Many music-goers see Chicago and Memphis as blues capitals of the country, but Baton Rouge Blues Foundation co-founder Johnny Palazzotto wants Baton Rouge Blues Week to demonstrate Louisiana’s abundant influences on the genre.
“Muddy Waters wasn’t born in Chicago. He was born in Mississippi,” Palazzotto said. “If you look at the lineage of all of those guys, they all came through New Orleans. They all migrated up Highway 61 – up the Mississippi river.”
The 17th annual Baton Rouge Blues Week runs from April 22 to 28 and will feature presentations and performances by various artists throughout Baton Rouge to showcase the area’s unique and vast blues heritage.
Monday’s Slim Harpo Music Awards served as one of Blues Week’s more prominent events, honoring influential musicians for their promotion of the genre. The event awards three groups of recipients: legends, or historically respected blues musicians, ambassadors, who represent an appreciation for blues in their work, and pioneers, who push the blues genre forward.
“We have been recognizing both local and international artists who have recorded songs, from Louisiana song writers and artists,” Palazzotto said. “The more income we can generate for Louisiana natives, the healthier the entertainment and music business is in Baton Rouge and in Louisiana as a whole.”
The awards are named after James Moore, or “Slim Harpo,” a songwriter and musician who has been lauded for his skills with the harmonica and his blues music, which influenced several classic-rock musicians, Palazzotto said.
“When The Rolling Stones recorded ‘I’m a King Bee’ on their first album, and Van Morrison recorded ‘Don’t Start Crying Now,’ and The Kinks recorded ‘I Got Love If You Want it,’ back in the early ’60s, these were songs that were written by Slim Harpo,” Palazzotto said, citing an old saying. “‘Blues and jazz had a baby and called it rock and roll.’ If you think about Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis, you see the evolution – and Baton Rouge is in the center of it.”
Moore’s son, William Gambler, who attended the awards, explained Moore wasn’t well received when he began his work. He said these British rock groups who covered his father played a large part in ushering in Moore’s popularity and respect. He also conveyed his amazement for the long-running award ceremony.
“We never anticipated anything like this during his lifetime,” Gambler said. “It’s amazing considering the fact that he’s been dead for 40 years.”
This year’s awards honored producer J.D. Miller and soul-blues singer Carol Fran as legends, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards as an ambassador and musicians Deacon John Moore and Oscar “Harpo” Davis as pioneers.
Palazzotto explained the event chose Miller because he produced Slim Harpo’s early music and Carol Fran because of her highly respected work as a blues musician. Keith Richards was chosen because of his appreciation for blues music – specifically Slim Harpo’s work.
He referred to covers of Slim Harpo’s music by The Rolling Stones as evidence of Richards’ appreciation, as well as a Rolling Stone magazine issue that listed Slim Harpo’s “Blues Hangover” as Richards’ fourth favorite song of all time.
“As an ambassador of Louisiana music, he’s obviously been a fan of Slim Harpo for a long time,” Palazzotto said. “[Blues Hangover is] not something a lot of people have ever heard of.”
With both Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans occurring this weekend as well, Palazzotto explained Baton Rouge Blues Week as resting “in the middle of the most musical 125 miles on earth,” another phrase he coined about 15 years ago.
“New Orleans is obviously the birthplace of jazz and rock and roll, and nowhere else on earth is the home of Cajun and Zydeco music other than Lafayette,” he said. “There’s so much to be realized and learned about the musical history of Baton Rouge. ”
Palazzotto cited examples of famously influential local blues musicians from Baton Rouge like Buddy Guy, Tabby Thomas and pianist Henry Grey, who performed with Muddy Waters. He reiterated the area’s long-touted history of blues, referring to the blues venue The Juke Joint that rests on the border of Zachary and Baton Rouge.
“Morgan Freeman spent millions of dollars to build Juke Joint in Clarksdale, Miss., but we’ve got the real thing right here,” Palazotto said. “That was started in 1948.”
Baton Rouge Blues Week performances include the All Star Jam Benefit at Phil Brady’s tonight, a performance by the Elvin Killerbee Band at Chelsea’s on Friday and Sunday’s free Bicentennial Blues Concert on the Old State Capitol grounds. In addition, Blues Week hosts a special television show on Cox 4 that will air through Wednesday.
 
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Contact Austen Krantz at [email protected]