Tim Hardin’s struggles with addiction are mirrored in Black Sheep Boy, his heartbreaking tale of alienation from his family.

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I hadn’t heard of Magic Sam, and I hadn’t heard this song, written before I was born, until it appeared in The Bikeriders.

With its driving raw-boned rhythm it’s perfect for a motorcycle movie, capturing the feeling of riding down the highway.

Samuel Maghett – “Maghett Sam” merging into Magic Sam – was a Chicago bluesman who had moved north from his Mississippi Delta birthplace in 1956 when he was 19.

Learning his trade from records by Little Walter and Muddy Waters, his debut single All Your Love was a local sensation and established the template for his career, showcasing a staccato fingerpicking style on the guitar, with generous use of the tremolo arm.

Sam soon became a name on the city’s new West Side sound in the late 1950s alongside Otis Rush and Buddy Guy, recycling the melody on songs like Everything Gonna Be Alright and Easy Baby, before changing direction for the searing rockabilly number 21 Days In Jail.

After his Army service was cut short when he was jailed for desertion, he returned to recording with another change of style on a version of Fats Domino’s Every Night About This Time, followed by a return to his roots with That’s Why I’m Crying and Out Of Bad Luck.

His most successful song was I Feel So Good (I Wanna Boogie) in 1963, earning him a UK tour. Two albums followed in 1967, including numbers like You Belong To Me and What Have I Done Wrong, the tribute to his adopted home, Sweet Home Chicago – and this version of J.P.Lenore’s 1955 tune Mama, Mama, Talk To Your Daughter.

Sadly his career ended in 1969 when he died from a heart attack at the age of only 32.

It’s no exaggeration to say John Mayall is the most important figure in the development of rock music in Britain. 

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There’s nothing like a Northern Soul stomper to start the day with a lift – and this is one of the best. Rita and the Tiaras do the trick better than a triple espresso.

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I hope I’m not tempting fate by posting this on the day my team head out to Bavaria in search of victory against freshly deposed 11-time German champions Bayern Munich.

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Here’s a sweet slice of Northern Soul to warm the cockles of the heart on the longest night of the year. Listen carefully and you can hear the guitar of future Fleetwood Mac member Bob Welch.

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I thought I knew everything by The Rolling Stones but I’d never heard this song from Their Satanic Majesties Request ’til this morning, when it was chosen on the radio by Thurston Moore.

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I’ve just heard this song for the first time – only half a century after it first came out. And… wow. It’s a spellbinding, heartbreaking account of a loveless marriage and the effect it’s had on the life of their unwanted child.

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You’ve got to feel sorry for Fred Neil. The obscure Canadian folkie recorded definitive versions of three great songs that went on to become standards – and all three were made famous in better versions by three other artists.

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The mysterious Rubin only recorded a single side in his obscure music career – but it became a Northern Soul classic. (more…)