Saturday, March 5, 2011

Any Womans Blues #5 – Jo Ann Kelly

It’s another blues Saturday here at Robert Frost’s Banjo, & what an interesting artist we have to feature for you today!  But although she was a major talent, the fact is that many folks have never heard of Jo Ann Kelly, & that sure is a shame.

Comparisons, as we know, are invidious, & maybe insidious too.  Still, it’s interesting that Jo Ann Kelly’s powerful, take-no-prisoner’s singing voice is often compared to the great Janis Joplin’s.  They were indeed contemporaries, tho Kelly outlived Joplin by 20 years: Jo Ann Kelly was born in London, England in 1944, just a year after Janis Joplin was born in Texas.  Joplin, obviously, was a superstar; Kelly has become almost a footnote.  & yet her singing can stand with that of Joplin or with the singing of most any blues performer you want to name, male or female.  Bonnie Raitt once remarked, "It was hard to do "Walking Blues" for instance, but I was not born with a voice like Mavis Staples or Jo Ann Kelly."  Let’s just say that getting put in the same sentence as Mavis Staples is about as good as it gets.

Of course this series focuses on guitarists, & Jo Ann Kelly was also a first-rate, dynamic player.  She played in a “country blues” style that drew on the influences of the great Mississippi players like Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson & especially Memphis Minnie, who Kelly held in the highest regard.  Kelly was an adept fingerpicker & played both with & without slide.  Although she often performed solo—& in fact turned down offers to join both Canned Heat & Johnny Winter’s band—she worked & recorded with a number of noteworthy players: she jammed with the Yardbirds & shared a stage with Son House; & she recorded with both Woody Mann & John Fahey among other notables.

Jo Ann Kelly produced 6 LPs during her lifetime (as far as I can determine), & then there were re-issues & compilations following her tragic & untimely death from a brain tumor in 1990.  At least some of these recordings are still available on CD, including her compelling eponymous debut album. 

For myself, I must say that at Kelly’s best, I can’t think of any better contemporary country blues performer with the exception of her younger contemporary, Rory Block—who thankfully for all of us blues fans is still going strong.  Jo Ann Kelly & Rory Block share many of the same qualities: besides masterful guitar chops & strong singing voices that are able to convey powerful & direct emotion, both Block & Kelly are able to tread that fine line on which someone stays “true” to a tradition while at the same time being innovative & making the tradition something personal to themselves.  The two videos of Kelly I've selected illustrate this well.  The first, “Nothin’ in Rambling,” is her take on a Memphis Minnie song; the second is a cover of one of the greatest Mississippi blues songs, Skip James’ “Hard Times Killin’ Floor.”  Kelly re-set this as a slide piece, which seems a stroke of genius, & gives us a revision that’s both inventive & faithful to the great original in spirit.  There have been covers of “Hard Times Killin’ Floor” by a number of artists, but I would have to say that to my ear, Kelly’s is the best re-make of James’ masterpiece.

Hope you enjoy this fantastic music!



17 comments:

  1. Very interesting indeed! I'd never heard of this woman before. Thanks!

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  2. I've never heard of her either. I can certainly hear that Janis in her.

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  3. Hi Roy & Caroline

    Roy: Glad to be able to make your introduction. I'll be interested to see if any of the UK readers know of her--I'm betting at least a few do.

    Caroline: She has a powerful voice indeed, like Joplin's. A really amazing performer. Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. I love her voice; she makes you want to stop what you're doing and just listen.

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  5. Hi HKatz: Yes--an arresting voice!

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  6. So good to hear the late, very great Jo Ann Kelly again. She was world class and died tragically young.

    I played with her once, more by chance than design. I'd attended the Farnham Folk Day back in the '80s and having surfeited somewhat on concertinas and nasal renditions of British balladry I headed home and went to to bed early. At around 11-ish the 'phone rang and my friend Pauline said that there was a blues jam convening but they were short of a bass player. Somewhat reluctantly I slung the bass and amp in the car and drove the 10 minutes to the venue. I'm so glad I did because Jo Ann Kelly was the featured player, along with various luminaries, some still touring, some, like Jo Ann, now dead. It was a blast; I wish someone had recorded it. And as I headed back up the aisle with bass and amp, Martin Simpson held the door open for me and said, "Well, you really held that together". (I include this small conceit shamelessly because I suspect that no one reading this will have heard of him! )

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  7. Hi Dick: When I mentioned UK readers knowing Jo Ann Kelly in response to Roy, I definitely had you in mind. & knowing your history from your blog, I'm not surprised you had a chance to play behind her. What a wonderful experience! & what a great compliment for a bassist to receive!

