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You gotta love social media– not always, but this particular time, HELLS YES. So, I see on Stacie’s triplenickel555 Instagram account that there’s a pic re-gram’d of some sort of bike tattoo. I look a little closer, and– hey, I recognize that image! So here’s the deal– this cool gal Matylda in Sweden saw the pic on TSY and was inspired enough to get it inked on her inner arm..OUCH for any of you who know about tattoos. God bless the internets. I reached out to Matylda, and she was kind enough to send pics of the finished work– read on and check it out.
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Scott Pommier shooting Stacie B. London for –SHUTTER SPEED– image courtesy of Camerabag.tv
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Hello from the land of the ice and snow! Hope these pics are usable — it’s winter now and we don’t have any decent light to shoot in (not exactly 30 Days of Night, but you know…). Btw, the website is awesome, and I’ve been a big fan.
Cheers,
Matylda
UNITED STATE — SELECTED WORKS BY CONRAD LEACH | FEBRUARY 9TH @SUBVECTA MOTUS GALLERY
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English artist and motorcycle fanatic Conrad Leach is having his first solo exhibition in the US– happening February 9th at Subvecta Motus Gallery in LA. His graphic Pop style is instantly iconic, and not to be missed– especially when you have the rare opportunity to be face-to-face with the large-scale punchy paintings. Leach’s work will knock your socks off. –Curated by friend Stacie B. London of Triple Nickel 555 & ESMB.
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Lucky 13 by Conrad Leach
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Norton Jack by Conrad Leach
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HAMMARHEAD x MOTO GUZZI V7 WAYWARD LAUNCH PARTY PICS
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While walking down the stairs to the Ace Hotel’s Liberty Hall last night I knew for sure that James Hammarhead and crew would have a little surprise– the V7 Wayward would not be another Jack Pine / Ninety-Two reiteration. This Moto Guzzi was destined to be the anti-matte black Hammarhead bike. But I didn’t know what that would look like. For sure there would be the editing of all parts superfluous to reveal the raw beauty of the beast beneath with a very strong Germanic-like design sensibility that said this bike was meant to be ridden and respected– not fawned over like some prissy beauty queen.
Stepping into Liberty Hall immediately I was blinded by the optic white Moto Guzzi V7 Stone that glowed like all hell and seemed to possess the room and everything in it. It was so bright that you dare not look at it for fear of being blinded. It was a nice bike for sre, but just a warm-up for what was to come. I grabbed a drink and skedaddled into the darkness. I knew the Hammarhead V7 Wayward lay just beyond in the main room, but I intentionally wanted to take my time getting there as I knew that once I saw it, I’d likely remain there in that spot captivated for the evening. In an adjacent room stood the Moto Guzzi V7 Racer, quietly cocked to the side looking very at ease, and a bit dwarfed by the surrounding crowd that paid plenty of attention to it.
And then I finally allowed myself to make eye contact with the HHI V7 Wayward.
Indeed it was not black. I stared. I smiled. I was hooked.
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Moto Guzzi V7 Stone at the Hammarhead x Moto Guzzi Wayward Bound launch party, Ace Hotel NYC –Photo by Ashley (You’re killing me, Smalls!) Smalley
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Moto Guzzi V7 Racer at the Hammarhead x Moto Guzzi Wayward Bound launch party, Ace Hotel NYC –Photo by Ashley (You’re killing me, Smalls!) Smalley
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WAYWARD BOUND | HAMMARHEAD x MOTO GUZZI LAUNCH PARTY IN NYC
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WAYWARD BOUND
The premiere of a custom HHI x Moto Guzzi motorcycle
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Clear your calendar. This is not to be missed.
If you are in or around NYC this Friday night then come out for Hammarhead Industries‘ Wayward Bound Launch Party and get up-close and personal at their latest epic bike build for Moto Guzzi. Take a look at the plain Jane Guzzi below and then check out what James Hammarhead and crew can do.
Jan 18, 7-10PM
Liberty Hall @ Ace Hotel, NYC
RSVP @ piaggiogroupamericas.com by Jan 16
See you there.
