Ultimate Rhythm & Blues Cruise #6
January 19-26 1997

Featuring
Taj Mahal
Charles Brown
Etta James
Joe Lewis Walker
Fabulous Thunderbirds
Jimmy Thackery
Maria Muldaur
Billy Branch
Chubby Carrier
Mike Finnigan
with special appearances by
Bonnie Raitt
Blinky (Ed Head) and the Roadmasters

The guys who thought of the idea to have a blues cruise describe it best:
URBC - The worlds largest floating blues festival,
and if you have ever been to a good blues festival you'll know what they mean as soon as the boat pulls away from the dock. This year the cruise blasted off from Montego Bay (Mo Bay) Jamaica on the 19th. of January but lots of folks couldn't wait and began arriving a day or two early to party at the Montego Bay resort "SunSpree". As it was last year, our cruise ship the S.S. Islandbreeze was the centerpiece of the 2nd annual all day St. Croix Blues and Heritage Festival on Jan. 21st. by delivering over 25 of the musicians who made blues history that day.

But let me back up a moment and let me tell you who I am. I consider myself a certified veteran blues cruiser, having proudly earned my rite-of-passage on the 1996 URBC with a equally great line-up of Blues masters. I feel qualified to say this had to be the greatest collection of blues masters assembled in 1997 and may only be topped by the Handy Awards and Beale St. festival in Memphis due only to it's sheer size.

Since there was so much to see and hear let me just give you a few high-lites.

First day; Sunday the 19th started with a power outage that delayed the first show on the back deck for about 30 min.. Seems the ship (built in 1951) couldn't handle the drain of our PA system but once they got their wires straight the bands fired right up and it was f**k'n incredible!

Chubby Carrier is zydeco nitro and the crowd ate it up! Even as good as Chubby's accordion playing is, rub-board man Zydeco Mike was a real standout. If they have an award for Cajun rub-board, Mike ought to get it, hands down.

When Billy Branch took the stage and launched into a blistering harp set you could see how infectious really good blues are. We all noticed the crew and waiters (who were mostly form Asia and eastern Europe) were toe tapping to the tunes. Even on the first day I could tell this was going to be a one hell of a boat ride!

Joe Louis Walker (and his BossTalkers) gets my vote for the best 'raw' blues performance. To see that guy work the crowd is a blues lovers dream! He played with such intensity it was enough to bring tears to my eyes! Joe is one of the greats and my bet is he will be a big winner at this years Handy awards in May.

Muria Muldair defines COOL! This woman could not be held back! If there was one set where she wasn't the best looking and most admired performer on the cruise I'd like to know who was? Her moves were on the verge of erotic. She has a way of bringing the crowd to a fever pitch and leaves then screaming for more.

Charles Brown turned out to be one of the most friendly and approachable men you would ever hope to meet. I had the pleasure to talk with him at some length after one of his "standing room only" shows and could almost feel the honesty and warmth flowing from him. I was amazed to learn C.B. has over 3000 songs in his head and he must have learned most of them from the original artist. He is one guy who can truly claim 'Been There..., Done That'. Even at his age he is incredibly active and agile. More than once he belted out piano solos that had the other keyboard players watching and taking notes.

But the coolest thing about the URBC are the people you meet on a blues cruise. You become part of a tribe with a special bond that lasts a life time.

Later gator..,
And Don't Miss the Next Cruise!

Veteran of 1996,1997,1998 & 2002 Cruises