Chicago blues club legend Eddy Clearwater died Friday.
 

One Friday night in the mid-70's we were at the original Kingston Mines on Lincoln Ave., to see Eddy Clearwater. We loved Eddy. The old, beat up building is packed, and halfway through the first set, it starts raining like crazy. And as usual, the rain start pouring through the roof. Eddy is rocking his heart out, everybody's getting soaking wet and nobody cared.

Eddy taught himself to play the guitar, left handed and upside down. He was often dismissed by asshole (white) blues purists as a "Chuck Berry Imitator." He played Chuck Berry as good if not better than Chuck Berry. For a short time he had this young white kid playing rhythm for the band and one night the kid started riffing ZZ Top's "La Grange" with that great John Lee Hooker/Slim Harpo blues riff. It was one of the best nights of live music in my life. He played his last show, an 11 PM to 2 AM set at Buddy Guy's just two weeks ago. We saw Eddy play many times...feels like I lost a friend.

It's a great loss for the blues and rock and roll music scene in Chicago.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entert...603-story.html

RIP Chief!

RIP Eddy Clearwater :(

RIP, Mr. Clearwater. Love me some Chicago blues and I've been to the Kingston Mines many times. I never saw Eddy Clearwater, but my favorite guitarist from that club was Michael Coleman who also passed recently (2014).

We've seen many...all at the old Kingston Mines on Lincoln, but we never made it into the comparatively swanky digs over on Halsted St. Magic Slim, Lurie Bell, Mighty Joe Young, Junior Wells, Little Walter, and many others including Michael Coleman, who died way, way to young at age 58.

That old place was a wonderfully utter dive. I remember more than once taking a leak in the men's room and when the door opened not being able to avoid eye contact with some gorgeous hippie chick sitting right outside the door. Those were the days.