BOBBY BLACKHAT
PUT ON YOUR RED SHOES
BOBBY BLACKHAT MUSIC PUBLISHING
I SMELL ANOTHER MAN ON YOU–OVERDOSE OF THE BLUES–THIS GREY BEARD–PUT ON YOUR RED SHOES–HALLELUJAH–BABY MAMA DRAMA BLUES–GRIM REAPER–MAY I HAVE THIS DANCE–BACK TO CLEVELAND–WHEN I CRY IT’S UGLY–YOU GOT ME RUNNIN’–I HEAR MAMA’S VOICE
Bobby BlackHat (Walters) is a Coastal Virginia bluesman now playing out of Newport News, VA. A Retired U. S. Coast Guard Commander with 27 years of distinguished service, he’s now spreadin’ the gospel of the blues everywhere he goes. He combines the Piedmont styles of his home with the styles of Memphis, the Delta, and Chicago, to create a unique blend that’s sho’ nuff easy to dance to. His latest set is entitled “Put Your Red Shoes On,” and has a little bit of something old, something new, something borrowed, and definitely something blue!
Bobby knows that to cater to today’s crowds, you gotta mix things up a little bit, and there are several variations of the blues theme over these twelve cuts. Things start off on a minor-key note, as Bobby’s harp and vocal tell an all-too-sad tale, “I Smell Another Man On You,” with wailin’ slide from Tom Euler, and piano from Lucy Kirkpatrick. “This Grey Beard” is done acoustically, and chronicles a man’s life as measured in the strands, each one “payment for a lesson learned.” Bobby gets down over a Chuck Berry-fied groove to tell the story of those “few moments of pleasure” that lead to those “Baby Mama Drama Blues!” “Grim Reaper” is a somber account of waking up with that dude next to your bed, while the set closes with a song that’s just the opposite. Ten blissful minutes of blues has Bobby remembering the good things in “I Hear My Mama’s Voice.” It has an almost gospel-like urgency, as he recounts the invaluable life lessons learned from Mama, which ring true even tho she is long passed.
We had two other favorites, too. We’re always up for a good stop-time cut, and you can’t go wrong with Bobby, who’s “hooked on that I-IV-V groove, an Overdose Of The Blues.” And, we have never heard Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” done as a harp-based instrumental, but Bobby’s rings out like a beacon of hope to the victims and survivors of the virtually-daily dose of senseless violence somewhere around the world.
Bobby BlackHat has been dubbed “Virginia’s Ambassador Of he Blues,” and no one wears that hat any better! Excellent musicianship and material with a true showman at the helm makes you want to go out and “Put On Your Red Shoes” and dance the blues! Until next time…Sheryl and Don Crow.
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