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Moto Guzzi sent the Hammarhead Industries crew this lil’ beauty to play with– come and see the build for yourself this Friday night at the NYC Ace Hotel… –Image by © Ashley Smalley
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Here’s what James Hammarhead had to say about the personal significance of this build, and what you can expect to see Friday night…
ROBERT REDFORD ON TWO WHEELS FINDS HIS PROMISED SUNDANCE LAND
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A very cool little insight below about how Robert Redford first stumbled upon his higher calling in life while riding his bike. Further proof that Four wheels move the body– but two wheels move the soul! More on Sundance later…
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ca. 1972 — Robert Redford, looking very Jeremiah Johnson here, on his Yamaha dirt bike — Image by Orlando Globey
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Robert Redford stumbled upon what would become Sundance while riding his motorcycle from his home in California to school at the University of Colorado in the 1950s and saw the totemic 12,000 foot Mount Timpanogos. “It reminded me of the Jungfrau in Switzerland,” he says. “It stuck in my head.”
He later met and married a Mormon girl from Provo, came back, and bought two acres of land for $500 in 1961 from the Stewarts, a sheep-herding family who ran the mom-and-pop Timphaven operation. Redford built a cabin and lived the mountain man life here with his young family when he wasn’t on set making his early films.
By the late 1960s, developers were beginning to change the face of Utah. Redford scrambled– using some movie earnings and rounding up investor friends to purchase another 3,000 acres, heading off a development of A-frames that would have been marched up the canyon on quarter-acre lots.
“I was determined to preserve this, but it was not bought with big money. That kind of development was the reason I left Los Angeles. So I bought the land and started the Sundance Institute before there was anything here. I was advised that I was out of my mind. But I wanted the perfect marriage of art and nature.”
–By Everett Potter for SKI magazine, 2008
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ca. 1972 — Robert Redford, looking very Jeremiah Johnson here, on his Yamaha dirt bike — Image by Orlando Globey
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‘YOSEMITE’ SAM RADOFF | KUSTOM KING FLAMECOLOGIST, STRIPER & SCULPTOR
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‘Yosemite’ Sam Radoff started customizing cars at the tender age of 12 yrs old– way before he was even old enough to drive! That was back in the mid ’50s, and he went by handle ‘Little Sam’ then. Some 45 years later Radoff is one of the most respected flamers (I love his ol’ crab claw flame jobs), pinstripers, and metal sculptors the kustom kulture scene has ever known. Dr. ‘Yosemite’ Sam, PhD (Phlame Doctor) has also produced custom motorcycle and pinstriping shows across the country.
Despite his vast exposure, he is not widely a household name like Ed ‘Big Daddy’ Roth, Kenny Howard AKA Von Dutch, Dean Jeffries, George Barris, Arlen Ness– but those in the know recognize and respect Sam Radoff as being just as important. His legendary work and countless awards over the years speak for themselves.
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THE UNLOCKING OF AMERICA’S CEMENT PLAYGROUND | DOGTOWN & Z-BOYS
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ca. 1975, the original Zephyr (Z-Boys) skateboard team at the Del Mar Nationals, the first US national skateboarding competition — Shogo Kubo, Bob Biniak, Nathan Pratt, Stacy Peralta, Jim Muir, Allen Sarlo, Chris Cahill, Tony Alva, Paul Constantineau, Jay Adams, Peggy Oki, Wentzle Ruml – Image by Craig Stecyk. While the Z-Boys non-conformist style and brash behavior did not sweep the winners podium, every major skateboard company took notice and came after their stars with lucrative offers and endorsement deals. Jeff Ho and Skip could not compete with the big brand’s deep pockets– within 6 months, the Zephyr team we be no more.
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Born out of the gritty Venice Beach surf slumtown called Dogtown– where you had better have eyes in the back of your head– the infamous Z-Boys were the motley badass boys of skateboarding assembled by the co-founders of Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zephyr Productions–Craig Stecyk, Jeff Ho, and Skip Engblom. This scrappy group of street kids, who gave skateboarding teeth, were loyal disciples of their radical father figures who put Dogtown style on the map. These kids would carry the torch and create a skateboarding cultural revolution that started as an extension of their surfing, and grew into a distinctive Z-Boys style that forever changed the skating world.
Heavily influenced by Dogtown’s mean streets, Jeff Ho’s surfboard design and attitude was a direct reflection of the neighborhood’s tough low rider and graffiti lifestyle. Ho and crew thumbed their noses (or more accurately “flipped the bird”) at the mainstream squeaky-clean surf culture, and the Zephyr surf team fiercely guarded their turf against any invading non-locals who wanted to ride their waves. And if the locals didn’t get you by hurling chunks of concrete and glass as you surfed, the insanely dangerous conditions of the decaying Pacific Ocean Park would. The mangled and jutting pier pylons were there waiting for a screw-up so they could impale you, or snap your precious board to pieces.
