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Artist Profile
Sonny Rodgers – From Small Town Arkansas Arose A Minnesota Blues Guitar Giant
I pulled a very obscure LP from my collection the other day and, as I listened to it for the first time in years, it really pulled me in. I had only happened upon it by accidentally reaching for it instead of the LP immediately before it in my album rack but, in reflection, I am quite pleased that I did so.
The LP was They Call Me The Cat Daddy, a collection of blues recorded at Blue Moon Studios in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area back primarily in the 1987-1989 period (with two selections recorded in January, 1990) by guitarist and singer Sonny Rodgers and his supporting cast. The collection was licensed from Blue Moon Records and released on the U.K. Fattening Frogs Records label (#JUMP 21). The collection was available at one time on the Blue Moon Records imprint as a cassette tape (BMR 003 – I also have one in my collection).
I had only planned to listen to perhaps one-half of the album while I was completing some work in my blues room but, finding myself greatly enjoying the LP, I settled in and afforded myself the opportunity to revel in all 12 tracks.
Since I’ve not before presented an artist profile on Sonny Rodgers and, while he is currently front-of-mind, now seems the ideal time to do so.
He was born Oliver Lee Rodgers in early December, 1939 in Hughes, Arkansas, a very small town in St. Francis County, an area in the state’s far mid-eastern region. His people were originally from Mississippi. His father was named Lee Rodgers, and his mother’s name was Marie Rodgers. He came from a large family that included 18 children. Rodgers was the oldest male sibling in his family.
Rodgers always indicated that he got his start in music, the blues, from his father, who was a guitar player. His father must have had some distinction in his playing as he was a frequent performer in their home area’s juke establishments in the 1940s. It is also known that Rodgers’ father was an acquaintance of Chester Arthur Burnett, a bluesman more widely known as Howlin’ Wolf, as he was playing the same joints that Rodgers’ father was. One note regarding this time of Rodgers’ father’s performing in the jukes, and that of someone like Wolf, is that blues artists were still using acoustic guitars during their shows.
As Rodgers continued to work upon his guitar skills, both with his father and on his own, at the youthful age of 17 he was becoming highly aware of the day’s most popular bluesmen such as Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller), B.B. King, Joe Willie Wilkins, and the previously mentioned Howlin’ Wolf, with their bands appearing in the Hughes area. Seeing these blues greats perform proved to be majorly important in continuing to further the young Rodgers’ interest in becoming a full-time blues guitarist. As with many young folks interested in the blues, he also had a radio and was exposed to a great deal of the music over the airwaves.
Hughes was not a terribly large town, being roughly only 2.2 square miles in size, and because of this, Rodgers was one of the few blues guitar players around. As such, he was in demand for work and, in particular, he performed with Forest City Joe (Joe Bennie Pugh), a blues harmonica player who Rodgers recorded with in 1959 for the esteemed musicologist Alan Lomax. Lomax had come to Hughes during one of his field recording trips and wanted Forest City Joe’s music to be captured. The harmonica player is said to have insisted that Rodgers back him on the recordings. The blues that Lomax was able to record, including that of Forest City Joe with Rodgers, Fred McDowell, Vera Hall, Ed Young, and Lonnie Young saw the light of day on the Atlantic Records label. Those two blues LPs were entitled Roots Of The Blues and Blues Roll On.
For reasons unclear, Rodgers made the decision to uproot and move to Texas, where he established his own band. However, in 1961 he again decided to move, this time to Minneapolis, Minnesota. This displacement occurred because his entire family had made the move northward first, and one of his sisters requested that he too come to be with his people. At that time, blues activity in Minneapolis was scant but, in a twist of fate, Rodgers made a connection with blues harmonica man Mojo Buford, one that would endure.
