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Happy Hour Harmonica Podcast

Paul Butterfield retrospective, part 2, with Tom Ellis

July 19, 2023 Neil Warren Season 1 Episode 90

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Tom Ellis joins the podcast again for part 2 of the Paul Butterfield retrospective

Is Butter the most significant harmonica player since the days of the classic players?

The classic players had a limited audience, Butter brought blues to a more mainstream audience

The Chicago blues scene of the 1950s did not have mass appeal at the time

Following the 1950s the blues scene was mainly for acoustic blues artists. Butter brought some electricity!

Butter didn’t get into blues on the back of the British Blues explosion of the 1960s

Meeting Nick Gravenites got Butter into the blues, with Butter (and Charlie Musselwhite) frequenting the blues clubs in Chicago

Butter’s first album release was 1965, and what else was happening with rock blues at that time

The rise of rock-blues and Butter’s unique take on classic songs he recorded on his early albums

Why The Lost Sessions album wasn’t released as Butter’s first album

Butter wasn’t keen to add Mike Bloomfield to the line-up of the band

The sound captured for Butter’s harp on The Lost Sessions was well produced

How Butter approached playing Little Walter songs

Recorded his own instrumentals, with Nut Popper being the first

Harmonica was the lead instrument in The Paul Butterfield Blues band, and he gave the harmonica real presence

Little Walter advised Butter not to blow so hard on the harmonica as it was damaging to the body

Butter must have known Little Walter and the other older blues guys, as did Charlie Musselwhite

The immediate success of Butter and his band

Butter also helped relaunch the career of some of the classic blues musicians

Was also a great singer

After the success of the first album the band started playing outside of Chicago

Increasing fame playing at the Newport Festival and the West coast of the US, playing 6 gigs in a night

Was Butter influenced by jazz music?

East West album saw a move away from playing blues songs, with the experimental nature of the music lapped up by the audience

With a move towards rock blues the band were loud, with lots of amplification

Made regular trips to San Francisco and relocated there to be part of the modern scene that was taking place there

The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw album, which had a horn section added and moved further away from blues

Didn’t fear adding horns and giving them a strong presence in the band

Also let other band members sing in the band

Becoming more of a mature band leader with the Pigboy Crabshaw album, and knew how to read music and put together songs

In My Own Dream album and how his songs were evolving

Selected a lot of songs to record which did not originally have harmonica on them

Horn player David Sanborn found the alto saxophone in a cab that he played on In My Own Dream song

Sting loved the song In My Own Dream

Butter’s music had become highly sophisticated by the time of the In My Own Dream album

Keep On Moving album and Walkin’ By Myself

Butter was moving more away from blues, with the band now more like a jazz ensemble

Better Days album saw the end of the big band format and Butter feeling a little lost

Better Days band was formed from an eclectic mixture of musicians from Woodstock

Second album with Better Days band wasn’t as commercially successful

Live album was released towards the end of The Paul Butterfield Blues band

Tom’s favourite Butter song is Everything’s Going To Be Alright from the live album

The raw energy of the live performances

Later career was plagued by illness and drug issues

Will we ever see a harmonica-driven band like Butterfield’s again?

Levon Helm video suggests Butter could have used the u-block embouchre

Butter didn’t need to play too rhythmically, so he didn’t have the same need to tongue block

Did his flute playing have an influence on his embouchre?

Had an amazing vibrato

Butter played hard (but could also be nuanced)

Tom and Neil’s favourite Butter songs (Everything Going To Be Alright & Just To Be With You)

Tom’s future plans in writing about harmonica

Info

Happy Hour Harmonica Podcast

Paul Butterfield retrospective, part 2, with Tom Ellis

Jul 19, 2023 Season 1 Episode 90

Neil Warren

Tom Ellis joins me (again) on episode 90.

This is part two of the Paul Butterfield retrospective where Tom takes us even deeper into Paul’s career and talks us through more of his incredible output.

About how Butter, while paying his due respect to the greats before him, took the blues in a new direction, with his experimentation and innovation.

Butter’s music and bands evolved as he developed, with the best musicians joining him to provide a bedrock to some of the greatest harmonica ever recorded.

Tom Ellis puts forward a compelling case for Paul Butterfield as the most influential harmonica player ever, with his cultural and societal impact overshadowing even the classic players of the 1950s.

