary career. With The Kentucky Headhunters at their down-home best, the record is a country-fried, blues-infused party from start to finish. The CD will be released on Alligator Records on June 2, 2015.<\/p>\n

The Kentucky Headhunters<\/strong>, declared \u201cthe great American rock \u2018n\u2019 roll band\u201d by\u00a0<\/i>Billboard<\/em>\u00a0magazine, began their professional journey in 1968 when brothers Fred and Richard Young and cousins Greg Martin and Anthony Kenney formed the Southern blues-rock band Itchy Brother. The band morphed into The Kentucky Headhunters in 1986. Their first album, 1989\u2019s\u00a0Pickin\u2019 On Nashville<\/em>, was released by Mercury Records and surprised the world, becoming a bona fide hit, selling over two million copies. The album won a Grammy Award, three Country Music Awards, an American Music Award and an Academy Of Country Music Award. It spawned four consecutive Top 40 Country hits.\u00a0The New York Times<\/em>\u00a0said, \u201cRowdy, twanging, wild-eyed Southern rockers perform songs that insist on down-home roots. The Headhunters bring a sense of bar-band recklessness, riffing with unchecked muscle, combining country roots with ferocious, bluesy hard rock.\u201d Currently, the band is made up of Richard Young, Fred Young, Greg Martin and Doug Phelps.<\/p>\n

Growing up on a 1300-acre family farm in Edmonton, Kentucky, the Young brothers, Martin and Kenney heard plenty of raucous R&B and deep, soulful blues courtesy of Fred and Richard\u2019s mother, who listened to powerhouse radio station WLAC late at night. \u201cShe was real hip,\u201d Richard says. \u201cShe was a huge influence on us.\u201d Their father loved big band jazz, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Sarah Vaughan. \u201cMusic in our home was a mixture, unlike what most farm kids heard.\u201d Part of their musical upbringing included their friendship with three African-American families who lived and worked on nearby farms. The boys heard gospel and blues, both sung by their neighbors in the fields and blasting out of their radios. They were reared on Howlin\u2019 Wolf and Muddy Waters (the name Headhunters was a nickname given to Waters and Jimmy Rogers when they came into a club ready to take on all comers). \u201cAll of these things taught us the blues,\u201d says Richard. They loved Chuck Berry, and were especially wowed by Berry\u2019s piano player, Johnnie Johnson. Befriending him and recording with him was a dream come true for the band. According to Fred, \u201cWe were fortunate to know him. It was a good marriage.\u201d Richard adds, \u201cAnyone who ever played with him became a better player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnnie Johnson<\/strong>\u00a0was born on July 8, 1924 in Fairmont, West Virginia. He began playing piano at age five and never stopped. While serving in the Marines, he joined The Barracudas, a Marines servicemen\u2019s band. He moved to Detroit and then Chicago, eventually playing with Muddy Waters and Little Walter. He landed in St. Louis in 1952 where he formed The Sir John Trio, playing jazz, blues and pop standards. Chuck Berry, an ambitious local guitarist and songwriter, was added to the group the same year and eventually took over leadership of the band. After Berry scored a contract with Chess Records, the hits came fast and furious. Many, including\u00a0Maybellene<\/em>,\u00a0Nadine<\/em>,\u00a0<\/i>Carol<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0School Days<\/em>, were fueled by Johnson\u2019s two-fisted piano. He was the high-octane gasoline in Chuck Berry\u2019s rock \u2018n\u2019 roll engine. When Chuck wasn\u2019t touring, Johnson played with Albert King, and recorded a number of singles with him for the Bobbin label. Tired of the road, Johnson left Chuck\u2019s band in 1973 and returned to St. Louis to become a bus driver. With the 1987 release of the Chuck Berry documentary,\u00a0Hail! Hail! Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll<\/em>, Johnson found himself back in the spotlight, reintroduced to the world by his friend-to-be Keith Richards. After three solo recordings, Johnson joined his musical cohorts The Kentucky Headhunters for 1993\u2019s\u00a0That\u2019ll Work<\/em>. In 1996 and 1997 he toured with Ratdog, the band fronted by The Grateful Dead\u2019s Bob Weir. Johnson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 and continued to perform and record until his death in 2005. His 2003 sessions with The Kentucky Headhunters, released now for the very first time as\u00a0Meet Me In Bluesland<\/i><\/strong>, are some of the most spirited and organic recordings of his remarkable and still influential career.<\/p>\n

