LONG BEACH BLUES FESTIVAL
1994

The artist that took me by surprise this year was Diamond Teeth Mary. At the age of 91 (The emcee referred to her age as "91-year young"), who could have a stronger voice than that! Though she was seated in a wheelchair, her vocals were still very emotional and in the groove. She must have been really good when she was younger. After the show, I went to buy her albums and got them autographed. I told her how impressed I was to see her perform, and she answered in a clear voice, "Thank you! Thank you!!"

The Chess All-stars jam was pretty good, though the time given to each artists were pretty short. Bo Diddley played "I'm A Man" with Billy Boy Arnold on harp, and that was really good. Other artists in appearance in this jam were Lowell Fulson, Junior Wells, Dave Meyers, Hubert Sumlin, Sam Lay and Johnny Johnson.

On Sunday morning, it started with The Staple Singers and that was impressive. Mavis Staples' singing was really strong, and the sisters joined to make a perfect harmony. I liked them doing the song Curtis Mayfield wrote for them, "Let's Do It Again", where Mavis and Pops Staples exchanged the vocal lines.