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Reviews |
"...possesses
one of the greatest singing voices you’ll ever hear.....
Many who haven’t heard this talented bluesman will be amazed
at the caliber of his singing."
Andy "Blues Boy" Grigg Real Blues Magazine Victoria
BC
"Pete has
a great Albert King infected voice, and he knows how to use it.
....Funky is the word that describes this outfit."
Blues Scene Quarterly Winnipeg
"Pete's
singing has an authenticity which comes from life experience."
Chris Probert Globe and Mail Toronto On
"...sings
all in a straight-ahead style that recalls Mightly Joe Young and
at times Big Daddy Kinsey."
Jim DeKoster Living Blues Magazine Chicago IL
"A must-see
for blues purists."
T.O. Nite Magazine Toronto ON
"...traditional
blues all the way, with rich full vocals."
Jo Ann Korcynska Detroit Blues Magazine Detroit MI
"Pete has
the archtypical blues voice and he knows how to deliver a song......the
highlight of the disc, of course, is Pete’s voice."
Mario Circelli Scene Magazine London ON
"....gospel
inflected R&B of Chicago Pete and his crowd-pleasing vocals."
Lenny Stoute Toronto Star Toronto ON
"Pete's
got the funk......"
Joseph Jordan Blues Access Boulder CO
Blues
Scene Quarterly Vol 1 No 2 Summer 1997
by J.P. LePage
Born in 1931
in rural Tennesee, Alford Harrell (better known as Chicago Pete)
has the history of the archetypal bluesman right up to the point
of actually having learned to sing on the cotton field and in
the church.
Raised up in
a religious home, gospel and spirituals were Pete's roots. Deep
roots indeed, as Pete has been singing from his soul for as long
as he can remember.
His mother was
a "sweet singer" who taught the kids all kinds of music.
"There were no labels back then - just music," says
Pete. And young Alford was brought up with his mother's encouragement
to reap the full potential of his talents.
Knowing well
himself what his talent was, Pete's early years were spent singing
in groups like his uncle's Heavenly Harmonizers.
After serving
in the Korean War, Pete found himself in Detroit. From '54 until
he moved to Chicago in'59 he performed in gospel vocal groups
The Songs of Zion and The Golden Harmoneers. That same year he
took up guitar briefly before settling on the bass, under the
tutelage of a musician named Robert Bester.
"The Fender
bass was real popular," says Pete. It was a fine time to
start into the blues, as Chicago through the fifties and sixties
was rife with clubs and musicians, and as time wore on, Pete got
in there like a dirty shirt.
By the late sixties,
Pete had played with many of the hallmark names of Chicago blues
of that era - Earl Hooker, Willie Mabon, Junior Wells, and many
others - but he got especially close to Jimmy Dawkins, working
much of the time with him. They played alot at a little after
hours club called the Squeeze.
Appropriately
named for its size, The Squeeze was a popular spot among musicaians,
and surely many graced the small stage. Other memorable gigs were
at the Peacock, where Pete was a member of the house band; and
a place called the Bossa Nova Club. The proprietor there told
Pete "As long as you can keep up with that juke-box, the
stage is yours", and so Pete with his own group, the Live
Wires, covered all the popular styles, and subsequently held down
a second house gig.
Pete left the
band and the Bossa Nova behind when he hooked up with Junior Parker,
the man who was perhaps Pete's single biggest influence. He worked
with Junior on the road all over the country for three or four
years until just before Parker's death in '71.
Pete moved back
up to Detroit in the early seventies and soon fell in love with
the scene there which included people like Little Mack Collins,
Alberta Adams, Little Sonny, and Mr. Bo. On a friend's advice
that since he spent all those years in Chicago, he should start
calling himself CHICAGO PETE, and his new band "The Detroiters,"
Pete picked up a new handle and a hot new band.
The Detroiters
were an eight-piece band (or more) outfit with a four-piece horn
section, and the big band for nearly the next twenty years was
what you could expect to see when you heard the name Chicago Pete.
