Produced by Jim Koeppel, ‘Blues Coming Down’ was recorded in Los Angeles in 2015 and makes its belated debut on January 29, 2021 – the day after McCall would have turned 80.
An all-star band was recruited to back the versatile guitarist. The rhythm section consisted of pianist Tennyson Stephens, bassist Welton Gite, and drummer James Gadson, whose funky beats have powered classics by Dyke and the Blazers, Charles Wright and The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, Bill Withers and countless more. Koeppel played lead guitar with McCall adding his peerless rhythm licks. His soul-steeped vocals shimmer with melismatic power.
‘Blues Coming Down’ was a genuine collaboration between McCall & Koeppel. “That was his idea,” says Koeppel. “We were in Memphis. We were sitting in his carport with our guitars, in front of Willie Dixon’s van, which was in the driveway. I was like, ‘Man, this thing should be gold-plated and put in a museum!’ So, he said, ‘Hey, I’m working on this song. What do you think?’ And he played me that little part, and I was like, ‘Oh, let’s play it!’ We played it, and we kind of came up with the bridge.”
“Released in celebration of what would have been McCall’s 80th birthday, ‘Blues Coming Down’ is a beautiful reminder of the lasting legacy of musicians through their recorded music.” ~Bill Dahl
Cash McCall (born Morris Dollison Jr.; January 28, 1941 – April 20, 2019) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Over his long career, his musical style evolved from gospel music to soul music to the blues. McCall worked with some of the biggest names in the genres, including the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, Etta James and Willie Dixon. His song, “When You Wake Up,” (1966) became a national R&B hit, and Cash McCall sang his song up and down the prestigious Eastern theater circuit, including the mighty Apollo Theater.
In 1974, Cash released his first full-length album, Omega Man, which was cut at Chicago’s Chess Studios for Stan Lewis’ Paula Records. Chicago’s studio scene was growing less fertile, and when Minnie Riperton—once the receptionist at Chess before she went on to front Rotary Connection—offered him a gig as guitarist with her Los Angeles-based touring band, McCall and his wife relocated to L.A., where gigs and studio work proved more plentiful. Cash subsequently made more albums under his own name emphasizing his blues side: No More Doggin for L+R in 1983, Cash Up Front on Stone in 1988 (his sidemen included Phil Upchurch, Richard Tee, and Les McCann), and The Vintage Room in 2007 on Dixon Landing. Despite battling lung cancer, Cash fulfilled his dream to record again, with Going Back Home, a joint project with his long-time friend Benny Turner, recorded in Memphis in 2018. It was released on Nola Blue Records in February 2019. The following year in January, Nola Blue released the first posthumous single, “One Who’s Got A Lot” and followed with the “Blues Coming Down” single in January 2021.
Visit Cash McCall – “A Chicago Blues Legend” Website: www.cashmccallmusic.com
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