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Dogtown’s legendary Zephyr surf team with c0-founder and designer Jeff Ho far right.
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WISHING Y’ALL LOTS OF HOLIDAY CHEER AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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So, I’ve been MIA. Feels like life is moving at 1,000 MPH. I got my mind right, Boss. I’m ready to hit TSY hard again. Good news is that biz at J.Hilburn is growing like freakin’ gangbusters, and I also got my hands on a secret stash of TSY t-shirts like the ones premiered at our Blackbird event at Fast Ashleys. Here they are, just in the nick of time– hopefully while someone still remembers WHO THE F*CK IS TSY!
Email us at info@selvedgeyard.com and we’ll take care of you. $25 per t-shirt includes free USPS priority mail flat rate shipping within the continental US. To our mates overseas, sorry it will be a bit more– $35 bucks includes USPS International flat rate shipping. I’ve got T’s for guys and gals– check the pics below. Old school discharge printing– so they will never peel, and are soft, lightweight 100% cotton. Oh, and for my friends at El Solitario– I’m getting your care package together. I have not forgotten you!
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My buddy Matt Smith of Smoke & Throttle sporting a TSY T-shirt. Image by The Self-Centered Man-
WILD AT HEART– VOGUE 1991 | THE EPIC PHOTOGRAPHY OF PETER LINDBERGH
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In 1991, photographer Peter Lindbergh shot the elite eight of the world’s sexiest Supermodels in Brooklyn, NY for the September 1991 issue of American Vogue– Cindy Crawford, Tatjana Patitz, Helena Christensen, Linda Evangelista, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Karen Mulder, and Stephanie Seymour. The shoot titled “Wild at Heart” was styled by Grace Coddington, featuring looks that were a hi-lo mix of Chanel meets Schott– and we in the fashion world have never been the same since. This iconic editorial spread continues to inspire and awe to this day– over 20 years+ later. The Brit bikes featured throughout really make this work– several Triumphs, and I think I even spied a BSA in there as well!
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The 1990s was the decade of the Supermodel– Cindy Crawford, Tatjana Patitz, Helena Christensen, Linda Evangelista, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Karen Mulder, and Stephanie Seymour. This shot was titled “The Wild Ones” with the original selling at auction a few years ago for close to $35,000 –Image by © Peter Lindbergh
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Supermodel Helena Christensen channeling “The Wild One” and striking a very Marlon Brando-esque pose in her Erez leather jacket and Harley-Davidson leather biker cap –Image by © Peter Lindbergh
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Marlon Brando as Johnny in the Iconic motorcycle film “The Wild One” which simultaneously thrust biking forward into the limelight in terms of popularity and style, while setting it back in terms of stereotypes and the court of public opinion. Marlon Brando rode his own 1950 Thunderbird in the film– a big boost for Triumph motorcycles. You can read more about that here.
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EVEL KNIEVEL | TRIUMPH OVER THE FOUNTAINS AT CAESARS PALACE
Evel Knievel rode several brands of bikes during his career. He started-off on a 350cc Honda, switched to a 750cc Norton in 1966, then Triumph from 1966-1968, Laverda 750cc American Eagle from December 1969 to April 1970, and in December 1970 Harley-Davidson became Knievel’s sponsor and he began riding an XR-750– the bike he is most commonly associated with. Knievel has often said that his Triumph was by far the best bike he ever jumped with– “The Harley’s got a little too much torque when it comes to jumping,” according to him.
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San Francisco, 1967– Evel Knievel’s ’67 Triumph Bonneville 650 T120 TT Special jump bike– love the ”Color Me Lucky” paint job.
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“Anybody can jump a motorcycle. The trouble begins when you try to land it.”
~Evel Knievel
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1967, San Francisco — Evel Knievel jumps his 1967 Triumph motorcycle between two ramps, 100 feet apart, to open a Sports Cycle Exhibition. –The Associated Press/File photo
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“You can fall many times in life, but you’re never a failure as long as you try to get up.”
