BATTLE OF THE BANDS: “Who’s Been Talkin'”

I don’t think I’ve ever done blues in one of these battles, so lets rectify that with this round.

The song I’ve chosen for this round is “Who’s Been Talkin’,” written by Chester Burnett, aka Howlin’ Wolf. i used it a couple of weeks ago for Song Lyric Sunday, saw the number oartists who have covered it, and decided it would be my battle for today. It’s what might be considered a blues standard. It was the title song for Robert Cray’s debut album on Tomato records, which hardly anyone knows about because Tomato went bankrupt shortly after releasing it. It’s been re-released with a different name, Too Many Cooks.

Today’s battle pits a young woman who’s making waves in the blues scene against a young man who you might remember from the appearances he made on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in the ’70’s.

Samantha Fish

Samantha hails from Kansas City and has been touring since 2009. In 2013, she got called up on stage at a nightclub where Buddy Guy was playing. He was more than a little skeptical about this, but after playing with her he said “When this kind of shit happens, I’ll play all night!”

Lucky Peterson

The late Judge Kenneth “Lucky” Peterson started out playing at The Governor’s Inn, his father’s club in Buffalo, New York. One night, Willie Dixon saw five-year-old Lucky playing and “took him under his wing.” Later that year, he played on The Tonight Show, where he played the organ and sang a song his father wrote called “1, 2, 3, 4,” which was based on James Brown’s “Please, Please, Please.” He issued his first album that year.

Those are our contestants. Here’s what you do:

1. Listen to the two songs.
2. Decide which song you like the best.
3. Vote for your favorite by leaving me a comment with your choice. If you feel like telling us why, feel free.
4. Then, visit the other participants and vote in their Battles:
   • Stephen at STMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
   • Arlee at Tossing It Out
   • Mike at Mike’s Ramblings
   • Cathy at Curious As A Cathy
   • Mary B at Jingle Jangle Jungle
   • Diedre at Streampebbles
   • Debbie at BOTB by Debbie D

Voting will end next Thursday, September 22, at noon, so be sure and vote by then. I’ll announce the winner sometime that afternoon.

The lines are now open. Good luck to Samantha and Lucky!