Floating Bridge (Sleepy John Estes) - particularly like the Eric Clapton (Another Ticket) and Gregg Allman (Low Country Blues) versions.

"Back at the Chicken Shack" (Jimmy Smith, with Kenny Burrel on guitar) is a fun "greasy" blues in F. Sure you know it. Think many of the members would enjoy playing it, and I can tell you dig Mr. Burrell. (Sounds like a song title! That or, "Can You Tell I Dig Kenny Burrell?") Organ-trios have generated so many great records that allow guitar players to use double stops, bluesy licks, and some jazzy voicings.

I've gotta say I am really enjoying the Freddie King stuff, thanks a lot. For a future lesson, how about a Guitar Slim tune, like "Letter to my girlfriend"? I also like Clarence Gatemouth Brown a lot, perhaps okie dokie stomp?

Hi Guys, All your song suggestions are great and I will add them to my list. Thanks! Duke

Duke,

All I can say is everything you put up for all to learn is exceptional for my taste. A good variety, genre, and taste. So you just keep teaching and I will keep on learning and trying to spread the word to all guitarists I know. 

Doug Irwin

Duke,

I want to suggest 'Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You'. I've loved the tune every since I heard on a Hot Lips Page LP years ago. There are some great versions out there: yours, Kenny Burrell's, and the King Cole Trio with Oscar Moore.

Thanks

Paul

Hi Paul, Those are my favorite versions of one of my favorite songs so you can count on that! Duke 

Merry Christmas baby- Charles Brown & Johnny Moore

Hi Guy, Merry Christmas Baby is a good one. And appropriate too! Great guitar on the original version! Duke  

How about "I'll Always Be In Love With You?"

That's a good one Michael! Duke 

Hi Duke,

Would love to have a lesson and breakdown of your tune "Too Hot to Handle". Love it!  :)

Just new to Sonic Junction and I'm lovin' it.

Cheers man,

Perry

Hi Perry, That would be a good one and a natural for me. I'll put it on the list! Duke

Hi Duke,

How about a lesson for "You'd Better Change Your Ways" from your album: Swing.

Thanks,

Marty

Hi Duke,

I would like to second Perry's request for Too Hot to handle.

I am also new to Sonic Junction and lovin it.

Thanks so much.

Jim

Hi Jim, Welcome aboard. Yes "Too Hot To Handle" is on the docket. Thanks, Duke 

Hi Peter, Thank you! You have formally introduced yourself. You did mention you were a student here but I was on my way out to the CD table and it was very crowed. Thanks for coming, Duke

Mr. Robillard, please consider showing, When your Lover has Gone. It's my personal favorite of yours (Especialy love your vocals), besides being an amazing standart. I think somehow I feel I have to get you to agree.

Hi Duke, one of the first songs I wanted to play when I started this guitar journey was "Kansas City" wilbur harrison version.  Have got chords etc, but can't seem to get a solo that sounds right.  If possible, maybe you could add this one at a later date.

Thanks

Hi Chuck, sure Kansas City Wilbert Harrison style works for me. I love the guitar solo on that. It has to be a Telecaster! Duke 

Duke - I'm very into the early Chicago stuff - and if Eddie Taylor never got enough credit (he produced all the classic blues recordings at VJ records) Luther Tucker gets even less.  I think he's a great soloist and would like to see a lesson covering his style which I think took Eddie Taylor a step further.  Maybe "Mean Ol World".  Hard to find much video on him, most of it is with Eddie Taylor but great Chicago licks. 

 Vinny, Eddie Taylor and Luther Tucker are two of my absolute favorite blues guitarists. Both have influenced me greatly before I even knew who they were. In the 60s they never showed who the players were on the album on the covers. So for years I was learning Eddie Taylor licks off of Jimmy Reed records and Luther Tucker licks off of Sonny Boy 2 records along with the verve James Cotton records which featured Luther without knowing who I was copying! I have a funny story, I was touring in the late 80s with Kim Wilson's Blues Explosion and Luther and I were the guitarists. One night during a solo did that fast picking thing that Luther did on Sonny Boy records. A little later Luther did the same thing only much better and I then realized it was him I stole that lick from. I didn't play that lick for the rest of that tour, believe me! I gave Luther a blue Stratocaster during that tour that looked like the one he played with James Cotton. He was moved to tears and I was happy he appreciated it so much. Years later some guys who played with him often in California thanked me for giving him that guitar. They said when he broke a string on a gig he would play the rest of the night with 5 strings! So they were very happy he had a second guitar to play that had 6 strings on it. LOL! 

Wow, what a fantastic story - I have seen some video and read some things about him playing in California and apparently he was just barely getting along playing in bars - I'm sure he did appreciate that guitar.  What a moment though when he played the lick you copied.  What an experience too, to get to play with him.  The first time I saw him in a video playing with Eddie Taylor I was just blown away by the elegance and expressiveness of his playing - fast too - but not just a lot of fast notes.  I'm going to have to go back and listen to those Sonny Boy 2 and James Cotton records now that I know he's playing on them.  It's funny, you can listen to a lot of those old records and you hear the guitar work and say - wow - that is great - who is that?  These guys have a whole range of riffs that, to me, just define electric blues guitar. They did not do ten minute solos but you always remember the songs.  I played sort of an intermission acoustic set a couple of years ago at a concert that was all blues - not Clapton and Buddy Guy - but another tier down of headliners and a big outdoor crowd -- and they all played a ton of notes, very fast, above the 12th fret, 15th fret, all the way up the neck -- but I can't actually remember any song.  They would introduce a song - "this is my favorite blues song", sing one verse and then it just sounded like every other song they played.  I saw Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker play in a small club in the 70's in Detroit - about fifty people there - they played all night -- must have been five or six sets -- alternating -- and I can still remember individual songs -- Waters had been in a motorcycle accident and was actually on crutches - and still did impecable sets -- with that incredible band, the most professional performance I have ever seen in my life -- Hooker got too drunk to play the guitar about 2:00 am and sat on the edge of the stage and clapped - he was still great though.  Luther Tucker, to me, retained all the great classic sound that preceded him but took it technically another step.  One of those guys you hear and say - yeah - if I could just play like that -- would be enough.  You have the great Eddie Taylor lesson, but would be great to put together something that emobies Luther Tucker's contributions. He was extremely under appreciated. To me, when his fingers started roaming that guitar it just took the song to a whole different level.  I would have loved to see the look on your face, though, when Tucker played that riff.

Vinny, I will find a song that features Luther for a future lesson.

Hey Duke

I have been dabbling with your song "Gee, I wish". Love it. Is there a current lesson that provides some insight into your solo area? Specifically, your soloing before the chording section of the solo. I like your use of arpeggios in the solo and notice you have used arpeggios in other songs. Your use of the arpeggios is a T-bone Walker thing - right?

Steve