~Evel Knievel
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Evel Knievel (on his Triumph motorcycle) prior to jumping over the Caesars Palace fountains in Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve, 1967. This was the stunt that put Evel Knievel on the map. He had been in Vegas in November of ’67 to see a boxing title fight, when he saw the fountains and crafted his plan. He quickly created Evel Knievel Enterprises (totally fictitious) and Knievel and his buddies repeatedly called the casino’s CEO Jay Sarno claiming to be Evel Knievel’s lawyers, as well as representatives from ABC-TV, and Sports Illustrated inquiring about this incredible upcoming jump. It worked, and the date was set for Knievel to jump the fountains at Caesars Palace on December 31, 1967. ABC-TV declined to air the event live on Wide World of Sports as Knievel had hoped, so he hired actor/director John Derek to film the Caesars’ jump. It was truly a low-budget production– Derek even employed his then-wife Linda Evans as a cameraman and she shot Knievel’s now famous landing. (She would later become a household name on the TV show, Dynasty. BTW, John Derek’s other wives included Ursula Andress and Bo Derek– he shot all three for Playboy). – Image by © Bettmann/Corbis.
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HAMMARHEAD INDUSTRIES SETS-UP SHOP IN PHILLY’S BOOMING FISHTOWN
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James Hammarhead and the rad Hammarhead Industries ’Ninety-Two’ Triumph Bonneville. –Image by © Jon Patrick
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The last time I saw James Hammarhead and crew was at the Hammarhead x Dunderdon collaboration event at the Dunderdon SoHo shop– where he put the finishing touches on the 2008 Triumph Bonneville that he Hammarhead-ed to perfection. It was time to get to Philly and check out the new Hammarhead Industries shop that is taking shape nicely in Philly’s up-and-coming Fishtown. I was shocked– you couldn’t shake a stick in Fishtown without hitting a hardhat. The amount of rehab and construction happening is really inspiring to those who love Philadelphia and have been waiting for the sleeping giant, and the birthplace of our great nation, to arise from its slumber.
Hammarhead Industries is set right in the thick of it all– snuggly nestled-in on Frankford Avenue next to Lola Bean Cafe, and Stephen Starr’s new BBQ joint is opening soon within a stone’s throw. The Hammarhead Industries new shop is exactly what you’d expect– clean as a whistle, industrial in a modern sense, and all business. The front of the space is currently being readied for a retail installation where they’ll sell set-up shop for cash-and-carry wares. The large open center is where the bike-building magic will happen, and the back-end is command central. James showed me around, and we saw a few surprises and made a new friend, Sam, who’s new to the Hammarhead crew and a helluva guy.
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James Hammarhead at their new Fishtown Philadelphia shop with the ‘Ninety-Two’ Bonneville that’s about to be crated. –Image by © Jon Patrick
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VINTAGE MENSWEAR | A COLLECTION FROM THE VINTAGE SHOWROOM’S BOOK
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I was pretty stoked when Doug Gunn sent me a copy of — Vintage Menswear — A Collection from the Vintage Showroom – as I’ve long been an admirer. Being in the menswear trade myself, London has always been a favorite stop for inspiration, and there’s no better place to be inspired than The Vintage Showroom. The collection is insane and beautifully presented, covering everything from academia, sporting, hunting, motoring, military wear, workwear, denim– it’s no surprise that they are one of the most complete and prestigious vintage dealers in the world. Of special interest to me are all things related to motoring as you see below including vintage leathers, Barbour, Belstaff, etc., and all the great snippets of the history, construction, and function behind the pieces.
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CHAMPION CAR CLUB JACKET, 1950s– “This is a simple, zip-up cotton jacket with fish-eye buttons at the cuffs and a short collar. What it signifies, however, is so much more. The hand-embroidered, chain-stitched imagery on its back places it squarely in the 1950s, at the height of the hot-rodding craze in the US. Hot-rodding was said to have been driven by young men returning from service abroad after World War II who had technical knowledge, time on their hands, and the habit of spending long days in male, if not macho, company. Rebuilding and boosting cars for feats of both spectacle and speed — often 1930s Ford Model Ts, As and Bs, stripped of extraneous parts, engines tuned or replaced, tires beefed up for better traction, and a show-stopping paint job as the final touch — became an issue of social status among hot-rodding’s participants. This status was expressed through clothing too. There were the ‘hot-rodders’ of the 1930s, when car modification for racing across dry lakes in California was more an innovative sport than a subculture, complete with the Southern California Timing Association of 1937 providing ‘official’ sanction. But by the 1950s, hot-rodding was a style too. decade later it was, as many niche tastes are, commercialized and mainstream, with car design showing hot-rod traits.” –Vintage Menswear, Douglas Gunn, Roy Luckett& Josh Sims
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LONG LIVE THE KINGS | AN ORIGINAL FILM FEATURING BLITZ MOTORCYCLES
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Yep. I’m late to the game on this one – but this film is so beautiful and positive that I have to get it out to any of you who may not have had the pleasure of seeing it yet.
