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Posts tagged as “Koko Taylor”

MUSIC MONDAY: “The Crossroads: A Blues Halloween Playlist” (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “The Crossroads: A Blues Halloween Playlist” (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on October 20, 2025

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Threads: @stlmarlonwest IG: stlmarlonwest Bluesky: @marlonweststl.bsky.social Spotify: marlonwest)

It’s Music Monday and Halloween here at Good Black News! It’s your friend and selector, the groove conductor, Marlon West. I’ve returned once more during this Season of the Witch with another collection.

I am just back from a screening and discussion with Ryan Coogler and part of his creative team behind SINNERS. It was the fifth viewing for me, in whole or in part.

I saw it opening day laser projected, two weeks later on 70mm IMAX, streamed it twice, once with a sista in the lower right corner offering Black ASL, and today a 70mm print projected at the Directors Guild of America‘s theater with a very diverse and reactive crowd early on a Sunday morning. I was delighted to run into our GBN Editor-In-Chief Lori Lakin Hutcherson and her mother at the same screening.

I came right home and started pecking a few words on this season’s music collection, The Crossroads: A Blues Halloween Playlist.

As any of you that enjoy my Music Monday playlist knows, I love me some Halloween. This is at least the fifth All-Hallows Eve collection I’ve done for Good Black News.

The cinematic juggernaut that is SINNERS is a good reminder of just how much the blues has dealt with scares both supernatural and real-world based.

From Robert Johnson’s mythic trip the the crossroads to Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground,” the blues has provided its share of eerie moments. Bo Diddley’s iconic ‘Who Do You Love” opens with following boasts:

I walked forty-seven miles of barbed wire
Used a cobra snake for a necktie
Got a brand new house on the roadside
Made from rattlesnake hide
Got a brand new chimney made on top
Made out of a human skull

Oh, that’s a Halloween song, all right! Howlin’ Wolf, Koko Taylor, RL Burnside, Norma Tanega, Gary Clark Jr., and so many more purveyors of the blues are present for this Halloween collection.

Whether your plans include handing out candy to hobgoblins of all ages, chillin’ with friends,  or kickin’ at home with that porch light out, here is another autumnal offer to enjoy during this Halloween Season.

Please enjoy this collection, and poke around for my others too:
(https://open.spotify.com/user/marlonwest)

See ya next month!

And as always, stay safe, sane, and kind!

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “SINNERS Playlist” (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “SINNERS Playlist” (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on May 5, 2025

by Marlon West (Bluesky: @marlonweststl.bsky.social, Spotify: marlonwest)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Ladies Sing The Blues” – a Playlist of Early and Modern Women Blues Artists (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Ladies Sing The Blues” – a Playlist of Early and Modern Women Blues Artists (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on November 1, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Throughout history countless women have given the blues their unique stamp. They have fought their way to the front of the testosterone saturated genre, oftentimes with little praise.

Here’s a collection of modern and early masters of the form, including Ma Rainey, Memphis Minnie, Koko Taylor, Etta James, Ann Peebles, Odetta, Aretha Franklin, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Bettye Swann, Bettye LaVette, Irma Thomas, LaVern Baker and so many more.

Please enjoy. And as always, stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Mind Playing Tricks” – a Soulful Halloween Collection for 2021 (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Mind Playing Tricks” – a Soulful Halloween Collection for 2021 (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on October 11, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

“I walked forty-seven miles of barbed wire / I got a cobra snake for a necktie / A brand new house on the roadside / and it’s a-made out of rattlesnake hide / Got a brand new chimney put on top / and it’s a-made outta human skull / I’ve got a tombstone hand and a graveyard mind / I’m just twenty-two and I don’t mind dying.”

Just a few lyrics from Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love” that go a long way towards illustrating the nature of the Halloween collection. Of course, there’s Screamin Jay Hawkins and Lambert, Hendricks and Ross vocalizing overt spooky tales.

Though there are many tracks in this collection that simply reference dark imagery to warn of the perils of romantic love, and make social commentary.

Geto Boys, Brittany Howard, Funkadelic, and others all are here to tell of real-world horrors. While Alice Smith is present with an umpteenth version of “I Put A Spell On You,”  and sista manages to transform it into a statement all her own.

There are several versions of  St. Louis true folktale “Stagger Lee.” You can bet there are songs aplenty of about vampires, ghosts, and zombies too. More chills to come next week.

Until such time, stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Snatch It Back and Hold It” – Celebrating Chicago Blues (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Snatch It Back and Hold It” – Celebrating Chicago Blues (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on August 10, 2020

[Photo: Otis Spann & James Cotton rehearsing in Muddy Waters’ basement, Chicago, IL, 1965. Courtesy Chicago History Museum]

Chicago blues began to emerge following the Great Migration of African Americans from the southern U.S. to the industrial cities of the north, particularly Chicago.

This new population included musicians, and the blues evolved as a result of these influences from musicians playing as street musicians, at rent parties, and other events in African-American communities.

One of the most significant early incubators for Chicago blues was the open-air market on Maxwell Street in the 1930s and ’40s.

This collection includes some of the great including, McKinley “Muddy Waters” Morganfield, Chester “Howlin’ Wolf” Burnett, Little Walter Jacob, Junior Wells, Koko Taylor, and many others.

Enjoy, and of course, stay safe, sane, and kind.

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:6cuqIAcGLdph6kjRL5zADc”/]

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)