Otis Rush

We did— I played some Kev Moe stuff, I played some percussion.

We did Otis Rush and Maria Mulder and a whole bunch of other blues artists.

We got called to do Taj Mahal and that's how we became Taj Mahal's band.

The first record was all studio.

I went to see Lewis Myers in Old Town playing in a mob go-go joint.

Otis Rush used to pick me up every Friday with my tape recorder and drive me to the west side to tape him and drop me off.

Yeah.

there's just a whole bunch of people I get connected with.

You don't do that.

It's verboten.

But Otis Rush wanted you to record him on a regular basis.

Were there others that you recorded as well?

Let's have a look at who he's played with.

He's played with B.B. King, Johnny Winter, Albert Collins, Bo Diddley, and Otis Rush.

He has toured and opened for ZZ Top, George Thorogood, The Tragically Hit, Little Feet, Jimmy Vaughn, Robert Craig, Robin Trower, Wishbone Ash, an English band.

Songs have been featured in films and television and have been covered by a variety of artists, most notably Buddy Guy has covered some of his tunes.

Remember I was saying that other song by the Monkees, there's only two versions? Well, there's 52 more covers of I Feel So Bad, even though Elvis was only the second version, and it took him seven years to even cut the second one.

After Elvis, it was Little Milton, Otis Rush, Bobby Bland with B.B. King.

John Martin, Robin Trower, even Foghat, which I don't recommend.

I think that version stinks, but just funny as an indication of how many people had had it.

Yep.

And this tune's got kind of a, to me at least, sort of a cross between kind of a Slim Harpo vibe and sort of early Otis Rush, like, you know, Cobra era Otis Rush kind of haunting this.

How do you see or hear Long Rider?

Exactly like you're right on.

That's exactly the inspiration.

When Ian brought that in, he was like, kind of like a swampy Louisiana thing.

And then he goes, the second part, goes into a totally Otis Rush-influenced section there.

Yeah, it's very...

Can't seem to shake something I never had.

Standing by the window blasting Otis Rush.

Down below they're passing the war on drugs.

People in bikinis in a photo on the wall.

And he's already gone through his rock and roll stage, so he's done the Chuck Berry stuff.

And then all these new sounds coming from Chicago, like Otis Rush.

I have a store for you Where I love you, baby I know you love me too

Like Hubert Sumlin playing with Howlin' Wolf, sounds he's picking up on to the point that he really becomes a kind of scientist of the sound, the tonal quality that different musicians, especially guitarists, are able to get.

And so it'd be kind of like, how do I recreate the Otis Rush sound, that stinging, tenor-heavy approach to the guitar? And which amp is he using? And is there anything in between? Kind of figure it out himself.

For him, I think when they moved to California, the Bay Area, he really starts to search out school friends who have great record collections.

He starts to discover the kind of second and third generation electric blues.

Black Magic Woman, of course, being the Peter Green tune that Carlos put on that album.