He always had heavy players in the section, and the detroiters
could swing hard.
The band covered
a number of styles: primarily uptown blues a la Little Milton,
and including interpretations of R&B and Motown standards. True
to his roots, Pete clearly wasn't limited to musical boundaries.
He'd throw in all these different ingredients and just COOK. Combining
egual parts intensity, charm and showmanship, the unifying flavour
was Pete's powerful gospel drenched voice.
When Pete eventually
relinquished the bass chair to move up front, he'd get way up
front - out into the audience and preach to the crowd. His shows
could be likened to revival meetings, with rooms of people standing
there, shaking and waving their hands in the air, with Pete all
up in the middle testifying and shouting "Blues Power!"
"Do you feel alright?"
Needles to say,
Chicago Pete and the Detroiters were a popular regional act: their
longevity alone is testament to that. They worked in their own
backyard, forgoing national recognition, and released only two
recordings: THE GIFT recorded in Lansing Michigan, MI in '84 on
the Stormy Monday Label; and a 45, I'm Begging You from near the
same time on Pete's wife Valerie Records.
In more recent
times, although Pete still gets together with some of the Detroiters
on occasion, he's mostly been doing the single thing, appearing
as featured vocalist with a number of area groups. He's a welcome
attraction in Detroit and neighboring cities, through Windsor
and all the stops on the 401 up to Toronto, working a fair bit
with the houseband from one of the clubs in London, Ontario.
The name of the
club is Old Chicago Speakeasy, and the band leader is a saxophone/keyboard
player named Chris Murphy, who also runs a small independent record
label aptly titled Speakeasy CDs.
THE BLUES IS
ALRIGHT was released on Speakeasy in '96 and features Pete in
front of the Old chicago Blues Band as well as on several tunes
with the most recent line-up of the Detroiters. The highlights
include a number of Pete's arrangements of songs co-written by
his old friend, "Blind Child" Gerry Gaughan, the late
long time blues radio personality.
The new record
has given Pete's career a boost, and he's now working more than
ever, travelling further and further afield. He's also reunited
with his old ally, Jimmy Dawkins to work festivals and tour Europe,
where he plans to return with the Old Chicago Blues Band.
T.O.NITE
Magazine January 12, 1997
New Releases
Veteran Chicago
bluesman and singer Chicago Pete is in town with his band to do
a couple of big ticket concerts, but tonight only you can see
him at Glenevis Inn for free! Since he began playing in 1959 he's
toured Europe with Jimmy Dawkins and played bass and sang with
Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Jr.Parker, Jr.Wells, Mighty Joe Young
and many other greats. A must see for blues purists!
Toronto
Blues Society Newsletter January, 1997
by Lenny Stoute
Chicago Pete
makes a rare Toronto appearance at the Black Swan on January 10
& 11. Alford Harrel was born in Chicago hence the nickname of
this Detroit-based singer. He's a frequent guest at the Old Chicago
Speakeasy & Grill in London, Ont. (He'll be there New Year's Eve
and February 6-8th), and in fact has a fine new CD on the Speakeasy
label, The Blues is Alright whose Toronto debut will be
at the Swan. The band has Speakeasy's Chris Murphy on sax and
keys with Gary Kendall from Downchild on bass, Steve Grisbrook
from Midnight Walk on guitar and Tyler Burgess (Midnight Walk)
on drums.
Toronto
Star Thursday, Jan.9,1997
by Lenny Stoute
The Black Swan
comes up big with Chicago Pete Friday and Saturday. Pete hasn't
played these parts often, spending his time in the touring company
of such as Albert Collins, Jr. Guy, and Luther Allison. Fronting
his own crew, Pete shows a big voice and steading-rolling playing
style. He'll be working tunes off the current album, The Blues
is Alright.
