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December 2005

by Margie Peters

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Margey on the road

We are really happy to have Margey from NY in our team and we start a new column,
like the legendary

"New York Really
Has The Blues Stars!"

Not the same, but a TRIBUTE
to two GREAT ARTISTS and unforgotten FRIENDS,
"Victoria and Lenny."
(BluesArtStudio)

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BIG FRANK
& THE HEALERS




Vintage 1040: From The Vaults, ManHatTone Records

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I never met “The Great Victoria Spivey”, but Lenny talked about her every day. Victoria was, of course, one of America’s seminal female blues singers.
LEONARD KUNSTADT (1925-1996) was a discographer, historian, reporter (twenty years for Blues Life Journal) and record producer. For almost forty years, he edited Record Research magazine. He is the author, with Samuel Charters, of Jazz, A History of the New York Scene.

In the mid-fifties, a dream came true for Lenny: He became Victoria’s companion. For the last 20 years of her life, Lenny would accompany her everywhere. Sometimes he’d sit in on kazoo, and Victoria even immortalized him in her song, “Kazoo Papa Blues”. In 1962, she founded the Spivey record label. It was dedicated to recording young, local, New York performers - including a fledgling Bob Dylan - as well as issuing “previously unreleased cameo performances,” cuts she had on hand by such artists as Willie Dixon, Lonnie Johnson, Little Brother Montgomery, Otis Spann, Roosevelt Sykes, Sonny Boy Williamson II - and, of course, Victoria Spivey.

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After Victoria’s death, in 1976, Lenny kept the label alive. He was passionate about the local blues musicians, as witnessed by his column, “New York Really Has The Blues Stars!”, which appeared in BLUES LIFE Journal from Austria.
In the mid-1990s, in addition to the other groups and performers he championed, Lenny became a supporter of Big Frank & the Healers. He would come to the performances, cheer the band on, take photographs with his pink Kodak 110 camera, interrupt after every song to make sure that he had the absolute correct documentation, and - ultimately - supervise a recording.

Lenny had tremendous belief in and enthusiasm for those continuing to make blues music.
This record is dedicated to his memory.

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‘Vintage 1040’ is NOT a Spivey record, but it was to have been one. In fact, it would have been the next in the catalogue, No.1040. Any similarity to the IRS form of the same name is utter coincidence! (Apologies to all the other bands and musicians whose work Lenny had recorded, and who were to have been on the “next” Spivey record.) Lenny had his own style of production. In a famous story, guitarist Charlie Hilbert tells of Lenny striding through the studio demanding “more mistakes”. In real time, he would tell the engineer what levels to emphasize (and de-emphasize.) Of course, ‘Vintage 1040’ was cut live in the studio, with no overdubs. This is the first time Lenny recorded “direct to DAT”. He was even considering - though he hadn’t totally committed to the idea - bringing the session out as the label’s first CD!

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Leader, guitarist, slide guitarist, and vocalist ‘Big Frank’ Mirra founded the blues band Mohair Sam in 1990. They played successfully in the New York area, reforming in ’94 as Big Frank & The Healers. When this recording was made the band was just finding its voice and using piano for the first time. At this writing, in 2005, Frank has continued as leader. The band’s credits include appearances and headline billings at festivals in New York state, as well as shows at many NY, NJ, CT, and PA venues. On his ‘King Biscuit Flour Hour’ show, KFFA radio’s Sonny Payne likened Frank’s playing to that of Hound Dog Taylor. Frank’s other credits include The Street Hawks, an acoustic group which focuses early roots music.

All of the Spivey records had selections by Victoria Spivey. Here, Lenny had Doña Oxford perform two of her numbers, “Dig Me” and “Don’t Trust Nobody”. Doña played with Big Frank & The Healers from 1994 through 1998, along with other projects. At that time she joined with vocalist Shemekia Copeland, touring internationally and in the U.S. Subsequently, Doña has been leading her own band.
Her two recordings for Fountainbleu records showcase her writing as well as her superb piano playing and singing. Doña has recently been active on the Chicago blues scene and has performed with many artists including Buddy Guy, Phil Guy, Son Seals, Jody Williams, Willie Kent, Sam Lay, and her mentor, the late Johnnie Johnson.

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Drummer Barry Harrison also toured with Shemekia Copeland. Before that he had a tenure with her father, the legendary Johnny Copeland, until his death. Barry has become the “house drummer” at New York’s prestigious Terra Blues Club, working with Michael Powers, Jerry Dugger, Ray Shinnery, Jr. Mack, and Steve Guyger, among many others.

Bassist Margey Peters also played in the Mohair Sam Band and with ‘Wild’ Jimmy Spruill, Bob Gaddy, Danny Russo, Somethin’ Blue, Squeezebox Zydeco, Big Ed & the Sidepockets, and the Doña Oxford band.

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Big Frank & The Healers at Lake George,
NY Blues Festival 2004 where we were the headline act.

...INFO: www.cdbaby.com/bigfrankhealers2

CONCERT



Big Frank Mirra, Margey Peters, & Bob Bavido, attending the Blues Express Legends of Blues concert at Lincoln Center on January 28, 2005.

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