The Story Behind\u00a0Meet Me In Bluesland<\/i><\/strong>:
\nOn January 25, 2003, Johnson joined his hosts, The Rolling Stones, for a rousing rendition of\u00a0Honky Tonk Women<\/em>\u00a0at Houston, Texas\u2019 Reliant Stadium. After hanging out all night with Keith Richards, Johnson got on a plane and flew to Kentucky. There he reunited with his good friends, brothers Richard and Fred Young, Greg Martin, Doug Phelps and Anthony Kenney, known worldwide as The Kentucky Headhunters. The plan was to have Johnnie lay down some piano for the band\u2019s upcoming release,\u00a0Soul<\/em>. But the vibe was too strong and the music too good, so the tape just kept rolling. With songs and arrangements furiously being created on the spot and everything recorded live as it happened over the course of three days, a magical musical event was underway. Because the whole session was spontaneous, there were no immediate plans to release an album. After Johnnie\u2019s death in 2005, the tapes, while never forgotten, remained unissued.<\/p>\n

With the release of\u00a0Meet Me In Bluesland<\/i><\/strong>, these timeless and rollicking performances are available for the first time. The record grooves from the raunchy rock of\u00a0Stumblin\u2019<\/em>\u00a0to the slide-fueledSuperman Blues<\/em>\u00a0to the roof-raising version of\u00a0Little Queenie<\/em>\u00a0to the rocking\u00a0Party In Heaven<\/em>\u00a0to the salacious\u00a0She\u2019s Got To Have It<\/em>\u00a0(the last vocal Johnson ever recorded).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe minute Johnnie sat down with us, the music was a kind of ecstasy,\u201d says guitarist\/vocalist Richard Young. \u201cJohnnie made us play like real men,\u201d adds guitarist\/vocalist Greg Martin. \u201cPlaying with him, the groove got bigger and much more grown up.\u201d Drummer Fred Young explains, \u201cWe all admired Johnnie from the start. The first time we played with him was the first time I ever felt like we were doing it right. The music we made on\u00a0Meet Me In Bluesland<\/i><\/strong>\u00a0is as good as it gets.\u201d<\/p>\n

The relationship between Johnson and The Kentucky Headhunters dated back to 1992. Headed to New York for a Grammy Awards party, Greg picked up the new Johnnie Johnson CD,\u00a0Johnnie B. Bad<\/em>, for the ride. The band listened to nothing else all the way to New York. Having no idea he\u2019d be at the party, they were shocked to see Johnnie Johnson sitting alone at a table. After some quick introductions, the musicians talked for hours, becoming fast friends. In 1993 they released their first collaboration,\u00a0That\u2019ll Work<\/em>, on Nonesuch. They took the show on the road, playing gigs from the West Coast to New England, from Chicago\u2019s Buddy Guy\u2019s Legends to New York City\u2019s Lone Star Caf\u00e9. They performed at The Jamboree In The Hills in Belmont County, Ohio, where Johnson, with the Headhunters triumphantly jamming behind him, played to over 30,000 fans.<\/p>\n

From their very first meeting, Johnson and The Kentucky Headhunters stayed close, getting together whenever possible. In 2003, when the band asked Johnson to record with them again, he couldn\u2019t wait to get back to Kentucky and make music with his friends. \u201cJohnnie\u2019s music was spontaneous, organic, magic energy,\u201d says Greg. \u201cDuring the recordings, everything was off-the-cuff and easy; a higher power just took over. This album is special, and we\u2019re very happy in 2015 that it\u2019s coming to fruition.\u201d Adds Fred, \u201cJohnnie gave us the gift of letting us know what it was like to do something great.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (May\u00a021, 2015) \u2013 On Monday, May 25,\u00a0The Wall Street Journal‘s\u00a0Speakeasy\u00a0blog will host the world premiere ofMeet Me In Bluesland, a previously unreleased 2003 recording by Grammy-winning Southern blues-rockers\u00a0The Kentucky Headhunters with pianist Johnnie Johnson, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. These last recorded performances of Johnson’s career found the man\u00a0Rolling Stone\u00a0called … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “The\u00a0Wall Street Journal\u00a0To Premiere Meet Me In Bluesland Beginning Monday, May 25 Kentucky Headhunters”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1326,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[23,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/honesdalerootsandrhythm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/honesdalerootsandrhythm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/honesdalerootsandrhythm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/honesdalerootsandrhythm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/honesdalerootsandrhythm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/honesdalerootsandrhythm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1325\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/honesdalerootsandrhythm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/honesdalerootsandrhythm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/honesdalerootsandrhythm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}