Blues

Downchild Blues Band - Straight Up (1973)

2018-08-11T13:48:15Z

Downchild Blues Band - Straight Up (1973)


01. Every Day I Have The Blues
02. I Got Everything I Need (Almost)
03. York County
04. Can`t Lose What You Ain`t Never Had
05. Flip, Flop And Fly
06. Good Morning Blues
07. Bring It On Home
08. Shotgun Blues
09. Dig Myself A Hole
10. Everything`s Gonna Be Alright

Don Walsh - guitar, harmonica
Rick (The Hock) Walh - vocals
Jim Milne - bass
Paul Nixon - drums
Dave Woodward - tenor
James Warburton - alto
Vic Wilson - baritone
Wayne Jackson - trumpet

Adopting their name from the Sonny Boy Williamson song "Mr Downchild," Downchild Blues Band's roots run deep, first planted in the Toronto jungle in 1963. Singer Mike Smith, guitarists Don Walsh, Tom Extence, and Gary Stodolak, John Lamb on bass and drummer John Tanti got together playing mostly for fun while attending Northern Secondary School at Mount Pleasant and Eginton in Toronto.

By '68, a new version that had Walsh and his brother Rick, bassist Jim Milne, Tanti, and Dave Woodward became the house band at Grossman's Tavern. But after a couple of years, they outgrew the nest and flew the coop. They doubled the horns attack by adding Ron Jacobs, and their gigs across Canada and into the Chicago and Detroit areas became more frequent.

They released their independent debut, Bootleg, in 1971, starting a career of albums that traditionally featured a few originals mixed in with covers, such as their copies of Taj Mahal's "Change My Way of Livin'" and Jimmie Rogers' "That's All Right."

After signing with GRT Records, their first single was "Flip Flop Fly" from their sophomore album in '73, Straight Up. The song spent time in the top 40 pop list, and made them the first homegrown blues act with a gold single, (50,000 copies). As they continued a relentless tour schedule on both sides of the border for the next few years, and the Walsh Brothers' "I've Got Everything I Need (Almost)" was released as the second single," also spending time in the top 40. Also included was "Shotgun Blues," another tune pegged by the Walsh Brothers, which would be covered later by The Blues Brothers during their movie and subsequent soundtrack.

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Downchild Blues Band - But, I'm On The Guest List (1982)

2018-07-19T08:16:24Z

Downchild Blues Band - But, I'm On The Guest List (1982)


1 Caledonia 04:24
2 (I Got Everything I Need) Almost 03:12
3 Tramp 04:18
4 Shotgun Blues 05:33
5 Flip Flop & Fly 03:08
6 Gonna Tell Your Mother 05:05
7 You Don't Do 04:05
8 One More Chance 02:44
9 Done Changed My Way Of Living 04:13
10 T.V. Mama 04:09

Bass – Gary Kendall
Drums – Paul Nixon (4)
Guitar, Harmonica – Don Walsh
Lead Vocals – John Witmer
Piano – Richard Whitehouse
Saxophone – Larry Bodner
Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Vocals – Bob Heslin

Led by guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Donnie "Mr. Downchild" Walsh, the Downchild Blues Band is the premier blues band in Canada. Their saxophone-driven jump blues provided a major inspiration for Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi's Blues Brothers, who included Walsh's tunes "Everything I Need (Almost)" and "Shotgun Blues" on their 1978 debut album, Briefcase Full of Blues. Formed in 1969 by Walsh and his brother, Richard "Hock" Walsh, the Downchild Blues Band endured continuous personnel turnover. More than 18 musicians came and went, including Gene Taylor, who went on to play with the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Kenny Neal, who joined after leaving the employ of Buddy Guy and relocating to Toronto.

