Top Ten Reasons the Blues Revival is Real

" We will prove the times they are a changing with our Top Ten Reasons the Blues Revival is Real. "

By Norm Shaw

Talk of the "blues revival" has been going on for a few years now. More quotes have been collected from experts than can be counted and enough stories have been written to kill a forest, but still people debate whether the revival is real.

We've attacked that question in the past two years in BlueSpeak. This year we go for a more realistic approach. We will prove the times they are a changing with our Top Ten Reasons the Blues Revival is Real.

There's a little bit of overlap in our Top Ten Reasons, as one trend helps another, which helps another. But that's all part of the positive vibe coming from the blues community. So without further ado (and no Late Show with David Letterman graphics) here is the BlueSpeak Top Ten Reasons the Blues Revival is Real.

No. 10: The youth movement of blues fans.

If you were at the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, Ark., last fall and walked by the Heritage Stage in the middle of the day, you might of thought the Grateful Dead were playing. A horde of tie-dyed youths were doing their free-form dancing in front of the stage. But it wasn't a resurrected Jerry Garcia and friends on stage, it was Junior Kimbrough, a man old enough to the grandfather of many of the dancers.

Kimbrough and fellow Mississippians R.L. Burnside, Dave Thompson and other artists are regularly now attracting younger audiences. Performers with strong youth appeal such as Natalie Merchant, Widespread Panic and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion are using Corey Harris, Kimbrough and Burnside as opening acts, much like the Rolling Stones did in their earlier years.

The upshot is more young fans are being exposed to real blues, something that will pay dividends to the blues for years to come.

No. 9: The youth movement of blues performers.

At the same time the audience is getting younger, so are many of the performers. The list is long and, more importantly, racially mixed. The young hotshots such as Corey Harris, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Monster Mike Welch, Sean Costello, Dave Thompson are mining a variety of styles and not just another crop of Stevie Ray Vaughan wannabes.

Even more exciting are groups such as Michael Hill's Blues Mob who are pushing the envelope of what defines blues. Hill's lyrics read almost like rap, but are even more compelling in a blues setting. For those really wishing to explore the outer limits, there is Jon Spencer and his work with R.L. Burnside and such Memphis punk-blues pioneers as the Oblivians and '68 Comeback. The Spencer-Burnside collaboration - Burnside's A Asspocket Full of Whiskey - has been hailed by the rock press and slammed by the traditional blues press. Either way, it is exposing the blues to a wider audience and drawing in younger performers.

No. 8: The strength and growth of blues publications.

Maybe this is a little self-serving, but it also is true. Living Blues celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, and several other publications increased their circulation. BlueSpeak has upped its numbers from 10,000 to 15,000, reflecting a growing readership. Blues Revue has done the same. Considering that it was hard to find a store that carried blues magazines five years ago, the number and availability today is remarkable.

There also has been a big leap in the number of blues societies around the globe publishing high-quality newsletters. If you've never checked out the Nashville society's Bluesletter, you are missing a good publication. It's easily worth the price of a membership.

No. 7: The ever increasing number of blues labels and new releases.

In the year that Alligator Records marked its 25th anniversary, more new blues labels continued to crop up. It remains a struggle for most, such as Fat Possum in Oxford, Miss., and Rooster Blues in Clarksdale, Miss., but part of the struggle comes from more competition.

Local impresario Jay Sheffield has started his own label, Blue Sun. Ecko Records is now working out of Memphis. Icehouse Records is pushing the blues. And stalwarts like Alligator and Malaco continue to release excellent records. There is also more pairing of labels for distribution, such as Fat Possum/Capricorn and Icehouse/Priority.

The increase in the amount of product comes because of two reasons, we believe, leading us to...

No. 6: The fact that you can actually hear and see blues on radio and TV.

Local station KMZN 107.1FM made the leap to an all-blues format from alternative rock in the middle of last year. So far, so good, folks there say. And they expect to see more stations follow suit this year. Add the national exposure of the Blues Foundation's "Beale Street Caravan" and House of Blues radio and television, and you have a true phenomenon on your hands.

Granted, the House of Blues features more than just blues, but as founder Isaac Tigrett told critics more than a year ago, anytime you say the word blues on TV you are making progress. MTV and VH-1 are still lagging a little bit, but it is just a matter of time before they jump on the passing bandwagon.

No. 5: The fact that you can actually hear and see blues in clubs.

More records and more radio and TV adds up to more bands on the road, and finally there are more places to go for live blues. In our travels around the country last year and in reading lots of out-of-town newspapers, you recognize a true increase in the number of venues featuring blues.

In every major city there is at least one club that features the blues. Granted, there are still more places with karoake and cover bands, but there is a definite upswing. The increase in clubs also means bands can make a living on the road, something that remains a fairly recent change for non-superstar acts.

No. 4: More blues record sales.

More records, more radio and TV and more clubs adds up to more record sales. A few years ago, you were lucky to find a record store that had a blues section. Today, most have ever-expanding sections. Sales have grown enough that the industry bible, Billboard, now has a blues chart.

The Cat's Record Store on Union is a good example. The blues section has grown steadily over the past five years to now occupy an upper-level spanning several yards. Store manager Steve Walker says he believes blues records are selling better, citing Kenny Wayne Shepherd, R.L. Burnside and several Alligator Records releases as good examples.

No. 3: Blues on the Internet.

The Internet and World Wide Web may be overhyped, but when it comes to the blues believe the hype. The number of blues-related Web sites has grown exponentially in the past year. Nearly all the major blues record labels have Web sites now, and the quality of independent, fan-created sites also has increased dramatically.

Newsgroups, which allow folks with similar interests to share thoughts, opinions and news, also are ever-increasing. This explosion in communication may well be the biggest factor in the grassroots growth of the blues revival. More people are talking about the blues than ever before, which means more information is making it into fans' hands. Like Oprah's book club, a good mention in a newsgroup can boost the sales of a record overnight.

No. 2: The increasing number and quality of blues festivals.

Since we live in the South, where there seems to be a blues festival every weekend in the summer months, this may not seem like a big deal. But if you talk to the folks who live elsewhere, blues festivals can be lifesavers. Today there are more than ever before, with increasingly stronger lineups (see Numbers 4-7 again for why that is).

We still believe the best festivals are in our own backyard (and out-of-town guests seem to confirm this for us), but the temptation to travel is growing. From California to New Jersey, there seems to be at least one blues festival per state per year. Now there are blues cruises and other such special events. No fan should be left wanting more if he or she plans ahead.

And the No. 1 Reason the Blues Revival is Real: Corporate America has discovered the blues.

Let's face it, all the other reasons are important, but nothing makes things happen like big corporate bucks. And in 1996, corporate America got the blues. From Pepsi to Toyota to Northwest Airlines to M&Ms, the blues can be heard and seen in ads like never before. Granted, B.B. King and John Lee Hooker are the big winners here, but the trickle down is coming.

The number of corporate sponsors at festivals also has increased, which helps pay for those improved lineups. Also, groups such as the Blues Foundation are reaping the benefits of corporate help, making such things "The Beale Street Caravan" a reality. Most interesting will be to see how long this trend lasts. If the corporate dollars continue to flow, look for continued improvement in Reasons No. 10 to 2.