Normally this column is devoted to a biography or history devoted to one subject, but a lot of events of immediate concern have been happening in the blues world lately which should not go unreported, including projects, CDs, obituaries and the like. It is especially difficult at this time to keep abreast of developments, since not only the December issue of the Bluesrag covers a two month span but also that I was in Europe for three weeks. Needless to say, things have really been piling up. So, with apologies to the late Jimmy Reed, who first coined the expression with his catchy, infectious 1957 instrumental (Vee-Jay, 304) “Ends and Odds,” I’ll appropriate this title for my article and the reader may judge for himself if such a potpourri approach is justified. I’ll dedicate Part I to news from the homefront.

I think that most bluesfans will agree that the Baltimore-Washington area’s greatest blues hero, guitarist Bobby Parker, has been grossly unrecorded(and equally unrecognized) for the half-century he has spent toiling in virtual obscurity in local blues trenches. And I am happy to report that this injustice may at long last be rectified.

According to confidant and friend of Bobby, Neal Dahan, he is currently negotiating with Universal records, the principals of which are interested in issuing a retrospective along the lines of the “best of,” a package including the prime cuts of his more recent efforts (two CDs) on the now defunct Black Top label (the masters of which evidently now belong to Warren Hildebrand’s Mardi Gras records of New Orleans) as well as his earlier material.

When I wrote Bobby’s biography over a decade ago, I was well aware of several of his items that appeared in the late Mike Leadbitter’s and Neil Slaven’s original edition of their blues Bible, Blues Records, including his now-classic 1957 “Blues Get Off My Shoulder (Vee-Jay 279)” bw “You Got What It Takes,” the former which was covered by Dee Clark for Vee-Jay subsidiary, (Ewart) Abner (1032), and the latter of which was stolen by Berry Gordy (later of Motown fame) and given to crony Marv Johnson, who then converted it into a million seller (United Artists # 185). Then, after his move to Washington, D.C., in the late 50s, there was the famous, or I should say infamous, “Watch Your Step,” which was recorded by local producer, Ed Greene, at Edgewood Recording Studio near Thomas Circle in the District and then proffered to Lenny Caldwell of V-Tone (the Cruisers, the Tremaines, Baltimore’s Jolly Jax, the Fashions, Little Jimmy and the Tops, the Dream Lovers, Joe Van Loan, Bobby Peterson, etc.) of Philadelphia, who released it as #223 in 1961. Bobby claims that the Beatles copied his opening, scintillating guitar riff of that recording for a similar intro to their “I Feel Fine (Capitol 5327)” smash, but sadly this bluesman lost a recent lawsuit while pursuing that course of action. Finally, during a tour of England in 1968, Bobby recorded “Its Hard But It’s Fair” and “Couldn’t Quit My Baby” for Mike Vernon’s Blue Horizon (BH 57-3151), which also appeared on a compilation of that same label, LP 37.

Thanks to some recently and extensively researched discographies, including Bob McGrath’s formidable The R&B Indies, several more of Bobby’s earlier gems have been unearthed, tunes that Bobby, himself, only vaguely remembered during our long ago tete-a-tete. Such numbers included Josie (primarily a doo-whop label - the Cadillacs, the Four Bars, the Teardrops, the Blues Notes w/Harold Melvin, the Chips w/ “Rubber Biscuit”) # 806, “Sugie, Dugie, Boogie Baby” bw “Once Upon A Time Long Ago.” During this period 1956-1958, Bobby was lead guitarist for the late baritone, Paul Williams, and his orchestra. In 1949, the Detroit-based Williams authored one of R&B’s most durable instrumental blockbusters ever - “The Hucklebuck (Savoy 683)”--and Williams parlayed that success (like many horn players of that period, including Syl Austin, Red Prysock, and Choker Campbell) into a long term gig as the house band for the traveling caravan, Show of Stars(and variously called the Top Ten and Big Show). Represented by Irving Fell, who later ran Barnum & Bailey circus, and booked by the Shaw Agency in New York, this ensemble, which often swelled to 12 pieces, backed stars such as Sam Cooke, Brook Benton, Clyde McPhatter, and Fats Domino on the “Chitlin’ Circuit,” which included the Royal Theatre (or Coliseum on Monroe St.) on Pennsylvania Ave. in Baltimore, the Howard (or D.C. Armory) at 7th St. and T in Washington, the Regal at 47th and South Parkway in Chicago, and the venerable Apollo in Harlem. In fact, Paul Williams’s headquarters of that era was the Teresa Hotel at 125th St. and 7th Avenue, just adjacent to this latter R&B shrine. It was in this context that Bobby often assumed the vocal chores for Williams, whose band also included tenor, Noble “Thin Man” Watts, who would shortly go on to distinguish himself on New York-based Baton Records with no less than three chartmaking, hot honking instrumentals - “Midnight Flight” bw “The Slop (249),” “Blast Off (251),” and “Flap Jack (266).” By the way, Bobby also contributed his services to two more of Williams’s numbers, but only as guitarist - “Give It Up” bw “Pass the Buck (Vee-Jay 234, 1956)” and “South Shore Drive” and “Big Two Four (Vee-Jay 268, 1956),” both recorded in Chicago, as was “Blues Get Off My Shoulder,” wherein Parker was duly supported by Williams’s outfit.