Conflict between the Walsh brothers resulted in Hock Walsh being fired from the band shortly before work began on their third album in 1974. Although he returned to work with the band in 1977 and 1985, his hard-living caught up with him on February 1999 when he succumbed to an apparent heart attack. Since the early '90s, the Downchild Blues Band has benefited from a more stable lineup. Vocalist/songwriter Chuck Jackson, who joined in 1990, received a Maple Blues Award as Best Male Vocalist of 1999 and a Blues with a Feeling Award from the Toronto Blues Society for his "achievements during a distinguished career." A former member of '60s rock band Rhinoceros, Michael Fonfara received a Maples Blues Award in 2000 as Piano/Keyboards Player of the Year. Mike Fitzpatrick has played drums with Big Joe Turner, Sonny Rhodes, Hubert Sumlin, and Bob Margolin and has recorded with such blues artists as Snooky Pryor and B.B. Odom. Gary Kendall, who played bass on the band's earliest recordings, returned after a 12-year break, during which he booked concerts at Toronto blues club the Silver Dollar. The recipient of a Toronto Blues Society Blues with a Feeling Award in 1993, he received Maple Blues Awards as Bass Player of the Year in 1997, 1999, 2000, and 2002.

The signature sound of the Downchild Blues Band continues to emanate from saxophone player Pat Carey. A member of the band since 1985, Carey previously worked with the Winnepeg Symphony, the Jimmy King Golden Boy Brass, Tony Faim & the Dukes, and Richard "Hock" Walsh. In addition to providing horn arrangements for such Canadian artists as Jack DeKeyzer, Big Daddy G, Sonny Fournier, and Chuck Jackson & the All Stars, he has recorded with Rita Chiarelli, Fathead, the Unity Band, Danny Brooks, and Curley Bridges. The recipient of a Maple Blues Award as Horn Player of the Year in 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002, he recorded the album Starlight with his group, Pat Carey's Jazz Navigators. Raised in Northern Ontario, where their parents ran a resort hotel, Donnie and Richard "Hock" Walsh relocated to Toronto in their teens. Together with the Downchild Blues Band, they recorded one of the first independent albums to be released in Canada. Recorded in two nights in a small makeshift studio at Rochdale College, the album, titled Bootleg, was picked up for distribution by RCA Victor and re-released in Canada and Japan. Their second album, Straight Up, released in 1974, included the band's only hit, a reworking of Joe Turner's "Flip, Flop and Fly." ---Craig Harris, allmusic.com

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Downchild Blues Band - Gone Fishing (1989)

2016-08-29T14:51:30Z

Downchild Blues Band - Gone Fishing (1989)


1. It Isn't Right
2. A Girl I Love To Love
3. Gone Fishing
4. A Talk With My Heart
5. Don't Make My Baby Mad
6. When I Say Jump
7. Already Said Goodbye
8. Rockin' Little Boogie
9. Howlin' For My Darlin'
10. A Feelin' So Good
11. Uphill And Cold Weather

Donnie Walsh – harmonica, guitar, slide
Richard "Hock" Walsh – vocals
Gene Taylor – piano
Pat Carey – saxophone
Dennis Pinhorn - bass
Marty Vickers – drums
+
Michael Fanfara - organ
Pat Rush - guitar
Peter Jeffrey - trumpet

Unequaled in Canada and virtually without peer around the world, the Downchild Blues Band is a musical juggernaut that has nurtured the legacy of classic blues for nearly a half-century. Downchild founder Donnie Walsh loved the blues so much as a teen he launched his own band, gradually becoming recognized as a stellar harmonica player and an expressive guitar stylist. The band became a touring legend, giving many thousands of take-no-prisoners performances all around North America. Aside from being the inspiration for Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi’s legendary The Blues Brothers, Downchild has recorded two dozen albums and won innumerable Maple Blues Awards and Junos. --- ajazzvictoria.ca

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Downchild - Can You Hear The Music ? (2013)

2015-10-25T16:51:01Z

Downchild - Can You Hear The Music ? (2013)