Blues
Access Magazine No.28•Winter 1997
New Releases
As he explains
during an interview on the disc, Pete got his name for his many
years in Chicago before he moved to Detroit, and this pleasant
outing substantiates the stories he tells.
Scene
Magazine-Music Dec.19/96-Jan.8/97
by Mario Circelli
Since 1959, Chicago
Pete, or Alford Harrell as he is known, has been laying down bass
lines and belting out the blues. He has toured with some of the
hottest blues players in the world and released several albums
on his own. So how does a bluesman from McLemoresville, Tennessee,
a man who has played with the likes of Buddy Guy, Albert Collins
and Jr. Parker, a musician that cut his teeth on southern gospel
music and old spirituals, hook up with the Old Chicago Blues Band?
Well, in the seventies Harrell moved to Detroit from Chicago and
like all devout bluesmen, Pete has worked the circuit, the Forest
City has been one of his pulpits. It wasn't long before Chicago
Pete met up with Chris Murphy and the Old Chicago Blues Band.
Ten of the 17
tracks on The Blues is Alright were recorded in London
by the venerable Paul Venesoen at his Studio 107 and are backed
by the capable Old Chicago Blues Band. For those of you who don't
know, the Old Chicago Blues Band features some of the city's hottest
players. The band smokes with the likes of Chris Murphy sax, Doug
Varty guitars, keys and organ, and Geoff Dahl and John Knapp keeping
the rhythm. Chris' father Phil Murphy helps out with sax, accompanied
by Paul Stevenson playing the trumpet and Don DiCarlo on the organ.
Seven of the tracks were recorded in motown with some of Detroit's
finest bluesmen, including Pete on bass.
The highlight
of the disc, of course, is Pete's voice. Pete has the archetypal
blues voice and he knows how to deliver a song. Whether it's one
of the two Jr. Parker tunes or one of the five originals written
by long time friend Gerry Gaughan, Pete's voice conveys the guts
of the idiom. The CD presents some of the best known blues standards,
all of which are part of his stage show. So if you're in need
of a blues fix, this might just be the tonic.
Reviewed by Mario Circello
Real
Blues June/July'96 Number 1
by Andy "Blues Boy" Grigg
I got spoiled
living in South-Western Ontario in the 1980's - I got to hear
Chicago Pete and The Detroiters and Eddie Burns on a regular basis
at Wild Glen Smith's, many blues bashes at The Hoodoo Lounge and
Pop the Gator. Why Chicago Pte isn't a major international blues
star is another one of the blues' great mysteries.
This bass-playing
Detroit native possesses one of the greatest singing voices you'll
ever hear and he's been working his tail off getting his band
gigs from Windsor to Toronto. 10 years earlier he released a simply
stunning 45. "I'm Begging You " was as sweet a soul
tune as you'd ever hear, co-produced by ex-Motown keyboardist/arranger
Joe Hunter, who was Pete's bandleader for a good long period.
Alford Harrell, Chicago Pete's real name, is comfortable with
both hard low-down blues or fine northern soul, but this production,
a split effort (track 1-7, 15-17 recorded in London, Ont. with
a local backup band, and tracks 8-14 done in Detroit with his
regular long-time cohorts) is all blues. While it's over-represented
with familiar items from Pete's live stage show, like Little Milton's
"The Blues is Alright" and "Driving Wheel",
there are also 5 originals from the pen of Gerry Gaughan and a
3-minute segment titled "Pete's Story", in which he
talks about his like as a bluesman.
Pete has an incredible
mimicry ability and his Albert King voice on "I'll Play the
Blues For You" is scary. The boys from London do a very good
job at backing him except for some excruciatingly bad harp on
"Baby Bee", but the Detroit session really cooks with
dancing horn charts and great guitar from Gary Miser. The 5 originals
here by Blind Gerry Gaughan are so good that the few minor flaws
become quickly forgotten. "Help" is especially fine.
I'd love to hear Chicago Pete do an album of Gaughan originals.
