My thoughts this morning are swirling back to many years ago at a South Bend, Indiana venue named The Madison Street Oyster Bar, a joint located at that time along the St. Joseph River on the city’s near east side.  A bar of the same name still exists in downtown South Bend, but the joint that I’m harkening back to had a very dynamic, varied music program, though one that was steeped heavily in the blues.

The particular night I am thinking about still resonates strongly with me as it presented a vocalist who was especially skilled at conveying a song to his audience, someone who expertly knew how to use space, tone, and volume to ensure a tune’s meaning was imparted with the greatest impact.  After all, the blues has always been about the story within the song, and the best blues artists have continuously been able to tell a tale with their music.

On the particular evening in question, the superb blues vocalist and harmonica player Darrell Nulisch was in town, and the ensuing couple of hours of blues he provided that night remain vivid memories for all who were in attendance.  As my mind is on Nulisch, I believe it is time that a brief overview of the life and career of this immensely talented bluesman is warranted.

Nulisch came into the world in mid-September, 1952 in blues rich Dallas, Texas.  The great state has spawned such esteemed blues artists and bands such as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson, Texas Alexander, Black Boy Shine, Zuzu Bollin, Albert Collins, Pee Wee Crayton, The Fabulous Thunderbirds (which included Jimmie Vaughan), Anson Funderburgh, Joe “Guitar” Hughes, Doyle Bramhall, Andrew “Jr. Boy” Jones, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Freddie King, Mance Lipscomb, Frankie Lee Sims, Bessie Tucker, T-Bone Walker, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, and Johnny Winter; you get my drift.  There’s something in the water of that big state that seeds the blues pool.

As a young man, Nulisch’s musical interests lied primarily in the soul vein, with giants of the genre such as the vastly admired soul man Al Green and enormously significant and clear-voiced soul titan Sam Cooke imparting great interest and enthusiasm upon him.  As examples, the soul styles of Green and Cooke possess that undeniable capability to draw an audience in and really have them both consider and buy-in to the messages in their songs, a trait that Nulisch also enjoys.  Being able to work a crowd and having it accept a song’s missive is not easy, and it seems that from an early age that Nulisch learned this lesson well by choosing his musical influences wisely.

In fact, Nulish’s father and mother used to carry him to Texas honky tonks where they could take him in on Sundays.  He cites other non-soul influences as Freddie King, Jimmy McCracklin, and someone who lived in his neighborhood, Jimmie Vaughan of The Fabulous Thunderbirds.  Nulisch has been known to speak about one of his first groups, a band named The Chessmen, and how they used to set-up business and rehearse in a park nearby his home.  It is clear that the blues and its influencers were always nearby him, and they strongly fueled his early blues drive.

As Nulisch’s vocal precisions and stage specialties continued to develop before he became a solo performer, it is not hard to understand why he chose a fellow Texas bluesman to align himself with to continue his growth; Anson Funderburgh.  Nulisch signed-on with Funderburgh’s band, The Rockets, as an originating member in, I believe, 1981.  With Funderburgh’s economically stinging yet melodic guitar attack, Nulisch was the ideal vocalist for the band, in addition to playing harmonica.  With The Rockets, Nulisch recorded with them on the Black Top Records releases Talk To You By Hand (1981) and She Knocks Me Out (1985).  The Black Top Records label was a preeminent blues label at the time based out of New Orleans, and the visibility provided by Nulisch’s work with Funderburgh for the label aided his burgeoning career.  Nulisch left The Rockets in 1985. 

After leaving Funderburgh, Nulisch worked with Mike Morgan & The Crawl, another blues band that would record prolifically with Black Top Records before he signed-on with Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters, another Black Top Records band.  He recorded with the group on the 1988 Soul Searching and the 1990 Peace Of Mind collections.

In 1989, Nulisch also appeared on the Healing Feeling collection by blues guitar great Hubert Sumlin, yet another collection that was released on the Black Top Records label. 

1990 was a major year for Nulisch as he made the move to the state of Massachusetts from Texas to set out on a solo career.  1991 saw the release of Business As Usual by Darrel Nulisch & Texas Heat on the Black Top Records label, with Nulisch providing his usual strong vocals and harmonica work. 

Nulisch’s career took a major step forward when blues harmonica legend James Cotton sought him to sing in his band after the loss of his once formidable voice.  This association would last some twenty years, and provided Nulisch both the opportunity to gain broad exposure plus the invaluable and unforgettable opportunity to work with one of his blues harmonica heroes.  Nulisch appeared on Cotton’s That’s All Right collection for the Telarc Blues imprint.

All during the time that Nulisch worked with Cotton, he established himself as a solo artist, using his passionate, soulful, and abundantly expressive voice to its best effects.  His is of a laidback quality, and his solo recordings indicate such.  He has recorded for Higher Plane Records, Severn Records (who he had an extended relationship with, recording five albums), a self-released “live” outing, and for Bluebeat Music. 

He has also appeared on many compilation collections, along with being a great-voice-for-hire (respect intended) on releases of many other artists.

Nulisch’s work can be summed up in one word; taste.  Nothing is forced.  Everything is well thought out and distributed.  If you’ve not considered Nulisch and his decades of work before, seek it out.  I believe that you will be pleased.

The photo below was taken in South Bend, Indiana circa 1990.