Bryan Lee – Homage to 4 Kings
Earrelevent Records
www.facebook.com/BryanLeeBrailleBluesDaddy
15 tracks/63 minutes
Bryan Lee left us five years ago after six plus decades of making seminal blues recordings over a storied career. Originally from Three Rivers, Wisconsin, Lee gained fame as New Orleans’ Braille Blues Daddy. His powerful guitar and strident vocals made him one of my favorite artists to listen to live and on CD.
Bryan’s latter years were spent in Florida. He hooked up with bassist Ted Fordney and the two played together for many years. A year before Bryan passed, he and his band sat down to record a tribute album to the four Kings of the blues, B.B., Albert, Freddie and Earl. The album never came to pass, but Bryan’s wife Bethany finally got it put together and released it for the 2025 version of the annual Bryan Lee Memorial event in his birthplace of Two Rivers, Wisconsin.
The album features three cuts from each of the Kings plus a fourth from Freddie. Also included are a pair of older songs from Lee that were never included on an album. They were likely laid down in the mid-1960’s for a 45 RPM record. While not songs from the Kings, they are songs none of us would otherwise get to enjoy and I am glad they were included.
As noted, Lee is joined by Ted Fordney on bass. On drums we have Dave Shchopke and we also have Billy Flynn on guitar for those tracks, too. Mike Hepner adds piano, organ and clavinet on all thirteen of the King cuts. A horn section comprised on Andy Spadafora (sax) and Sam Neufeld (trumpet) also appear, as does Steve Hamilton adding percussion on three tracks and Diedre Felner on backing vocals for three cuts. Jimmy Voegeli adds organ to a trio of tracks. The 1965 crew of musicians for the final two cuts on the album with Bryan are Phil Gohr in bass, Junior Franklin on organ and Dick Banks on drums.
Bryan’s Facebook page remains current and lovingly maintained by Ted and Bethany. A link to order the CD is on the Facebook page, linked above.
The album opens with Albert King’s “Let’s Have A Natural Ball.” The horns blare, the piano playing is vibrant and Lee sings with passion. Lee still plays with feeling as he solos along with the sax and piano. Lee intentionally remained true to the originals here and throughout. This one jumps and makes the listener want to fly out of their chair and dance. Then it’s Freddie King’s “Me And My Guitar;” Lee howls out the vocals and grinds out some fine licks– it’s great stuff! Earl King’s “Love Rent” follows, a jumping blues with swinging guitar and a great vibe to it. Lee does a great job and the organ and support is super behind him.
“My Credit Didn’t Go Through” is a great Freddie King Cut. Lee growls out the lead. The groove is funky, the backing vocalists are hot and Bryan’s guitar is on fire! Albert’s “You Sure Drive A Hard Bargain” follows. There’s some cool standup bass, Lee’s guitar rings like the Liberty Bell, the organ by Voegeli is hot and it’s just a really sweet cover. “Same Old Blues” is another of Freddie’s songs. This on is slow and luxurious, like a warm bath that just covers you up and makes you feel good. Lee sings with emotion, his guitar gets you lathered up, the backing vocalist take you to church, and you rinse off with the big, old finish.
B.B.’s “Buzz Me” is next; Lee’s guitar stings, the band is in hot pursuit and they all deliver the goods together. Lee solos, then it’s the organ’s turn, and Bryan returns for more superb licks. “Born Under A Bad Sign” is Albert’s signature song and Lee gives us a delightful rendition to savor with exemplary guitar work. “Night Life” follows that, another great B.B. cover. This one is beautiful and slow blues to enjoy; it’s like sipping a glass of your favorite wine as it make you feel warm all over. The guitar is splendid and Lee testifies to us on vocals oh so well.
“Texas Flyer” is up next, a cool Freddie tune with a little funk and soul. Fun cover! “Trick Bag” is a super Earl King cut and Lee gives it his all. There’s some pretty sax here along with Bryan’s guitar. More Earl follows with “Those Lonely Lonely Nights.” The sax shines once more, the piano is splendid and Lee and the band give us a great NOLA style cut to enjoy.
Then we have the final King cut, B.B.’s “Hummingbird.” Lee croons for us in this fantastic ballad. Voegeli and the backing vocalist help build this to a great finish with Lee picking out notes as only he can.
Bryan’s 1965 songs are a marked change, but they are fun. “Watusi Lucy” is an early rocker styled cut with Farfisa organ giving it a vintage sound. Cool stuff! The album finishes with an instrumental entitled “Chitlins;” more vintage organ, some super guitar. This and the prior cut are throwbacks to my youth and are fun additions to a great album.
This is a special album. Lee is in a zone. While his vocals on a few occasions show his age, overall they are excellent and his guitar is just something to embrace and enjoy. His tone and his work on the fret board are amazing. It is nice to have another addition to the great repertoire of The Braille Blues Daddy.