01. Can You Hear The Music (4:06)
02. I'm Always Here For You (3:27)
03. I Need A Woman (3:48)
04. Blue Moon Blues (5:33)
05. Fasten Your Seatbelt (3:52)
06. This Road (3:10)
07. My Mississippi Queen (4:59)
08. One In A Million (4:29)
09. Don't Wait Up For Me (3:34)
10. Worn In (3:44)
11. Scattered (3:39)

Chuck Jackson – vocals
Donnie Walsh – guitar, harmonica
Michael Fonfara – piano, organ
Gary Kendall – bass
Pat Carey – saxophone
Peter Jeffery - trumpet
Mike Fitzpatrick – drums

First of all, Can You Hear the Music is on the Linus label, which is associated with True North, so, before I critique a damn thing, before I set down a word, you know it's top quality. Anything from those cats you can place right beside Stony Plain, Vizztone, that unbelievable set of anthologies that MVD and Catbone issued a couple years back (which still knock me on my keister), and any top shelf blues enterprise one might care to name. The way popular north of the border Downchild's new effort only lusters up that solid rep by trotting out a bunch of tightly packed jump an' reg'lar blues, the opener, the titular Can You Hear the Music, knocking you on your ass whether you want it or not.

Downchild's a sextet, and they've imported Pete Jeffrey on trumpet to help out Pat Carey on sax, presenting a small horn section rather than just a soloist, and, man, that really puts the top end on the compositions. Then the throaty Chuck Jackson wails on vocals to flesh out the lyrics and toss the everyday down in the floorboards side of the house. The other front man and main composer, Don Walsh, wields a highly Roy Buchanan-esque guitar in his solos but fades back into other voices and his own when comping Jackson or rhythm sectioning. The guy knows just the right setting each time out. And, damnation!, check this out: these cats number Mike Fonfara among 'em. That's right, the keyboardist from Elephant's Memory, Electric Flag, Lou Reed's backing band, and many many recording sessions. Niiiiiice!!!

Fasten Your Seat Belt of course glides right back into swingin' jump, as jivin' 'n reet pleatin' as a juke joint night in the delta. Man, I loves me some o' dat stuff, I surely do, and these cats serve it up piping hot and boogeyin'. Jackson here and elsewhere gets close to Buster Poindexter territory (and would someone PLEASE tell Johansen to resurrect that glorious band!!!), and the entire group is on fire—again: thank God they inducted Jeffrey, 'cause he and Carey raise the roof to the heavens—and unstoppable. Even the ballads (This Road, etc.) possess a joie de vivre right beneath their calm veneers. The leashed sizzle never leaps at ya in such cases, but you know it's there, and My Mississippi Queen is pretty much the index for that, showing both sides of the coin.

This, ladies 'n gents, in case ya din't know it, is Canada's most beloved blues unit—44 years strong!—and Can You Hear the Music is their 17th release. The very simple secret behind their remarkable success is something Walsh understands perfectly, making no bones about it: "It's knowing your audience and knowing when to give them what they want. If they want to dance, you step up the groove. If they want to watch, you give them lots of solos". Care to know just how valuable that insight is? Well, Downchild was the inspiration for Ackroyd and Belushi's Blues Brothers. ---Mark S. Tucker, acousticmusic.com

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Downchild Blues Band - A Case Of The Blues (Best Of) [1998]

2013-10-13T15:50:11Z

Downchild Blues Band - A Case Of The Blues (Best Of) [1998]


1. Tell Your Mother
2. It's a Matter of Time
3. I Got Everything I Need (Almost)
4. Wednesday Night Blues
5. I Am Mister Downchild
6. Madison Blues
7. I've Been a Fool
8. Dew Drop Inn
9. Tryin' to Keep Her 88's Straight
10. Annie's Got a Sister
11. Don't Mind Dyin'
12. Shotgun Blues
13. Flip, Flop & Fly
14. Stagger Lee
15. Last Chance to Dance

