The Professor’s Honor Roll – The Best of 2016!

This is an excerpt from John Porter’s blog post Professor Johnny P’s Juke Joint.  I am so very honored and humbled that No Money Down was included on this year’s list. There are so many great artists and albums here keeping the blues alive, I’m just grateful I was able to be a part of it once again. Thank you. – David “Wild Child” Burgin

No Money Down: The Professor’s Honor Roll – The Best of 2016!

Just as so many newcomers make their debut, I enjoy hearing those performers who have taken time away from the industry return and share their experiences with us. For some, the reasons may include burnout, while for others the reasons may be more personal and pressing. Whatever the reason, I’m just glad to have them back making great music.

No Money Down by David Burgin. Burgin was the “go-to” guy for harp players back in the ‘70’s. He played on dozens of albums that are probably in your record collection, and even with a successful combo with his friend Roy Rogers going, he put it all behind and walked away from the business. He’s returned with a swinging blues filled album. For me, he’s still the “go-to: guy!

You can read all of Professor Johnny P’s blog posts at Professor Johnny P’s Juke Joint.

You can also hear the Professor on:

Time for the Blues w/ Henry Cook & John Porter
Time for the Blues is a retrospective of all blues music and is produced and hosted by John Porter and Henry Cook. The program focuses on specific artists and various themes in the blues, especially featuring major contributors such as: Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Charlie Musselwhite and John Lee Hooker, among many others. While all time periods are represented, most of the music presented is what we call “post-war” blues (post WWII through the present). Regional blues are also featured, from the Mississippi Delta, Chicago, the West Coast, Memphis, Texas, the Piedmont, as well as British and other blues influences from around the world.

“Nearly 30 years later, Burgin has reemerged with an absolutely brilliant CD titled No Money Down.” – Lee Hildebrand

DAVID BURGIN

No Money Down Burgin Music – 12-34567

Harmonica virtuoso and vocalist David Burgin was an active participant on the San Francisco music scene during the 1970s and co-led a duo, with slide guitar ace Roy Rogers, that recorded one album for the Waterhouse label and played on the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest soundtrack. He also recorded numerous radio and TV commercials and as a sideman with the likes of Harry Chapin, Jerry Garcia and Maria Muldaur. He briefly ran his own Blueprint record label in the mid-’80s before mysteriously dropping out of the scene.

Nearly 30 years later, Burgin has reemerged with an absolutely brilliant CD titled No Money Down. Although he’s now based in North Carolina, he returned to northern California to cut the 13-track disc with a bunch of old Bay Area cohorts. They include guitarists Rogers, Volker Strifler, Danny Caron and Allen Sudduth, as well as pianist-organist Jim Pugh and drummer Kevin Hayes, both formerly of the Robert Cray Band.

Burgin’s command of his handheld instrument is breathtaking on Chicago blues classics like Little Walter’s Just Your Fool, Muddy Waters’ I Love the Life I Live (Live the Life I Love) and the Chuck Berry–penned title track, as well as on harmonically sophisticated original instrumental compositions such as the rumba boogie Greaseful and the swinging Chillin’, both showcasing Pugh’s keyboard prowess. Burgin sings in low-tenor tones with unaffected conviction and uses precise enunciation to put across lyrics, including a couple of his own. He’s joined in vocal harmony by bassist Gene Houck on My Babe—not the 1955 Little Walter hit but a too-seldom-heard Righteous Brothers blues shuffle of the same title from eight years later.

Rogers is featured on Just Your Fool and on an acoustic instrumental duet with Burgin titled Country Thing that’s delivered in the Sonny Terry–Brownie McGhee manner. Unfortunately, the credits aren’t clear about who plays guitar on the other tracks.

The variety rich set ends on a poignant note with Burgin singing Norton Buffalo’s Desert Horizon that then segues into a chilling instrumental treatment of Amazing Grace in tribute to his late harmonica-blowing buddy.

—Lee Hildebrand

“Welcome back David Burgin! You and your colleagues have put together a kicking album that mixes styles with ease and grace. Nothing about the album seems forced, the writing is tight and the execution is first rate. It’s pretty safe to say I had a great time listening to it – and I’m going to have a better time playing it on Time For The Blues.” Professor Johnny P

David Burgin is Back and It’s No Money Down

http://professorjohnnyp.blogspot.com/

I’m at an age now where I don’t trust my memory like I used to. Once upon a time I could easily memorize liner notes and knew all of the musicians that played on every album, and now I’m lucky to remember what I’m supposed to do on any given day.

So when Facebook suggested I should send a friend request to David Burgin, that name sent off a faint bell in my brain. I sent the request immediately as we had a couple of hundred friends in common AND his picture showed him playing a harmonica – so I immediately knew we needed to connect.

Turns out, he’s a very cool guy and he had an album about to be released. He sent me a copy and almost as soon as I put the CD into my player and I heard those few notes, it came flooding back to me: this guy played on at least a dozen albums in my collection!

A little bit of research and I turned up that Burgin had worked with the likes of Harry Chapin, Jerry Garcia… Read the Full Review and Interview

You can read all of Professor Johnny P’s reviews at his Professor Johnny P’s Juke Joint.

You can also hear the professor on:

Time for the Blues w/ Henry Cook & John Porter
Time for the Blues is a retrospective of all blues music and is produced and hosted by John Porter and Henry Cook. The program focuses on specific artists and various themes in the blues, especially featuring major contributors such as: Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Charlie Musselwhite and John Lee Hooker, among many others. While all time periods are represented, most of the music presented is what we call “post-war” blues (post WWII through the present). Regional blues are also featured, from the Mississippi Delta, Chicago, the West Coast, Memphis, Texas, the Piedmont, as well as British and other blues influences from around the world.