With Buford already in Minneapolis and having already established a working blues band that included the fine blues guitarist, Pat Hare, someone who was renowned in Chicago for his work. Buford’s band had a regular slot at a Minneapolis nightspot, and was said to consistently draw sizeable crowds. Something good was happening with the blues in Minneapolis, and Rodgers had stepped into it at just the right time. Buford was insistent on bringing great blues talent to the burgeoning Minneapolis scene, and in 1962 he brought Jo Jo Williams, the singer, guitarist, bass player, and bandmate of Muddy Waters, to the city, along with piano man Lazy Bill Lucas. (It should be noted here that Rodgers recorded with Lucas on a 1970 collection entitled Lazy Bill & His Friends that included him on guitar on a single selection, an outing that also saw Buford on three of the cuts.) With all this blues talent now in Minneapolis, Rodgers, Buford, Williams, and Lucas had a tight and highly skilled working blues band assembled.
With the Minneapolis blues scene now suddenly alive, the talent continued to roll in. None other than Leonard “Baby Doo” Caston, the superb piano player and guitarist, also joined the ranks of the city’s bluesmen, and Rodgers also played shows with him, too.
Rodgers continued to build his reputation on the Minneapolis blues scene. In 1972, Buford recommended Rodgers to Muddy Waters to fill a guitar spot in his touring band after the group’s guitarist, Sammy Lawhorn, was unable to tour. By that time, Buford had been summoned by Waters to come play harmonica for the same stretch with his touring band. Rodgers knew that this was the opportunity of a lifetime, and signed on. He spent roughly 18 months with Waters, and often spoke fondly afterwards of the experience. He was impressed with Waters’ professionalism and access to top-tier equipment, and the fact that Waters generally would only spend a couple of weeks at a time on the road before returning home for rest. All this greatly appealed to Rodgers.
In Waters’ band, with Buford playing harmonica, Rodgers had a familiar face along with him. Waters’ rhythm section at the time included Willie “Big Eyes” Smith and Calvin “Fuzz” Jones on drums and bass respectively. The excellent Pee Wee Madison was also playing guitar in Waters’ band, as was the superb piano man, Otis Spann. Rodgers was very aware of the level of talent in Waters’ band and his good fortune to be a part of it, and often indicated that the music Waters and his extremely skilled band was playing was on a very high level.
In 1979, Rodgers had the opportunity to be a part of an ambitious project steered by Buford. Credited under the name “Sonny Rogers,” Rodgers was enlisted to play guitar and sing on the Mojo Buford’s Chicago Blues Summit LP (originally released on the Chicago-based Mr. Blues label), one that included Buford playing harmonica and singing, Pee Wee Madison, Sammy Lawhorn, and Little Smokey Smothers on guitar, as well, with Smothers also playing bass and singing, Madison also providing vocals, with Lawhorn additionally singing. Ernest Johnson also provided some bass support, and Sam Lay played drums. The 11-selection outing was a tough, resoundingly successful Chicago blues affair, with the collection being rereleased a number of times, as recently as 2012. Such remains its quality, and there in the middle of it was Rodgers.
After a stint away from music, Rodgers made his return to the blues in the 1980s. By this time, Rodgers and Buford had gone their separate ways. Interestingly, Rodgers return to music came by way of him aligning with an established band that came to be known as The Cat Scratchers, one that included Brad Moe on drums, Pat Dawson on bass, Curtis Blake on harmonica, John Wickstrom on rhythm guitar, Mike Deutsch on piano, and of course, Rodgers on guitar and vocals. Rodgers was now known as Sonny “Cat Daddy” Rodgers. The band built quite a following in the St. Paul, Minnesota area.
The aforementioned LP entitled They Call Me The Cat Daddy collection included many of the above bandmates of Rodgers. And, a 1989 45rpm with “Cadillac Baby” / “Big Leg Woman” that was released on the Blue Moon Records label was voted as the best 1990 blues single at the W.C. Handy Awards.
Also floating around is a relatively obscure self-produced late 1980s eight-song blues cassette release credited to The Sonny Rodgers Blues band with Blake Wickstrom, Moe, and Dawson.
Rodgers also appeared on the superb Low Blows: An Anthology Of Chicago Blues Harmonica collection from 1988 (Rooster Blues Records label) where he backs Mojo Buford on one selection.
