[JPL] BLUES LEGEND BUDDY GUY GIVES TOUR OF CHICAGO MUSIC HISTORY

[Jazz Promo Services]

For more information, contact:

Christine Carrino, 312-744-2392

christine.carrino at cityofchicago.org

Joyce Rowe, 312-747-2036

joyce.rowe at cityofchicago.org
 
BLUES LEGEND BUDDY GUY GIVES TOUR OF CHICAGO MUSIC HISTORY
Multimedia audio tour exploring Chicago¹s musical roots
has been downloaded by nearly 100,000 listeners within the first six months
 
CHICAGO ­ Exploring the ³Home of the Blues,² the Chicago Blues Audio Tour
narrated by Chicago-local Buddy Guy has found an astonishing audience in
just six months.  The podcast has been downloaded more than 97,000 times and
is currently averaging over 1,000 downloads per day.  The free, 50-minute
tour combines an interactive map, tour stop directions, archival photos,
video, music clips, and interviews ­ a true multimedia experience unlike
anything else available.
 
Listeners are able to follow the tour either by downloading to a portable
media player or by virtually experiencing Chicago on a home computer.
Available in Mandarin Chinese, English, German, Japanese, and Spanish, the
tour is able to reach international visitors and devotees of Chicago blues
wherever they are. 
 
In September, the podcast was featured on the front page of iTunes, the most
popular repository for podcasts in the world.  The tour was also awarded a
2007 MUSE Award from the American Association of Museums recognizing
outstanding achievement in museum media.  According to the judges, ³while
[the tour] would offer an evocative introduction to a visitor on the streets
of Chicago, it is strong enough to be educational and engaging no matter
where the listener may be.²
 
As Buddy Guy explains about Chicago, ³This is the place where people just
like myself came from the South to create new lives and a new kind of music.
The generation just before mine came up here playing folk music.  But soon
they traded in their acoustic guitars for electric instruments.  And when
they plugged them in, they created a new, urban sound, that we call Chicago
blues.²
 
Through Buddy Guy¹s insider perspective and interviews with blues musicians
and historians, visitors experience the Chicago blues historic and societal
relevance, the worldwide impact on music and culture, and the city¹s
contemporary scene.  Incorporating archival photos, music clips, and video,
the tour highlights ten historic locations including Maxwell Street, Chess
Records, and Muddy Water¹s former home.  Listeners, from blues club
aficionados to those less familiar with the Chicago blues sound, will
discover something new from the explanation of Chicago blues and profiles of
five Chicago blues innovators: Jimmy Yancey, Tampa Red, Willie Dixon, Muddy
Waters, and Koko Taylor.
 
In addition, the tour illustrates how Chicago continues to influence the
international blues sound.    Visitors can experience ³Sweet Home Chicago²
at the city¹s many music clubs, including Buddy Guy¹s Legends. Celebrating
its 25th anniversary this June 5-8, 2008, the annual Chicago Blues Festival
is the largest free blues festival in the world and draws over 800,000
visitors.  Also, the Chicago Blues Archives at the city¹s Harold Washington
Library preserves archival recordings of performances unavailable anywhere
else.
 
The Chicago Office of Tourism produced the audio tour with the award-winning
Acoustiguide, Inc.  ³We are pleased to have had the opportunity to work with
the Chicago Office of Tourism on this project and are extremely happy with
the results,² said Kathryn Glass, Acoustiguide vice president.  ³By the end
of the first year, more than 150,000 people will have had the pleasure of
hearing Buddy Guy talk about Chicago¹s place in the history of the Blues,
and that is something we are all very proud of.²
 
The Chicago Blues Tour is free and can be downloaded at
www.downloadchicagotours.com <http://www.downloadchicagotours.com/>  or
Apple¹s iTunes.  Media can find an electronic press kit for the tour at
http://www.downloadchicagotours.com/bluesmedia/
<http://www.downloadchicagotours.com/bluesmedia/> .
 
For information about the Chicago Blues Festival, the world¹s largest free
blues festival, visitors can call 312.744.3315 or visit
www.chicagobluesfestival.us. Visitors and Chicagoans planning to entertain
out-of-town guests can receive Chicago brochures, reserve hotel
accommodations, and receive trip-planning assistance by calling
1.877.CHICAGO (1.877.244.2246) or visiting www.cityofchicago.org/tourism
<http://www.cityofchicago.org/tourism> .  Brochures and information on
Chicago¹s exciting events and activities are also available at the Visitor
Information Centers.  The centers are located at Chicago Water Works, 163 E.
Pearson Street at Michigan Avenue, and the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E.
Randolph Street.
CHICAGO BLUES TOUR DESTINATIONS
 
1.      Buddy Guy¹s Legends ­ When Buddy Guy opened this club in 1989, he
wanted it to have the feel of a dark, authentic storefront music joint, an
experience like going to a club when the Chicago blues were born.
 
2.      The Illinois Central Depot ­ Once Chicago¹s largest train station,
the Illinois Central Station became known as the Black Ellis Island, where
many southern African American¹s introduction to Chicago.
 
3.      Maxwell Street ­ Alive with business in the Maxwell Street market,
musicians congregated here and played the music that defined several eras of
the Chicago blues.
 
4.      Vee-Jay Records ­ Before Motown there was Vee-Jay Records, the
largest and most powerful black-owned record label in America, recording the
greats of R& B, doo-wop, and jazz in their studio on what was then known as
Œrecord row¹ on Michigan Avenue.
 
5.      Chess Records, Michigan Avenue ­ Generations of musicians have come
to pay homage at the place where all the greats of the Chicago blues
tradition ­ Muddy Waters, Howlin¹ Wolf, Koko Taylor, to name a few ­
recorded their hits.  Today, the building is home to the Blues Heaven
Foundation started by blues legend Willie Dixon, whose mission is to promote
and document the blues, educate children about its history, and to support
working musicians
 
6.      The State Street Stroll ­ In the 1920s and 30s, people would dress
their best and stroll down the street while music poured from the theaters,
cafes, and ³black and tan² nightclubs that lined the strip, notably the
Pekin Theater, the Plantation Club, and the Apex Club.
7.      47th Street ­ Now known as the ŒChicago Blues District,¹ this was
the location of the famous 708 Club, one of the creative incubators
responsible for transforming a kind of rural country blues into the
highly-charged electrified blues unique to Chicago.
 
8.      The Blues Brothers Mural ­ Created for the well-known movie, ³The
Blues Brothers,² this site was the home of ³Ray¹s Music Exchange,² run by
none other than Ray Charles in the film.  The mural is an homage to the
neighborhood¹s musical heritage.
 
9.      Chess Records, Cottage Grove Street ­ The Chess brothers built their
company in several storefront locations, including this one where Chuck
Berry cut his demo for ³Maybelline.²
 
10.  The Original ŒHouse of Blues¹ ­ Muddy Waters¹ house was a community
center for the blues.  Muddy often took in struggling musicians and would
stage impromptu jam sessions on the front steps.
Christine Carrino
Media Relations
Department of Cultural Affairs
78 E. Washington Street
Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 744-2392
(773) 655-5430 cell
christine.carrino at cityofchicago.org
www.cityofchicago.com/tourism <http://www.cityofchicago.com/tourism>
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