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"Getting to Know Obscure Rock Stars
"Through Notebook Doodles"
by Ben Hauser
Now let's all learn a thing or two about Long John Baldry
Now who the hell is Long John Baldry?
Well to explain his nickname, he was more than 6 and a half feet tall
And to explain his legacy, he was one of the many pioneers of the
British Blues Movement.
You can find his name across some very interesting pages in Rock History,
and he can claim some very important firsts.
While still a teenager, he was one of the first Brits to perform the blues in England.
And when he joined Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated,
he took part in the first British blues album ever made.
And as part of the underground blues scene,
he either befriended, worked along side with, or helped launch the careers of
several icons like Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart,
the Rolling Stones, and the Beatles before any of them became famous.
All of these people were deeply fascinated with the blues legends from America
like Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters.
Long John's personal hero was Leadbelly.
And many other Brits taking up Rock and Roll took after Elvis or Chuck Berry.
British Blues emerged and thrived the way it did
because there was basically a void in England's musical landscape.
England, after the war but before the counter culture movement,
was boring!
America was cool!
We had Elvis, Sinatra, John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, uh
cars and stuff.
England had skifflle.
They couldn't resist borrowing heavily from American music
namely rock'n'roll and blues
and they in turn changed American music when they brought it back, full circle, as the British Invasion.
And the British Invasion was the Beatles, the Who, the Stones,
and countless other British artists dominating the American Mainstream.
But before then there was little reason to think that any music worth a damn
came from anywhere but America.
Can you imagine then,
if Britty McEnglish Guy just waltzed into an American record label's office and went:
"Why fancy afternoon there, good fellow,
"I've been twiddling about in the studio and I must say I've cut just the most smashing record,
"and I'd love to give it a spin for you if it won't be too much trouble."
He would've been like "Hell no! Get your english muffin *** out of my office!"
There was a stigma to get past here.
When a dorky-looking guy like Buddy Holly,
so far removed from the larger than life machismo of Elvis,
when he became a rock star, then other nerds were inspired to pick up their first instruments.
And when a white, British gay guy like Long John Baldry sings the blues and sings it well,
that opens doors.
Oh! right, right. Long John Baldry, um
Now the list of groups he was in is long and a little confusing, so
here we go:
♪♪
In 1961, Baldry joined Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated
and to give you an idea, if Long John is one of the founding fathers of the British Blues,
then Alexis Korner is pretty much the George Washington.
And they recorded one album, and you can hear him sing lead on three songs
before they split up into two different groups in 1963,
and Baldry joined the newly titled Cyril Davies R&B All Stars.
Then Cyril Davies died.
Long John was the logical replacement frontman,
and in 1964 he renamed the group Long John Baldry and his Hoochie Coochie Men.
This was the same year that the Beatles had an hour long special on the BBC,
and they invited their friend Long John to help pad out the running time.
"♪...my mojo working but it just don't work on you...♪"
This was the first of many occasions where his friendships would come in handy
"♪...working but it just don't work on you...♪"
♪♪
Baldry needed a new harp player for the Hoochie Coochie Men,
so he enlisted a young Rod Stewart after literally discovering him
playing harmonica in a train station!
They recorded one album that year and then broke up.
The following year, Long John formed Steampacket, re-teaming with Rod Stewart.
And then they broke up.
[more closed captions to come...]