Rodgers passed away just shy of his 51st birthday in early May, 1990 in Minneapolis. A U.K tour was being planned when he succumbed to heart failure.
Rodgers’s story is astounding, one that saw a young man from a very small rural Arkansas town who had aspirations of musical achievement come to perform with many hailed blues artists, including the legendary Muddy Waters, while establishing himself as something of a Minneapolis blues king. It is quite a story, indeed.
Essential Blues Recording
The Gerry Hundt Trio – Multi-Instrumentalist Hundt And His Devoted Musical Co-Conspirators Astound
The Gerry Hundt Trio – Get Hip! – Steady Groove Music (no label #)
It is very rarely that I propose a contemporary blues collection as one that is “essential,” worth of standing toe-to-toe with those that have offered to blues fans everywhere those recordings that best represent the genre and will continue to do so for all time.
Blues collections I believe to be “essential” must bring to the table a style and uniqueness that, despite the era in which they were created, is lasting and forever a living expression of the artist and the times when the music was made. That is why so many of my “essential” blues collections originated no later than the 1970s, as to bring something to the table going forward from there has to exhibit a tremendous exceptionality for me to believe that it is significantly positioned as one of the-best-of-the-best of all-time.
Such as it is with The Gerry Hundt Trio’s Get Hip!. It is just that good, and it represents an artist and his contemporaries completely devoted to the blues and at the height of their individual and collective broad proficiencies. So, yes, a 2024 recording as an “essential” blues document is indeed an actuality to me with Get Hip!.
It is with great excitement when I find Facebook posts from bluesman extraordinaire Gerry Hundt, as the lion’s share of them find him entertaining in his one-man band set-up, playing tremendous guitar, singing with conviction, blowing wholly complementary harmonica, and maybe even affording himself a rock-solid rhythmic beat with a foot-pedal percussion device. Additionally, Hundt regularly posts clips from both domestic and overseas tour shows, with the ones from foreign performances highlighting his abundant musical proficiencies with foreign blues groups. For many years now I have been extremely enthralled with Hundt’s commitment to the blues, and find myself elated to witness how he has become even more skilled over time.
Obviously, I am an blatant fan of Hundt and his musical capacities, inspiration, and what seems to be his boundless dynamism, as in any given month you may behold him plying his trade at a local weekend outdoor market, playing a brunch at one of Chicago’s celebrated north side blues and BBQ establishments, busking open-air outside a major Chicago music site like The Salt Shed, or roving regionally to inns, eateries, and breweries all through the upper Midwest phenomenally executing in his one-man band format. Or, he may be traveling the U.S.’s highways with the band who since 2022 has issued two of the best fully-realized blues outings in a long time, The Dig 3. Possibly, Hundt will be taking flight over the Atlantic Ocean to tour in various European locations where his fan base and musical reputation is constantly on the upturn. Even still, he could be south of the border in Mexico. Or maybe, The Gerry Hundt Trio will be astounding blues enthusiasts at some vibrant overseas blues outpost, or regionally in Illinois, Indiana, or Wisconsin.
I have been eavesdropping on Hundt’s musical goings-on all the way back to his 2002 release, Mason & Hundt (Naked Jaybird Music njbm-002) when he pursued his remarkable harmonica dexterities with those of guitarist John-Alex Mason. Years back, when Hundt happened through my home base of Mishawaka, Indiana as a vital member of Nick Moss And The Flip Tops, I took witness to his amazing on-stage adaptability as he played formidable bass, exciting harmonica, entrancing mandolin, and rousing guitar, plus also adeptly sang. Hundt was highly contributory on the band’s 2007 Blue Bella Records release entitled Play It ‘Til Tomorrow (Blue Bella Records BB 1008).
And, when Hundt’s 2007 Since Way Back outing was released on Blue Bella Records (BBCD 1009), my fortune as a forever devotee was sealed vis-à-vis his discerning and comprehensive musical knowhows and veneration for the blues.
If that weren’t adequate still, Hundt’s collection entitled Gerry Hundt’s Legendary One-Man Band on the SteadyGroove Music label (SteadyGroove Music-003) only reinforced my high admiration for his ever-evolving skill set and recording expertise.
