Spider John Koerner Legacy
SUNDAY, APRIL 9, 7 pm, 7:30 pm showtime
CEDAR CULTURAL CENTER
416 Cedar Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55454
(612) 338-2674; $18 adv/ $20 day of show. www.ticketfly.com www.thecedar.org www.redhouserecords.com

Folk legend “Spider" John Koerner, an artist who first came to fame with the immensely influential group Koerner, Ray and Glover, is being honored with a “retirement” show at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis on Sunday, April 9. Spider John is being honored at this show be “younger people who appreciate my work and wanted me to have a show with them,” he says. These include Red House artists Charlie Parr and The Cactus Blossoms as well as Koerner’s long-time West Bank compadres Willie Murphy and Tony Glover. Also, Koerner’s longtime Boston band, Chip Taylor Smith and Paul Strother, will be flying in just for this show. Additional guests include Lonesome Dan Kase, Jack Klatt and Dave Babb and Grant Johnson.

For 50 years, John Koerner has explored the ranges of traditional American song, as a solo artist and with a variety of partners. All of his 1960’s recordings are reissued on CD with Red House Records: Blues, Rags and Hollers; Lots More Blues Rags and Hollers; and The Return of Koerner, Ray & Glover, (cornerstones of the blues revivalist era, recorded with Dave Ray and Tony Glover), and Running, Jumping, Standing Still, (a blend of jug band, psychedelic R&B and folk-blues, with (Willie Murphy).

Two 1970s albums recorded on Dave Ray's Sweet Jane label, Music Is Just A Bunch Of Notes and Some American Folk Songs Like They Used To are now collector's items. His 1986 recording Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Been and the 1992 raised by humans, both with Boston's "Mr. Bones" John Burrill, and others, reflect Koerner's deep appreciation of the traditional song. StarGeezer, recorded in New Orleans, adds the Louisiana sounds of Reggie Houston, Amasa Miller and Johnny Vidacovich with 'Chip' Taylor Smith (NKTTIB & rbh) and Willie Murphy (Producer) (R,J,SS). In a moving rendition, Koerner also covers Hoagy Carmichael’s "Stardust" on StarGeezer. Koerner reunited with Ray and Glover in 1996 for One Foot in The Groove, the legendary trio’s first recording together in 30 years.

John Koerner is featured in Part 1(of 4) in the PBS Educational Series RIVER OF SONG which premiered Jan.6, 1999. This production includes a seven part series on Public Radio International; a companion book by St. Martin’s Press, a 2-CD set from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and a home video series from Acorn Media. In the fall of 1999, he recorded two tracks with the jug band sound of the Liquor Pigs, with Tim Bradach (FYTAD), and one track in 2000 with Norwegian artist Ole Ask. In a salute to the traditional roots of Bob Dylan, John Koerner and Dave Ray contributed the track “Delia” to the Redhouse tribute recording A Nod to Bob released in April 2001 for Dylan’s 60th birthday.

Bill Kirchen & Austin de Lone
Friday Nov 4, 2016 @ Lee's Liquor Lounge, Minneapolis, MN

THE PARKWAY THEATER PRESENTS
THE GOLDEN STATE LONE STAR REVUE
featuring MARK HUMMEL, ANSON FUNDERBURGH & LITTLE CHARLIE BATY
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29TH, 2016
DOORS @ 7 PM / MUSIC @ 8 PM / 21 +
$20 IN ADVANCE, $25 DAY-OF-SHOW
ADVANCE TICKETS AVAILABLE IN-PERSON AT PEPITO’S RESTAURANT OR ON-LINE AT WWW.VITALCULTURE.COM
Proudly supported by Summit Brewing and KFAI Community Radio

The Parkway Theater
4814 Chicago Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55417
theparkwaytheater.com 612.827.2928

Tinsley Ellis at The Dakota, Thursday, June 9, 2016

Photo copyright by Tom Asp, all rights reserved.

Brother To The Blues

Photo copyright 2004 by Tom Asp, all rights reserved.

Walter passed away early Tuesday morning, July 24, 2012.

StarTribune Obituary

If you would like to get in touch please email Shirley at: BSmith5325@aol.com

See updates and events honoring Walter at: Facebook

Big Walter Smith in front of 15,000 fans
at the 1999 Bayfront Blues Festival.
Photo copyright á¹¹9 by Tom Asp
All rights reserved.

Big Walter Smith has personified the blues in Minneapolis and St. Paul for more than 45 years. His 300-pound presence and velveteen voice have graced almost every blues and R&B stage in the Twin Cities at one time or another, and he has been a mainstay of the popular Bayfront Blues Festival in Duluth since its inaugural year in 1989. He is so popular in Duluth that the mayor proclaimed August 8, 1997, to be "Big Walter Smith Day" in the city."
-Living Blues Magazine

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