As it stands,
this is a fine introduction to the big blues voice of one of Detroit's
long-time veterans, and many who haven't heard this talented bluesman
will be amazed at the calibre of his singing and his throbbing
blues bass playing. No funk thumb here. A great debut and independent
release. 4 bottles
From
Living Blues Magazine November 1996
Jim DeKoster
Chicago Pete
is bassist Alford Harrell, who earned his stage name by gigging
around the Windy City with such notables as Jimmy Dawkins and
Junior Parker before relocating to detroit in 1972. Harrell had
a 1980 LP on Golden Afica (reveiwed in LB 56), which was a loose
affair with only six tracks. The Blues is Alright offers 16 cuts
(the closing Sweet Home Chicago is not listed) plus an autiobiographical
interview. Song sources include Little Milton, Junior Parker,
Lil' Ed, B.B. King, Albert King, and Gerry Gaughan (five songs).
Backed by a tight , well-rehearsed band, Harrell sings all in
a straight- ahead style that recalls Mighty Joe Young at times
and Big Daddy Kinsey at others. - JDK
FOREST
CITY NEWS CLUB CRAWL
by Wayne Glidden July 18, 1996
THE BACKSTORY:
Southern gentleman
or badass bluesman? You decide. From Detroit via Chicago and Tennessee,
Chicago Pete is the favorite front man at The Old Chicago and
cut nine tracks of his CD THE BLUES IS ALRIGHT with the band,
and seven tracks with his boys back home in the motor city. It's
a mixture of classics and material written especially for Pete
by long time friend Gerry Gaughan, a Windsor professor who passed
away a year ago.
"He knew
my feelings and he knew my voice," says Pete. Growing up
in small-town Tennessee, he cut his teeth on gospel, spirituals
and blues before making it a career in 1959. "It's just in
my blood," he says. "I'm at home singing the blues."
While nothing will ever equal the club scene of Chicago in the
60s, "it was really popping," he feels the timing for
this is right, with high demand and radio play of his cuts from
the Old Chicago Blues Band Third Anniversary CD. Old LP's, like
1984s The Gift, with his band the Detroiters, and The Voting Blues,
are being issued on CD.
"People
are waking up to the blues," he says. He plays three or four
nights a week, sometimes with the house band, and often with his
own eight-piece - he likes horns - and toured europe last fall
with JImmy Dawkins.
"There's
a pretty good blues circuit," he says in that drawl. "You
have to be lucky enough to get in the hook up. It's treated me
pretty good.
WAYNE GLIDDEN FOREST CITY NEWS
JULY 1996
LONDON ON
DETROIT
BLUES MAGAZINE
by JoAnn Korczynska
FALL 96
A Detroit resident
since 1972, Pete is originally from Tennessee.There he sang gospel
music until he moved to chicago in 1959, learned to play bass,
and became a blues musician. As part of the 60s Chicago blues
scene Pete appeared with many well-known blues artists, touring
for three years with Junior Parker and playing for several years
with Jimmy Dawkins. When Pete moved to Detroit he formed a band
called the Detroiters and began to call himself Chicago Pete.
The band broke up five years ago and now Pete performs as a guest
artist.
THE BLUES IS
ALRIGHT includes 17 songs, half of which were recorded with Pete
on bass and vocals, backed by some fine Detroit musicians. The
rest of the album was recorded with the Old Chicago Club's house
band (also excellent) in London, Ontario with Pete on vocals only.
THE BLUES IS ALRIGHT is traditional blues all the way, with rich,
full vocals by Chicago Pete. If you are in need of some down home
blues this album will satisfy.-
JoAnn Korczynska DETROIT BLUES
FALL 96
Additional Information Contact:
Chris Murphy (519) 668-6443 London, Ontario, Canada |
| Can Orders: 1-800-JOE-RADIO 1-800-563-7234
$16.50 |
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$15 (US)
or The Other Stuff Catalog
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