SON OF BOOGIE WOOGIE

Nimble guitar that growls with rocky, raucous blues

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ALLABOUTJAZZ

Coming from the poor neighborhood of East Oakland, Ron Thompson has lived a true blues life, working hard at low paying gigs in the west and performing as he could at bars along the way. Early on he played with Little Joe Blue before joining John Lee Hooker for a few years. Then Thompson formed The Resistors and began earning admiration from other musicians like Mick Fleetwood, who said he wanted to open a nightclub so Thompson could have a place to play. Thompson recorded in the studio occasionally but mostly stayed unknown. Jim Pugh of Little Village Foundation had played with Thompson in California clubs in the 1970s and wanted to capture Thompson’s special talent and share it far and wide. The resulting recording, Son of Boogie Woogie, presents the raw and real Thompson on vocals, slide guitar, harmonica and even occasional piano. The CD includes Thompson originals and tunes from Cleveland Crochet (“Sugar Bee”) and Juke Boy Bonner, a Texas one-man band who Thompson used to follow closely. The recording reveals an authentic and electrifying voice and passionate guitarist. Says Thompson, “I want to play, and I want to be real about it. I am truly lucky to be able to play this kind of music.”

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