Blues with a Feeling - The Official Podcast

Not many living blues musicians can say they have performed with and recorded for legends like Big Mama Thornton, Sonny Rhodes, Luther Tucker, Jimmy McCracklin, Pee Wee Crayton, Carla Thomas, Booker T. Jones, Percy Mayfield, Etta James, B.B. King, and Jimmy Reed.

Ron Thompson can, and that's just the beginning!

Ron Thompson was a legendary rhythm and blues guitarist and master keyboardist whose career began in the rough and tumble world of East San Francisco Bay nightclubs and bars in the early '70s. During many years of touring coast to coast with John Lee Hooker, Hooker was quoted as saying, 'Ron Thompson, he's my main man!'

After serving as John Lee Hooker's bandleader for seven years, Thompson went on to form his own group, Ron Thompson and His Resisters, and toured extensively in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Central America.

I’m super excited to feature for you Ron Thompsons classic 1998 release Magic Touch for you this week. And for extra context, I’ve added some excerpts from my 2020 interview with his long time bandmate and friend Jim Pugh.

Plus new releases from Christone Kingfish Ingram, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Laura Chavez, Eric Bibb, Lil Ed & The Blues Imperials, Tinsley Ellis and Darren Watson.

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Grammy Winners Showcase

For more than three decades, Blues With A Feeling has been your weekly home for stories, songs, and the artists who keep the blues alive. And this week, we’re taking a deep dive into the very best of the last six years — a special feature celebrating the winners of the Blues categories at the Grammy Awards from 2021 right through to 2026.

It’s a journey through a remarkable period in modern blues: the elders still swinging for the fences, the young guns stepping up with fire in their bellies, and a couple of live records that remind you why nothing beats the real thing. Across these six years, we’ve seen legends like Bobby Rush, Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal and Edgar Winter continue to redefine what longevity looks like, while artists like Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Cedric Burnside, Fantastic Negrito and Larkin Poe have pushed the music forward with fresh energy and fearless creativity.

You’ll hear the stories behind the albums, the moments that shaped them, and the artists who made them. You’ll hear how an 88‑year‑old Bobby Rush stripped it all back to guitar and harmonica and still took home the gold. How Cedric Burnside carried the Hill Country heartbeat into a new generation. How Buddy Guy, in his mid‑80s, delivered one of the fiercest records of his career. And how Robert Randolph & The Family Band finally claimed their long‑deserved first Grammy after years of nominations.

It’s a celebration of resilience, reinvention, and the deep river of blues that keeps flowing through every decade. Join me for this special edition of Blues With A Feeling — and as always, hug ’em close and have a great week.

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“Burke, who turns 65 this month, proves once again that his reengineered fusion of classic rock and soul is essential listening.

Produced by Don Was, and ably backed by such stalwart musicians as guitarist Ray Parker, Jr. (“Ghostbusters”), the ten songs on Make Do… draw once again from Burke’s deep list of admirers and famous friends. Van Morrison and Dr. John selected songs specifically for Burke, “At The Crossroads” and the title track “Make Do With What You Got” respectively.

Other standouts include Burke’s sublime rendition of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards’ “I Got The Blues,” and Bob Dylan’s “What Good Am I,” which Burke lends a much brighter countenance to than the original. On Coco Montoya’s “I Need Some Love In My Life” Burke evokes the blistering sound of the mid-1970s Rolling Stones. “Fading Footsteps,” penned by Lafayette’s David Egan, is propelled by a funky, sweeping organ riff by Rudy Copeland, Burke’s longtime church organist.

What you’ve got with Solomon Burke’s new record is much more than simply making do.” Offbeat

Four weeks into the new season of Blues With A Feeling and I’m thrilled to feature this sublime record for you this week.

Plus new releases from Robert Randolph, Lil Ed & the Blues Imperials, Studebaker John & the Maxwel Street Kings,

Billy Branch & the Sons Of Blues, Eric Bibb, Tinsley Ellis,

Buddy Guy, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Christone Kingfish Ingram, Kim Wilson, Laura Chavez and Roomful Of Blues.

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