We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago……
There was a band out of Chicago that showed us a different side of the blues. It didnt have to be the crude rawness of John Lee Hooker or the studied slickness of BB King. There was a middle ground and the Siegel-Schwall Band found it.
The band was one of many young, white outfits working the blues side of the street in the late 60’s and early 70s and 1971 saw the group release their fifth album, simply entitled “The Siegel-Schwall Band”.
I’m sure many readers of this saw the band as they played Wisconsin on a regular basis back in those days. Led by the piano & harp of Corky Siegel and the guitar of Jim Schwall…this LP saw the rhythm provided by Rollo Radford on bass and Shelly Plotkin on drums.
The album is a fun listen. It has a number of originals written by either Siegel or Schwall including “Devil” and “Next To You” The band also gets a workout on a couple of classics….Jimmy Reed’s “Hush Hush” in which Siegel’s harp is smoking…and the traditional song “Corrina” which is a loose bit of fun for the group.
They played with all the top Chicago blues guys in their time at Peppers Lounge and learned their lessons well. And yet, were able to give the songs their own little spin.
So, pop a cold one and get your feet tapping…maybe a plate of chicken and turnip greens will help too.
