Antone's 42nd Anniversary: Tribute to James Cotton and Muddy Waters with Big Bill Morganfield, Bob Margolin, Paul Oscher, Jimmy D Lane, Bob Stroger, a

American blues singer and guitarist, born 19 June 1956.


American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and founder/owner of Steady Rollin' Records.

b. May 9, 1949 (Boston, MA, USA)


American blues bassist.

Born : December 27, 1930 in Haity, Missouri.

Bob played, among others with Otis Rush, Jimmie
Mabon, Eddie King, Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor,
Carey Bell, Maurice Pejoe, Snooky Pryor, Louisiana
Red, Buster Benton and Sunnyland Slim.


"Jimmy D. Lane is an incredible guitarist!???...Eric Clapton 1997

At the age of 50, Jimmy D. Lane has already led quite a full life. The musicians he knows makes for an impressive resume. He has worked with Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, Jim Keltner, Keith Richards, B.B. King, Van Morrison, Jonny Lang, Gary Moore, Double Trouble, Taj Mahal, Stephen Stills, Jeff Healy, Jimmie Lee Robinson, Lowell Fulson, and Snooky Pryor, Kim Wilson, Pinetop Perkins, Johnny ???Big Moose??? Walker, Johnnie Johnson, Kim Wilson, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Harry Hypolite, George ???Wild Child??? Butler, David ???HoneyBoy??? Edwards, Weepin??? Willie Robinson, Little Hatch, Nancy Bryan, Willie Kent, Henry Gray, Lazy Lester and Eomot RaSun. He has also worked with venerable blues greats such as Sam Lay, Hubert Sumlin, Carey Bell, Dave Meyers and his father, the legendary Jimmy Rogers.

Born July 4th, 1965 in Chicago, he grew up in a household where he became acquainted with a veritable who's who of Chicago bluesmen. Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Willie Mabon, Little Walter and Albert King, to name a few, would all stop by the house to visit the "old man." Coming from this environment has instilled in Lane the deepest respect for elder statesmen of the blues. "I feel blessed and fortunate, to have known all those cats, and I do not take it for granted."

At the age of eight, he began playing his dad's guitar, which he wasn't supposed to do. "I would break a string and put it back in the case like he wasn't going to discover it," Lane recalls. Shortly after that, Lane received a Gibson Acoustic from John Wayne. The Duke gave it to Shakey Jake, who was Wayne's driver, to give to Lane. "I would try to play along to a Bobby Blue Bland album" Lane states. He also wanted to join in with his dad and all those old cats that stopped by to "drink, tell lies and jam." Lane, however, would not get serious on the guitar until much later. Lane got discouraged from playing after the Gibson got smashed, and didn't play for a while.

In 1983, Lane had a life changing experience. "I was laying on the bed with the headset on, trying to figure out what to do with my life, and that song, "Hey Joe" (the Hendrix version) came on the radio and I heard that song like I've never heard it before". At that time, Jimmy knew exactly what to do. He took his last $59 to a pawnshop, bought a Harmony guitar and learned "Hey Joe" by ear. For the next four years he worked construction and roofing jobs, but would spend every other waking moment playing guitar. He would play along to blues as well as AC/DC and Journey records.

By 1987 Lane was good. He became lead guitarist of the Jimmy Rogers Band as well as forming his own band, Jimmy D. Lane and The Hurricanes and later Blue Train Running. Lane toured extensively with his dad's band while juggling his own solo career.

In 1993, The Jimmy Rogers Band toured Europe, where they made a stop to perform at the BBC. In '94 they performed at the W. C. Handy Awards and in '95 they appeared on the Conan O'Brien show, as well as the Chicago Blues Festival.

Jimmy made his solo recording debut in 1995. The self titled disc on Blue Seal Records features 12 fine originals and one of his dad's tunes. In 1993, however, he would meet the people who would put his recording career into high gear. During the sessions for Bluebird for Analogue Productions, with the Jimmy Rogers Band, he met Producer John Koenig and head of Acoustic Sounds, Chad Kassem. Koenig saw the Jimmy D. Lane band at B. B. King's Club in Universal City and was floored. Koenig and Kassem got together and Jimmy recorded Long Gone for Analogue Productions in 1995, at Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles, which was released in 1997.

