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The March 22 edition of Greasy Tracks featured the music of Freddie King and an interview with guitarist Popa Chubby who is poised to release a tribute album to the legendary bluesman.

Here’s the archive, while a playlist is here.

Nicknamed “The Texas Cannonball,” King was a pioneering guitarist and singer, known for his fiery playing style and soulful voice. Blending Texas and Chicago blues to create a powerful, electrifying sound that influenced countless musicians — especially a number of British players in the 1960s who would one day be household names.

“Hide Away” (1960) and “The Stumble” (1962), co-written by King and long-time collaborator Sonny Thompson, proved to be vital. During their respective time with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor tackled King-Thompson tracks with aplomb.

The aforementioned songs also caught the attention of New York-based Chubby when he was beginning his career as a teen. His I Love Freddie King (Gulf Coast Records) comes out March 28.

“To say I was dreaming about doing this record for 30 years would be an understatement,” Chubby wrote in the album’s liner notes. “I remember being 18, playing guitar for a year or two, and an older cat in the neighborhood telling me I had to check out Freddie King. I immediately listened to ‘Hideaway,’ and ‘Have You Ever Loved a Woman’ and my mind was changed forever.

“Years later, I signed with Sony Records and covered ‘Palace Of The King’ and ‘Same Old Blues’ from the Getting Ready… album.”

Getting Ready… (1971) was King’s debut on Shelter Records which was co-owned by Leon Russell and Denny Cordell. Co-produced by Russell and Don Nix, the sessions paired King with some of the top Tulsa musicians who had played with Russell for years. The album also featured the Nix-penned track, “Going Down” which King stylistically made his own, further influencing even more players. Jeff Beck and Stevie Ray Vaughan were clearly paying attention, even if Vaughan was more heavily influenced by Albert King.

There are plenty of guest appearances on Chubby’s tribute effort with Joe Bonamassa, Mike Zito, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Eric Gales and Albert Castiglia sitting in. Tracks covered include the expected King-Thompson jewels as well as numerous tracks King himself covered and were long associated with him.

Regarded as one of the “Three Kings” in the blues world along with Albert King and B.B. King, Freddie King recorded numerous albums, but was really known for his live performances and hard-living life on the road — often doing 300 or more one-nighters a year. He died at the age of 42 in 1976.

Chubby has a number of dates looming in the tri-state area: March 29 at The Falcon in Marlboro, N.Y.; April 2 at Darryl’s House Club in Pawling, NY; April 18 at The Iron Horse in Northampton, Mass.; and following a European run, June 29 at Small Batch Cellars in North Haven.

The March 16 edition of Strictly Roots paid tribute to Cocoa Tea — the beloved Jamaican singer who helped shape and define dancehall and lovers rock — who passed away March 11 at the age of 65.

Take a listen to the archive,

During the 80s, armed with a silky-smooth voice and thought-provoking lyrics, Cocoa Tea, born Calvin George Scott, catapulted to superstar status in Jamaica and around the world among reggae enthusiasts.

By the following decade, his politically incorrect lyrics opposing the first Gulf War led to radio bans in the United Kingdom and Jamaica due to his pro-peace tracks: “No Blood for Oil” and “Oil Ting.”

Throughout his lifetime, he played at almost every Reggae Sunsplash festival and released countless albums on labels that included: Volcano, Jammy’s, Ras, Shanachie, Greensleeves and VP Records as well as his own, Roaring Lion Records.

The March 15 edition of Greasy Tracks took a ride on the mystery train back to a time before a gospel-rooted singer from Tupelo, Miss., became a household name.

Here’s the archive, while a playlist is here.

There’s an interview with author Preston Lauterbach who discusses his fantastic new book, Before Elvis: The African American Musicians Who Made the King (Grand Central).

Similar in style to his Memphis-centric tomes Beale Street Dynasty, Bluff City and Timekeeper — the definitive bio of drummer Howard Grimes — along with the incredible The Chitlin’ Circuit: The Road to Rock’n’Roll and two great collaborations: Brother Robert, with Annye Anderson and Spirit of the Century with The Blind Boys of Alabama — Lauterbach’s latest should be required reading for all.

Lauterbach’s compelling historical account sheds light on the Black artists whose groundbreaking work laid the foundation for rock ‘n’ roll, years before Elvis Presley became known as the “King.”

He delves into the vibrant musical culture of the American South, particularly the “Chitlin’ Circuit” — an informal network of Black music venues that nurtured talent in the face of segregation.

The book highlights influential, yet often overlooked, African American performers like Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, Herman “Junior” Parker, Rev. W. Herbert Brewster, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and the Newborn family, whose sounds and styles were later adopted and popularized by white artists.

The program included numerous versions of Parker’s “Mystery Train” — the track Presley recorded and released as a B side in 1955. It would go on to help catapult him to national and then international fame.

An interview with Cowboy Junkies guitarist Michael Timmons was featured on the Feb. 6 edition of Skullduggery with host Mr. Weird Joe.

If you missed it, here’s the archive.

