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Curtis Ensler's Collection

All Star Blues Jam   06/06/2004

Crossroads Guitar Festival, Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX
Media CDR   1 disc
J-Card Comment Hi Guys,

these there set i've got from the crossroads festival of 2004.
i might got eric's and jj's somewhere i'll try to find them.

The All-Star Blues Jam

1. The Dirty Girl
2. Five Long Years
3. The Twelve Year Old Boy
- Killing Floor
5. Going Down Slow
- Sweet Home Chicago
7. My Time After a While
- Six Strings Down
9. Early in the Morning
10. Hoochie Coochie Man

released songs not included in the torrent

B. B. King

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Z.Z. Top

1. Gimme All Your Lovin
2. I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide
3. I Loved a Woman
4. Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers
5. Sharp Dressed Man
6. Legs
- La Grange
- Tush

released songs not included in the torrent

CROSSROADS GUITAR FESTIVAL
By Bruce Simon
LAUNCH
June 7, 2004

The greats of the guitar world hit Dallas this past weekend for the Crossroads Guitar Festival. The three-day event, which was organized and
hosted by Eric Clapton, saw performances, workshops, and jams with Clapton and his hand-picked list of friends and influences. Camera crews shot throughout the weekend, and a DVD and live album will be released later on. The proceeds from the weekend, from an upcoming guitar auction in New York City on June 24th, and from the CD and DVD will go to the Crossroads Center Antigua, the substance-abuse rehabilitation facility that Clapton founded on the Caribbean island back in 1997.

ERIC CLAPTON WATCHES BLUES LEGENDS FROM THE AUDIENCE & MEETS ROBERT JOHNSON'S FAMILY

Clapton wasn't just the organizer of the Crossroads Guitar Festival -- he was also a spectator. On Friday night (June 4th), blues legends Honeyboy
Edwards and Robert Jr. Lockwood played a set with modern-day blues singer-guitarist Duke Robillard (pronounced Ro-bee-yard). While they were on stage, Clapton, his wife, and some friends walked out into the audience to watch the performances, and Clapton applauded enthusiastically after each song. Surprisingly, Clapton didn't have a huge security contingent -- there were just a couple of guards near him, and they only had to tell a few people not to take pictures or otherwise intrude, since Clapton was there to watch the show, just like everyone else. Clapton was expected to get on stage during the set, but he didn't want to take the spotlight away from Lockwood, Edwards, and Robillard, and he left when they wrapped up.

During the performance, Clapton got to meet the surviving family of his hero, blues icon Robert Johnson. Clapton was introduced to Claud Johnson, who is Robert Johnson's only son, as well as Claud's sons Michael, Greg, and Steve, who are Robert Johnson's only grandsons. Steve Johnson told LAUNCH that the family was honored by Clapton's decision to record his new album Me And Mr. Johnson: "Eric Clapton actually sent us the CD, and it's wonderful music. It's music that my granddad recorded and wrote himself, and for Eric Clapton to even want to do it was a real honor for us, that he would even want to sing my grandfather's music."

STYX DOES DOUBLE-DUTY AT 'CROSSROADS FESTIVAL

Styx did double-duty at the Crossroads Guitar Festival. The band played a three-song acoustic set at a special VIP party of Friday night that featured "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)," "Snowblind," and "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)." They followed that up with eight songs on Saturday morning (June 5th) that ranged from some of their better-known material to choice covers including Jimi Hendrix' "Manic Depression," the Beatles' "I Am The Walrus," B.B. King's "The Thrill Is Gone," and the blues standard "I'm A King Bee." The performance also featured a special guest -- guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter from Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers, who soloed on "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)," "I'm A King Bee," "The Thrill Is Gone," and "Renegade."

Singer-guitarist James "J.Y." Young -- who handled lead vocal duties for "Manic Depression" and "I'm A King Bee" -- described the Styx performance for LAUNCH: "It was so much fun up there, and we heard afterwards that actually, Mr. Eric Clapton was in the audience for part of what we did. What a blast to come here and be able to play some cover songs -- 'Manic Depression' by Hendrix, which is, you know, I, I thought was a really cool thing, and for Tommy to do 'The Thrill Is Gone,' which was his sort of signature piece before he got into Styx."

Young also told LAUNCH why his band covered "I Am The Walrus": "You know, it's just, like, a left-field thing that even great cover bands can't do a good job on, but a band like us, we can kill on a song like 'I Am The Walrus.' We would never do it at a Styx show, but here, it just -- you know, we wanted to just make it a little bit different, but make it resonate with the '60s on some level, but also make it resonate with the blues."

ERIC CLAPTON JAMS WITH J.J. CALE AT CROSSROADS FESTIVAL

Singer-songwriter J.J. Cale was one of the performers on Saturday at the Crossroads Guitar Festival. While Cale and his band played, Eric Clapton quietly joined them at the back of the stage and just supported his old friend and collaborator, with many in the audience not even realizing he was there until the performance was almost over. They played three songs together -- "Cocaine" and "After Midnight," which have been core parts of Clapton's setlist for years, and "Call Me The Breeze," which is probably best known from the Lynyrd Skynyrd version.