His second recording, Long Gone, showcases Jimmy???s guitar virtuosity on originals like "Whiskey," "Oh What A Feeling" and the title cut. The Hendrix/Vaughn influence can be heard in his searing guitar solos but listen and you will hear his feet are firmly rooted in the blues. His versions of John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" and Jimmy Rogers "I'm in Love" show his deep love for, and respect of blue tradition.

Lane can stretch out on his own, but is equally at home in a support mode as can be heard by comparing his playing on Long Gone to Bluebird. Lane plays on and co-produced Hubert Sumlin's I Know You, also on Analogue Productions, where as he states "You can hear Hubert's guitar, not some guy with his amp cranked up." In fact, it was Hubert Sumlin who gave Jimmy his first Strat in 1986.

Off stage, Lane's positive outlook on life is reflected in one of his favorite phrases "It's all good." This was originally the title of his third release, but changed it to Legacy in honor of his father's memory and the rich blues heritage he grew up with. Legacy, released in May '98, features guest appearances of blues greats Sam Lay on drums, Carey Bell on harp and Sumlin on guitar. It also features the last recordings of Jimmy Rogers, who played on "One Room Country Shack" and "Another Mule Kickin' In My Stall." Jimmy is proud of all his work with his dad, but this one touches him deeply. "I take great pride in the fact that the last time my dad picked up a guitar was to help me out on my project."

Jimmy's fourth release, It's Time, could just as well have been titled It's Overdue.

It's long been time for one of today's most powerful and expressive musicians to break the chains of relative commercial obscurity. Time to seize the reins of blues leadership, just as his father, Jimmy Rogers, did in the 1940s. Masters Eddie Kramer (engineer for Hendrix, Zeppelin, Woodstock etc.), Chris "Whipper" Layton and Tommy Shannon (of Double Trouble) and Mike Finnigan (organ in the bands of Etta James, Taj Mahal and CSN&Y) are all on board to give Jimmy the nudge he needs to clear the launching pad.

Most recently, Jimmy D. Lane has been included on his father's (Jimmy Rogers) Mississippi Blues Trail Historical Landmark in Ruleville, Mississippi. He has two songs on the "Experience Hendrix" DVD...released in 2008. He performed with Mike McCreedy, Double Trouble and Hubert Sumlin, on the project. Jimmy's song "Tears Without A Shoulder" was featured in an episode of "In Plain Sight" (The Trojan Horse).

Lane's music is on the rocking side, but is tempered with just the right amount of blues tradition. As Lane states "you can have too much water and too much fire, but with the right amount of both, you can boil an egg." Jimi Hendrix may have moved him to buy a guitar, but Hendrix is just one influence. Lane is a passionate blues singer, songwriter and guitarist with a deep respect for "all those old cats who were there".


Carl Weathersby was born in 1953, in Jackson, Mississippi and moved to East Chicago, Indiana with his family when he was eight. When he started playing guitar as a teen he said his father always had musician friends stopping by the house. One that used to come by often was this big guy that Carl only knew as Albert, the mechanic. Albert happened to be watching the young Weathersby practicing some Albert King songs on guitar one day. Carl said he had been practicing this one song called 'Cross Cut Saw,' playing it over and over until he said, 'I think I got it. So I started playing it and this guy said, 'man, that ain't the way that song goes, that ain't the way I played it.' It turned out to be Albert King who proceeded to show an amazed Weathersby just how it was supposed to be played. King offered some welcome encouragement to Carl and took a liking to the young lad. ??After his tour of duty in Vietnam, Carl found employment as a steel mill worker, as a prison guard and even a police officer. Weathersby was Albert King's rhythm guitarist between 1979 and 1982, and then spent some 15 years with Billy Branch's Sons of Blues as lead guitarist before striking out on his own. His debut solo album on Evidence Records, 'Don't Lay Your Blues On Me', was nominated for the W.C. Handy 'Blues Album of the Year' award. ??Mixing Southern charm, soulful vocals, and fierce guitar-playing, Carl plays the blues, from down-and-dirty to scintillating Albert King influenced chops. This is one powerful blues performer that will leave you amazed and thoroughly entertained.


Blues singer, songwriter, recording artist, and multi-instrumentalist,
(harmonica, guitar, piano, melodica, and bass harp), first came
to national attention as Muddy Waters' harmonica player, 1967 -1972.