And Hundt’s work with The Dig 3, whose self-titled debut collection and Damn The Rent outings were two of the finest works of the past five years, indicates his blues wizardry and stature as both a purveyor of older times music, and the personification of a multi-faceted contemporary artist. His flexibility rightfully speaks as someone who is equally at home in the role as a full bandleader or supplementing sideman, in configurations varying from full-size groups all the way down to duos.
On Get Hip!, The Gerry Hundt Trio, with Hundt astonishing with his strong capabilities on vocals, mandolin, guitar, and harmonica, Tom Lehnert framing and shaping all of the triad’s musical visions with firm percussion expertise on drums, and Daniel Fastro enveloping the proceedings with his low-end adeptness on bass, has delivered a document of superlative blues and related musical genres. Inspiring musicmaking unfurled!
Luxembourg was where this outstanding collection was recorded “live,” and without itemizing the raised merits of each tune, rest assured that in a music world where what passes for blues today is often represented by endless guitar excursions stuffing countless embellishments into a stanza as if the players were paid by the note, where amps are turned up to their ear-splitting highest, with vocalists who do not sing and tell a story but rather often seem unnecessarily on the cusp of hysteria, splendidly, and as testimony to Hundt’s melodic musing, each song here is led to a nonpareil plateau of taste, idyllic musical interplay, and an exceedingly harmonious end.
Whether an original or a choice cover, The Gerry Hundt Trio respects the musicmaking, infusing it with abundant high-tier qualities, but moreover, seem striving to allot a substantial experience for their listening audience. My god, music creation on this level is to be roundly applauded! Many would be wise to study this musical assemblage as a textbook on how to envision and realize a recording plan.
It’s difficult sometimes, really hard, to stay professional and open-minded with the number of collections that slide across my desk for review. Some are the “same old, same old,” some loudly batter my senses with overloaded volume and poor execution, and others, well, they are just bad for innumerable justifications.
A heartfelt bravo to The Gerry Hundt Trio for the exemplary achievement that is this 11-cut CD! This reviewer needs to make shelf space for this CD so it may permanently inhabit a sliver of wood in my collection. Only the great stuff populates those shelves, and Get Hip! Is in that exalted air.
Hundt is still a reasonably young man; what will he do next? It will be a pleasure to observe Hundt’s highly encouraging musical career continue to unfold.
Support Hundt and his auditory designs by doing whatever you can to pick this one up. It is that grand!
Essential! Period!


Recommended Blues Recording
Roy Buchanan – The Glorious Wizardry Of Buchanan’s Guitar Concepts
Roy Buchanan – When A Guitar Plays The Blues – Alligator Records ALCD 4741
Strap in and hold-on tightly, as this amazing nine-cut collection by one of the most extremely esteemed guitarists ever will lead you to auditory spaces you never before could have deemed possible!
An outing dedicated to Jimmy Nolen, himself a guitarist whose unique guitar embellishments can, to this day, still be found on rock recordings, it led a career resurgence for Buchanan when it was released in 1985. It was his first outing for Alligator Records.
With his Fender Telecaster, Buchanan was a combustible, technically grand, and deeply expressive guitarist, a genius of creating layers of sonic expressions, yet they were always outlays rooted in the varying alleyways of blues moods.
Buchanan was revered among fellow guitarists for his deeply affecting tones, his hallmark brilliant pitches, mesmerizing melodic constructions, stupefying fretwork speed, and specialized originality.
Buchanan was at the forefront of manipulating his guitar strings in tandem with his instrument’s control knobs to produce sounds one would not believe the guitar to be capable of. His solos could both scorch and conversely be wonderfully harmonious. His sonic inventions were always fresh, musical sensations without peers, and the masses of fellow musicians and fans who found, and continue to find, his work stunning are innumerable.
It is in no way a stretch to proffer that contemporary guitar playing would be much different if not for the genius of Buchanan’s musical visions and efforts.
