About Me
You can catch Hound Dog Taylor and The Houserockers almost any night of the week in one of the shadowy little blues clubs on the south side of Chicago. In the city that's produced more great blues artists than any other, Hound Dog plays more often, and for more people, than any of the well-known bluesmen. His sidemen change now and then, but usually you'll find Ted Harvey perched behind his drums, chewing on a wad of gum and calling for someone to get him a drink, while the second guitarist, Brewer Phillips wanders out into the audience, talking and dancing while he plays his battered Telecaster. Hound Dog sits back in the corner on a folding chair, laughing and singing and stamping his feet and pushing out two or three hours of straight, non-stop boogie and blues.
Hound Dog draws all sorts of people- the older Mississippi-born working couples, the young, Chicago-born street society in their new clothes and Afros, and a smattering of dedicated white blues fans. And, although his name is virtually unknown outside the city (he's had only two 45's released before this album ((Hound Dog Taylor and The Houserockers))) Hound Dog attracts other musicians everywhere he plays. Such blues greats as Jimmy Reed, Big Walter Horton, Carey Bell, Honeyboy Edwards and Lee Jackson, as well as the lesser-known but equally talented Little Arthur, Lefty Diz, Son Seals, Magic Slim and Johnny Embry sit in often. When Hound Dog plays, there's rarely a break in the music; when one musician gets tired, another steps in to take his place.Theodore Roosevelt Taylor was born in Natchez, Mississippi in 1915 and grew up around Tchule and Greenwood in the Delta. He first took up guitar when he was twenty, and played in both standard and open E tunings, but now plays strictly bottleneck style. His blues reflects his early friendship with Elmore James and the other men who first electrified slide guitar- he plays hard and loud. Taylor gigged all over the Delta, and worked on the legendary King Buscuit Flour program of KFFA in West Helena, Arkansas, with Robert Jr. Lockwood, and Sonny Boy Williamson. After coming to Chicago in 1942, Hound Dog worked at various day jobs, but he's been a full-time bluesman since 1957. He's played in virtually every blues club in Chicago, and broadcasted for two years on Big Bill Hill's blues show on WOPA. His tunes have been borrowed by many other blues artists, and a version of one of his instrumentals was cut by Freddy King. The tune, "Hideaway," made Freddy a star, but Hound Dog never received composer's credit.Second guitarist Brewer Phillips was born in Coila, Mississippi in 1925 and grew up on a small farm. He started playing blues as a boy, and gigged around West Memphis in the late 40's, backing Roosevelt Skyes, Joe Hill Louis, Memphis Slim and Bobby Hines. Brewer found work as a carpenter when he came to Chicago, and still thinks of his music mostly as a hobby. He still plays in the raw, distorted style of West Memphis, but considers Jimmy Reed and Hound Dog as the main influences on his music.
Brewer usually plays lead on a dozen songs a night, and that's his lead guitar on "44 Blues" and "Phillips' Theme." He and Hound Dog teamed up one night in 1959 in a West side tavern.Native Chicagoan Ted Harvey has been drumming with Hound Dog for almost seven years. Like many of the best blues drummers, he started his career in the 5th Army Band and gained experience playing jazz around the city in the early 50's. But by 1952 he had switched to blues and was backing Shelby LaDell at Allen's Lounge on 47th Street. He played with Little Walter in the mid-50's and picked up pointers from Fred Below. Ted's worked with most of the bluesmen in Chicago, including a stint with Muddy Waters at Pepper's Lounge. He and Hound Dog first met at the Club Zanzibar in 1955 when Ted was backing Elmore James, and again at Elmore's funeral in 1963. Ted finally joined the group in 1965, replacing Levi Warren. Like Brewer, he holds a day job, and often comes to gigs direct from his work as a shipping clerk for a downtown department store.-Wesley Race::::::::::::::::::::::;"When I die, they'll say 'he couldn't play shit, but he sure made it sound good!"- Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor.
Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor
Brewer Phillips
Ted Harvey