The band is opening its 40th year together with a nine-show run in the Northeast, including a stop at Infinity Music Hall in Hartford on Feb. 19.

Hailing from Toronto, the band remains largely a family affair with siblings Margo Timmons (vocals) and Peter Timmons (drums) joining their brother, Michael, while Alan Anton (bass) rounds out the line-up which has remained intact since their founding. As he has been for many decades, multi-instrumentalist Jeff Bird joins the band on the road.

Considered a hybrid alternative country/folk band, their live approach transcends to a much deeper, more complex sound — often fusing elements of blues and lush psychedelic freeform, coupled with poetic lyrics.

The group says it will be going deep into its catalog during the February shows. They’ve put out 21 studio albums. The most recent, Such Ferocious Beauty (Cooking Vinyl/Latent Recordings) in 2023, was their first after a five-year recording break.

Following the Hartford date, the band plays Sacred Heart University Community Theatre in Fairfield on Feb. 21.

The studio was the focus of the Feb. 8 edition of Greasy Tracks as we spotlighted the career of pianist Nicky Hopkins and closer to home, some of the interesting/innovative things happening at Parkville Sounds in Hartford.

Here’s the archive, while a playlist is here.

Hopkins, widely regarded as the greatest studio pianist in rock history, played on some of the biggest tracks ever recorded by Jeff Beck, The Who, The Kinks, Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service and scores of other artists.

There was also an interview with Stephen and Jillian Cusano, the founders of Parkville Sounds, a multi-faceted recording, rehearsal and performance space.

They provide insight on The Parkville Sessions, their on-going series of live performances which opens a new season Feb. 8 with Blue Note recording artist Aaron Parks Little Big. Max Creek plays an early and late show on March 14 and Michael Minelli appears March 21-22.

Strictly Roots will celebrate the music of Bob Marley and Aston “Family Man” Barrett throughout February, airing features every Sunday, 6-8 p.m. Click here to listen live.

Marley — the most prolific and best-known musician and songwriter to come out of Jamaica — passed away in 1981 at 36. Bassist Martin, a key member of Marley’s backing band, the Wailers, died Feb. 3, 2024 at the age of 77.

Marley is considered a messenger who helped introduce reggae to the world, but was also an ambassador of peace and justice who frequently spoke out in support of social reforms.

He fueled the reggae explosion in the 70s and was a force to be reckoned with, not only at home, but abroad, as he embarked on sold-out stadium tours towards the end of that decade. He sold more than 75 million albums.

Marley’s musical career began when The Wailers were formed in 1963 with Neville O’Riley Livingston, known by his stage name, “Bunny Wailer” and guitarist/vocalist Peter McIntosh, soon known as Peter Tosh.

Their debut album, The Wailing Wailers in 1965 was produced by the legendary Clement Seymour “Coxsone” Dodd who put together 12 recordings the band did between 1964-65. It featured the lead single, “One Love” which included a re-working of Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready.” It had been recorded by Mayfield’s group, The Impressions, in 1965. The single established the Wailers as rising figures in reggae.

After signing to Island Records and tours in support of two albums released in 1973 (Catch A Fire and Burnin’), the group catapulted to international attention and financial success.

Boosted by Eric Clapton covering “I Shot The Sheriff” on his 461 Ocean Boulevard (1974) — the lead single from the album, would be Clapton’s sole No. 1 on the U.S. charts — Marley’s popularity sky-rocketed across the globe.

He finally had an official international breakthrough with his first hit outside Jamaica, “No Woman, No Cry” from the Live! album in 1975. This success was followed by the U.S. release of the Rastaman Vibration (1976) which reached the Top 50 of Billboard’s soul chart.

Despite his increased popularity, Marley’s outspoken views challenging the system and status quo of the time made him at a target of those with opposing views. In 1976, he was shot in the arm during an assassination attempt at his Kingston residence.

After moving to London permanently, Marley released Exodus in 1977 and it garnered considerable commercial and critical success, paving the way for a handful of world tours.

Marley’s health took a turn for the worse that year. Following an injury to one of his toes suffered during a pick-up soccer game, Marley was diagnosed with acral lentiginous melanoma. Specialists recommended amputating the cancer-laden toe in hopes it would prevent the cancer from spreading, but due to his Rastafarian beliefs and how the procedure could impact his ability to perform, Marley refused.

Despite his illness, Marley continued to record and perform. On the tour to support the release of Uprising (1980) he and the Wailers played their biggest concert ever, appearing before more than 100,000 Stadio in San Siro, Milan, Italy.

On the U.S. leg of the tour that fall, Marley played a pair of shows at Madison Square Garden, opening for The Commodores. After collapsing while jogging in Central Park, he was taken to hospital where it was discovered that the cancer had spread to his brain, lungs and liver.

Marley initially refused to cancel the remainder of the tour and with the I-Threes supporting, continued onward to Pittsburgh where he played The Stanley Theatre on Sept. 23, 1980. It would be his final live performance and he’d be dead about eight months later.

In addition to his work with Marley, Barrett was also part of Lee “Scratch” Perry’s in-house backing band as well as a member of the The Upsetters and The Aggrovators.

