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HoundDo

Contrary to whatever stereotypes
have teen created to cover the \
contemporary bluesman. there is a side
to the blues that has absolutely nothing
to do with whiskey- fed misery, financial
hard times or woman troubles. In
certain hands the blues can become not
an excuse to wallow in misery, but an
invitation to escape from it: a rocking,
driving celebration designed to exorcise House Rockers
whatever foul spirits are at work. When
you ' re talking about those kind of
’
blues, you re talking about Mound Dog
Taylor and the House Rockers.
Hound Dog was born some 27 years
ago in Natchez.Mississippi,as Theodore
Roosevelt Taylor. Raised in the heart of
the Delta country, a large chunk of his
education was given over to the blues;
his specialty fast became slide guitar.
HJS mastery of that tune- honored
technique is evidenced in the testi-
monial of Buddy Guy (no slouch,
either, when it comes to guitar playing) . *
“Hound Dog Taylor is the last of the
real good slide guitar players. "
From the moment he hit Chicago, it
seems,a following sprang up that rivaled
that of any of the “names." It was not
at all surprising , for the band ' s
philosophy seems to be that you have to
put out energy if you expect to see it
returned. The House Rockers are a band
that treasures good times above all else,
and will go to all lengths to get them
rolling. The stories of how Hound Dog
played for twelve straight hours at Mr.
Kelley ' s - dropping sidemcn like Hies -
are justifiably famous.
While lie ' s yet to become a familiar
item on the mass index,his presence has
not gone unfelt. His “Taylor ’ s Boogie ”
was borrowed by Freddie King and
transformed into “Hideaway. an R&B
"
monster of |Q 6I. Other musicians cop
freely from his style, and any blues
afficionado within 50 miles of Chicago
will rattle off volumes about the nun at
the mention of his name. It may be a
monumental understatement to say that
his following is the most loyal of any
Windy City bluesman.
He didn ' t release his fust album until
last year, but the wait was more than
worth it. lie ' s gigging extensively these
days , taking his good times to college
campuses and concert halls all over the
land. One look at Hound Dog Taylor
and the House Rockers, I think, is all f
it's going to take to initiate you info lus <
ever-expanding legion of admirers.
Ben Fdmonds £
November. 1972 97