New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Shore Fire Media) - When Elvin Bishop moved to
Chicago from Tulsa in 1960, it was ostensibly to study physics at the University of Chicago, but he was really there to learn the blues, knowledge he shows to good effect on 'Red Dog Speaks,' out June 15th from Delta Groove. The album marks 45 years of his recording career.
Hear the new song "Clean Livin'" right now: https://www.deltagrooveproductions.com/music/releases/reddogspeaks/ecards/cleanlivin/
One of Bishop's most important teachers in the ways of blues guitar was Little Smokey Smothers, who became a lifelong friend. Smothers, a Mississippi native, had also arrived in Chicago as a teen, in 1956, and was soon playing with the likes of Otis Rush and Howlin' Wolf. Bishop recalls meeting him at the Blue Flame "around the corner from Muddy Waters' house. He was a full-grown musician, and I was just starting out. He was nice enough to take me under his wing."
Some of Smothers' teaching methods were unorthodox. "If I wasn't concentrating," Bishop says, "he'd have a pot of beans or ham hocks or something really good cooking. He'd take me in the kitchen and lift up the lid and he'd say, 'Smell this.' And I'd say, 'Oh wow, that smells great!' and then he'd say, 'When you get this song right, you can have some!'"
Needless to say, Bishop did, going on to play with The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and becoming a solo star in his own right.
Bishop has dozens of stories from those days, including how he acquired his very first Gibson Stereo ES 345, the predecessor to his beloved Red Dog, the '59 model his forthcoming album is named after.
As Elvin tells the story, when he first started playing, he had a Telecaster, but kept breaking the strings. Louis Myers, guitarist for many Chicago greats including Little Walter, told him he was hitting the instrument too hard. Myers insisted they trade guitars, saying the strings wouldn't pop for him and no doubt thinking he was getting the better end of the deal. As it turned out, Myers wasn't happy with the guitar he got. But Elvin, who had learned some street smarts from Smokey by then, wouldn't give the Gibson back.
Louis Myers' loss is slide guitar lovers' gain and blues lovers eagerly await the release of 'Red Dog Speaks.'
