I was born and raised in Memphis, TN, which has a rich musical heritage known the world over from Rock n Roll, Blues, Gospel, Rockabilly, Soul and R&B. I was blessed to be touched by all of these. I got my first guitar, a $13 Kay with painted on pick guard at age 14, a Silver tone at 15 and a Fender Strat at 16.
When I started playing gigs at 15 (in 1966), Memphis music was going strong and I was interested in all of it. George Klein, a Memphis DJ, had a TV show called Dance Party that always had local bands and international acts such as The Gentry's, Booker T & the MG's, Charlie Rich etc. As youngsters, we learned to compete at a high level of musicianship.
As early as 1966, my cousin Nick Kourvelas (played drums), and I would take a bus to check out Beale Street. There were a lot of Pawn Shops there and I learned to buy old guitars and work on them to make extra money. In 1968-69, the Overton Park Shell had the 1st Blues concert with such acts as Johnny Winter, Furry Lewis, Bukka White, Mississippi Fred McDowell and local favorite Moloch. That was pretty strong Mojo for a teenager and I was drawn to slide guitar. I had never seen so many styles of blues and it was all good. The Shell in Overton Park had music every weekend and I caught as much as I could. That same year, I was at the train station and heard guitar bouncing off the marble walls. It was Furry Lewis playing a National and it raised the hair on my neck. At this time the Vietnam War was going on and my draft number was 17. While I was in the Navy, I knew that if I got out, I was going to do music the rest of my life.
I started to play with people like Roland Robinson from Eddie Floyd/Buddy Miles Band. Then I met his cousin, the famous “Teenie” Hodge's from the Hi-Rhythm Section. We mixed original music with covers to play clubs. I also taught guitar from 1973-1993. I found that very rewarding and it kept me in touch with young people.
I've been producing, writing, recording, and playing guitar with Blind Mississippi Morris since 1986. We all played with Uncle Ben and His Nephews as Beale Street came alive again in the mid 80's. When I started the studio in 1985, one thing I wanted to do was record a lot of the music I was hearing. The tourists that came from all over the world knew what they were hearing and it was a shame that none of it was being recorded. The first people I recorded were Uncle Ben, Ollie "Nightingale" Hoskins, and Roosevelt Briggs.
I went on and recorded two CD's on Willie Foster, Fred Sanders, John Weston, Henry Townsend, Blind Mississippi Morris (who I produce and play guitar with), Eric Hughes Band, Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms and The Wompas Cats, Phillip Dale Durham of the 60's local favorite "Moloch", and The Pocket Rockets
featuring Suzanne Buell.
The latest project was for two old friends Steve Bryson and Billy Lavender for Steve's new label I55 Productions called "Memphis Livin". I now work for I55 full time and have started working on a Fred Sanders CD. Steve Bryson always said he would come back to his roots and make a difference and I believe he already has.
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Videos
08-06-2010, Center for Southern Folklore Store, Memphis.
Brad Webb, David Hudson, Rodney Polk, David "Groove" Parker, Russ Wheeler performing at Alfred's on Beale Street Memphis...
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Reviews
BLIND MISSISSIPPI MORRIS AND BRAD WEBB
“Morris sings as if he’s inherited the Delta mantle from a century’s worth of legends. “Review of “Back Porch Blues” by Bill Ellis, The Commercial Appeal.
Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Morris Cummings comes from a talented lineage. His cousins, Robert and Mary Diggs, led the famed Memphis Sheiks, and his Aunt Mary Tanner played with the ‘Harps of Melody’. Morris is also a cousin of the late, great Willie Dixon. Blind since age 4, Morris is the very embodiment of the Delta Bluesman. He has been called ‘a new disciple of the Delta’ and the ‘Real Deal on Beale’ and, he was rated one of the 10 best harmonica players in the world by Bluzharp Magazine.
Morris is backed up by The Pocket Rockets, one of the hottest and best bands in Memphis. He is also available as a ‘Back Porch Duo’ with premier guitar and amp technician, Brad Webb. Brad is also a song writer, producer, and engineer and is widely recognized in studio circles. He has worked with legends like Luther Allison, Coco Montoya and Billy Gibbons in top studios such as Ardent, House of Blues and others. Their collective efforts can be heard on their latest CD “Back Porch Blues”. “This is Memphis Blues at its finest. A powerhouse of an album.” Bill Ellis, The Commercial Appeal.
Ready to take a risk
By Bartholomew Sullivan
The Commercial Appeal
August 3, 2003
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Blind Mississippi Morris and The Pocket Rockets bring raw delta blues to Jubilee
For Release: May 9. 2002
"Blind Mississippi" Morris Cummings lost his sight at the age of four, but that didn't stop him from learning the blues. Cummings says he's been playing "ever since I can remember, since I was a little guy."
With more than 30 years in the business, plus the help of some strong family genes--Cummings is a cousin of Robert and Mary Diggs, leaders of the legendary Mississippi Sheiks, and of the late blues great Willie Dixon--Morris has become one of the hottest blues acts on Beale Street.