After having followed a lady friend and finally settling in Washington, D.C., it did not take Bobby long to become acquainted with Mrs. Lillian Claiborne, the head of DC records and a Mother Teresa-type figure to musicians without capital in our nation’s capital. Claiborne founded DC records in 1947 at 1425 Van Buren St. NW, at first exclusively recording spiritual acts, but by the 50s was accepting all genres of music, like rockabilly with Dudley Calicutt, who scored with “Heart Trouble” in 1957, trumpeter Frank Motley, and vocal group, the L’ Captans. When these latter two produced hits that needed national distributorship, she would lease them to, respectively, Art Rupe’s Los Angeles-based Specialty records or Herman Lubinsky’s Newark-headquartered Savoy. In like manner, she loaned Bobby’s “Foolish Love” bw “Stop By My House” to Amanda records (1001) of Chicago in 1959 and “Don’t Drive Me Away” bw “Keep Away From My Heart” to Frisky(912) of New York in 1962. Regarding this last single, Bobby revealed to me that Ed Greene was also involved and that it was recorded at a studio on Vermont Ave, NW.

A fanatical West Coast collector who claims to have a tape of all the Bobby Parker material ever recorded also contends that Bobby released one single for the equally short-lived (1961-1965) Southern Sound of Philadelphia - “Gimme A Little Lovin’” bw “Do The Monkey,” which may have also come through the intercession of Lillian Claiborne and an unreleased Shrine tune - “I Won’t Believe It Til’ I See It.” In the period of its rather brief existence (1965-67), Shrine of P.O. Box 8108, Southwest Station, Washington, D.C., issued 19 singles, mostly soul vocal groups - the Counts, the Enjoyables, the Cavaliers, the Prophets, the Cairos, the Cautions, and the Epsilons - so, it is not inconceivable that Bobby would try his luck with a label specializing in local artists. Finally, this same collector also has two sides of a Sabu (D.C. label) single of the 70s - “Get Right” and “It’s Too Late Darlin’,” although Bobby himself asserts that there were at least two releases for this label. But, then again, there is absolutely no written documentation in any publication to verify the existence of any of the items described in this paragraph, nor is there any related to Bobby’s one time involvement with Bo Diddley (Ellas McDaniel) as a sideman.

As far as all these recordings go, I have in my possession the three Vee-Jay singles associated with Paul “Hucklebuck” Williams and the lone Lenny Caldwell V-Tone release. It would be greatly appreciated if any reader out there who could contribute or confirm any information, who could shed any light with regard to Bobby’s early recording career - or, for that matter, any aspect of his recorded history new or old - contact website nealdahan@yahoo.com. Bobby at 65 is not getting any younger and we cannot afford to miss this opportunity to accord him his proper tribute, which he richly deserves. Let’s hope for Bobby’s sake that such an ambitious venture comes into fruition.

Certainly another area artist the same age as Bobby and who’s also had fifty years in the music business fits the same category - local legend who had been somehow overlooked by the producers and now pretty much is taken for granted by his legion of fans. Very few people realized that we could have lost Big Jesse Yawn for good over the holidays. He had been on dialysis for several years and thankfully received quite a Christmas present - a new kidney from an organ donor, which seems to be taking hold. Talking to him, he is very upbeat and optimistic, looking forward to his first gig after the operation, which appears to have given him a new lease on life.