I recall witnessing Buchanan play Mishawaka, Indiana’s Center Street Blues Café in the 1980s, and I can only describe his performance as overwhelmingly astounding and awe-inspiring.
With Criss Johnson on rhythm guitar, Larry Exum on bass, Morris Jennings on drums, Steele Seals on tenor saxophone, and both vocalists Gloria Hardiman and Otis Clay each assisting on one selection each, Buchanan’s guitar magic, novel songs, and half-spoken/half-sung vocalisms rise to amaze, even all these years later.
Below are the running tracks of this awe-inspiring collection.
Song Titles
- When A Guitar Plays The Blues
- Chicago Smokeshop
- Pressure
- A Nickel And A Nail
- Short Fuse
- Why Don’t You Want Me?
- Country Boy
- Sneaking Godzilla Through The Alley
- Hawaiian Punch
Highly recommended!

Short Take CD Reviews & Other Information
Short Take CD Reviews
Tim Gartland – Right Amount Of Funky – Taste Good Music (no label #) – Modern Blues That Will Speak To Many
This eight-cut outing is Gartland’s sixth overall, one that will be released on April 25th. Across the span of this superlative collection one aspect seems undeniable, and that is that Gartland is fully invested in a high quality and inventive product. All the original tunes found here were either written or co-written by Gartland and demonstrate an obvious deep conviction to offer music that is wholly applicable to the world as it currently exists. Interestingly and compellingly to this reviewer, Gartland’s voice has that fatigue that comes via a to-date’s life experiences. Very much, it strikes as akin to Charlie Musselwhite’s earned world weariness, and that’s high praise. Gartland’s harmonica outlays are economical and highly poignant; there are no unnecessary flourishes here, just discerning and decidedly affecting tonal expenditures. Going back to the songwriting, each piece here pulls the listener forward by means of its novel approach, lending to a collection that demands to be heard and savored. Bravo to Gartland and his astounding supporting cast for providing what there should be much more of in today’s blues and roots environment; top-shelf innovative musicmaking. Excellent engineering and sound quality abounds. Exceedingly engrossing blues from an artist of high proficiencies who deserves an elevated awareness. Well done, indeed!

Upcoming Short Take CD Reviews
Labels, artists, and publicists, as we move deeper into 2025, it’s a great idea to get your blues CDs mailed to me for reviews as early as possible as you bring new collections to the market! Remember, please, only blues CDs! I am looking forward to a great 2025 filled with exciting new releases!
In two weeks, new collections by Dudley Taft and Jennifer Lynn & The Groove Revival will be reviewed.
I have been informed by artists and publicists that more are on the way!
Blues Song Of The Week
“If The Blues Was Whisky” – Bumble Bee Slim – Vocalion label #02995 – Released in 1935
New Jasmine Records Releases
Jasmine Records will release a host of new collections on April 11th. Jasmine Records’ work is to be highly applauded. The following will no doubt being of particular interest to Curt’s Blues Blog readers:
- JASCD1237 – Earl Palmer – Drumsville!/Percolator Twist…Plus Bonus Tracks
- JASCD1249 – Various Artists – The Black Roots Of Elvis Presley
Document Records’ Vital Work
Document Records’ mission since 1985 has been to unearth, repair, and re-release the complete recorded works of the majority of Black artists and their recordings from the 1890s to the mid-20th century. The label’s blues selections are presented in chronological order and include studious notes and comprehensive discographic info.
The Document Records online store is simply amazing, and a place where over a thousand collections of astounding past recordings are offered for purchase, either as CDs or as downloads. Document Records offers exciting bundles of recordings on certain artists that bring great value to collecting blues music.
Curt’s Blues Blog is a huge supporter of the important work that Document Records performs, and a great many of the label’s CDs reside in my personal collection.
Below is a link to the online Document Records store. No matter where you are in building your blues collection, you should definitely visit the Document Records online store. You will not be disappointed!
Document Records – Vintage Blues and Jazz
New Delmark Records And Alligator Records News And Offerings
Delmark News And Releases
- The new Tad Robinson collection entitled Soul In Blue has a release date of May 2nd
- A new solo piano CD entitled Johnny Iguana: At Delmark – Chicago-Style Solo Piano will be released on April 11th. This will be a good one!
