BLUE NOTES
Baton Rouge Blues: The Next Generation MEET SEVEN UP-AND-COMING BLUES MUSICIANS WORKING IN BATON ROUGE Story by John Wirt • Photos by Raegan Labat
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ast Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, and Pointe Coupée parishes each have rich blues hhistories. Recording star Slim Harpo came from West Baton Rouge—as did his singing, harmonica-playing peer, Raful Neal. Buddy Guy, the eight-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, lived in Lettsworth and Baton Rouge before his move to Chicago. In the 1950s and ‘60s, Baton Rouge provided a wellspring of talent for producer J.D. Miller. Harpo, Lightnin’ Slim, Lazy Lester, Tabby Thomas, Silas Hogan, and others traveled frequently to Miller’s recording studio in Crowley to record for Nashville’s Excello Records. A second generation of blues artists emerged in the 1970s and ‘80s, including Thomas’s Grammy-winning son Chris Thomas King, Larry Garner, and Neal’s many musician children. While the legacy that Harpo, Neal, singer-pianist Henry Gray, and their contemporaries created might never be rivaled, today there is a rising cadre of dedicated and talented young musicians from the region who know their blues heritage. Now early in their careers, this new generation is building on the rich foundation of their forebears, and bringing something new to the table, as well.
Rudolph Valentine Richard III, 19
Rudolph Valentine Richard III is the grandson of the late singer, guitarist, and accordionist Rudolph “Rudy” RichMeet the Capitol region’s up-and-coming blues musicians, photographed at the iconic Teddy’s Juke Joint. From left to right: Chris ard, an original member of Harpo’s band, the King Bees. Roberts, Rudolph Valentine Richard III, Leroy Bishop Toussaint, John Wiese, Carter Wilkinson, and Johnathan James. A Recording Arts major at the University of Louisiana at Matthew Givens not pictured. Photos by Raegan Labat. Lafayette, Richard is already an experienced producer, recording hip-hop, rhythm-and-blues, and neo-soul. A Matthew Givens, 24 keyboardist, he also performs with ULL’s Ragin’ Blues Ensemble. Lloyd “Teddy” Johnson, owner of Teddy’s Juke Joint in Zachary, pointed out Richard attended many of his grandfather’s performances. He especially remembers seeto singer-harmonica player Matthew Givens, aka MR. G, the importance of ing a performance at the Baton Rouge Blues Festival when was about ten. “It was surreal looking sharp. “Mr. Teddy said, ‘If you’re going to be a blues man, you’ve got seeing all these people out there come to see my granddad,” he said. “I wasn’t aware of how to dress like a blues man.’ I said, ‘Yes, sir. Next time I come out here, I’ll be much notoriety he’d gained.” sharp-dressed.’ So, next time I got a suit and nice boots, slicked back my hair, When he performs, Richard sometimes feels his grandfather’s presence: “If I get a tingle and threw on some rings. Mr. Teddy said, ‘That’s a blues man.’ ” up my spine, I’m like, ‘Aw, man. He felt that.’ When I’m playing, it’s like his fingers are moving along with mine.” From the small community of Montgomery in Although Richard loves to perform, he envisions his future in the studio. “Starting from a North Louisiana, Givens moved to Baton Rouge in blank canvas and creating every aspect of the music,” he said. “I love that.” March to be nearer opportunities to play blues. He greatly impresses Phil Brady’s Bar & Grill blues jam stage manager Johnny Rossetti, a music professional of over forty years,. “MR. G knows all the old stuff,” Rossetti said. “He plays ‘My Babe’ like the Little Walter record from 1955.” Music comes naturally to Givens. “I was born and raised in the Pentecostal Church,” he said. “That foot stomping, soul-gospel music is embedded in me. It gives me an internal beat.” Picking up the harmonica at fifteen, Givens played gospel music before he found Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, and Sonny Terry. “The classic blues harmonica players,” he said. “I like them because they played in a traditional style. That was people sitting on their back porch.” For Givens, blues and gospel music are equally appealing. “The tone and warmth that I get when I play gospel, I get that same feeling when I pay the blues,” he said. “I can express my blues through this tiny instrument that fits in my hands. It’s a mystery to me.” Photo courtesy of Matthew Givens. 44
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