Livin' Blues

Livin' Blues (The Hague, 1967 - 1995) were a Dutch blues band who played blues music, their genre of fusion catagorized as blues-jazz and blues-rock. The band were contemporaneously popular and some of its surviving members continue to play, tour and record, both in the Netherlands and abroad, latterly as Livin' Blues Xperience 1. Livin' Blues nomenclature: 1967 - 1995 Livin' Blues 1986 - 1999 New Livin' Blues 2003 - 2005 Blues A Livin' 2005 - today Livin' Blues Xperience From 1967 to 1997, a variety of musicians joined and left, with key additions including: 2. Livin' Blues 1967 members: Niek Dijkhuis (drums) Ruud Franssen (bass-guitar) John LaGrand (harmonica, percussion) Ted Oberg (bass-guitar, guitar) Djörn Pool (vocals) Hans Vermeulen (vocals, guitar, keyboards) 3. Livin' Blues 1968 - 1969 additions: Nicko Christiansen (guitar, percussion, saxophone, vocals ) Jeroen van Niele (bass-guitar) Gerard Strötbaum (bass-guitar) Henk Smitskamp (bass-guitar) Cesar Zuiderwijk (drums) 4. Livin' Blues 1970 - 1979 additions: Herman van Boeyen (drums, vocals) Ruud van Buuren (drums) Michel Driesten (drums) Jaap van Eik (bass-guitar) Margriet Eshuys (vocals) John Fredriksz (vocals) Jacob van Heiningen (drums) John Le Jeune (drums) Arjen Kamminga (drums, percussion) Kenny Lamb (drums) Maggie MacNeal (vocals) Ronnie Meyjes (guitar) Andre Reijnen (bass) Pietjan Visser (harmonica) Jan van der Voort (bass-guitar) 5. Livin' Blues 1980 - 1989 additions: Art Bausch (drums) Nicko Christiansen (didgeridoo, guitar, percussion, sax, vocals) Joop van Nimwegen (guitar) Aad van Pijlen (bass-guitar, vocals) Peter Vink (horns) Fred van Vloten (drums) Willem van de Wall (guitar) Evert Willemstein (bass) Catalogued discography: 6. Livin' Blues singles: 1968 Murphy Mc.Coy / My Sister Kate 1969 (You Better Watch Yourself) Sonny Boy / One Night Blues 1970 Wang Dang Doodle / Crazy Woman 1971 Black Lisa / Red Mountain River 1972 Choice / Selection 1972 L.B. boogie / Johnny W. 1973 Please Don't Leave Me / Sweet Suzanne 1973 Poinsetta Petal / Gamble on 1974 Boogie Woogie Woman / Ricochet 1977 Shylina / That Night 1989: Wang Dang Doodle / L.B. Boogie 7. Livin' Blues albums: 1969: Hell's Sessions 1970: Wang Dang Doodle 1971: Bamboozle 1972: Rockin' at the Tweedmill 1973: Ram Jam Rosey 1975: Live '75 1976: Blue Breeze 1989: Snakedance Live 1993: Early Blues Sessions (limited edition) (compilation) 1995: Out of the Blue 8. AllMusic.com Livin' Blues Biography This Dutch blues band was formed in the Hague around 1967, becoming a regular outfit from 1969. The early line-up included Bjorn Toll (vocals), John Lagrand (harmonica), Ted Oberg (guitar), Ruud Fransen (bass) and Niek Dijkhuys (drums) but although the name remained wholesale changes soon took place, bringing in a new singer, Nicko Christiansen, and new bass and drums, Peter Kleinjan and Beer Klaasse, the latter pair being swiftly replaced by Gerard Strutbaum and Cesar Zuiderwijk, while keyboard player Henk Smitskamp was added. Other changes followed through the 70s, by which time the band’s repertoire was more inclined towards rock. Musicians involved included bass players Ruud van Buuren, Jan van der Voort, Jaap van Eijk and André Reynen, drummers John Lejeune, Herman van Boeyen, Cor van Beek, Michel Driessen, Kenny Lamb and Arjen Kamminga; the latter pair played in the band simultaneously for a spell. Smitskamp sometimes played bass, singer Johnny Frederiksz came in, as did organist Paul Vin and guitarist Ron Meyes. Although best known in the Netherlands, Livin’ Blues also gained a following elsewhere in Europe, especially in Poland. At the start of the 80s, the band included Oberg, Christiansen, Evert Willemstein (bass) and Boris Wassenbergh (drums). Spin-off bands formed by ex-members of the Livin’ Blues included Nitehawk and the J&T Band, while most members also played with other Dutch blues and rock bands. The band recorded from 1968, cutting a few singles with its first album coming in 1969. The band appears to have drifted from the limelight after the early 80s but interest in its recorded work remained high into the new millennium. The above (#8) is the erroneous (poorly translated) bio' previously plagiarized from AllMusic - Livin' Blues Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.