- Dave Specter will have a new collection released on May 25th entitled Live At SPACE – With Brother John Kattke/Rodrigo Mantovani/Marty Binder. This no doubt will also be a quality outing!
- Check out all the new singles by various artists on the label’s web page
Alligator News And Releases
- K. Harrell has signed with the label, with his first collection to be released in June
- Southern Avenue’s debut label release is scheduled for 4/25/2025
- Carolyn Wonderland’s new release entitled Truth Is is scheduled for May 16th
It’s too bad that both Delmark Records and Alligator Records won’t provide this blues blogger with hard copy CDs of their upcoming releases for reviews. As I’ve explained to both these labels, I do not perform reviews via electronic sound files. I guess that 11,900+ blog readers aren’t enough for the labels to send hard copy CDs! Please, urge them to do so!
Please visit Delmark’s and Alligator’s web sites for information on all the goings on at the labels.
DELMARK RECORDS – Blues & Jazz since 1953
New MoMojo Records Release
A new release from Jad Tariq on MoMojo Records includes five originals and three covers. The release is entitled Jad Tariq Sings…. You just may want to check it out!
M.C. Records Signs New Artist
M.C. Records has signed legendary blues artist Rory Block, and has indicated that a new collection from her will be coming late this Summer. Watch for it!
M.C. Records: American Roots Music Since 1991
Upcoming Mishawaka, Indiana And South Bend, Indiana Blues Shows
For my hometown blog readers:
- Little Frank & The Premiers with special guests Gerry Hundt and Billy Flynn will be playing an April 5th show at the famed Mishawaka blues venue The Midway Tavern & Dancehall. This will be a great one!
The Midway’s Facebook page link is below.
- Phillip-Michael Scales will be playing a May 10th show at The Stockroom East. Tickets are $15. This show is in support of his new release entitled Good To Be Here. Folks may remember him opening for Keb’ Mo’ at Elkhart, Indiana’s The Learner Theatre awhile back. The ticket link is below.
Phillip-Michael Scales, Saturday, May 10, 2025, 7:30pm | Stockroom East | South Bend, IN | Opendate
Living Blues Magazine – Latest Edition
The latest edition of Living Blues Magazine is out with features on Wallace Coleman, Stoney B, and Jeff Floyd, along with their Let It Roll series that focuses on T-Bone Walker’s 1947 outing for Black & White Records, a writing by David Evans entitled Expounding Upon The Myths Of Robert Johnson, and of course, the publication’s broad recording review section and additional extensive features. This writer has been a Living Blues subscriber for 36+ years, and though I may not always agree with their record reviews or their journalistic direction, I can’t stress enough how vital this magazine is to the blues. Please consider a subscription if you don’t already have one and support the magazine’s fine work, and the blues in general.
A Reminder To Support “Live” Blues And Purchase A Blues Recording
Touring blues musicians endure an arduous life of traveling city-to-city, sometimes with the distance between shows being many miles. This equates to large outlays for gasoline, food, and lodging (if not often sleeping in vehicle while traveling), When these talented blues artists roll through your town, please consider parting with some of your hard-earned dollars to attend their shows.
Also, with so many online platforms offering blues recordings for sale (check out the Curt’s Blues Blog “Resources” page for many of them), please think about purchasing a new blues CD or MP3 recording for your collection. And often, artists sell their recordings at their shows.
CD Reviews
Once again, a reminder: If you want a CD reviewed, please contact me via the email address found on the Curt’s Blues Blog “Contact” page, and I will promptly answer with the mailing address to get the CD to me. I do not perform reviews via electronic sound files. Please don’t put your promotion company’s sticker over the record company information on the back of the CD jacket. Please be mindful that this is a blues blog, and that providing rock, pop, hip hop, or Americana CDs for review will not find them being considered. And please, don’t mail me CDs with postage due!
It is a goal of mine to have as many CD reviews as possible pass through the blog.
Thank you.
