On today’s Beale Street Caravan, we’re back in Memphis, TN, this week for a very special set from our friend, Patrick Dodd. Patrick is an established star on the Memphis blues scene and locals can catch him playing Beale Street almost every night of the week. And while he’s built a reputation as an outstanding blues talent locally, many of our listeners may recognize him as a contestant on this past season of The Voice. His soulful voice blew the judges away and you’ll see exactly what we mean in this set at A.Schwab’s on Beale. After Patrick’s set, we head down to the riverside and hear from hill country hero, Robert Belfour, at the 2012 Beale Street Music Fest.
Guest host, the late Jerry Wexler, recalls his experiences in the music industry in this series called On The Record.
About the artists:
Seeing the Patrick Dodd Trio is like going on your first date with your soul mate. They stand out in a crowded room. You’re attracted at first listen by the solid rhythm – then by lyrics that are more than superficial conversation about the weather. You’re more interested in the songs as you find every sentence clever and hope the night never ends.
That’s exactly the experience hundreds of listeners have had from catching the band live on world famous Beale Street. Seasoned musicians Patrick Dodd, Harry Peel and Landon Moore are the breed of artists who take their craft seriously, but ensure the music lover will enjoy the trip just as much as the band.
Dodd, a favorite on Beale Street for years, took a break from music to focus on his young family. A decade passed and the music was calling him back. Blues legend Bobby “Blue” Bland called Dodd to deliver fate’s final affirmation: “Son, you got an old soul,” he told him. “You just got to let go and play from your heart. Don’t worry about finding someone to help you – play from your soul, and they will find you.”
Patrick started hitting the clubs to see live music again and a chance late night discussion with session player Harry Peel (Little Feat, Loretta Lynn, the Oak Ridge Boys, Greg Dulli) transformed into a musical collaboration that infused a new fervor into Patrick and his musical storytelling. Their jamming became serious when the pair added highly sought-after bassist and session musician Landon Moore.
Best described as classic rock with blues accents, The Patrick Dodd Trio combines soulful vocals, whispering lyrics and knee-bouncing bass and drum beats for perfectly timed full throttle progressions. The band is influenced by gifted players like Mississippi Fred McDowell and Derek Trucks, musicians who consider songwriting an art and never incidental to the music. Not only can the band please the international crowd on Beale Street, but they also satisfy hard-to-please Memphis locals.
The Trio’s debut release Future Blues is a contrast of simplicity and lushness as their blues center flourishes in the embellishments of southern-style rock and jam music. Recorded at Memphis’s Music+Arts Studio, the EP was produced by North Mississippi All-Star Cody Dickinson (Lucero, Hill Country Revue) with engineering by Kevin Houston (Buddy Guy, Irma Thomas, Amy LaVere).
Get ready for your first date and a lifelong relationship with The Patrick Dodd Trio.
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Robert “Wolfman” Belfour (born September 11, 1940, Red Banks, Mississippi, United States) is an American blues musician. His father, Grant Belfour taught him the guitar at a young age and he continued his tutelage in the blues from musicians Otha Turner, R. L. Burnside, and Junior Kimbrough. Kimbrough, in particular, had a profound influence on him. His music is deeply rooted in Mississippi Hill Country traditions, in contrast to those of delta blues. His playing is characterized by a deeply percussive attack and alternate tunings.
His father died when Belfour was thirteen, and his music was relegated to what free time he had, as his energy went to helping his mother provide for the family. In 1959, he married Noreen Norman and moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he would work in construction for the next 35 years.
In the 1980s, Belfour began playing on Beale Street and in 1994 he had eight songs featured on David Evans‘s compilation album, The Spirit Lives On, Deep South Country Blues and Spirituals in the 1990s, released by the German Hot Fox label. This led him to Fat Possum Records and his first album What’s Wrong With You, released in 2000.
The album, Pushin’ My Luck, followed in 2003 to a positive critical review.