“Long Live The Kings” is an original short documentary by Frenchmen Clement Beauvais and Arthur de Kersauson featuring a bevy of beautiful old Beemers courtesy of Blitz Motorcycles. It’s shot on super 16mm film, and is about “relating the hopes and desires of those who go for a motorcycle road trip.” It’s a feel-good flick that’s very well-edited and super-easy on the eyes with breath-taking scenery and badass bikes. Edwin Denim supported the making of this film, and good for them for not jamming product down our throat, and allowing the film to remain pure. Enjoy.
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STEVE McQUEEN AKA HARVEY MUSHMAN RIDES AGAIN | VINTAGE SI
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A great article from 1971 unearthed from the Sports Illustrated archives– Steve McQueen discussing desert bike riding with Bud Ekins & Malcolm Smith, Racing in the 12 Hours of Sebring with Pete Revson, The Great Escape, his son Chad, and much more.
McQueen even recalls exactly when he was bitten by the off-road bug– “Well, I was riding along Sepulveda with Dennis Hopper when we saw these guys bopping and bumping through the weeds near there, off the road. It was Keenan Wynn and another guy on these strange machines, dirt bikes they called them. We asked Keenan if he could climb that cliff. ‘Watch this,’ he says. Varoom! Right up to the top. Dennis and I were standing there with our eyes out to here. The very next day I went out and bought me a 500-cc Triumph dirt bike.”
Read on friends, read on.
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Steve McQueen riding his Husqvarna 400 motorcycle. Below is an article from SI magazine, 1971.
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HARVEY ON THE LAM
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By Robert F. Jones
By any name, Steve McQueen gets all revved up over dirt bikes.
Slamming one across the California Desert is now his Great Escape.
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The opening scene: California’s Mojave Desert at high noon. Dead silence. Through the shimmering heat waves, Mount San Jacinto seems to writhe on the horizon like a dying brontosaurus. The spines of the cactus at foreground right are in sharp focus, the gleaming spearpoints of a vegetable army. In the shadow of a boulder, sudden movement. A Gila monster raises its beadwork head and flicks its tongue, alert to the distant sound that is just beginning to insinuate itself into the desert’s quiet. A sudden, ululating whine, the invading noise rapidly gains strength as four distorted dots on the horizon weave closer. The dots take on color and shape s they approach: a quartet of red and chrome motorcycles, stunting and racketing through the puckerbushes, their riders vaulting the ridges and slaloming through the cactus at 70 mph. Their ominous, mechanical verve sends the Gila monster– descendant of the dinosaurs– scuttling for shelter. The camers zooms in on the lead rider’s face, sun-blackened and jut-jawed under his helmet. Up music and credits: hold onto your popcorn, folks–
Harvey Mushman rides again!
That scenario, or one like it, takes place nearly every weekend in the desert surrounding Palm Springs. Harvey Mushman is the ocassional pseudonym of Steve McQueen, movie actor and motor sportsman, when he goes a-racing. His companions on those fast, racking transits of the wasteland often include the best of the desert-riding breed: Bud Ekins or Roger Riddell, Mert Lawwill or Malcolm Smith. Now and then a smaller figure on a smaller bike trails behind, slower but only a touch less skillful in his handling of the desert’s harsh nuance– Chad McQueen, the actor’s 10-year-old son.
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June 13th, 1971 – Steve McQueen riding his Husqvarna 400 motorcycle in the Mojave Desert — Photo by Heinz Kluetmeier/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
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THE ROLLING STONES ROCK WARHOL’S EAST HAMPTON PAD | MONTAUK, 1975
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Andy Warhol cultural icon, and Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones – Image by © Ken Regan
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It was spring of 1975, and The Rolling Stones were gearing up for their epic Tour Of The Americas (TOTA)– which they would later kick off in NYC by performing “Brown Sugar” on the back of a flatbed truck driving down 5th Ave. Looking for a place to rest up, rehearse for the tour, and work on songs for their upcoming album, Black and Blue, the boys rented their pal Andy Warhol’s pad (for 5k a month), and got busy being themselves. Let’s just say their presence did not go unnoticed by their buttoned-up neighbors:
“Throughout April sensationally loud music welled through the windows, into the ruts and hollows over the tangled crab-grass of an estate in Montauk, Long Island. Residents of the Ditch Plains trailer park were woken in the night – yapping dogs, even wolves, the loud grief of coyotes. From East Hampton to New York the word spread with the ferocity of a brush fire: The Rolling Stones were rehearsing!”
