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Otis Rush
It seems blues guitarists are always looking for that link with the 50s. One of the originators thats still alive and can still play. To me thats Otis Rush. Buddy Guy is a great showman but Otis is the one who can really play. Eric Clapton lifted his whole solo in ...All Your Love... on the Beano album and rarely gives credit to Otis as an influence. If you want to hear some fabulous playing, find a collection of Otis 45s from the 50s youll be amazed at how much of his playing is in the repertoire of most blues players and Otis rarely gets the credit he deserves.
I played with Otis on a New Years Eve, many years ago, here in Toronto. We rehearsed in the afternoon but nothing to firm. Just ran through a few things to get to know each other. That night we did an opening number and when Otis got up he soloed for about 10 minutes. I thought he was going to play the gig instrumentally. When he did start to sing it was so great. Just to hear him play that lick from ...All Your Love... was so special for me. Its like being at a source point. |
