Texas Blues Piano Man

[Sibling Chatty]

There's a new Youtube video of my friend Earl Gilliam, a Texas blues legend (and frequent performer at Blulesfests in Europe and Japan).

The guitar man is IJ Gosey, who played with Bobby Bland in the 60's, and the drummer is Jackie Gray, one of the best session men to ever play blues (did a lot of Ray Charles early stuff). The bass player is me baby bro...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVkqOgteqCU

The sound isn't wonderful, but Earl's beyond just 'good'. Little old guy with some pretty severe arthritis, plays a mean blues piano, but can turn around and do some inspired jazz, then roll out hours of 'atmosphere music' or knock off some serious concert pieces.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

 
That is great stuff! Do you know if he has some recordings available?

[Sibling Chatty]

He's got one "current" CD, the US version of the Japanese release.

I'll see if I can get you a copy, since the Japanese company wants $45 for it, plus shipping. (It was a huge seller in Japan for over 6 months!, even at that price.) If he doesn't have any currently, I'll see about burning one from Larry's.

Earl played the piano for my Dad's funeral. Typical 'whitebread' Protestant church, and he did all the very soft, gentle prelude hymns that one would have experted the organist to do--but she didn't show. Then he did a lovely version of BB King's Guess Who--and there wasn't a dry eye in the building...

Guess Who (MCA MCAD-10351)

Someone really loves you
Guess who
Guess who
So open your heart,
oh, then surely you'll see,
oh, that someone who really cares is me

Someone will wait eternally
Someone who'll want your love,
oh so desp'rately
Open your heart,
oh, the surely you'll see,
oh, that the someone who really cares,
who really cares is me

To this day, if I go to an Earl gig, he plays that for me, and cries along with Larry and me. (And if I'm not there, he dedicates it to Lar and to me.)
==========

When I get a copy, I'll PM you for an address.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Thank you! I've been listening to classic blues lately so it would feet the bill. You should ask him if he sells CDs himself. At least he can get more than what those thieving studios would get him, or tell him to submit his recordings to http://www.magnatune.com. I'm sure they would be happy to have him on the list of artists and he wouldn't get screwed.

[Sibling Chatty]

OK, the current CD is available...

http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6820671/a/Texas+Doghouse+Blues.htm

Or, the Japanese import version, with one more track for twice the money...

http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6728273/a/Texas+Dog+House+Blues.htm

Earl was ripped off by the same guys that ripped off a lot of the blues guys, so there MAY be other CDs out there, but he doesn't get a cent from them.

The producer of this CD hired a different bass player because Larry was touring when it was recorded. Larry woulda come home for Earl.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Wait, are you saying that a record label ripped off a musician in this day and age?! I-can-not-believe-it!!!

That kind of thing makes me wish rip off the CD and sending a donation to the guy. Why on earth would I buy the CD if he doesn't see a penny?

Oh, and the magnatune site is a real alternative unless he signed an exclusivity contract with the record label (basically they screw the musician with his name and/or tunes for a particular amount of time on the pretext of their payment of some studio time and *promotion* ).

[Sibling Chatty]

This label has played sorta fair with him. Everything from the early 50's through the late 70's? Not so.

The Duke/Peacock masters were ripped off too many times to count. When Larry and Earl and their group were playing Antone's in Austin back in the 90's, old Cliff Antone had probably 15-18 different compilation CD's of ripped off stuff that had Earl on them either as the main talent or as the piano player, music dating over several decades. Earl knew, as did most others, that Cliff had stolen most of the masters and pressed hundreds and thousands of CD's.

Earl gathered up 2 or 3 copies of everything with his name on in and took it to the car and locked it up. Cliff started to make a fuss, looked a Larry (6'4") and the drummer (6'6") and the switchblade that popped into (the singer)  Ron's hand...and decided that was good.

[Alpaca]

Wow. Finally got around to watching. Enjoyed thoroughly.

It's great to see (not to mention hear!) music that's so open-ended and free (and not in the "I don't know what I'm doing, so I'll call it 'improvisation'" way). I love it when I can listen and still be surprised and delighted by what I hear, even in a "predictable" blues progression.

It makes me very happy to see people like this. Thanks so much for posting this, Dee Dee. If'n you're ever coming down to Tampa...