On December 8, 1981, Walter Horton aka Big Walter Horton or Walter “Shakey” Horton died aged 60. He was musician (harmonica), regarded as one of the best harmonica players in the blues history. Willie Dixon said about Horton “the best harmonica player I ever heard”, and Robert Palmer named him as “one of the three great harmonica soloists of modern blues”. In 1982, Horton was posthumously inducted into the “Blues Hall of Fame”.
Tag Archives: 1981
Steve Miller Band: Circle of Love
On October 23, 1981, “Capitol” label released “Circle of Love”, the eleventh Steve Miller Band studio album. It was recorded in 1981, and was produced by Steve Miller.
Personnel:
- Steve Miller – vocals, guitar
- Byron Allred – keyboards
- Gerald Johnson – bass guitar
- Gary Mallaber – drums, percussion
- Rick Fisher – recording
- Stephen Perringer – art direction
- John Browning, Ken Trimpe – design
- Greg Stadler – calligraphy
Track listing:
All tracks by Steve Miller, except where noted.
- Heart Like a Wheel
- Get On Home – traditional, arranged by Steve Miller
- Baby Wanna Dance
- Circle of Love
- Macho City
Chick Corea: Trio Music
On October 4, 1982, “ECM” label released “Trio Music”, the 24th Chick Corea album. It was recorded in November 1981, and was produced by Manfred Eicher.
Personnel:
- Chick Corea – piano
- Miroslav Vitouš – bass
- Roy Haynes – drums
- Martin Wieland – engineer
Track listing:
- Trio Improvisation 1 – Chick Corea, Roy Haynes, Miroslav Vitouš
- Trio Improvisation 2 – Chick Corea, Roy Haynes, Miroslav Vitouš
- Trio Improvisation 3 – Chick Corea, Roy Haynes, Miroslav Vitouš
- Duet Improvisation 1 – Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitouš
- Duet Improvisation 2 – Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitouš
- Trio Improvisation 4 – Chick Corea, Roy Haynes, Miroslav Vitouš
- Trio Improvisation 5 – Chick Corea, Roy Haynes, Miroslav Vitouš
- Slippery When Wet – Chick Corea
- Rhythm-A-Ning – Thelonious Monk
- ‘Round Midnight – Bernie Hanighen, Monk, Cootie Williams
- Eronel – Thelonious Monk
- Think of One – Thelonious Monk
- Little Rootie Tootie – Thelonious Monk
- Reflections – Thelonious Monk
- Hackensack – Thelonious Monk
B.B. King: There Is Always One More Time
On October 1, 1991, “MCA” label released “There Is Always One More Time”, the thirty-second B.B. King album. It was recorded in 1981, at “Conway Studios” in Los Angeles, and was produced by Stewart Levine.
Personnel:
- B. King – vocals, guitar
- Arthur Adams – guitar
- Michael Landau– guitar
- Joe Sample– piano
- Neal Larson – keyboards, Hammond organ
- Freddie Washington– bass guitar
- Jim Keltner– drums
- Lenny Castro– percussion
- Bunny Hull, Paulette Brown, Valerie Pinkston-Mayo – backing vocals
Track listing:
All tracks by Joe Sample and Will Jennings; except where noted.
- I’m Moving On
- Back in L.A.
- The Blues Come over Me
- Fool Me Once
- The Lowdown
- Mean and Evil – Arthur Adams
- Something up My Sleeve – Arthur Adams
- Roll, Roll, Roll
- There Is Always One More Time – Doc Pomus, Ken Hirsch
Klaus Schulze: Trancefer
On October 1, 1981, “IC” label released “Trancefer”, the fourteenth Klaus Schulze album. It was recorded in 1981 and was produced by Klaus Schulze.
Personnel:
- Klaus Schulze – keyboards, electronics, recording, mixing, artwork
- Wolfgang Tiepold – cello
- Michael Shrieve – percussion
- Claus Cordes – artwork
- Michael Weisser – photography
Track listing:
All tracks by Klaus Schulze.