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  8. Thanks for this very interesting blog. I'm a big blues fan, and have heard of this woman but not yet spent a lot of time pursuing her music. I appreciate this post calling our attention to her.

    I've made something of a study of classic-era Canned Heat, but must admit I'm not familiar with the story of Jo Ann Kelly being asked to join the band (though sometimes I forget things too!). What's the source for this?

    Thanks very much,
    Rebecca Davis Winters
    http://blindowlbio.com

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  9. Thanks for this blog! As a big blues fan, I'd heard of Jo Ann Kelly, but never spent a lot of time exploring her music. I appreciate this post calling our attention to her.

    I've made something of a study of classic-era Canned Heat, but must admit I'm not familiar with the story of Jo Ann being asked to join the band (though sometimes I do forget things!). What's the source for this?

    Thanks very much,
    Rebecca Davis Winters
    http://blindowlbio.com

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  10. Hi Rebecca:

    Corrected version of a comment filled with typos!

    Very gratified by your interest in the blog. There is a good amount of blues here. I found the Canned Heat anecdote at three separate references online: on Wikipedia, which I realize is not also reliable, but also on Allmusic here & on a site called TTradition Moderne. Since the three write-ups are all quite different, I'm guessing they are all independent of each other (I realize some sites just reprint Wikipedia verbatim), but this doesn't appear to be the case.

    The Alan Wilson book looks interesting--I have a particular interest in his relationship to Son House.

    Anyway, again, your interest is much appreciated!

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  11. To clarify--I mean it doesn't appear to be the case that the Allmusic & Tradition Moderne write-ups are simply plagerism of Wikipedia.

    Not able to communicate very well this afternoon!

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  12. Thanks for your reply, John! Now you've got me curious, and I might have to do some digging to find the source of this story. Could be in Fito de la Parra's book, which I've read a few times but which now is available in a new version.

    A modified portion of my book appeared in Blues Access magazine in the late 1990s, entitled 'Child is Father to the Man'. It was mostly on Alan's relationship with Son House. In my book, of course, there's a lot more on that relationship and the other "rediscovered" blues singers such as Booker White and Skip James who were around at the time.

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  13. Thanks for your reply, John! Now you've got me curious, and I might have to do some digging to find the source of this story. Could be in Fito de la Parra's book, which I've read a few times but which now is available in a new version.

    A modified portion of my book appeared in Blues Access magazine in the late 1990s, entitled 'Child is Father to the Man'. It was mostly on Alan's relationship with Son House. In my book, of course, there's a lot more on that relationship and the other "rediscovered" blues singers such as Booker White and Skip James who were around at the time.

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  14. Thanks for your reply, John! Now you've got me curious, and I might have to do some digging to find the source of this story. Could be in Fito de la Parra's book, which I've read a few times but which now is available in a new version.

    A modified portion of my book appeared in Blues Access magazine in the late 1990s, entitled 'Child is Father to the Man'. It was mostly on Alan's relationship with Son House. In my book, of course, there's a lot more on that relationship and the other "rediscovered" blues singers such as Booker White and Skip James who were around at the time.

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  15. Hi Rebecca:

    Sounds like a book I'll enjoy reading! I'll officially put it on my wishlist & will get as soon as I can. Would love to review it here.

    I'd be interested to hear what you turn up! Thanks again.

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  16. I have known about Jo Ann since 1968, when I discovered British blues through Lonnie Donegan, Duster Bennett, John Mayall, et al. I never did get to meet her or see her live. As a sidenote, I recently recorded a version of Ain't Nothing In Rambling, as a duet, with another fantastic blues woman. Details will come sometime down the road in the near future. Thanks again for the post.

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  17. Hi Steve: Thanks! Will be interested to hear about it. Checked out your site--interesting first post!

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