BLUES JUNCTION Productions
7343 El Camino Real
Suite 327
Atascadero, CA 93422-4697
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Did you think that PBS could show an hour long prime time special that featured blues at the White House without me commenting on this monumental event? Yes, that was almost a real possibility. Then I called my mom this morning. I hadn’t talked to her in a couple of weeks and the first or second thing out of her mouth was, “So what did you think of blues at the White House?” The fact is, I didn’t think about it all that much, although an hour later the poor gal was still getting an earful of what I thought of the PBS program called In Performance at the White House: Red White and Blues. Mom said, “I was looking forward to reading your thoughts on this.” Be careful what you ask for mom.
The problem was that the program, for me anyway, raised more questions than it answered. Here are some of these questions.
What would it take to get Jeff Beck to wear a shirt that has sleeves and under what circumstances would he remove his sunglasses? An enlightened person could surmise that playing at the White House in front of the President of the United States might be the time to knock off the ridiculous sleeveless shirt and sunglasses shtick. Maybe his 60th birthday would have been time to hold a press conference and declare, “The world no longer has to see my arm pits.” If I had arms that skinny (which I did up until my 7th birthday), I would go the other way and wear three sweatshirts. By no means am I a fashion maven, but for the love of all that is sacred, does this wanker have to wear sunglasses all the time even inside and especially when inside the White House. I have been to the White House (not the regular tour, mind you) and I wore shorts but that is a whole other story which I may share with you sometime. I did however remove my shades. The real questions might be, what was Jeff Beck doing at the Blues in the White House in the first place and how did this come about?
I think it went something like this. Where is Bob Newhart when I need him?
The White House appointment secretary is on the phone, “Oh I see. Mr. Clapton can’t make it. Can someone get Jeff Beck? We need our 1960’s era British rock star quota and there seems to be a snag in Keith Richards’ security clearance. (pause) Not Beck.... Jeff Beck.... the old guy who wears sleeveless shirts and sunglasses.... (pause). No not the guy from Spinal Tap, the original self indulgent, ego maniac..... yes, the one with the mid 60’s, Vanessa Redgrave, shag haircut. Thank You (pause). No the President does NOT want Led Zeppelin!”
“Hello Mr. Beck.... could you hold for the President? (pause) Of the United States (pause) and could you turn down the music? Thank You.”
Who is a worse blues harmonica player, Mick Jagger or Sugar Blue? Oh, who cares? It doesn’t matter. The big question is, why was Mick Jagger playing blues at the White House? Oh yea the 1960’s British rock star thing. It is mandatory. Miss You? Really! I can’t miss you Mick if you won’t go away.
Mick Jagger likes blues music. Fine.... I like baseball that doesn’t mean I have the nerve to say, “Excuse me Albert Pujols, I am going to play first base today. The fans won’t mind. I brought my own mitt and everything. No it will be no problem. I can catch and throw a little. I might be able to even hit the ball out of the infield if they substitute the regular pitcher for another out of shape, old dude”. That wouldn’t work. People wouldn’t stand for it, but Mick Jagger singing a disco song and playing harmonica on a blues program is A-OK.
If Mick loves blues so much, and I believe he does, why couldn’t he wield his considerable celebrity status and say, “Listen let me MC the gig and introduce some real players. You get me a bona fide household name and I can fulfill my primal need to have my face on T.V. The public can hear real blues music and they don’t have to suffer from that uncomfortable queasy feeling that occurs when people see me dance.” While I truly appreciated Jagger’s candid and self effacing remarks about his own talent as a blues musician on the broadcast, he didn’t do that.
Would having Greg Allman play and sing along with fellow Allman Brothers Band members Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes remind Americans of the last one term Democrat to serve in the White House? The Allman Brothers Band is a group that played in front of President Carter before Derek Trucks was born. The correct answer by the way is, probably not. The first regular installment of this ongoing White House concert series was during the Carter Administration. The first performer was Vladimir Horowitz and they didn’t do a tribute to classical violin by having a bunch of country fiddlers take a stab at a concerto by Mendelssohn. That kind of bullshit is reserved for blues music.... only.
