Photography by David Robert Crews
The headline act at the Blues picnic was one of the Granddadies of electric Blues guitar, Hubert Sumlin. Here's a backstage view of local Maryland area Blues musicians backing up one of their heros and teachers, Hubert Sumlin. Hubert had just returned from playing at Mick Jagger's birthday party in Switzerland, he's one of The Rolling Stones' heros and teachers too.
Photography by David Robert Crews
The guy kneeling amongst the relaxing crowd at a Blues picnic is an old friend of mine from the 1960s, Dale Patton. Dale was the lead singer in a band called The Psychedelic Propeller, my neighbor, Austin O'Baker was the drummer in the band. I used to hang out with them and was dubbed their equipment manager, so I could get into their gigs that were in bars. The band members were all under 21 years old at the time, the band did play a lot of gigs in Georgetown, Washington, DC, where the drinking age was only 18, but I was only 16-17, and I liked to dance with the girls and have a rockin' good time. I did help to carry the equipment in and set it up. Dale helped found the Baltimore Blues Society.
We were all some of the first music fans around Baltimore to buy record albums by Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, any Blues musician's, Country Joe and The Fish, Jefferson Airplane, Frank Zappa, The Cream, and we had those albums and knew the music on them well for many months before any of these musicians' records were played on any Baltimore radio stations.
David Robert Crews
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