BMA - Hours Remain To Cast Votes

Blues fans, and conceivably more so the artists, wait with anticipation for the announcement of the coveted Blues Music Awards. With less than 24 hours remaining to vote in the The Blues Foundation's 31st Blues Music Awards, members are encouraged to vote before Monday, March 1, 2010 at 07:59:59.  Non-current members may sign up and then vote.

What is one more vote?  Often the deciding factor.  Joe Whitmer, in a gentle nudge email reminder to procrastinating members, stated that in the past, categories had been decided by as little as 10 votes.  As The Blues Music Awards are  "Universally recognized as the highest honor given to Blues artists," many feel voting is not only a right, but a responsibility as well.

Those entries with the most votes in each of the following categories will be celebrating in Memphis on May 6.  Tickets are available through the website and are non-refundable.  It is, however, one of the best shows, a blues fan can see.  The true difficulty, is selecting just one in each category.

Acoustic Album of the Year

David Maxwell & Louisiana Red, You Got to Move

Maria Muldaur & her Garden of Joy, Good Time Music for Hard Times

Saffire-the Uppity Blues Women, Havin' The Last Word

Samuel James, For Rosa, Maeve and Noreen

Various Artists, Things About Comin' My Way - A Tribute to the music of the Mississippi Sheiks

Acoustic Artist of the Year

Annie Raines & Paul Rishell

Doug MacLeod

Guy Davis

Louisiana Red

Samuel James

Album of the Year

Duke Robillard's Jumpin' Blues Revue, Stomp! the Blues Tonight

Eddie C. Campbell, Tear This World Up

Joe Louis Walker, Between a Rock and the Blues

Louisiana Red & Little Victor's Juke Joint, Back to the Black Bayou

Various Artists, Chicago Blues A Living History

B.B. King Entertainer of the Year

Candye Kane

Magic Slim

Rick Estrin

Super Chikan

Taj Mahal

Tommy Castro

Band of the Year

Duke Robillard's Jumpin' Blues Revue

Nick Moss & the Flip Tops

Rick Estrin and the Nightcats

The Mannish Boys

Tommy Castro Band

Best New Artist Debut

Greg Nagy, Walk That Fine Thin Line

Joanne Shaw Taylor, White Sugar

Marquise Knox, Man Child

Monkey Junk, Tiger in your Tank

The California Honeydrops, Soul Tub!

Contemporary Blues Album of the Year

Candye Kane, Superhero

Joe Louis Walker, Between a Rock and the Blues

Rick Estrin and the Nightcats, Twisted

Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, Living in the Light

Tommy Castro, Hard Believer

Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year

Bettye LaVette

Candye Kane

Janiva Magness

Ruthie Foster

Shemekia Copeland

Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year

Derek Trucks

Joe Louis Walker

John Nemeth

Michael Burks

Tommy Castro

DVD

Delmark Records, It Ain't Over! Delmark Celebrates 55 Years of Blues, Live at Buddy Guy's Legends

Eagle Eye Media, Live at Montreux 1993 (B.B. King)

Jo Films & Roadside Productions, Hot Flash (Saffire - The Uppity Blues Women)

Mojo Rodeo Records, A Night in Woodstock (Paul Rishell and Annie Raines)

Vincent Productions, Down to the Crossroads Vol. 1 (George Thorogood & the Destroyers w/ Eddie Shaw)

Historical Album of the Year

Bear Family Records, Taking Care of Business (1956-1973) (Freddie King)

Chess, Authorized Bootleg (Muddy Waters)

Eagle Records, Essential Montreux (Gary Moore)

Hip-O Select, The Complete Chess Masters (1950-1967) (Little Walter)

Landslide Records, Sean's Blues (Sean Costello)

Instrumentalist-Bass

Bill Stuve

Bob Stroger

Larry Taylor

Mookie Brill

Patrick Rynn

Instrumentalist-Drums

Cedric Burnside

Jimi Bott

Kenny Smith

Sam Carr

Tony Braunagel

Instrumentalist-Guitar

Derek Trucks

Duke Robillard

Joe Louis Walker

Lurrie Bell

Ronnie Earl

Instrumentalist-Harmonica

Billy Branch

Jason Ricci

Kim Wilson

Mark Hummel

Rick Estrin

Instrumentalist-Horn

Al Basile

Big James Montgomery

Deanna Bogart

Eddie Shaw

Keith Crossan

Instrumentalist-Other

Buckwheat Zydeco (accordion)