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June, 1975 — The Rolling Stones, with guest percussionist Ollie E. Brown, outside their rehearsal room at Andy Warhol’s Montauk Church Estate – Image by © Ken Regan. Although the Stones tried to keep a low profile, their fans found their hide away. Andy Warhol remembered, “Mick Jagger really put Montauk on the map. All the motels were overflowing with groupies. Two girls with no hair and black cats on leashes followed them all the way to Montauk. Mr. Winters, the caretaker of the estate, found them hiding in the bushes!”
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June, 1975 — The Rolling Stones, with guest percussionist Ollie E. Brown, outside their rehearsal room at Andy Warhol’s Montauk Church Estate – Image by © Ken Regan. Following Mick Taylor’s leaving the band, Ronnie Wood stepped in to (try and) fill his shoes. Wood was still a member of the Faces while he toured with the Stones on TOTA, and recorded with them on Black and Blue. The Faces wouldn’t officially announce they’re breakup until Dec. 1975, and the Stones announced Wood as an official member of the band in Feb. 1976. “I remember learning 150 of their repertoire (laughs). I gave up trying to remember which key each one was in or the chord sequence to a lot of them. I did a lot of it by feel in the end, you know. Had to, it’s impossible to log all of those songs. It was intense– to get hit with all of those Mick Taylor lines, to echo what Brian had done, then to add my own bluesy input to it all.” –Ron Wood
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Here’s a great little read from Montauk Life that recounts the days of Andy Warhol’s move to East Hampton, The Rolling Stones’ legendary visit to the Church Estate that Warhol owned, and other interesting tidbits of that time:
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Kirk West is probably best known as the long-time tour manager, archivist, and photographer for the Allman Brothers Band– but before that he spent many years shooting many other musical legends while living in Chicago. Many of those images laid dormant for decades, and now with time on his hands since his 2010 retirement from ABB, the amazing images have now come to light– and many of them are stunning in their honest, fly-on-the-wall, honest energy. Being a lover of the Blues, I was instantly strike by many of his images of legends in a bygone time that I’d love to step back into.
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1978 — Blues guitar great, Johnny Winter at Chicago’s Park West theatre –Image by © Kirk West There’s a famous story about a time in 1962 when Johnny and his brother went to see B.B. King at a Beaumont club called the Raven. The only whites in the crowd, they no doubt stood out. But Johnny already had his chops down and wanted to play with the revered B.B.”I was about 17,” Johnny remembers, “and B.B. didn’t want to let me on stage at first. He asked me for a union card, and I had one. Also, I kept sending people over to ask him to let me play. Finally, he decided that there enough people who wanted to hear me that, no matter if I was good or not, it would be worth it to let me on stage. He gave me his guitar and let me play. I got a standing ovation, and he took his guitar back!” via
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1985 — Late guitar great, Stevie Ray Vaughan at the Chicago Blues Fest –Image by © Kirk West From Guitar World Magazine ’85 — “Vaughan remembered something that came from Johnny Winter, the first white Texas blues guitar hero, who’d preceded him down the long path. ‘He said something to me when the first record was doing so well,’ Stevie Ray recalled. ‘It made me feel a lot of respect for what we did, for the music. He said that he wanted me to know that people like Muddy Waters and the cats who started it all really had respect for what we’re doing, because it made people respect them. We’re not taking credit for the music. We’re trying to give it back.’” I dig that attitude– doing what you love, and doing it well– to give back to those who cam before you– and the music as a whole. You don’t hear enough talk like that these days. That’s real heart and soul right there.
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1978– Johnny Winter, Bob Margolin, & Muddy Waters at Harry Hope’s, Cary IL where they recorded Muddy “Mississippi” Waters – Live –Image by © Kirk West. During early live performances, Johnny Winter would often recount about how, as a child, it was dream of his to one day play with the great blues guitarist Muddy Waters. In 1977 Winter’s his manager creating Blue Sky Records to be distributed through Columbia, Winter now had the opportunity to bring Waters into the studio for Hard Again. The album became a best-seller, with Winter producing and playing back-up guitar on the set that included Waters, and the legendary James Cotton on harmonica. Winter produced two more studio albums for Muddy Waters – I’m Ready (this time featuring Walter Horton on harmonica) and King Bee. The partnership produced Grammy Awards, a best-selling live album (Muddy “Mississippi” Waters Live), and Winter’s own Nothin’ But the Blues, on which he was backed by members of Muddy Waters’ band.
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