TRAVEL May 20, 2000

On a pilgrimage to the South Side, John Clarke goes in search of the blues in the city that gave it a home

By JOHN CLARKE

"There were more musical memories at Gerri's Palm Tavern on 47th Street. Back in the Fifties it was a magnet for black musicians working at the now-demolished Regal Theatre. Today, still run by the woman who held sway then, Gerri Oliver, it puts on a weekend show called I Was There When The Blues Was Red Hot! written and performed by local bluesman Fernando Jones."

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TRAVEL May 20, 2000

On a pilgrimage to the South Side, John Clarke goes in search of the blues in the city that gave it a home

[Photos: Muddy Waters' boarded-up house, left; and the House of Blues club, right ]

By JOHN CLARKE

Calling the tune | Night Life

IT IS 11.30 on a Thursday night and I'm in the Checkerboard Lounge on Chicago's South Side where the beer is cheap and bluesman Vance Kelly is tearing the place apart with some stunning guitar runs.

To any committed fan of the music, listening to Kelly in a city which justly claims to be the home of the blues, has to be pretty close to blues heaven. And I should know - I'd actually visited Blues Heaven the day before and shared a pizza there with Shirli Dixon Nelson.

That may not sound too divine, but to put it in context we were eating our pizza (pepperoni with extra cheese and a side helping of salted popcorn) in what had formerly been the studios of Chess Records at 2120 South Michigan Avenue, an address so hallowed that the Rolling Stones even recorded a track with that title.

It is now a museum and educational centre known as Willie Dixon's Blue Heaven Foundation, run by Ms Dixon Nelson and named after her late father - the producer, songwriter and performer who wasn't boasting when he called his autobiography I Am The Blues.

Chess Records had been his second home and more blues legends had trod the floorboards where I was busy dropping popcorn than you could shake a harmonica at, including Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Buddy Guy, Little Walter and Bo Diddley.

The fact that Chicago became the home of the blues was due, in a large part, to those artists and scores of others who brought their intense, brooding and direct brand of Delta blues from Mississippi to Chicago in the immediate postwar years. There, electrified and enhanced with big city production values, it went on to conquer the world.

I know that sounds a big claim, but as Muddy Waters once famously said, "the blues had a baby and they called it rock 'n' roll". There probably isn't a rock band in the world that hasn't been influenced in some way by the music that came from this city and more particularly, from these studios. Just ask Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton or Moby.

The golden age of Chicago blues was back in the 1950s and 1960s. I'd gone there with my mojo in full working order to see how much of it had survived into the new millennium. The answer is a lot. It's still possible to see blues artists every night of the week at more than a dozen or so bars and clubs around the city.

The Chicago Blues Festival, a huge and free event proudly endorsed by the city's mayor, Richard M. Daley, is now in its 17th year. True, the music may not be the same as it was 30 years ago - you're as likely to hear an Aretha Franklin number as you are one by Little Walter - but the feel and the commitment are the same.

The choice of hotel was easy - how could I resist staying at somewhere called the House of Blues hotel. Folk art portraits of Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry adorn the walls and your key card comes with a free blues CD. But be warned, despite its name the House of Blues club situated a few yards from the hotel entrance is more of a rock than a blues venue. Wishbone Ash were appearing the day I left.

But blues and soul acts such as Buckwheat Zydeco and The Meters had also appeared recently and the restaurant below the club, with its cornbread and chicken soul food menu, had live blues daily.

For a stronger shot of the real stuff though, head out to Buddy Guy's Legends, the most famous of the present day venues. It's a large bar-cum-restaurant with an added pool room. Buddy was absent the night I was there (there's a space saved for him by the bar when he's in town), but I was treated to the delights of Big Dave and The Ultrasonics, a talented five-piece band from Michigan. In between numbers you can admire Buddy's gold records, look at his collection of blues memorabilia or buy one of his T-shirts.

Another popular club, the Kingston Mines, offers continuous performances on two stages. As bass player J.W. Williams and his band finished their 45-minute segment there was a mad rush to the other side of the club, where André Taylor and vocalist Nellie Travis began theirs. After another 45 minutes it was back again for more JW. As the club stays open until 4am (5am on Saturdays) you can work off those extra calories from the beer by keeping up with the bands.

Photo: Shirli Dixon Nelson takes a shine to blues man Clarke

Across the street is B.L.U.E.S., a smaller club, but full to capacity for the Chicago R&B Kings, who belted their way through blues and soul standards with some added help from guest star Big Time Sarah, a generously proportioned blues shouter.

All the clubs above are in well-frequented parts of the city with audiences of tourists, business people and blues fans. It's a different story at the Checkerboard Lounge, deep in the City's South Side where the blues first took shape. For a start, it's not advisable to go there by anything but a cab and to be sure there's one waiting for you when you leave.

