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Skydog: The Duane Allman Story by Randy Poe Most people who know me know what a powerful influence Jimi Hendrix was in my life. He lead me down a wildly diverse but unique musical road. He also gave me some inspiration. I was a black kid who liked his music, he was a black man who played his music. Being an adventurous and slightly obsessive guitar fan I started to listen to rock radio and when I was a kid I heard “Rambling Man”, “Southbound” and “Jessica” on the radio all the time. I loved them because they had lots of guitar. As I read more and associated things…I thought Charlie Daniels was cool. I identified – quite bizarrely – with being Southern, and I mean redneck Southern. So, the Allman Brothers couldn’t be far off my radar. In college I was moving from a metalhead to a blues fanatic and again, the Allman Brothers were there. They were played on the same radio as Metallica and AC/DC and all the classic rock – guitar rock – I loved but they played blues songs and really ...

Bo Diddley was one of the first blues guys I connected with. I can't tell you what it is about his music that always got to me. It always brings a smile to my face. I saw him live a couple of times and loved him. The last time he was a cantankerous old man but he was still Bo Diddley, Elias McDaniel from McComb, Mississippi . When I moved to Baton Rouge back in 91 I got sooo excited when driving down I55 , tired after a long day of driving I saw the highway sign for McComb. I felt like I had reached something. I never did stop in McComb but I always felt a connection, a jolt of something when I drove past. Going back even further, I had a dorm mate who used to make me play "Roadrunner" at obscene volumes at obscene hours. It didn't matter whether we were studtying at 3am or coming in drunk Roadrunner would be blaring down the hall of Lower Gailor . Another college memory of mine was my one and only radio alter-ego was Diddley Bo. He showed up, played two or three ...

Robert Lockwood aka Robert Junior Lockwood has died . I was fortunate enough to see Robert perform several times through the years at King Biscuit Blues Fest and it was always a pleasure. It was romantic to stand in the shadow of the step-son of Robert Johnson and it was fun to listen to him play. He had an uptown style nothing like what you probably think of when you think of his step-father, Robert Johnson . Robert Johnson taught Lockwood some guitar stuff but Robert Lockwood was a child of the jazz era and his music was more like T-Bone Walker than Robert Johnson. His generation is all but gone; Honeyboy Edwards being one of a very few still around. Hell, even the next generation which includes BB King and Buddy Guy is about gone. The Blues is on the verge of becoming a historic artform. I know some will argue with me about that but so few of the artists out there who are creating interesting Blues. I kinda gave up on the music a while ago so maybe it's just me but I can...

I have never been a huge fan of female singers - there are exceptions, always - and therefore never paid much attention to Ruth . As any growing individual and music fan I now appreciate and respect her. As we move into the 21st century we will continue to lose these pioneering musicians and that is an unfortunate fact of life. We do have a well documented body of work and for that we can be glad. So, go out and buy some Ruth Brown .