Ricky Cool is a veteran... who adores veteran music. He's a walking encyclopedia of US roots music, and he's no slouch about the UK music scene over the past 50 years. In this episode, l get schooled about harmonica playing, and we get a fascinating look at what it meant to be in bands struggling to get ahead through the 70s, 80s, 90s, and on into this century. Things are - different - now.  The latest incarnation is a very slick and entertaining operation, which harks back over 50 years to the mid-60s days of ska and organ groove.

Be warned: there's one teeny little bit of louche behaviour described. A swear word. But it's not sweary.

Ricky Cool's website for history and gig updates

Historic music links in the podcast

Muddy Waters wiki (McKinley Morganfield)
Howling Wolf wiki (Chester Burnett)
Howling Wolf - Smokestack Lightning
Barrett Strong wiki
Tommy Tucker - Hi Heel Sneakers
Sonny Boy Willamson - Bring It On Home
Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee - Long Way From Home
Jesse Fuller - San Francisco Bay Blues
Tiny Bradshaw - Train Kept A Rollin'
Nappy Brown - Don't Be Angry
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys - San Antonio Rose
Louis Jordan - Caldonia
Roy Milton and His Solid Senders - Hop Skip and Jump

UK Folk (and associated) links

Dave Cartwright wiki
Bill Caddick - John O'Dreams Live
The Destroyers feat Mick Howson - Kalinka
Nic Jones - Canadee-i-o
Diz Dizley - It had To Be You

The Lives in Music series celebrates people who have spent a lifetime in music. They may be famous; they may be people who have spent their lives working in the background for the love of it. But they all have stories.

The intro and outro music in this series comes from the great bass player Mike Hatton, who you can hear interviewed in series 1, here. 'Everything Changes' is included in his excellent 2019 album 'Bassic Salvation'.

Subscribe!

Subscribe to the Podcast through your podcast host to automatically download each episode to your chosen device. These will then land with you first, before everyone else hears about it.

If you would prefer email updates each time a podcast episode (or blog post) is published, you can subscribe to the mailing list. Head here and scroll down to the signup form.