With that sort of precaution you find a club that looks as if it was last decorated in 1963. A mirrored silver ball hangs from the ceiling, the tables are small and peeling and there's not a souvenir T-shirt or key fob in sight. I loved it.

It helped that the band was the best I'd heard all week, with guitar pyrotechnics from Vance Kelly and rumbling, powerful vocals from a giant of a man introduced as Mr Mean. And no, I didn't hang around afterwards to find out how he acquired his name.

The South Side, once a virtual black ghetto because of restrictive property laws, is also the main area covered in the Roots of Chicago Blues, Gospel & Jazz neighbourhood tour run by the city's cultural affairs department. The blues shrines visited include the former Maxwell Street market, a long-time musicians' hangout where electrified blues first began in the late 1940s; the now-revitalised Chess studios and Muddy Waters' home - once the scene of some wild house parties but now sadly boarded up.

It was while touring the studios that I came across a piece of musical history. In the middle of the studio floor is an open pipe leading directly to the cellar. A mike would be dropped down it to add a cavernous echo to recordings. That's why Howlin' Wolf sounded so mean.

I also, in a very anorakish sort of way, made Shirli's day. She mentioned her father's early work and I dropped in the name of his first hit group, The Big Three Trio - a name unknown outside a circle of dedicated but boring blues enthusiasts like myself. Shirli, with a look of astonishment mixed with gratitude, grabbed me and said: "Honey, they sure sent me the right man."

There were more musical memories at Gerri's Palm Tavern on 47th Street. Back in the Fifties it was a magnet for black musicians working at the now-demolished Regal Theatre. Today, still run by the woman who held sway then, Gerri Oliver, it puts on a weekend show called I Was There When The Blues Was Red Hot! written and performed by local bluesman Fernando Jones.

"Come on baby, don't you want to go, back to the same old place, sweet home Chicago," sang Little Junior Parker in 1959, and 40-odd years later, the advice still holds good.

Calling the tune in Chicago

Getting there: John Clarke travelled with British Airways Holidays. Until June 30, BAH (0870-242 4243) is offering four nights, room-only, at the Hotel Allegro for £699 per person, including return scheduled flights. Free UK connecting flights available from most regional airports.

The House of Blues Hotel (001 312 245 0333, Loews Hotels website) has double rooms from £95. Packages, including concert tickets, dinner and a Gospel Group brunch, are also available.

Reading: Chicago Blues by Mike Rowe (Da Capo). Widely available in Chicago bookshops, it was actually written by an English enthusiast more than 25 years ago but remains the most authoritative and accessible history of the music. The Story of Chess Records by John Collis (Bloomsbury, £20) - from The Times Bookshop for £17 (0870-160 8080, free p&p in the UK) - is a history of Chicago's most famous record label, with lots of great vintage pics.

Listening: Vintage Chicago blues from the likes of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Little Walter is available on a large selection of Chess reissues from MCA/Universal. For those with large wallets, best bet is the lavish 15-CD set The Chess Story 1947-1975, £122.99.

Night Life

CLUBS:

Kingston Mines, 2548 North Halsted (001 773 477 4646, www.kingston-mines.com). B.L.U.E.S, 2519 North Halsted (773 528 1012). Blue Chicago, 736 North Clark (312 642 6261, www.bluechicago.com). Blue Chicago on Clark, 536 North Clark (312 661 0100). Buddy Guy's Legends, 754 S. Wabash (312 427 0333, www.buddyguys.com). Checkerboard Lounge, 423 E. 43rd St (773 624 3240). Gerri's Palm Tavern, 446 E. 47th St (773 373 6292). House of Blues, Marina City, 329 North Dearborn (312 923 2000, www.hob.com).

STUDIOS:

The former Chess studios at 2120 South Michigan Avenue is now the home of Willie Dixon's Blues Heaven Foundation Inc. Tours can be taken between 12-2pm: adults £6.60 (312 808 1286, www.bluesheaven.com).

TOURS:

Chicago Neighbourhood Tours (312 742 1190) ran its last Roots of Chicago Blues, Gospel and Jazz tour of 2000 in early May. However, the tour will be running again next year. The city's Special Events office (312 744 3315) sometimes runs blues-orientated tours.

FESTIVALS:

The Chicago Blues Festival is held every June over three days. This year's dates are June 8-11. Headliners at this year's festival include Deborah Coleman, Homesick James, Big Jack Johnson, Koko Taylor and Johnnie Taylor. Entrance is free. Special events hotline (312 744 3370, City of Chicago Blues Festival website).