Paint It Blue

[Jeffrey St. Clair]

The Stones' debt was certainly more to Muddy Waters than swamp boogie king,
John Lee Hooker. Then there is the case of Bobby Womack, from whom the
Stones' lifted It's All Over Now (their first big US hit). There is a great
cd, titled Paint It Blue, put out by the House of Blues featuring blues
artists performing Rolling Stones' songs. Junior Wells' scatting, boozy
version of I Can't Get No Satisfaction is a riot. But my favorite is Johnny
Copeland's take on Tumblin' Dice, with his daughter Shemekia singing backup.
It is a fateful cd. Luther Allison (the best guitarist since Hendrix),
Copeland and Wells were all dead within months of its release.

Mick Taylor acknowledged the Stones debt to American blues artists early on.
It took a Keith a few years. Jagger remains a racist prick, in my book.

jsc

Rakesh Bhandari wrote:


> Max, you are hitting on all cylinders today. Wonder why Tariq Ali did not
> delve into the Rolling Stones' great unacknowledged debt to Howling Wolf
> and Johnnie Lee Hooker. And let's put the focus where it belongs--Curtis
> Mayfield.
> rb