RST – One last name from the past, David Earl Johnson
CBH – That’s another big brother figure. I met David in the mid-seventies. He was a conga player. He had played with all the jazz greats. He was in bands with Jan Hammer, John Ambercrombie, Herbie Mann; he played with just about everybody. He was an incredible composer and a great conga player, and one great friend. He died about a year and a half ago. I miss him a lot. We wrote a couple of tunes together, he was an amazing cat. I wish the world had known him, they just don’t know him. He has a couple of German records out. He wrote the tune, “Time Is Free”, and “Trondossa”, which ARU recorded. The world will soon discover this amazing cat, I hope. He put Latin and Rock n’ Roll together and made it work.
RST – Is it true “Trondossa” was inspired by a woman who worked at Waffle House?
CBH – Yeah, how’d you know that?
RST – You have played with so many incredible musicians, I found it interesting how excited you seemed to be to perform with Vassar Clements at last year’s Harvest Festival, can you talk about him a bit?
CBH – I was in Nashville last week and I got to talk to him. He’s the “king of kings” man. You know that guy was with Bill Monroe and Hank Williams when he was 14! I mean, what kind of resume is that! He was with the guy that started bluegrass and country and western (laughter) that says a lot doesn’t it?
RST – It’s amazing, and to be completely down to Earth about it.
CBH – Yeah, Vassar’s is just the nicest guy there is.
RST – From speaking with you and reading about you, I’ve learned that one of the first things that lured you toward music was a blues radio program back in the your younger days, do you remember the name of this show or the station it was on?
CBH – It came out of Nashville, Tennessee actually, in the fifties. It was WFM I believe. I was hearing Bobby Bland, BB King, and John Lee Hooker. I had never heard music quite like that before. It was at nighttime that I got it. There were probably six clear channel stations in the South, and as soon as the sun went down the clear channels would come on. I don’t remember the name of the program, just that as soon as the sun came down this station came on. I’m talkin ’54-‘58.
RST – Lately it has hit me that The Dunhams’ radio program here in Atlanta may be serving a similar purpose for some of the younger folks around Atlanta. Do you remember where you met them, and what your first impressions of them were?
CBH – I think we were playing at their house, (some of the) Aquarium Rescue Unit about two years ago. Oteil wasn’t there, but Jeff, Jimmy and I, I think. As a matter of fact I guess we went to their studio one time, and then the next time we went to their house.
RST – Have you ever in your career experienced anything like that, folks having musicians in their living room and broadcasting it on a commercial radio station?
CBH – Not actually, I’ve never seen anything quite like it, no. It’s one of a kind, so far. I mean to have people like Little Feat in there is quite something to say the least; that’s very high quality music. I can’t listen to much radio because most of it just makes me sick. They do play real pure music, and that’s not really done on a station that’s that big at any time. It’s great that they do play pure and good music, it’s critical actually.
RST – Now they have bands perform live at a club here in town, but I hear they may occasionally return to having bands in their living room. Would you say they’ve contributed to making Atlanta one of the most vital cities for the groove rock or improvisational rock scene?
CBH – Yeah, they sure have.
No Comments comments associated with this post