And like his D.C. counterpart, Bobby Parker, he too, will be celebrating the release of new CD. And, in both cases, it’s better late than never.

Amazingly enough, for his extensive history in the entertainment field and even including the release of his new album (only his second after the 1997 triumph of Forevermore on Horseplay), there is scant evidence of his deep involvement over the years in the music business which has been left for posterity. Born in Florida, he’s covered all the musical bases, so to speak, commencing with gospel, with stints in the touring troupes like the world renowned Trumpets of Joy and Violinaires, and later served with Rochester, NY’s, Traveling Six Spiritual Singers. In fact, he there founded a similar aggregate, The Flower City Gospelaires. After having made quite an impression as lead singer for the 77th Army Band, he went on in the 60s to front three heralded national traveling acts specializing in R&B (Bill Doggett), Rock and Pop (Bill Black Combo), and Soul and Funk (The Ohio Players). He’s also left quite a few demo tapes along the way, including auditions at Chicago’s Chess records and Detroit’s Golden World. Up to this point, his multitude of invitations to blues festivals of every magnitude and his many overseas junkets have also been neglected as potential sources for a well-deserved tribute project.

But with the release of Jesse Yawn: Live In Europe on Aramic records, he might now be viewed in a different light. It’s like the favorite homily uttered by the late Lionel Hampton, who hit the road and recorded well into his 90s - “If you ain’t appearin’, your’re disappearin.’” Indeed, words of wisdom. But this album is much more than just a calling card, something more than to just to remind people that he’s still in circulation. Think of all the times you’ve bought the dreaded “live” CD and have been disappointed - the obtrusive crowd noises (or even worse, the overdubbed inappropriately placed applauses), the mistakes, the poor mixes, the sloppy fades, etc. However you’ve been shortchanged it the past, I think the listener will come to the same conclusion as Jesse and I. This CD sounds as good as a studio-produced undertaking, so well balanced are all the elements. And the clarity is like fine crystal. Moreover, at a prodigious seventy minutes in length, you’ll receive over double the amount of music for the same price as you’d pay for one CD.

Having visited abroad many times, I can speak with authority about how the Europeans treat American blues stars with the respect and admiration that is their due and they turn out in vast numbers at the drop of a hat to see their particular demigods in action. This is the reason that blues giants rarely seen in the States like Louisiana Red (Iverson Minter), Guitar Crusher (Sidney Selby), Sherman Robertson, and Big Jay McNeely either live on the continent or camp out there regularly. It’s their bread and butter. In fact, try to catch them on the phone. They’re always on the go with a full itinerary. This CD of Jesse’s was recorded at a festival on a mountaintop in Fiamene, Italy, in 2001, during his fifth trip to the Old Country, a concert in which he headlined and attracted 29,000 people! Folks, this was definitely a major musical event.

And if you believe that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, you should hear the band, his support group, Morblus (a play on “more blues” and the surname of their stellar lead guitarist, Roberto Morbili). Complete with a three piece horn section - trombone, trumpet, and saxophone - and an organ/piano, guitar, bass, and drums, they can outperform most U.S. contenders in any competition, matching them lick for lick. America, don’t rest on your laurels and maintain your “woodshedding” schedule because you’ve got to turn it up a notch to play in their league.

And Jesse, who, by the way, never sounded better, knows that this band is in his corner and is sympathetic to his needs and not playing at cross purposes. The material (including two songs from Forevermore) is not new. In fact, aside from B.B. King’s “Never Make Your Move Too Soon,” which I’ve never heard him perform, the repertoire is representative of a typical Jesse Yawn stage show - “The Thrill Is Gone,” “Every Day I Have The Blues,” “Sweet Sixteen,” “Let The Good Times Roll,” and Jimmy Wilson’s “Tin Pan Alley.” The difference is that now with such a dream team at his complete disposal, at his beck and call, he can turn each song inside out, exploring all its nuances and possibilities. Like an episode in Star Trek, Jesse can now go where he’s never dared before. A prime example is Albert King’s “I’ll Play The Blues For You.” Jesse, in complete control, is the pied piper in this eleven-minute tour de force, flying by the seat of his pants, inventing lyrics on the spot, while the band follows along without skipping a beat, building up, increasing the tension, like Ravel’s Bolero to at last reaching a grand crescendo. It’s no wonder then that the crowd banged their chairs together at the finale, clamoring for and receiving, not one, but two encores, until the group, exhausted, had to finally say “ciao” and pack it in for the night.

