West Side Struttin' with Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater

The first thing that amazed me about Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater is that he is 73. At an age when most people might settle for shuffleboard, Eddy is out on the road, still playing hard from the West Side of Chicago to the ends of the earth, having toured in places like Russia, Turkey, Romania and Brazil. The second thing is that Eddy is part Cherokee, which manifests itself in the Indian headdress Clearwater frequently sports onstage. But the most remarkable thing about The Chief is the energy and style that comes to life on his new Alligator CD West Side Strut.


Edward Harrington was born in Macon, MS in 1935, and moved to Birmingham, AL in 1948 where Eddy taught himself to play his axe left-handed and upside down as well as gigging with gospel groups that included The Blind Boys of Alabama. Eddy moved to Chicago in 1950, starting out as a dishwasher, but at first limited to playing behind groups in local churches before finally making a name for himself as "Guitar Eddy" in 1953. Seeing Chuck Berry perform in 1957 had a lasting influence on Eddy's music , welding Clearwater's solid blues credentials with a touch of raucous rock and roll. In 1958, Guitar Eddy was renamed "Clear Waters" for his debut 45 on his uncle's label - "Hill Billy Blues" - his name thought up by his manager as a word play on "Muddy Waters" . The name Clearwater stuck, and the Chief was born. Fortunately, Eddy explains why in "They Call Me The Chief", featuring his jagged fuzz tone "drums" in the beginning as he spins a tongue in cheek ballad (Allow me to introduce myself..) laced with chopping guitar chords and mystical lyrics.


The CD opens with "A Good Leavin' Alone", Eddy's solution to good loving gone bad, a mixture of rough vocals and hard driving guitar. Clearwater's rock and roll persona comes to life in a high-powered duet with Lonnie Brooks on "Too Old To Get Married" in which both veteran bluesmen trade sizzling leads, reminding each other that they're: "Too old to get married / too young to be buried" . Eddy takes a Muddy Waters tune - "Walkin' in the Park" - and injects his own particular brand of blues and funk, turning it into an anthem. . "Blue Over You" is a more familiar ballad with cutting edge guitar and driving harp. Lowell Fulsom's tune "Trouble, Trouble" gets a workout as well, the relentless guitar laying it on the line. And that's just to name a few.


Lucky for us Eddy is aging graciously, because he's still earning his living out on the road. The Chief will be at Chan's in Woonsocket,RI April 17-18, but you can listen to him now at http://www.alligator.com/ . See if you don't start doing the West Side Strut.