Known as "the real deal from Beale," Morris and his band, The Pocket Rockets, bring their hard-edged, electric delta blues to Jubilee with a performance taped in the summer of 2000 at the W.C. Handy Blues Festival in Henderson, Ky.
During their Jubilee debut, Morris and The Pocket Rockets perform original tracks from You Know I Like That, their debut release, and Bad to Worse, their latest effort. The songs resonate with Morris' raw vocals and slamming harmonica. Blues reviewer Dave "Doc" Plitz lauded Morris' playing as "some of the best blues harp sounds that I have ever heard."
Jubilee is a KET production, produced and directed by H. Russell Farmer. The program is closed-captioned for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. Viewers can find out more about programming on KET by visiting the KET Web site at http://www.ket.org.
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Live Review
Blind Mississippi Morris & the Pocket Rockets
@ Bam Boo Room, Lake Worth, FL
March 20, 1999
byDave "Doc" Piltz
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The grand opening of the Bam Boo Room in Lake Worth, Florida on March 20 represented the culmination of a twelve year dream for Russell Hibbard and Mary McKinley, the proud owners of the newest blues venue in South Florida. Since their meeting at a Muddy Water's concert, the couple has shared a vision to create a blues club where people could gather to listen to "real" blues music. Part of the vision was to provide a venue for many of the older bluesmen and women who have gone unrecognized for so many years; a place where people could listen to the blues and have "a couple of cocktails," instead of a place where people went to drink with live music in the background.
Following the well-attended private opening party on Friday night, the Bam Boo Room opened to the public for the first time on Saturday evening with music provided by The Pocket Rockets, featuring Blind Mississippi Morris. Morris and The Pocket Rockets had thrilled the crowd at the private opening party the night before and the two shows on Saturday night were much anticipated by everyone lucky enough to have tickets. The Bam Boo Room is best described as a "show lounge," offering two shows each evening and limiting seating to about 150 people for each show. The result is a great atmosphere for the music and not the "human crush" one can experience at other blues clubs.
Blind Mississippi Morris hails from Clarksdale, Mississippi and has the distinction of being a cousin of blues great, Willie Dixon. Morris and The Pocket Rockets are referred to at the "real deal from Beale," since they currently operate out of Memphis, Tennessee.
Morris took the stage on Saturday, dressed in black, with his harp satchel slung over his shoulder. The Pocket Rockets have played with Morris for a number of years and include Brad Webb on guitar; Dan Cochran on bass; Russell Lee Wheeler on keyboards; and relative newcomer, Chad Gamble on drums. All of the band members are seasoned musicians and their skills were obvious throughout the 90+ minute show.
The opening song for the evening, "Second Hand Store," from Blind Mississippi Morris' debut CD on Ice House Records, You Know I Like That, had a sound straight out of the Mississippi Delta and was performed featuring only guitar, drums and Morris' exceptional harp attack. This was followed by the title track from the first CD and included what turned out to be an ongoing dialogue between Morris and the audience throughout the evening. "You Know I Like That" displayed a strong Memphis feel and included solos by Webb on guitar and Morris on harp.
In an evening that mixed original numbers with excellent covers, the band did an excellent job of interpreting Freddie King's classic, "Tore Down," including solos by Morris, Webb and keyboard player, Russell Lee Wheeler. Later covers included tunes penned by Slim Harpo, Muddy Waters and Albert King.
The set also included two songs from the band's latest CD, Bad To Worse. The title track, "Bad To Worse" is a hot number that got the crowd on to its collective dancing feet. Even better was "Singin' The Blues," an excellent tune reminiscent of Delbert McClinton. "Singin' The Blues" was my favorite song of the night and one of the best songs on the new CD which was independently produced by Brad Webb and recorded in the barn at his home in Memphis.
The mutual appreciation between Morris, The Pocket Rockets and the audience was apparent throughout the performance. Blind Mississippi Morris is an exceptional harp player, easily in the class of some of the greats, including Charlie Musselwhite, Carey Bell and James Cotton. Brad Webb demonstrated his guitar skills on several songs, offering some nasty slide guitar on a song called "Killin' Kind."
The final number for the evening was Albert King's, "Crosscut Saw." The band offered a great arrangement of the classic tune which featured Russell Wheeler's keyboards as the primary solo instrument instead of the expected guitar-heavy version you normally hear from other blues bands.
I felt very fortunate to be present at the opening of one of the nicest blues clubs I have ever been in and to have the opportunity to hear the fine musical offerings of The Pocket Rockets, featuring Blind Mississippi Morris. If you are ever in South Florida, take advantage of the opportunity to visit the Bam Boo Room; you won't regret it. And don't miss any chances that you might have to see The Pocket Rockets and Blind Mississippi Morris. They are a fine band and well-worth seeing.
This review is copyright © 1999 by Dave "Doc" Piltz, andBlues On Stage, all rights reserved.
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