Artist: Ford Blues Band
Genre(s):
Blues
Discography:
The Ford Blues Band
Year: 1999
Tracks: 13
After leaving Ukiah, CA, and moving south to San Francisco to variety the Charles Ford Band (named for their father) in the late '60s with harp player Gary Smith, brothers Pat (drums) and Robben (guitar) were enlisted by Charlie Musselwhite and were polar members of one of the c. H. Best aggregations the harper ever lED. Leaving Musselwhite after recording Arhoolie's Takin' My Time, they recruited bassist Stan Poplin and jr. comrade Mark, then age 17, on harp and played below the name the Real Charles Ford Band. Heavily influenced by the original Butterfield Blues Band and the Chess catalogue, the quartette was noted for their live jazz explorations -- a great deal jamming for 30 transactions or more on a John Coltrane and George Benson tune -- and hear-a pin-drop kinetics (with Mark abandoning mike and amp to play acoustically into the room or Robben turning the volume all the way off on his fat-body Gibson L-5). Muddy Waters sabbatum in with and praised the edward Young band, and Chess Records even came suit, only the brothers split on New Year's Eve, 1971, recording their sole LP posthumously, as it were. Robben went on to major cult status via session do work and sporadic solo releases, and afterwards extended hiatuses Mark and Pat continue to gig about the Bay Area and Europe. Pat founded his have Blue Rock'it label, on which albums like The Ford Blues Band, Hot Shots and 1999 were released. The band's influence in Northern California is still tremendous, peculiarly among guitar players wHO continue to ape licks Robben forgot two decades agone.
