Antone’s – Austin’s legendary “Home Of The Blues” – has announced a four-LP, 41-track box set celebrating its 50th anniversary, packed with the rich history and enduring spirit of a club that “helped put the live music capital of the world on the map” (Austin American Statesman). Set for release on August 22 via New West Records, Antone’s: 50 Years of the Blues, chronicles the development of Antone’s and its trailblazing music across three full-length albums (each capturing a unique element of the club’s history) and a special bonus 45. The set also features a meticulously updated hardcover edition of Picture the Blues from Susan Antone (the sister and close collaborator of legendary late Antone’s founder Clifford Antone) with rare and unseen photographs, and a new definitive Antone’s history written by revered Texas music historian Joe Nick Patoski with fresh interviews.
Out today are two advance tracks from the set’s opening double LP, “The Last Real Texas Blues Album,” which includes 18 songs of new material from artists integral to the history of Antone’s (Jimmie Vaughan, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Charlie Sexton, Ruthie Foster, Doyle Bramhall II, Bobby Rush, Derek O’Brien, C.J. Chenier + Muddy Waters’ guitarist John Primer and son Big Bill Morganfield) as well as its next generation leaders (Kam Franklin, Eve Monsees, McKinley James and more). Kam Franklin pays homage to a true Texas trailblazer with her interpretation of Barbara Lynn's "You'll Lose A Good Thing,” and Antone's staple Doyle Brahhall II honors the great Eddie Taylor (who reunited with his musical partner Jimmy Reed for the first time in many years at Antone's in 1976) with "Bad Boy."
Listen to “You'll Lose A Good Thing” and “Bad Boy” here: http://newwst.com/goodthing
Pre-order Antone’s: 50 Years of the Blues here: http://newwst.com/antones50
The second album, Tell Me One More Time, is a collection of long-lost cuts from Antone’s Records, the club’s in-house label and perhaps the leading promoter of female-fronted blues (Lou Ann Barton, Angela Strehli, Lavelle White, Sue Foley, Barbara Lynn) in record business history. Tell Me One More Time also features never-heard archival commentary from Clifford, about many of the artists and songs within. Album number three, We Went Live In ‘75, features rare live recordings from throughout the club’s history, ranging from Buddy Guy and Otis Rush to a 20-year-old unsigned Gary Clark Jr. Also included is a bonus tri-color 45 of Los Lobos covering Howlin' Wolf, a nod to Clifford - who rescued the band when they were stranded in Texas back in the mid-80s, helping them fund their way back to LA with a week of support slots at the club.
Antone’s: 50 Years of the Blues, is part of a major year-long celebration of Antone’s, including a special Austin City Limits taping for the club's anniversary, ACL & Antone's Celebrate the Blues, taking place on April 28 at ACL Live at The Moody Theater. The lineup, just-announced yesterday, includes Jimmie Vaughan, Sue Foley, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Charlie Sexton, Big Bill Morganfield, Lil’ Ed Williams, Grace Bowers, Bobby Rush and Lurrie Bell. These blues all-stars will be backed by an incredible 14-piece house band, featuring legendary players including ACL Hall of Famer Chris Layton, Steve Bell, Joe Sublett and more - all under the musical direction of Antone’s own Zach Ernst. This one-of-a-kind taping swaps Antone’s intimate setting for ACL’s familiar skyline backdrop and offers an all-star line-up of blues giants and torchbearers taking the famed ACL stage; the broadcast episode will air this fall as part of the PBS series' upcoming Season 51. ACL will live stream the taping on YouTube (youtube.com/austincitylimitstv), beginning promptly at 8pm CT and will only be available live.
The Antone’s Allstars will also be taking over New York's Lincoln Center on June 29 for a one-of-a-kind extravaganza, centered around the rich history of Texas blues and soul - on one of the world's most prestigious stages. Many of the performers from the ACL taping will appear at Lincoln Center (including Jimmie Vaughan, Kam Franklin, John Primer, Lurrie Bell, and Lil’ Ed Williams), but other iconic Antone’s artists like C.J. Chenier and Jivin’ Gene will join in for this special show too. Most recently, Antone’s hosted an all-day 50th anniversary celebration during SXSW, which was praised by Rolling Stone for “pointing the way towards the future of the blues.”
Antone’s: 50 Years of the Blues Tracklist
The Last Real Texas Blues Album
Going Down – Bobby Rush & Jimmie Vaughan
Reconsider Baby – Benny Turner feat. Derek O'Brien
Flip, Flop And Fly – Jivin' Gene feat. Charlie Sexton
You’ll Lose A Good Thing – Kam Franklin
If You Change Your Mind – Lil' Ed Williams
Talkin’ ‘Bout My Friends – Kim Wilson & The Fabulous Thunderbirds
Those Lonely, Lonely Nights – McKinley James
The Sky Is Crying – Lurrie Bell feat. Joe Sublett
Lead Me On – Ruthie Foster
Bad Boy – Doyle Bramhall II
Just Like A Bird Without A Feather – Big Bill Morganfield
Honest I Do – John Primer
Lookin’ Good – Eve Monsees feat. Lurrie Bell & Billy Gibbons
The Things That I Used To Do – Lynn August feat. Marcia Ball
Willie The Wimp – C.J. Chenier
You Got Me Where You Want Me – Sue Foley
If (I Could Be With You) – Kam Franklin
Message From Miss Lavelle – Lavelle White feat. Derek O'Brien & Marcia Ball
Tell Me One More Time
Sugar Coated Love – Lou Ann Barton
I’m So Glad – Snooky Pryor
It Hurts Me, Too – Angela Strehli Band
No Special Rider – Lazy Lester
You’re Gonna Make Me Cry – Lavelle White
I Won’t Cry – Doug Sahm
A Fool in Love – Marcia Ball, Lou Ann Barton, Angela Strehli
Too Sorry – Doyle Bramhall
Gone Blind – Sue Foley
Hear From My Daddy – Barbara Lynn
Don’t Touch Me – Kim Wilson
Going Down Slow – Pinetop Perkins
We Went Live In ‘75
Chicken Shack / Sugar Bear Intro (Live) – Pinetop Perkins
Walking By Myself (Live) – Jimmy Rogers
Built Up From The Ground (Live) – Sunnyland Slim
Double Trouble (Live) – Otis Rush
Bigtown Playboy (Live) – Eddie Taylor
Look On Yonder’s Wall (Live) – Buddy Guy
What It Takes To Get A Good Woman (Live) – Angela Strehli
Cold Cold Feeling (Live) – Albert Collins
Catfish Blues (Live) – Gary Clark Jr.
Midnight Creeper (Live) – James Cotton
Bonus 45
Three Hundred Pounds Of Joy – Los Lobos
About Antone’s:
Founded by Clifford Antone as the first live music venue on Austin’s now-famous Sixth Street, Antone’s quickly became ‘home away from home’ for a Mount Rushmore of blues musicians including Muddy Waters, Albert King, Otis Rush, Willie Dixon and B.B. King - as well as a broader tapestry of American roots music. The force behind this all was Antone, a native of Texas’ Gulf Coast region who spent much of his youth roadtripping through the juke joints of nearby Louisiana, where he developed a deep love of Creole music, R&B, zydeco and, above all, the blues. In the venue’s five decade run, Antone’s has continued to define the present and shape the future of blues music, bolstering the careers of internationally-renowned artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Doug Sahm, Charlie Sexton, Angela Strehli, Lou Ann Barton and many more. Today, it remains a vital presence in the live music scene, with its influence carried forward by a new generation of trailblazing artists including Gary Clark Jr., Kam Franklin, Jackie Venson and McKinley James.
