Magic Dick himself maintains that, although he drew on both Walters when building his technique, James Cotton remained his biggest influence. Further analysis reveals influences from James Cotton ( Rocket 88) and Little Walter ( Back Track), to Big Walter Horton ( Hard Hearted Woman).
He also quotes the jazz horn greats (John Coltrane in particular) as being of great influence on his own playing. It was an harmonica epiphany.įollowing the forensics, Magic Dick credits Sonny Boy Williamson II’s Bye Bye Bird as his inspiration for the opening to Whammer Jammer. With a set list that included Homework, Pack Fair and Square and Whammer Jammer, the connection should have been blindingly apparent. I was even unaware of the influence the J.Geils Band had on my favourite UK outfit, Nine Below Zero. Worse still, I’d never heard of their harp man Magic Dick (aka Juke Joint Jimmy), the man with the sexy name and the crazy mane, who blew the back off his harps like a deranged pyrotechnician. I had no idea the Centerfold band played weapon grade R&B. As the musical mayhem unfolded, my jaw dropped and I stared into space bewitched.
#Whammer jammer jgeils band full
Bluntly (being an Ozzie), he made it clear I was playing a Whammer Jammer derivative, and he duly produced his Full House LP to prove the point.ĭropping the vinyl on the turntable and grinning, he guided the stylus to track four. However, a friend brought me tumbling back to reality and landing firmly on my arse. Innocently, I believed I’d established myself at the pinnacle of power harping. My Whammer Jammer tale begins many years ago, when I learned what I assumed was a unique harp instrumental called Swing Job by Nine Below Zero. Key of A major ten hole diatonics harps at the ready. Like the lunar landing, or the fall of the Berlin Wall, every power harp fan can remember when and where they were first Whammered! So, it’s time to reminisce a little, do some research and then, with the help of modern technology, deconstruct the song for you. It is a power harping beast of the highest order. Originally recorded on the J.Geils Band studio album The Morning After in 1971, Whammer Jammer reappeared a year later on the classic live album Full House.
Here’s the top entry in our ‘ I wanna play like that’ hit list. Geils - guitar Peter Wolf - vocals Magic Dick - harmonica Seth Justman - keyboard, vocals Danny Klein - bass Stephen Jo Bladd - percussion, drums, vocalsīy the mid 1970s, The J.You gonna get it all down, get it all night, get it all right, get it out of sight and get it down baby? Geils Band were at the top of their game, having toured extensively for nearly a decade and riding high on their most successful studio albums to date, Bloodshot and Ladies Invited, both released in 1973 and the follow-up, Nightmares.and Other Tales from the Vinyl Jungle, released the following year. For the first time, the band's studio efforts were becoming as popular as their 1972 live album, Full House, which captured the band on stage in all its high-energy glory.Īlthough based in Boston, nowhere was the group more popular than in Detroit, where the onstage charisma of front man, Peter Wolf, and the band's dynamic mix of blues, rock and R&B would whip audiences into a veritable frenzy. Detroit's most popular venue, Cobo Hall, had become like a second home to the band and the wild chemistry that always occurred there made it an ideal location to capture the band on stage. Indeed, the group recognized this as well, as the album that broke them internationally, the aforementioned Full House, was recorded at Cobo Hall and both of the band's subsequent live albums, Blow Your Face Out, released in 19's Showtime, also prominently featured performances captured live at this Detroit venue. When the King Biscuit Flower Hour pursued the J. Geils Band for their syndicated radio show, they wisely chose to record two additional Cobo Hall performances that occurred in November of 1974, when the group was headlining a tour that included powerhouse rockers, Mountain, as the opening act. Here we present excerpts from the late show of November 3, 1974, as the J. Geils Band once again take Cobo Hall by storm.
0 kommentar(er)