You can be proud to add Jesse Yawn: Live In Europe to your musical library by either buying a copy at one of his appearances or by sending a check for $16.50 (for postage and handling) to 6370 Meadowridge Road, Elkridge, MD, 21075. Jesse also assures me that it will soon be available in stores. But, by whatever means you choose, buy it!

By the way, over the years, Jesse has been accumulating a great deal of original compositions that he lovingly keeps in a loose-leaf binder in his basement. Having heard him sing some of these privately, I can rightly say that they more than deserve to see the light of day. With the release of Jesse Yawn: Live In Europe, I think that any record entrepreneur will be able to judge that Jesse, put in the proper setting, can deliver quite a polished, professional product. With this thought in mind, an album he can call his own is the next logical step. And David Earl and Severn records might be the right career move. And it just might happen. Stay tuned.

I also have some sad news also to impart to the reader, the decease of some local characters of the old school who may not be household names but who in their own way enriched the area blues community. The first is Bernie Rabinowitz, who died tragically at 60 in a car crash on the Jones Falls Expressway on January 22, returning home from work from the last remaining outpost of what was originally a chain of specialty record stores, Music Liberated, at Saratoga St. and Park Ave.

Does anyone remember the good ole days when you could go to any one of his six Music Liberated stores scattered about town or an equal number run by friendly rival, the late Mort Barnett of Record and Tape Collector? Now it’s hard to find any of their ilk, wherein such an owner could be on the lookout for that rare vinyl LP of Elmore James on Sphere Sound or a Chess Vintage Series of Lowell Fulson. This is not to say that such a sought after object would come cheap, but you could always bargain him down. It was all a game to Bernie, at first watching you squirm, but he eventually caved in because he loved the music as much as you did. He was also a great raconteur and collector, especially of jazz, and would guard the store stock of this genre of music like a junkyard dog.

Over the years, I talked with Bernie (who with his late brother, Jerry, founded the first Music Liberated in the back of the Bedlam clothing boutique on Charles St. in the late 60s), and thought that he profoundly missed the passing of vinyl and this may have played a part in his embracing rap music to a degree. At least the rappers continued to use this format. “You gotta do what you gotta do to survive in this business,” he told me. And he always urged me to keep and open mind. And when I would visit his cluttered and chaotic shop in the seedy Baltimore shopping district downtown, I could tell that the CDs, almost as if afterthought, always took a back seat to his first love. Somehow, he knew where everything was, particularly the collectibles in the back room. Full of surprises, he was simply thrilled to discover items in vinyl that no one in his wildest dreams would ever suspect of existing, like Celine Dion’s love theme from the Titanic (a German import), which I needed for a disk jockey gig. All right. All right. It’s not blues. But I think I’ve made my point.

He was a well recognized expert, often working as a consultant to Barry Levinson in films like Diner, and his store was well utilized in the filming of John’s Waters’s Hairspray, serving as a backdrop for Motor Mouth Maybelle’s (portrayed by Ruth Brown) record boutique in the “bad Negro neighborhood.” Moreover, he was also quick to acknowledge other authorities in the field, like Ernie Novello, yes, the same “Head Slug” of New Orleans (and number one pal of the late Dale Patton, first president and founder of the Baltimore Blues Society) who, after relocating to Charm City in pursuit of love interest, managed the Light St. branch of Music Liberated in Federal Hill for much of its existence. Through Bernie, who greased the skids, so to speak, Ernie, after his Baltimore relationship fizzled, was able to find a job working in the same capacity for the late Record Ron on Decatur St. in the Crescent City in the late 80s.

Great losses, guys like Bernie Rabinowitz, who with their encyclopedic and exhaustive data bases of musical recall, and who gave all their customers a personal touch, are irreplaceable in this live and let die world we now live in. A real and genuine, life-long Baltimore character, he will be sorely missed.