Downchild (originally Downchild Blues Band). Toronto blues band, named for the Sonny Boy Williamson song "Mr. Downchild." It was formed in 1969 by the lead and slide guitarist, harmonica player and singer Don (Mr. Downchild) Walsh (b Toronto 24 Mar 1947). Members have included the singers Rick (The Hock) Walsh (b 19 Dec 1948, d Toronto 31 Dec 1999) and Tony Flaim (b 1948, d 10 Mar 2000), who alternated with Downchild for more than 20 years, and the pianists Jane Vasey (b Winnipeg 1949, d Toronto 7 Jul 1982; a member 1973-82) and, as of 1987, Gene Taylor (b Norwalk, California, 2 Jul 1952).

Downchild first performed its spirited brand of jump-band and Chicago-style blues at Grossman's Tavern, Toronto, before moving onto the national club circuit. After the release of their first album, Bootleg, the group was signed by RCA. In 1973, the band's single "Flip, Flop and Fly" (from the LP Straight Up) was a Canadian hit; two other songs from that album, Walsh's "(I Got Everything I Need) Almost" and the Walsh brothers' "Shot Gun Blues," were recorded in 1978 by the Blues Brothers (Briefcase Full of Blues, Atlantic KSD-19217), and the songs' popularity brought Downchild several US engagements. Vasey's "Tryin' to Get Her 88s Straight" was a minor Canadian hit in 1980. Downchild slowed in the years immediately following Vasey's death (of leukemia) but made a comeback in 1987.

Downchild has included several trumpeters, saxophonists, bassists, keyboard players and drummers during its history and by 1990 more than 100 musicians had passed through the band, which has been, variously, a quintet, sextet and septet. Since the early 1990s the core of the band membership has comprised Donnie Walsh, guitar and harmonica; Chuck Jackson (b Toronto, 11 Mar 1953), vocals; Michael Fonfara (b Stevensville, Ont, 11 Aug 1946), keyboards; bassist Gary Kendall; drummer Mike Fitzpatrick; and Pat Carey, saxophone. By 1990 the group had toured Canada more than 25 times, appearing at folk festivals, the NAC, Ontario Place, etc, as well as in countless bars in towns and cities from coast to coast.

In 1991, Downchild received a Juno Award for best roots and traditional album (Gone Fishing). Individually the musicians have each earned several Maple Blues Awards and Downchild was awarded electric act of the year (2005), recording of the year (Come On In, 2005), and entertainer of the year (2005, 2006). --- thecanadianencyclopedia.com

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Downchild Blues Band - Blood Run Hot (With Spencer Davis) [1981]

2013-10-10T16:03:13Z

Downchild Blues Band - Blood Run Hot (With Spencer Davis) [1981]


1.Hey Hey Little Girl
2.Rocket 88
3.Could Have Had All Your Lovin'
4.Natural Ball
5.Drivin' Blues
6.Blood Run Hot
7.Nine Below Zero
8.Shot Full Of Love
9.Let's Get High
10.They Were Rockin'

Musicians:
Nat Abraham (saxophone), 
Bill Bryans (drums), 
Tony Flaim (vocals), 
Wayne Jackson (trumpet), 
Craig Kaleal (drums),
 Jim Milne (bass), 
Paul Nixon (drums), 
Jane Vasey (piano), 
Cash Wall (drums), 
Donnie Walsh (guitar), 
Rick Walsh (vocals), 
James Warburton (alto saxophone), 
Vic Wilson (baritone saxophone), 
Dave Woodward (tenor saxophone).

