Description
Release Date: 2015
Label: Hit The Road Records
Track List
- Bring Your Pretty Self Home
- Lookin’ Good Again Tonight
- King Of The Castle
- Darling, I Love You
- The Things I Used To Do
- You Don’t Love Me
- I’m A Lonely Man
- Mr. Charlie
- My Nerve’s Gone Bad
- Today I Started Loving You Again
- You’ve Been Cheatin’
Personnel
- Kind Edward – vocals, guitar
- Oteil Burbridge – bass
- Doug Lancio – guitar
- Marco Giovino – drums & percussion
Notes
A musical retrospective is akin to an artist presenting a Lifetime Achievement Award to himself or herself. It’s not meant to be boastful – rather, reflective and introspective. Living for fifty years is a notable feat, but performing for fifty years is a whole different ballgame. “King” Edward Memphis Antoine was born in Rayne, Louisiana, in 1937 to a Cajun-speaking family. “Yes, you can ask him to speak French, and he will love doing so!” He taught himself to play the guitar, but his famous cousin Clifton Chenier taught him how to play Zydeco. Edward later moved to Portland, Oregon, and the Windy City, where he played with almost everybody who’s anybody in the blues – among them Magic Slim, Magic Sam, Junior Wells, Earl Hooker, Junior Wells, Tyrone Davis, and Buddy Guy. When life brought him to Jackson, Mississippi, where he still lives today, he became a legend all over the state. King Edward played at the Subway Lounge, Queen of Hearts, and Ace Records clubs every week for years. That’s why Robert Mugge featured him in his documentary Last of the Mississippi Jukes. With such a rich history, one can truly say King Edward lived the blues, and didn’t just play them.
50 Years of Blues contains several King Edward originals, which he either wrote or co-wrote. Popular covers are also featured, such as Bo Diddley’s “You Don’t Love Me”, Guitar Slim’s “The Things I Used to Do”, Lightnin’ Hopkins’ “Mr. Charlie”, and “Today I Started Loving You Again” by Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens. Musically, his guitar sings and tells stories just as much as he does. His vocals are dry and nonchalant, not quite slipping into talk-singing. No one could accuse him of being “emo”, as the adolescent term goes for moody people.