BLUES TITANS JAM AT CROSSROADS FESTIVAL

Saturday night at the Crossroads Guitar Festival ended with a blues summit. On the stage together were Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Robert Randolph, Howlin' Wolf guitarist Hubert Sumlin, and original Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist Jimmie Vaughan. They traded vocal and guitar leads on songs including blues standards like "Sweet Home Chicago" and "Hoochie Coochie Man," along with more recent material like Vaughan's "Six Strings Down," which is his tribute to his late brother Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Cray told LAUNCH that he was honored to be there, especially since it was for such a good cause: "First of all, it's great to be in support of the Crossroads (Centre), you know? And then second, to be invited is great because, I mean, look at all the people he's invited -- it's an honor to be amongst one of those." Cray also did a set with his band at the all-star concert yesterday.

JOURNEY MATES KICK OFF 'CROSSROADS' CONCERT WITH SOME SPECIAL FRIENDS

Yesterday's (Sunday, June 6th) day long, all-star concert at the Crossroads Guitar Festival kicked off with Journey guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain, who were joined by bassist and American Idol judge Randy Jackson and drummer-producer Narada Michael Walden. They started off with an extended, solo-filled version of "The Star Spangled Banner," then followed with a long medley that included bits of Jimi Hendrix' "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" and "Third Stone From The Sun," Santana's "Everybody's Everything," and "Amazing Grace." Schon's history with Clapton goes back to when, at the age of 13, he turned down an invitation to join Derek & the Dominos, and instead became a member of Santana. Schon told LAUNCH that he really wanted to be at the festival, and Clapton made it happen: "I wanted to play this festival, but you can imagine, every guitar player on this planet -- and any other planet -- wanted to be on this festival. So, it took some time until Eric was actually involved in (picking names). At the end, after they got most of the preliminary stuff together, and then he took a look at the list, and he saw my name, and he says, 'Yeah, I think Neal should be there.'"

Cain told LAUNCH that everyone was happy to come out and play, but that Clapton has the kind of power that only mob bosses seem to have, so artists would have shown up no matter what: "Just because Eric swings a big bat, people are here, you know, 'cause he has that kind of respect, you know? He's like the Godfather, so when he says 'Show up,' we're here. You know, he's Don Corleone -- I mean, what are you gonna
do? You're gonna show up!"

SANTANA LOSES VOICE AT CROSSROADS FESTIVAL

Carlos Santana and his band -- well, almost -- were one of the main performers at the Crossroads Guitar Festival yesterday. There was nosinger with the group, so Santana led his guys through several extended instrumental workups, none of the titles of which were announced. Towards the end of the Santana set, host and organizer Eric Clapton came out on stage and hooked up with the band for a version of "Jingo."

B.B. KING CALLS 'CROSSROADS FESTIVAL' A HIGHLIGHT OF HIS LIFE
B.B. King has played all over the world, and at age 78, you'd think he'd seen and done it all. However, he claimed that he'd reached a new pinnacle at yesterday's all-star Crossroads Guitar Festival concert. While chairing a blues guitar summit of sorts with Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan, and John Mayer, King told the audience, "Never have I enjoyed sitting in a jam session more than today."

JEFF BECK PLAYS LOST-LOVE SONG WITH ERIC CLAPTON AT 'CROSSROADS FESTIVAL'

Jeff Beck was Eric Clapton's special guest last night at the Crossroads Guitar Festival. Towards the end of his set, Clapton brought his fellow ex-Yardbird out for a jam on Beck's "'Cause We've Ended As Lovers," which is from Beck's 1975 album Blow By Blow. Beck joined the Yardbirds in late 1964, after Clapton left the group to join John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Beck stayed in the Yardbirds for about two years, and when he left, Jimmy Page was brought in as the lead guitarist.

CRICKETS GUITARIST GLAD TO PLAY 'CROSSROADS FESTIVAL'

Sonny Curtis, who played with Buddy Holly in Holly's early days and then led the Crickets after Holly's death, was one of the performers at this past weekend's Crossroads Guitar Festival. Curtis told LAUNCH that he was honored to take part in the event, especially since it was for a great cause, and since Eric Clapton, who was the host and organizer, invited him: "It's a wonderful show, and I think that, kinda, all Eric has to do is ask, you know, and I think everybody in the world would love to be here. And it's a real honor for me to be invited, and it's an honor for me to get to perform for such a wonderful cause that he's stirred up here, Crossroads."

ZZ TOP CLOSES 'CROSSROADS FESTIVAL'

ZZ Top were the closing act at last night's Crossroads Guitar Festival. They followed the Eric Clapton/Jeff Beck team-up with a set featuring hits from throughout their 35-year career. Unfortunately, some really nasty weather was quickly approaching the Fair Park area of Dallas, where the event was being held, and ZZ Top's set was cut short, before Clapton and Beck could join them on stage for a planned finale of Robert Johnson's "Crossroads." Singer-guitarist Reverend Billy F. Gibbons told LAUNCH that he just had a great time at the event, especially in that he got to hang out with a bunch of his friends: "This is so much fun. It's so exciting -- I've talked to Jimmie Vaughan, and Doyle Bramhall, and Jeff Beck, and David Hidalgo, and Carlos Santana. Ands without question, from a musician standpoint, it's really guitar heaven."

Gibbons also told LAUNCH that besides being "that lil ol' band from Texas," there was another good reason why ZZ Top got to close out the night: "Well (laughs), we don't get up very early in the morning. We had to close the show, 'cause we would be still in bed! (chuckles)."
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Owned by Curtis Ensler · Last Updated May 23, 2023