- A Few Minutes After Trancefer
- Silent Running
Jaco Pastorius
On September 21, 1987, John Francis Anthony “Jaco” Pastorius III died aged 35. He was a musician (bass), a member of Weather Report (1976 – 1981). Regarded as one of the best world bass players, he worked and recorded with Joni Mitchell, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Randy Bernsen, Little Beaver, Ira Sullivan, Albert Mangelsdorff, Ian Hunter, Airto Moreira, Tom Scott, Flora Purim, Cockrell & Santos, Michel Colombier, Manolo Badrena, Michel Polnareff, Bob Mintzer, Brian Melvin, Jimmy Cliff, Brian Melvin Trio, and Mike Stern. In 2006 Pastorius was voted “The Greatest Bass Player Who Has Ever Lived” by readers in Bass Guitar magazine, and was inducted in the Down Beat “Hall of Fame”. During his lifetime Pastorius released four albums as a leader.
The Time: Same
On July 29, 1981, “Warner Bros” label released the debut, self-titled, Time (The) album. It was recorded April 1979 – April 1981, at Prince’s “Kiowa Trail Home Studio” in Chanhassen, Minnesota, and was produced by Prince (as Jamie Starr), and Morris Day.
Personnel:
- Jesse Johnson – guitar
- Prince (as Jamie Starr) – all instruments (except where noted), backing vocals, recording, mixing
- Jellybean Johnson – guitar, drums
- Monte Moir – vocals, leyboards
- Morris Day – vocals, keyboards, drums
- Fink – synth solos
- Bernie Grundman – mastering
Track listing:
- Get It Up – Prince
- Girl – Prince
- After Hi School – Dez Dickerson
- Cool – Prince, Dez Dizkerson
- Oh, Baby – Prince
- The Stick – Prince
Peter Green
On July 25, 2020, Peter Allen Greenbaum aka Peter Green died aged 73. He was singer, songwriter, and musician (guitar), member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, co-founder of Fleetwood Mac, member of Katmandu, and founder of Peter Green Splinter Group. Green was one of the most important figures of the British blues movement, praised by famous guitarists like B.B. King and Eric Clapton. Magazine “Rolling Stone” ranked him at number 58 in its list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”. Magazine “Guitar Player” rated his tone on “The Super-Natural” as one of the “50 Greatest of All Time. Magazine “Mojo” rated Green In June 1996, Green was voted the third-best guitarist of all time. In 1998, as a member of Fleetwood Mac he was inducted into the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”. As leader, Green recorded six albums:
Foghat: Girls to Chat & Boys to Bounce
In July 1981, “Bearsville” label released “Girls to Chat & Boys to Bounce”, the tenth Foghat studio album. It was recorded in 1981 and was produced by Nick Jameson.
Personnel:
- “Lonesome” Dave Peverett – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar
- Erik Cartwright – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Nick Jameson – keyboards, backing vocals
- Craig MacGregor – bass
- Roger Earl – drums, percussion
Track listing:
All tracks by Dave Peverett except where noted.
- Wide Boy
- Let Me Get Close to You – Nick Jameson
- Live Now – Pay Later
- Love Zone
- Delayed Reaction
- Second Childhood
- Weekend Driver
- Sing About Love (live) – Nick Jameson
Gary Moore: Dirty Fingers
On July 21, 1983, “Jet” label released “Dirty Fingers”, the third Gary Moore studio album. It was recorded in 1981 and was produced by Chris Tsangarides.
Personnel:
- Gary Moore– co-lead and backing vocals, guitars
- Charlie Huhn– lead vocals
- Don Airey– organ, keyboards
- Jimmy Bain– bass
- Tommy Aldridge– drums
- Chris Tsangarides– engineer
Track listing:
All tracks by Gary Moore, except where noted.
- Hiroshima
- Dirty Fingers
- Bad News
- Don’t Let Me be Misunderstood – Bennie Benjamin, Sol Marcus, Gloria Caaldwell
- Run to Your Mama
- Nuclear Attack
- Kidnapped
- Really Gonna Rock Tonight
- Lonely Nights
- Rest in Peace
