Bee Houston and the High Steppers Bee Houston, like all good blues artists,

has developed a unique guitar style even to the point where he keeps some strings slight-ly bent even when tuning! His earthy voice makes for a fine compliment to his strong guitar work and although the end result is strictly Bee Houston, his Texas roots are evi-dent. One hears shades of Gatemouth Brown, Blues Wallace (a one-man-band gui-tarist), Pancho Gonzales, and Jewel Sim-mons who Bee admits as his early influences when he started playing around San Antonio in 1956. Since then Bee has added only one more influence to his style: the master B .B. King.

Born Edward Wilson Houston on April 19, 1938. in San Antonio, Bee lived for a long time in the shadow of his taller and handsomer twin brother "Bo" (Wilson Ed-ward Houston). Bee played bugle and Bo the drums in their school's drum and bugle corps. One day Bee somehow managed to get $50 together and started out to buy a trumpet but discovered or was persuaded by the music shop owner that for a meager $50 he could not buy a trumpet but would have to settle for a guitar! For a time brother "Honey" (Wilson Vincent Houston) played drums and Bee and Bo did an act where Bee would play the treble strings and Bo the bass

strings of the guitar. Music became Bee's life and soon his group was the back-up band for "name" artists like Brook Benton, Little Wil-lie John, Junior Parker, and Bobby Bland (with whom he recorded ''Teach Me How To Love You" on Duke records) when these singers were booked by Henderson Glass to tour the South-West.

In 1961 Bee and his wife decided to try their luck on the West Coast and Bo drove them out but he soon returned to San An-tonio where he is a respected guitarist in his own right. Brother Honey also came to Los Angeles and runs the "Smoke House BarBQ Number 2" on south Western Avenue (Num-ber 1 is back in Texas!!). Since then Bee has played with the Simms Twins, McKinley Mitchell, Little Johnny Taylor (with whom he recorded "Gonna need another favor" for Galaxy Records) and Big Mama Thornton. It was with Big Mama that Bee came to my attention and his guitar work on the classic "Ball and Chain" ( on Arhoolie LP No. 1039) convinced me that here indeed was an inter-esting and unique guitarist. In 1970 Bee toured again with Junior Parker but h pre-fers to stay in Los Angeles and I hope this record will help to establish him firmly as one of the best exponents of the tough and hard-driving L.A. rhythm and blues scene. (Chris Strachwitz - 1970)

Cover Photo: Pete Welding Cover: Wayne Pope

Recording studios: Session A: United/ Western Studio -

Hollywood Session B: Fred Borkgren - Harmony

Recorders Session C: Vault Records - Los Angeles Synthesized Stereo dub-down: Sierra Sound

Studios in Berkeley, Calif.

Produced by Chris Strachwitz and Bee Houston

1050

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EE BOUSTON YOU THINK l'M YOUR GOOD

THING* (C)

BUSY BEE (C)

BE PROUD TO BE A BLACK MAN* (C)

THE HUSTLER * (B)

BREAK AWAY (C)

THINGS GONNA GET BETTER * (A)

NEVER** (A)

LOVESICK MAN ** (A)

FREDDY'S BAG (A)

ANYTIME* (A)

* = Bee Houston - vocals

**=Willie Molette - vocals

Session A: (All of side B) Bee Houston - guitar and vocals Richard Brown - baritone sax Wilbert "Jiggs" Hemsley - tenor sax Fred Cooper - drums Charles Givens - bass William Anthony - trumpet Willie Molette - vocals Supervised by Chris Strachwitz and Pete

Welding - August 1968

Session B: (Side A - Number 4: The Hustler) Same except Eddie Jones - drums (for

Cooper) Alex Nelson - tenor sax Supervised by Barret Hansen - October 1968

Session C: (Side A - Numbers 1, 2, 3, & 5) Bee Houston - guitar and vocals Terry DeRouen - second guitar Sonny Campbell - tenor sax Jay Hodge - tenor and alto sax Chuck Davenport - drums Frank "Honeyboy" Patt - bass Supervised by Bruce Bromberg - March

1970

All arrangements by Wilbert Hemsley