WEST COAST BLUES HALL OF FAME AWARDS SHOW 2007

The Bay Area Blues Society was formed in 1985 as a non-profit venture to showcase the blues of the area focusing on Oakland.  Blues musician and entrepreneur Ronnie Stewart (with efficient assistance from Paula Stewart and many volunteers) has tirelessly built a blues network which now encompasses festivals, educational programs and the annual awards show.

Oakland’s influence on blues was incalculable but largely unknown and uncredited in the larger blues scene.  But you have only to have heard names such as Sugar Pie DeSanto, Etta James, Jimmy McCracklin, Charles Brown, Pee Wee Crayton, Lenny Williams and a host others to realize the impact of the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area blues scene.  To delve even further into the history, many tunes mistakenly attributed to other artists were either written or co-written by Bob Geddins (“Tin Pan Alley,” “My Time After A While,” are only a few).  Geddins is known as the “originator of Oakland blues” and from 1944 until the early ‘60’s recorded hundreds of singles which became national hits.  The awards show honors the late Geddins annually with the Geddins Lifetime Achievement Award given out to deserving individuals who have contributed to the community. 

This year, the event was staged at Kimball’s Carnival in the historic Jack London Square district of Oakland, California.   Although the sight lines and general layout of this club are excellent, it was way too small to accommodate the overflow audience--all blues events should have this complaint!   Lothario Lotho acted as MC with Velma Landers sharing the task.  The audience was dressed to impress and glitter and glam was the standard. 

The 2007 show kicked off with commentary by Stewart and an uplifting gospel segment by the Stars of Glory, five women vocalists with a first rate back-up band who delivered the message with driving rhythm and splendid harmonies.  Duane Thompson, who was the recipient of the 2006 blues male vocalist of the year, followed with a spirited rendition of “Change Is Going to Come.” 

Award winners in the first group included keyboard player of the year, Ricardo Scales; drummer of the year, Bobby Cochran (Elvin Bishop Band member); saxophone player of the year, Matt Martinez (who was presented with the award by his teacher, Mic Gillette, former member of Tower of Power); male vocalist of the year, Lil Wolf; new artist of the year, Robert “Hollywood” Jenkins; and, band of the year, Magic Slim and The Teardrops.  Jenkins provided musical relief with a vocal performance with the house band which included most prominently a horn section led by the superb saxophonist, Carl Green (Jackie Payne/Steve Edmonson Band).

Hall of Fame Inductees included The Fuller Brothers, Terrible Tom Bowden, The Whispers, Big John Evans and The Green Brothers.  Vocalist Bowden who was once the driver and bodyguard for Stevie Wonder, was considered the only singer who sounded like Otis Redding and on this occasion performed a compelling rendition of “Can’t Turn You Loose.”  The Green Brothers, together for the first time on stage in thirty years, then gave a rousing demonstration of their dance routine and vocals on “Sex Machine.”  

The next category of winners included Tia Carroll for best female vocalist of the year, Julien Vaught for best saxopohone player and his wife Ella Pennewell for best female R&B vocalist, and keyboardist Kenny Winters for best comeback artist of the year.  Carroll provided musical respite with an emotionally effective vocal take on “At Last.”

Ernie Johnson was honored as the R&B male vocalist of the year which follows his recent induction into the Cleveland Music Hall of Fame.  His captivating performance this evening demonstrated a soulful vocal prowess that delighted the audience.

Additional Hall of Fame Inductees included vocalist and pianist, Omar Shariff aka Dave Alexander, who is known to many in the blues community as an elusive musical genius and was nominated for a W. C. Handy award in 1993.  Inductees, The Stovall Sisters, originally began as gospel singers, and for a short period were Ikettes with Ike and Tina Turner.  Now retired, they worked with such greats as Sam Cooke and Ray Charles.  Lenny Williams achieved national fame in R&B and continues his illustrious career with mega-hits that have become classics.  Little Stanley and the Five Brooks were inducted and Stanley Lippitt gave an emotionally affecting acceptance speech which was one of the many touching moments of the show.  Lippitt is the husband and musical partner of Lady Bianca and they continue a productive musical collaboration.  Teddy “Blues Master” Watson has been one of the most talented vocalists on the local scene for over fifty years and his infectious style led him to tour with Lowell Folson.  Watson showed the audience how limber a seventy-something can be and his vocal performance of his signature tune, “I Don’t Want No Woman Telling Me What To Do,” was outstanding.  Ike and Tina Turner, additional inductees, were honored with a musical revue by an outstanding group in a tribute to their musical style.

The Bob Geddins Lifetime Achievement Awards were handed out to Mary Campbell, longtime marketing professional in the blues and jazz industry, and Renel Brooks-Moon, influential DJ and the first female announcer in professional sports.

By this time, the audience was beginning to dwindle, but they missed one of the more poignant moments of the evening when guitarists Alvon Johnson and David Landon dedicated a performance to the late Alvin Sykes who was honored for the CD of the year, “Better Than Your Used To Be.”  Sykes, a first cousin of the late great Charles Brown, was a fantastic vocalist and drummer who was killed in early December, 2006 in an automobile accident while on his way to a gig. This was especially memorable for Landon who counted Sykes as a great friend and produced the CD.

The after hours party got into swing about 11:30 pm with performances by some of the winners.  The opening act was a zesty keyboard performance by Ricardo Scales backed up by the local group, Steppin’ Stone led by Ron Joseph who was honored as the band leader of the year.  Tom Bowden was exhilarating in his rendition of “Don’t Let The Green Grass Fool You” and even got me to take to the dance floor!

A host of local performers kept the fun going until the wee hours on this evening of March 10, 2007, when the clocks were pushed forward and we realized that it was later than we thought!

As a rule, awards shows can be boring with so many honorees (too many to mention in this review), but I have to say that Ronnie Stewart and his crew put on a fantastic show that was far from that and it was one of those evenings to be remembered and cherished for the distinctive quality of the recipients and the delight they exhibited in being so honored for their accomplishments and contributions to the blues musical genre. 

(C) 2007, Dorothy L. Hill
BluesSource.com