Born in Gilmer, Texas, Benny and his older brother, blues legend Freddie King, learned to play guitar from their mother, Ella Mae (King) Turner and her brothers Leon and Leonard King. While Freddie was captivated by the guitar and wanted to be a performer, Benny just enjoyed the music and the opportunities to share it with the older brother he admired and adored. The boys used to race home from school to catch the last few minutes of a radio show called ???In the Groove,??? where they heard the music of artists such as Louis Jordan, Charles Brown and later, T-Bone Walker.

After the family moved to Chicago in the early 50???s, what began as parallel exposure and experiences for the brothers ultimately diverged as Freddie went in one direction and Benny pursued other opportunities that came his way. While best known today as a bass player, Benny played guitar during many of his gigs in the early years, both locally in Chicago and on the road. A last-minute request to sit in with Freddie???s band to cover for Robert Elem at the Squeeze Club gave Benny his first introduction to playing bass, with some ???on-the-job training??? at its finest!

During the late 50???s Benny played guitar with gospel group The Kindly Shepherds, and is on a handful of their recordings for the Nashboro label (guitar and background vocals) from that time. He was also playing bass with Freddie King at legendary Chicago clubs such as the Squeeze Club and Walton???s Corner. While at Walton???s Corner, Benny met R&B singer Dee Clark, and was invited to join him on the road. Within a few days, his first exposure to touring and life on the road began, at none other than The Apollo Theater in New York, and continued at other legendary theaters including The Uptown Theater in Philadelphia, The Howard Theater in Washington DC and The Regal Theater in Chicago. Benny played in the band with Phil Upchurch, and cherishes their friendship to this day. It was an exciting time, during which Dee had his Billboard hit ???Raindrops??? (1961).

While on the road, Benny met Leroy Crume and Richard Gibbs, of the Soul Stirrers, and was invited to join their tour. At that time, electric bass was unheard of in gospel music and it was controversial within the band, but the group???s manager, Jesse Farley, recognized his potential contribution and hired Benny. That pioneering move laid the groundwork and inspiration for the gospel music of today, in which bass guitar plays an integral role.

By the mid-to-late 60???s Benny returned to Chicago, where he continued to play locally in various bands and also made a handful of his own recordings for the Leaner Brothers??? One-Derful and M-Pac! Labels. Not long after that, Benny re-joined his brother on the road, when the band was living every musician???s dream, playing at major festivals (domestic and international) and on the same bill as artists including Dionne Warwick, BB King, Solomon Burke, Eric Clapton and even opening for Grand Funk Railroad at Madison Square Garden in New York. While at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1973, members of Freddie???s band were asked to sit in with Memphis Slim, and Benny plays bass on the recording of that act, ???Memphis Slim ??? Very Much Alive and in Montreux.??? Mickey Baker was part of that performance.

In December 1976, the dream became a nightmare. Benny lost his band mate, best friend and big brother all at once, after Freddie???s untimely passing at age 42. Completely devastated and physically debilitated by the unspeakable loss, Benny spent the next two years as a recluse, trying to make it from hour to hour, day after day. Finally, when Chicago bluesman Mighty Joe Young approached him, Benny gathered the courage to face the stage once again. With barely enough strength or stamina to make it through that first gig, Benny pushed forward, and it was the catalyst to getting him back on his feet and into the mainstream of the blues once again. One of the highlights of their time together was appearing in the 1981 film ???Thief??? while playing live at The Wise Fools Pub. After eight fantastic years on the road together, Mighty Joe had to stop touring due to health issues, and Benny planned his next move.

Heading to New Orleans was the next significant turning point for Benny. There, he met Marva Wright, ???Blues Queen of New Orleans.??? He joined the band and served as Marva???s bandleader and bass player for more than twenty years. Internationally recognized beyond the borders of New Orleans, Marva Wright and the BMW???s played all over the world in addition to being mainstays of the French Quarter music scene. In 2010, Marva passed away and Benny lost a cherished friend and bandmate, once again.

A recently-released (in 2014) homage to his musical history, Benny is very proud of his newest CD, Journey. The deep roots and wide diversity of his musical influences blend into a signature style he calls ???Real Blues??? and performs with his band of the same name. In many ways, Benny Turner???s journey is just beginning, and promises to be one fine ride!


Organ player from Chicago
Veteran musician in the blues and rhythm 'n'blues scene