Cary Bell Passes

2007-05-08 12:20:00

Carey Bell passed away last Sunday.

In my old job, I used to spend lots of time in Washington DC. During one of these times, Carey Bell performed at a bar in Alexandria. Each night after dinner, I took off in a Taxi and would watch Carey play. I went into his dressing room during the break each night and he would give me a bottle of beer and we talked about playing harp, traveling around the country, and he told me a few juicy Muddy stories. He played with an old golden vocal mic that had a volume control. He used what looked like Hohner Meisterklasse harps, but he claimed that they were custom built for him. He wouldn't let me examine them.

Before I went to see him, I had only heard Carey on the Muddy's London Muddy Waters Sessions and I was not that impressed. Seeing him in person just blew me away. He is so much better than he sounds on the Muddy album. Later, when I was deep into Big Walter, I began to appreciate how he stood his own on the album Big Walter Horton with Carey Bell. This is one of Walter's best, yet Carey keeps up with Big Walter throughout the collection. Since then, I have purchased every Carey Bell album as they came out.

There is no player who ever did more with Third Position than Carey Bell, and just as I think of First Position as Jimmy Reed Style, I will always think of Third Position as Carey Bell style.

Carey was a great person and for those three days in Alexandria, I felt that I could call him a friend. I never made it to another Carey Bell gig, but I will miss him and I regret that I will never get to hear him live again.

Alligator Records