Gerry Hundt (mandolin)

Johnny Sansone (accordion)

Otis Taylor (banjo)

Rich Del Grosso (mandolin)

Pinetop Perkins Piano Player

Bruce Katz

David Maxwell

Eden Brent

Henry Butler

Henry Gray

Rock Blues Album of the Year

Derek Trucks Band, Already Free

Jason Ricci & New Blood, Done with the Devil

Jim Suhler & Monkey Beat, Tijuana Bible

Mike Zito, Pearl River

Tinsley Ellis, Speak No Evil

Song of the Year

Cyril Neville & Mike Zito, 'Pearl River' (Pearl River--Mike Zito)

James Johnson , 'Fred's Dollar Store' (Chikadelic--Super Chikan)

Joe Louis Walker, 'I'm Tide' (Between a Rock and the Blues--Joe Louis Walker)

John Hahn & Oliver Wood, 'Never Going Back to Memphis' (Never Going Back--Shemekia Copeland)

Vyasa Dodson, 'At Least I'm Not With You' (At Least I'm Not With You--The Insomniacs)

Soul Blues Album of the Year

Charles Wilson, Troubled Child

Darrell Nulisch, Just for You

Johnny Rawls, Ace Of Spades

Latimore, All About the Rhythm and the Blues

Mighty Sam McClain, Betcha Didn't Know

Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year

Barbara Carr

Denise LaSalle

Irma Thomas

Shirley Brown

Sista Monica Parker

Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year

Curtis Salgado

Darrell Nulisch

Jackie Payne

Johnny Rawls

Latimore

Traditional Blues Album of the Year

John Primer, All Original

Johnnie Bassett, The Gentleman is Back

Louisiana Red & Little Victor's Juke Joint, Back to the Black Bayou

Super Chikan, Chikadelic

Various Artists, Chicago Blues A Living History

Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year

Ann Rabson

Debbie Davies

Fiona Boyes

Shirley Johnson

Zora Young

Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year

Duke Robillard

John Primer

Johnnie Bassett

Louisiana Red

Super Chikan

Lurrie Bell is Everywhere!

Lurrie Bell caught my eye again today as Blue Bella Records sent a release announcing that he is appearing in my town on April 21 and bringing his buddies Nick Moss & The Fliptops. It is the best reason to hang out at Best Buy, that I can think of.

Bell's name is popping up everywhere lately. As I checked through several news feeds this weekend, I also saw he is featured on The new release of Chicago Blues: A Living History (Raisin 2009) which lays down 21 tracks of authentic style Chicago Blues.



Lurrie Bell, is a second generation Chicago Blues Artist, his Father Carey Bell, was a well respected Harmonica player. This child of the blues, without a doubt, is one of our greatest guitar players of his generation. If you are in the MidWest, you can see him on Beale Street in May, and at the Chicago Blues Fest in June. He has many credits to his name. Lurrie has made the cover of Living Blues, been nominated for several awards, and they just keep coming, but my favorite memory of him, is playing with Koko Taylor.

Those are all good reasons to be a fan of Lurrie, and even check out his MySpace and peek at www.lurie.com, but beyond the mundane, is a blues artist, who knows what life is in all it's extremes. It has never been better demonstrated than in this current version of Lurrie, that makes me absolutely love him. In his new CD, Let's Talk About Love, you can hear the depth and breath of emotion as played only by a man who has felt it personally. Unfortunately, that emotion came at great cost, losing his beloved partner Susan and his Father within a three and a half month period.

Lurrie's life has not been easy. He has had great loss and sorrow and knows what it is to struggle with Mental Illness. And yet, he serves as a source of great inspiration and even courage to many, who take the time to learn his story.

His official biography, contains the following: "Music has the power to heal, to restore and empower, not only the artist but the listener as well." All I can say to that, is Amen.