Is Michelle Obama the hottest first lady in my lifetime? I am sorry Rosalynn. I am guessing you are near the top of hottest first ladies in my life time list, but not in the top two. Mamie Eisenhower is way down the list primarily because she was in black and white. Number two, close behind Michelle is of course Jackie, mostly on the strength of that voice. Lady Bird Johnson looses points for being named after Hank Hill’s dog. Barbara Bush reminds me a little of the Quaker Oats guy, so she loses style points big time. Nancy Reagan is automatically disqualified for being a former movie star. I’m sorry but rules are rules. If they named a sex clinic after Betty Ford rather than a rehab center she would have come in higher. Pat Nixon’s stock is rising, since all I can think of is Joan Allen from the movie “Nixon” and not the real Pat Nixon. Who does that leave? Oh yea Dubyas wife. Even the sexy librarian with the Texas accent routine, which worked on me for years, doesn’t work with Laura Bush. Please understand that decency and good taste prohibit me from including the current Secretary of State in this discussion. She can go onto a whole other list with Madelyn Albright and Condoleezza Rice. She might still come in third.
Was the best moment of the hour long PBS broadcast at the very beginning when instead of playing Hail to the Chief the band played Green Onions, when the President and the first lady entered the room? I think Obama could win in a landslide if they played that song every time he entered a room. That just might be the coolest song ever and it is actually a blues, based on the same changes as Sonny Boy Williamson’s Help Me. The program went downhill from there. It was great seeing Booker T. Jones on the B3 though. He is one fourth of one of my favorite bands of all time, Booker T. & the M.G.s. They are like President Obama in that, they are half black and half white and always sound pretty damn good.
Is PBS that concerned with ratings that they have to pander to the masses by diluting the presentation of blues music with the likes of Jeff Beck and Mick Jagger? I know I should just relax and let it go. Sorry but I thought there was always an educational component to PBS. If that is the case then ratings be dammed and present real blues music to people. If they don’t like real blues music, that is fine by me. At least they could go to their grave having heard it at least once. Quit treating people like children. I didn’t care for the watered down, blues light approach to this program and how blues is treated in the public forum in general.
This program reinforced silly stereotypes and gave the impression that the only old blues guys out there are B.B. King and Buddy Guy, the only instrument in blues is the guitar and the greatest blues tune of all time is Sweet Home Chicago.
Is it not beyond the realm of possibility that blues has not found a wider audience because it is rarely given the chance to stand on its own two feet? The people who present blues always feel the need to have this music be propped up with these old rockers. People are not stupid. They are just not very well informed. How could they be, when the intelligent people at PBS made the decision to have an hour of blues music on national TV then not play very much blues music? Why would they choose to celebrate this great American tradition and then cover up that tradition?
I do realize that this one hour broadcast was edited down from the much longer program that was recorded six days earlier. Many fine moments were dumped including appreciations of Etta James and Hubert Sumlin. Not surprisingly Johnny Otis who passed away the same week we lost Etta wasn’t mentioned at all. That decision was probably based on the fact that seeing the Secretary of Health and Human Services try and figure out how to do the hand jive would have made for bad TV.
Here are some more questions. Is having a little blues at the White House kind of cool? Yes it is. Was it a lot of fun to see some of our friends perform in front of President Obama? You bet it was. Is there still anybody out there that thinks making fun of Jeff Beck and making cheap First Lady, sex jokes is beneath me? Not anymore. It is after all very important to have a sense of humor especially when you see blues on television.
- David Mac
Copyright 2022 BLUES JUNCTION Productions. All rights reserved.
BLUES JUNCTION Productions
7343 El Camino Real
Suite 327
Atascadero, CA 93422-4697
info