Paul Butterfield retrospective, part 1:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com/paul-butterfield-retrospective-with-tom-ellis/

Was Butter a u-blocker?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-73mhQn4Pkc

Podcast website:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com

Donations:
If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):
https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GB

Spotify Playlist:
Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQ

Podcast sponsors:
This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS

Support the Show.

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Tom Ellis joins me (again) on episode 90.

This is part two of the Paul Butterfield retrospective where Tom takes us even deeper into Paul’s career and talks us through more of his incredible output.

About how Butter, while paying his due respect to the greats before him, took the blues in a new direction, with his experimentation and innovation.

Butter’s music and bands evolved as he developed, with the best musicians joining him to provide a bedrock to some of the greatest harmonica ever recorded.

Tom Ellis puts forward a compelling case for Paul Butterfield as the most influential harmonica player ever, with his cultural and societal impact overshadowing even the classic players of the 1950s.

Paul Butterfield retrospective, part 1:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com/paul-butterfield-retrospective-with-tom-ellis/

Was Butter a u-blocker?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-73mhQn4Pkc

Podcast website:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com

Donations:
If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):
https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GB

Spotify Playlist:
Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQ

Podcast sponsors:
This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS

Support the Show.

Tom Ellis joins the podcast again for part 2 of the Paul Butterfield retrospective

Is Butter the most significant harmonica player since the days of the classic players?

The classic players had a limited audience, Butter brought blues to a more mainstream audience

The Chicago blues scene of the 1950s did not have mass appeal at the time

Following the 1950s the blues scene was mainly for acoustic blues artists. Butter brought some electricity!

Butter didn’t get into blues on the back of the British Blues explosion of the 1960s

Meeting Nick Gravenites got Butter into the blues, with Butter (and Charlie Musselwhite) frequenting the blues clubs in Chicago

Butter’s first album release was 1965, and what else was happening with rock blues at that time

The rise of rock-blues and Butter’s unique take on classic songs he recorded on his early albums

Why The Lost Sessions album wasn’t released as Butter’s first album

Butter wasn’t keen to add Mike Bloomfield to the line-up of the band

The sound captured for Butter’s harp on The Lost Sessions was well produced

How Butter approached playing Little Walter songs

Recorded his own instrumentals, with Nut Popper being the first

Harmonica was the lead instrument in The Paul Butterfield Blues band, and he gave the harmonica real presence

Little Walter advised Butter not to blow so hard on the harmonica as it was damaging to the body

Butter must have known Little Walter and the other older blues guys, as did Charlie Musselwhite

The immediate success of Butter and his band

Butter also helped relaunch the career of some of the classic blues musicians

Was also a great singer

After the success of the first album the band started playing outside of Chicago

Increasing fame playing at the Newport Festival and the West coast of the US, playing 6 gigs in a night

Was Butter influenced by jazz music?

East West album saw a move away from playing blues songs, with the experimental nature of the music lapped up by the audience

With a move towards rock blues the band were loud, with lots of amplification

Made regular trips to San Francisco and relocated there to be part of the modern scene that was taking place there

The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw album, which had a horn section added and moved further away from blues

Didn’t fear adding horns and giving them a strong presence in the band

Also let other band members sing in the band

Becoming more of a mature band leader with the Pigboy Crabshaw album, and knew how to read music and put together songs

In My Own Dream album and how his songs were evolving

Selected a lot of songs to record which did not originally have harmonica on them

Horn player David Sanborn found the alto saxophone in a cab that he played on In My Own Dream song

Sting loved the song In My Own Dream

Butter’s music had become highly sophisticated by the time of the In My Own Dream album

Keep On Moving album and Walkin’ By Myself

Butter was moving more away from blues, with the band now more like a jazz ensemble

Better Days album saw the end of the big band format and Butter feeling a little lost

Better Days band was formed from an eclectic mixture of musicians from Woodstock

Second album with Better Days band wasn’t as commercially successful

Live album was released towards the end of The Paul Butterfield Blues band

Tom’s favourite Butter song is Everything’s Going To Be Alright from the live album

The raw energy of the live performances

Later career was plagued by illness and drug issues

Will we ever see a harmonica-driven band like Butterfield’s again?

Levon Helm video suggests Butter could have used the u-block embouchre

Butter didn’t need to play too rhythmically, so he didn’t have the same need to tongue block

Did his flute playing have an influence on his embouchre?

Had an amazing vibrato

Butter played hard (but could also be nuanced)

Tom and Neil’s favourite Butter songs (Everything Going To Be Alright & Just To Be With You)

Tom’s future plans in writing about harmonica