Barrett’s legacy shines bright as a prime example of how a humble musician’s mastery and message shaped and changed the music world and his unique technique and sound influenced generations of musicians.

Summing up the importance of the bass, Barrett once said: “The drum, it’s the heartbeat, and the bass, it’s the backbone. If the bass is not right, the music is gonna have a bad back, so it would be crippled.”

Barrett also collaborating with Burning Spear and Tosh when he went solo.

He was considered a reggae music ambassador and one of the most crucial bassists to help cultivate acceptance, growth and popularity during the subsequent explosion of reggae music on the international music scene in the 1970s with Marley serving as the primary catalyst.

Almost all of the Wailer’s albums have Barrett involved and nearly everyone of Marley’s most celebrated tracks have his killer bass lines, including: “Could This Be Love”, “Jammin’”, “Lively Up Yourself”, “I Shot the Sheriff” and “Three Little Birds.” He was often in charge of arranging tracks in the studio.

Jazz saxophonist Jessy J was spotlighted on the Jan. 20 edition of The Devo Jazz Show.

If you missed it, here’s Here’s the archive.

Included was music from her latest album, Blue, along with an interview recorded at her Jan. 17 appearance at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston.

Born Jessica Arellano in in Portland, Ore., but raised in Hemet, Calif., she began studying piano at age four and later the saxophone. At 15, she was named Piano State Champion at the Bela Bartok Festival in California, but sax had become her primary focus.

This led to her performing in the Grammy Band and at international events, including the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

She won a scholarship to University of Southern California where she earned a degree in jazz studies and was named “Most Outstanding Jazz Student” of her class. It was during her time at USC that she spent two years playing in Disney’s All American College Band.

Stints in the Henry Mancini Jazz Orchestra and the Hispanic Musician Association Jazz Orchestra followed as did studio work with artists including Aerosmith, Jessica Simpson, Michael Bublé, Burt Bacharach, Michael Bolton, Paul Brown and the Temptations. She’s played on stage with Gerald Albright, Norman Brown, Euge Groove, Peter White and Anita Baker and made appearances on television competition shows American Idol, The Voice and Dancing With The Stars.

She cites Sergio Mendes and Julian “Cannonball” Adderley as inspirations for her music which often takes on a Latin feel.

Arellano says her stage name came about in 2006 when she started doing sessions for what would ultimately be her 2008 debut release, Tequilla Moon (Peak), which was produced by Paul Brown.

She credits Brown for the moniker. She recalled him saying her name “would be hard for people to spell. It would be hard for people to remember it, to Google it and get the website.”

She said she was on board with having a stage name and that “Jessy“ was a nickname she’d had since she was very young and the “J” part, she noted, was for “jazz.”

She’s released nine albums, the most recent, Blue, in 2022 on her label, Changi Records. The album featured the track “Dig It” which was co-written with Jeff Lorber and includes performances with Jay Rowe, Andy Abel, Trevor Somerville and Dave Anderson.

With all of the attention surrounding the recent Bob Dylan film, A Complete Unknown, it seemed a perfect excuse to focus on Dylan going Christian for the Jan. 18 edition of Greasy Tracks.

Here’s the archive, while a playlist is here. Need more Dylan, here’s a whole program from Jan. 25 of other artists covering him, just click here!

The bulk of the feature centered on the bard’s oft-overlooked “Christian trilogy” of releases: Slow Train Coming, Saved and Shot of Love which came out between 1979-81. There is also a good helping of outtakes and live material, especially from the 1979 Gospel tour.

To provide some context, a track or two from the albums that preceded and followed the “trilogy:” Street Legal in 1978 and Infidels in 1983 are part of it as well as a handful of gospel-styled Dylan covers.

The Jan. 11 edition of Greasy Tracks was the first of an occasional program spotlighting the impact of the saxophone, especially when it comes to rock, jazz and soul music. The show also paid tribute to Sam Moore and Don Nix who recently passed away.

Here’s the archive, while a playlist is here.

Opting to steer clear of the obvious tracks and characters, went deep and wide when it comes to material and players.

Memphis-based sax man Art Edmaiston was interviewed.

The veteran player did spells with Bobby “Blue” Bland, JJ Grey & Mofro and the Gregg Allman Band, amongst scores of others, as well as countless sessions. He provided insight to the importance of horns — especially the saxophone — which he considers the icing (on a musical cake).

Legendary bluesman John Hammond was featured on the Dec. 7 edition of Greasy Tracks.

Here’s the archive, while a playlist is here.

In addition to diving deep into Hammond’s catelog, the show focused on the just-released You’re Doin’ Fine which captures Hammond in two shows at the Boarding House in San Francisco. Recorded by Owsley Stanley in 1973, the three-CD set is part of the on-going series of Bear’s Sonic Journals by the Owsley Stanley Foundation.

Hammond only did a few interviews in conjunction with the release and WRTC got one of them. He shares insight on how this live collection came to be as well as some memories from across his 60-plus year career.