Formed in Toronto, Canada, the Downchild Blues Band is surpassed only by Rush in terms of name recognition within that city’s musical firmament - and the Downchild Blues Band can boast of even greater longevity. Led by former pig farmer Donnie Walsh (harp, guitar), the group adopted their name from Sonny Boy Williamson’s recording ‘Mr Downchild’, when they formed in June 1969. The original participants were Donnie Walsh on guitar, brother Rick Walsh on vocals and Jim Mine on bass. Their inspiration came from seeing Muddy Waters play live on stage. Their first sets were ‘pass-the-hat’ affairs at the Grossman Tavern on Spadina Avenue in Toronto. The membership has remained fluid, with the roll-call of frontmen including Tony Flaim, John Witner and current incumbent Chuck Jackson. The present line-up also includes Mike Fonfara (keyboards), Jim Casson (drums), Gary Kendall (bass) and Pat Carey (saxophone). Estimates at the actual number of musicians involved in the band over its long existence extend to about 130. Since their inception the band has appeared at between 100 and 150 dates a year, supporting blues greats including Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker and Howlin’ Wolf. Their first US date, coincidentally, came in 1974, as support to Rush at Cleveland’s Agora Ballroom. The group celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1994 with a 10-date return to Grossman’s Tavern, with those in attendance including Daniel Lanois (who produced some of their 80s albums) and actor Dan Aykroyd (a long-time fan). In fact, because of this connection two Walsh songs, ‘I Have Everything I Need - Almost’ and ‘Shot Gun Blues’, appeared on the Blues Brothers’ 1978 number 1 album, Briefcase Full Of Blues. ---oldies.com

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Downchild Blues Band - So Far (A Collection Of Our Best) [1977]

2013-10-08T16:26:19Z

Downchild Blues Band - So Far (A Collection Of Our Best) [1977]


A1 	Flip, Flop & Fly 	3:01 	
A2 	Going Dancing 	2:59 	
A3 	Stagger Lee 	3:26 	
A4 	Gonna Tell Your Mother 	2:25 	
A5 	Almost 	2:45 	
A6 	Caldonia 	3:12 	
B1 	Dig Myself A Hole 	2:37 	
B2 	Let's Go Strollin' 	4:00 	
B3 	Madison Blues 	2:51 	
B4 	Bring It On Home 	2:54 	
B5 	One More Chance 	2:20 	
B6 	For Pete's Sake 	4:08

Musicians:
    Tony Vasey  - Keyboards
    Mike Bowser - Guitar (Bass)
    Don Walsh -  Guitar, Harmonica, Slide Guitar, Producer
    Richard "Hock" Walsh - Vocals
    Wayne Wilson - Drums
    Jane Vasey - Keyboards
    Michael O'Connell - Trombone

When one thinks of Blues music in Canada, the first band that springs to mind are Downchild. It’s been nearly 40 years since Donnie “Mr. Downchild” Walsh and his since passed brother, Hock Walsh formed the group that would be the inspiration behind the world famous Blues Brothers. Still on top of their game today, Downchild were nominated for “Blues Album of The Year” at the 2005 Juno Awards (Canadian equivalent of a Grammy Award) and lauded as “Entertainers of the Year” in 2007 at the Maple Blues Awards (Canadian equivalent of a W.C. Handy Award).

A constant throughout, Donnie Walsh has kept the music alive and Downchild embodies some of the most well respected musicians in the country, who have performed together for over 15 years. This includes silky smooth singer and harmonica player Chuck Jackson, tenor sax player Pat Carey, beat man Mike Fitzpatrick on drums, rhythm captain Gary Kendall on bass, and former American supergroup rocker Michael Fonfara (of Rhinoceros fame) on keyboards.

By the early ‘70’s Downchild were gigging constantly when comic/actor and fellow Torontonian Dan Ackroyd caught a show at one of their local haunts. He, along with his cast mates from the legendary Second City, soon became a regular staples at Downchild shows where they partied after their own performances. Ackroyd in particular became a huge fan who cherished his copy of Downchild’s second album, on which he together with John Belushi based the first ever and multi-million selling Blues Brothers album.

It was shortly after this that 'So Far' was released. This album contains a collection of hits from the first era of Downchild's existence. Featuring songs "Flip, Flop, and Fly", "(I Got Everything I Need) Almost" and "Caledonia", this album is a must have for any Downchild and blues fan. --- cdbaby.com

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