July 20, 2013

John Campbell - Voodoo Performance

A rare recording of John Campbell, here presented by our friend The Rippin Frog.


John Campbell 
Voodoo Performances
Darmstadt, Germany
July 8, 1992     
http://johncampbellblues.com/dimc/john_campbell_home.htm

Guitarist, singer and songwriter John Campbell had the potential of turning a whole new generation of people onto the blues in the 1990s, much the same way Stevie Ray Vaughan did in the 1980s. His vocals were so powerful and his guitar playing so fiery, you couldn't help but stop what you were doing and pay attention to what you were hearing. But unfortunately, because of frail health and a rough European tour, he suffered a heart attack while sleeping on June 13, 1993, at the age of 41.
Campbell was born in Shreveport, LA, on January 20, 1952, and grew up in Center, TX. Although he got his own guitar at age eight and began playing professionally when he was 13, he didn't get serious about playing blues for a living until he was involved in a near-fatal drag racing accident that broke several ribs, collapsed a lung and took his right eye.

In his teens, Campbell opened for people like Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Albert Collins and Son Seals, but he later got sidetracked by drag racing, and it was while he was recuperating from his near-death drag racing accident that he re-learned guitar, developing his own distinctive, rhythm and slide-heavy style, based in some measure on the music of Lightnin' Hopkins.
In 1985, after playing a variety of clubs between east Texas and New Orleans, Campbell moved to New York. One night in New York, guitarist Ronnie Earl happened upon Campbell in a club, playing with Johnny Littlejohn. Earl was so impressed that he offered to produce an album by Campbell, and the result was A Man and His Blues (Crosscut 1019), a Germany-only release that has since been made available in the U.S. That album earned Campbell a W.C. Handy Award nomination in 1989, and not long after that, the rock & roll world started to take notice of him. Although he never sent a tape to a record company in his life, after drawing ever-growing crowds to the downtown New York clubs where he played, executives at Elektra Records took notice of him and signed him to a contract. Both of his albums for Elektra, One Believer (1991) and Howlin' Mercy (1993) are brilliant, well-produced recordings, yet they only hint at Campbell's potential for greatness, had he lived longer


Link

12 comments:

Muddy said...

Thanks for this. I'm fortunate to have seen John Campbell once, opening for Buddy Guy, and then playing for another hour at another club later that night. He was a great player and a generous soul. How many reminders do we need to stay away from heavy duty drugs?

simonthecat said...

This man was/is so underappreciated - thanks so much for getting this great music out there!

purpelaar said...

Thanx. Did not know the man.Seems like a big loss.

Anonymous said...

i have 2 more John's bootlegs live in Holland 1991 and live in frankfurt 1993
but they not high bit rates copy
if anyone interested i can upload
no covers either but i guess i could make them covers !!
RippinFrog

Anonymous said...

I downloaded this John Campbell show and when I try to open the files to convert from .rar format I am being told I need a password to do so. I have downloaded many shows from Soundaboard, and I don't ever remember needing a password in the past. Is this something new? What is the password, or where do I get the password. Please let me know.

Thanks...Don

KPR said...

How do I download, can't get past the adverts, need the direct link only, please

KPR said...

How do I download, can't get past the adverts, where is the link please

Anonymous said...

hmm i never put a password on ANY of my stuff
Rippin F

Anonymous said...

i dont get it here
i dwl the file NO password for it like i said and no advertizing either
not sure what you ppl doing but seems to work just fine here
maybe get a dwl manager like mipony or JL !!!
Rippin Frog

Anonymous said...

Can you repost PLEASE!!!

Anonymous said...

repost this brother, it's great this blog

Anonymous said...

thanks for this , me again !!