BluePower Presents....The Blues From Catalonia!

Since we have been involved with BluePower, we have been sent the Blues from some strange places. The country of origin for tonight's music is certainly not a place known for the Blues. Until now, that is. The music and artists for tonight's show come from the relatively little known country of Catalonia. To be quite honest, I have been to Barcelona, Spain before and never knew it was the capitol of Catalonia. I always thought Barcelona was part of Spain. Well....that's a long story and one you should possibly dig into a bit. Catalonia's history is worth studying.

Catalonia is a Mediterranean country located on the northwestern triangle of the Iberian Peninsular. Historically, it's location has turned it into a land of peace, where various peoples and cultures have come together.

The CD we're presenting tonight is titled Blues Cat and features artists who all hail from Catalonia, Spain.

The CD was sent to us from our friend, Vicente Zumel of Barcelona. Vicente has been producing and hosting a Blues radio show in Barcelona for 25 years called La Hora Del Blues. The man has a remarkable set of archives and does a wonderfully impromptu show. Please give a listen when you have time.

BluePower sends it's congratulations to all the talented artists of Catalan and apologizes for the fact that we could not get to all the great players on Blues Cat this time around. We hope you'll forgive us.

Thanks for tuning in.
John Rhys/BluePower.com

Tonight's artists are:

1)....Theme...."Koz's Walk"....Koz Kosinski
2)...."Woatinee"....Amadeu Casas
3)...."Blues Through My Veins"....Alex A. & TNT
4)...."Sugar Sweet"....Joan Pau Cumellas-Miguel Talavera
5)...."Drowning In The Blues"....Loti Lewis
6)...."Waiting At The Train Station"....Joan Vinyals-Cece Giannotti
7)...."Trist Gris"....Errol Woiski
8)...."Cara De Foc"....Big Mama & Joan Pau Cumellas
9)...."Cansat"....Blues De Picolat
10)..."Jungle's Groove"....Lluis Coloma

Click here to play....BluePower Presents....The Blues From Catalonia!

Click here to go to....La Hora Del Blues!

It's Time For Smokestack Lightnin'!

For many years now we at BluePower have been telling you'all about our good friends way down in Maitland, Florida. Yes....that's where our friends at Smokestack Lightnin' reside and play the Blues.

A good while back, while I was the Blues Editor at Cash Box Magazine, I heard of these fine folks and the noise they were making down south playing nothing but the best of the Blues.

Well....they've got a new show up and running that we think you should check out. Just go to the Smokestack Lightnin' link on the sidebar and then hold on. Be prepared to hear a three hour show of nothing but the best of the old and the new Blues.

Tommy Thompson is one of the few people in the world that I respect when it comes to choosing the correct tunes to play on his shows. In fact....when I need a cut I can't find, I call Tommy because he's got everything.

So, if you're glued in a box all day and you need something to take your mind off the drudgery and boredom....check out Smokestack Lightnin'. They are guaranteed to rock your boredom away.

John Rhys/BluePower.com

You can also click here to listen to Smokestack Lightnin' !

Bo Diddley's Condition Improves After Stroke!

From: Sioux City Journal.com

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Four days after suffering a stroke, Bo Diddley walked around the intensive-care unit at Creighton University Medical Center, and doctors were encouraged that the singer-song writer-guitarist would be able to perform again, his manager said.

The 78-year-old Diddley told his audience that he wasn't feeling well during a show in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Saturday night. Diddley's manager, Margo Lewis, said she had the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer taken to the hospital by ambulance when he appeared disoriented at the Omaha airport on Sunday.

Though Diddley's speech is impaired, he's made significant progress.

"We're going to get a guitar for him and put it in his lap and let him entertain people here," Lewis said from the hospital. "People think that would be good therapy for him."

Diddley, with his black glasses and low-slung guitar, has been an icon in the music industry since he topped the R&B charts with "Bo Diddley" in 1955. His other hits include "Who Do You Love," "Before You Accuse Me," "Mona" and "I'm a Man."

Diddley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and was given a lifetime achievement Grammy in 1998.

Lewis said it's uncertain how long Diddley, who has a history of hypertension and diabetes, will be hospitalized in Omaha.

He played two Saturday night shows at Harrah's Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs. He planned to fly home to Archer, Fla., before starting a monthlong tour of the Midwest and United Kingdom on May 20 in Dallas.

Those shows are canceled, Lewis said, but she believes Diddley will sing again, even though he'll require speech therapy first.