Blues & Slide guitar montage and some great summer Rose wine

I’m on a montage roll right now and having done an acoustic and electric collection of guitar greats, I thought tonight I’d hit one of my favorite styles, namely the pure blues and the slide guitar. Gotta start out with two ladies, who in my opinion, are two of the finest blues & slide guitarist to ever pick up the instrument, namely Bonnie Raitt and Rory Block. But the talent doesn’t slack off in the least with guys like Martin Simpson, Kelly Joe Phelps, Roy Rogers, and Ry Cooder. As I was surfing for their songs, I came across a very rare version of Robert Plant doing and acoustic version of “Whole Lotta Love,” in a blues style. Don’t miss it. Hope you enjoy these gals and guys as much as I do.

Bonnie Raitt

That’s just love sneakin up on you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adfhyvjR69M

Born in the country: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5FlQWJ3K6g

Love me like a man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXVoOgwiYc8

Rory Block

Crossroad blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaK4x7TLQ3E&feature=related

Preachin blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ_PKvC4v7k

Stand by me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzKYfFnqC3Y

Kelly Joe Phelps

Down to the praying ground: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iasKATAEArA

Hard time they never go away: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wajUg7LJIw&feature=related

Go there: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmut5WhT3cI&feature=related

Martin Simpson

Walkin blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHY74AjKRjI

Highway 62 medley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V65fRKYJ90E&feature=relmfu

Louisiana 1927: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3nv4vdASBQ&feature=relmfu

Masco Blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRH27vlxKvo&feature=related

Killing the blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZRd6OIaT7o&feature=relmfu

She slips away: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQELHWJTdRU

Ry Cooder

Slide man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REBIm8jMrSA&feature=related

Mercury blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPpJYvLsBco&feature=related

Roy Rogers

Walkin blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW08Rc802MQ&feature=related

Terraplane blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do-7ruWrKUI&feature=related

Devil got my woman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZIfMj4Zf_k&feature=related

Money Maker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a2e7aB0t8I&feature=related

Robert Plant

Whole lotta love (acoustic): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQvp8qDsDqA&feature=related

Hoochie Coochie Man:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv11xRQ8sWo

Since tonight’s the first night of summer, we need a classic summer wine to compliment some hot slide guitar, and nothing says summer better than a Rosé. Some may be under the misconception that a Rosé is a sweet, syrupy wine, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Rosés are full of strawberry and cherry fruits with good acidity. They are light and crisp, the perfect accompaniment to all kinds of foods. I was at the Society for Nuclear Medicine Meeting in Miami last week, staying at the Fountainebleau hotel, which, by the way, is a fabulous place to stay—great pool, beach access, and incredible restaurants. While I hung out at the bar late one afternoon working on my new novel and waiting for one of my research collaborators to show for dinner, I had a couple of glasses of a Palais Cote du Provance Rosé that reminded me how much I love these wines. This particular version was like a strawberry patch on the nose with cherry and strawberry fruit flavors complimented by a touch of orange citrus and vibrant acidity that led to a wonderful finish of fruit. If you haven’t tried a French Rosé, I strongly recommend you do so. They’re usually priced in the $10-$15.00 range which makes them a perfect summer wine suitable for something off the grill or just sitting out in the evening on the deck listening to some excellent slide guitar. Enjoy!

Cheers! 

Rory Block & Klinker Brick Farah Syrah

Rory Block was born in Princeton NJ in 1949 and spent the beginning of her life in a small wood house with no plumbing, in the woods on a hillside in Neshanic. Shortly afterwards her family moved to Sullivan Street in New York, which is now part of Soho. After a few years her family moved to the West Village, which at the time was the remnants of low income row housing for immigrants. She grew up in a family where, on a good day, music, art and poetry were the most important things in life.

From early in her life, music became the absolute center of her being, and nothing mattered more. At the age of ten, playing a $4.00 Galiano guitar, she figured out "Froggy Went A'Courtin'" by slamming down on the E and then the A string and plucking out a melody. The guitar was an instrument of wonder and joy, her best friend.

At the age of fourteen she participated in the Sunday jam sessions in Washington Square Park where people stood around in clusters, pressing together to watch incredible musicians playing styles largely unheard of up north. David Grisman, Frank Wakefield, Jodie Stecker, John Herald, Roger Sprung, and Eric Weissberg were some of the bluegrass/country players, and John Sebastian, Maria Muldaur, Stefan Grossman, Marc Silber, Jack Baker and others played ragtime, blues, swing and early barrel house jazz. Her father eventually became the reigning impresario of the vital folk revival scene in the West Village, hosting regular Saturday afternoon jam sessions in his sandal shop after music in the park was banned.

One day in 1964, she heard an album called "Really The Country Blues", and from that moment on her life was dedicated to learning how to play blues. She spent untold hours and two years of her life with her ear glued to a speaker, determined to figure out each and every note and play the great songs with as much accuracy as she could muster out of a deep reverence for the music.

She started traveling to the Bronx to visit the Reverend Gary Davis to study his style. When teaching, the Reverend never slowed down to explain his music, he only played it at her with lightening speed and had a lot to say if she couldn't catch it.

In 1965, at a concert at the Village Gate, she met Son House, a blues God as far as she was concerned. As she watched him perform, rolling his head back, slamming the strings and almost choking on the intensity, she learned a deep lesson about the power of the music, which became an inseparable part of her.

I could write a lot more, but her music speaks for itself. So without further adieu, I hope you enjoy one of the blue's greatest proponents, an incredible musician with a voice that can make angels cry.

Silver wings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C58CGPMyFyM

Crossroad blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqTUoV67M60

Walkin Blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2koew-g-xY

Misty Glen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha-WVlLO-zQ

Terraplane blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmR0_epz5OQ

Preachin blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ_PKvC4v7k&feature=related

Ramblin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP6s1EfhD_A&feature=related

Old time blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUXSjaf7RMU&feature=related

Travelin blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk0J1ZOBobE&feature=related

Stand by me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzKYfFnqC3Y&feature=related

Lovin whiskey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y7XwKmUKSw&feature=related

If I had possession over judgement day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV43q_XZCPY

Along with one of my favorite blues musicians, I think it’s only proper that I pair her with one of my favorite wines, the Klinker Brick Farah Syrah (2009; $20.00). The wine is produced from vines with an average age of 85 years. It has a bright bouquet of wild strawberry, black raspberry, and plum, intermingled with exotic spice. The palate bursts with flavors of black cherry and vanilla, with supple tannins and good structure. The texture is silky and supple and the finish smooth and long.  It won double gold medals at the Long Beach and East Coast International wine competitions.

A gentle rain is falling as I write this from my home office and with the music of Rory Block and a glass of Farah Syrah, the night is magical. Hope you had a good weekend. Enjoy!

Cheers!