Another authentic eccentric of the area, Richard “Mr. Bones” Thomas, died on November 29th of last year. Truly, one of a kind, he was a musician who provided rhythmic accompaniment and tempo to acoustic blues acts with a set of 7-inch beef rib bones that he fashioned by hand, a process that could take up to nine months, because each had to be carefully tuned to a different key or pitch

I had seen this soft-spoken and affable gentleman many times over the years and now regret that I did not record his story for the ages. He’d pop up everywhere, pull the bones out, and click away with them like castanets. If only I had a camera during those unexpected meetings. I last saw him paying his respects at the funeral of Piedmont guitar wizard, John Jackson, in Manassas, VA, just last year and promised him a thorough biography. Little did I know then that within a year he’d be gone.

What little we do know of him comes mostly from the website of the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation - www. acousticblues.com. Richard “Mr. Bones” Thomas was born on July 30, 1922 in southern Maryland in the rural hamlet of Pomonkey off of U.S. Route 301, but was raised in Washington, D.C., from the age of six months. It is said that he developed an interest in bones as a teen, after witnessing a live, impromptu vaudeville performance by none other than Sammy Davis, Jr. at (probably) Washington’s Union Station. Although his first set of rhythm sticks were constructed from the heavy-duty cardboard of a cigar box, he soon graduated to wood, and then finally to the laboriously carved beef bones, which, being hollow, provided a certain resonance when struck together in prescribed manner.

He was drafted into the Army during the World War II and assigned to the highly decorated supply outfit of heavy trucks, the Red Ball Express, wherein he, too, earned four Battle Stars for driving while under heavy fire from the Germans. After his discharge in 1945, he held a succession of jobs in both the private and public sector until his retirement.

As a musician, he was discovered rather late in life, being teamed with harmonica master Mark Wenner (of the Nighthawks) and another late Piedmont guitar ace, Archie Edwards, on Pierre Sprey’s Mapleshade release, Blues N’ Bones (56952) in 1991.” “I used to hang around with Richard in the late 70s and early 80s frequenting clubs along Rhode Island Avenue, like guitarist Bill Harris’s (formerly of the Clovers vocal group which recorded for Atlantic) Pigfoot, a real jazz haunt, Moore’s Love & Peace, and Mister Wise. He’d be welcome in all these joints and often would be given drinks gratis. It didn’t matter what type of music. He’d pull out these bones from a leather pouch and join right in, providing a little time keeping. Onstage, he was visually transfixing, almost like a ballerina, with elaborate arm flourishes. In fact, it was interesting to see his transformation from this modest and unassuming personality into such a flamboyant performer,” said Sprey, who introduced him to Archie Edwards and insisted that he be included on the album over the objections of Edwards, who desired a completely solo endeavor. “But the pair hit it off from the start over at Archie’s place [tonsorial parlor] after their first encounter, especially after several shots of Jack Daniel’s,” added Sprey.

Other musical credits include Stella records’ folk guitarist Michael Roach’s two CDs, Ain’t Got Me No Home (1993, STCD 001) and The Blinds Of Life (1997, STCD 003).

After the success of his debut on Mapleshade, Mr. Bones also became a fixture at Archie Edwards’s aforementioned barbershop at 2007 Bunker Hill Road, N.E., in Washington and soon was called upon to perform with his partner at the Chicago Blues Festival. In 1997, this dynamic duo appeared at the St. Louis Blues Festival and the Durham, NC, Blues Festival. Locally, he would invariably be on the slate, in a supporting role, for annual blues jamborees such as Blues In The Burg (he has a couple of cameos to his credit on a compilation CD), the D.C. Blues Society, and the prestigious Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the Mall. Generous to a fault, usually playing for next to nothing, he never passed up an opportunity to perform, typically for community service benefit shows at hospitals, schools, and civic events.

But with the passing of Mr.Bones, it’s apparently the end of a kinder, gentler era. There will be no one to fill his shoes. No one to continue in his footsteps, although Pierre Sprey claims that he has seen a young man on occasion imitate this peerless percussionist. Sadly, it’s probably lights out on another grand tradition which actually may have had its origins as a staple of African tribal music of yore. Thankfully, at least, before his extinction, this curiosity of the regional blues scene left a handful of recordings behind for all to cherish. All I can say is “Adios, amigo.”

Next Month: Ends and Odds: Part II: News From The Deep South Larry Benicewicz