Topic: Blind Owl Wilson - Sloppy Drunk

[mr mando]

I found this solo acoustic recording by Al Wilson I hadn't heard before:

Does anyone know where this repeated guitar lick he's using as fill in between the lines was nicked from. Sounds very familiar, but I can't remember where I first heard that accompaniment.

[Alexei McDonald]

I think it's from a Howling Wolf number, but I can't remember more than that.

[Blues Vintage]

I think "44" from the Howlin' Wolf. great find.

[amusia]

Yes, it's the riff from "Forty Four"!

[Johnm]

Boy, I sure like Alan Wilson's singing.  He was a really good player, too.  I like the way he pronounces his lyrics singing the way he would if he were speaking the same words--no racial affectation.  It's almost a little stilted sounding, but distinctively and individually in the style.  He was such a musical guy.
All best,
Johnm

[LB]

Not to go off in the weeds but doesn't Mayall and Clapton use that lick on a killer tune from the Beano Bluesbreaker album?

[Parlor Picker]

Absolutely delightful. I have always been taken by Wilson's Skip James-esque falsetto singing. How sad that he died so young.

That riff also turns up in Little Brother Montgomery's "Vicksburg Blues", which is another 44 variant.

For those interested, there is a page on Facebook dedicated to the Blind Owl.
(Edited to add link) http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Alan-THE-BLIND-OWL-Christie-Wilson-of-CANNED-HEAT-OFFICIAL/398850725559

[dj]

Not to go off in the weeds but doesn't Mayall and Clapton use that lick on a killer tune from the Beano Bluesbreaker album?

Yep.  On the song Little Girl.

That Al Wilson clip is marvelous.  It's a pity he didn't record a whole LP like that.

[Blues Vintage]

Al Wilson is a member of the "27 club". Musicians who died at 27, which also contains a certain country blues artist......

[Stefan Wirz]

Al Wilson's singing style reminds me a lot of a young John Miller ("Spitting on the sidewalk was my crime"), or doesn't he ? 

[Bunker Hill]

First National Blues Convention, Conway Hall, London , September 7th and 8th, 1968.

All three departed this mortal coil long before their time. (click to zoom)

[Parlor Picker]

Ah yes, Bunker Hill - the National Blues Federation. I was a member up in deepest, darkest Yorkshire.

I once met Bob Hite (and his brother Richard) in Dobell's, where I was a regular and I seem to remember shop manager, Ray Bolden introduced me to them.

[HeiGal]

If you check out Alan Wilson's family's website www.alanwilsoncannedheat.com. you'll find a lot of great stuff about him there incl. written and spoken interviews with him, discussions about his guitar and harmonica, more videos, and a forum for Blues fans.