Two surprising entries in Lester Butler’s discography display him as a harpslinger for hire, bringing his blues credibility to slick albums from two legends from rock ‘n’ roll past.
“Secret Agent Man” Johnny Rivers and “The French Elvis” Johnny Hallyday both started their careers in the mid-1950s, each perfecting his own signature rock ‘n’ roll style — Rivers as a rootsier club artist, Hallyday as a charismatic pop icon.
Rivers in the late 1980s and early 1990s was a frequent patron at the King King in Hollywood, where he was known to hop onstage with The Blue Shadows/Red Devils.
Guitarist John Williamson was there in those early days in L.A. He recalled:
The first recollections of Lester were seeing him out at the Crying Towel, a neighborhood bar in Reseda. … Anyway Lester got up to play and I was knocked out immediately. I remember elbowing my wife Irene and saying, ‘Man this kid is the shit! If anybody still gets it, what with all the Texas-style ‘too modern blues’ everywhere, then he’s gonna do real good.’ Well Lester did a couple of Little Walter songs and then Sonny Boy’s ‘Cross Your Heart.’ Man it was electrifying. … Anyway that day I started to keep an eye on Lester and soon he had a Monday night gig at the King King, then Bruce Willis and Johnny Rivers and the Hollywood famous parties and real fame.
When Rivers was ready to revive his Soul City Records label with a tribute to the blues sounds he loved, he tapped several California musicians, including Butler.
“Last Train To Memphis” was released in 1998, but some of the tracks dated as far back as 1991 at the original Sun Studios in Memphis. Butler was tasked with channeling Little Walter on two blues classics during a 1996 session at Ocean Way Studios in L.A.
First up is a jaunty rendering of Jimmy Rogers’ “Chicago Bound.” Lester opens the song on harp and takes a straightforward solo. Throughout, he plays behind Rivers’ distinctive vocals. Butler solos the song out as well.
Rivers’ take on Muddy Waters’ “Rolling Stone” forgoes any Mississippi moan or Windy City electricity in favor of a lopey Louisiana swamp ballad vibe. Butler offers color and texture here, including a melodic acoustic harp solo notable only for his ability to play with subtlety and restraint.
It’s impressive that Butler could hold his own on the session, as this was no mere pickup band (though likely plenty of overdubs). The musicians were rock and blues pros: Tony Braunagel (drums), Hutch Hutchinson (bass), John Herron (keyboards), and Kal David (guitar). Google any of those names, as their credits are too long to list here.
Suffice to say, Rivers booked the very best studio and hired the very best musicians. He probably could have had Stevie Wonder or John Popper or Toots Thielemans play harp. But he picked Lester Butler.
A much stranger pairing would seem to be Butler and Hallyday.
The connective tissue here seems to be Ocean Way Studios, where the tracks with Butler’s harmonica were recorded in 1994 and released that year on Hallyday’s final English-language album, “Rough Town.” (Butler had recorded there previously with Mick Jagger, Johnny Cash and The Red Devils.)
Unlike Rivers, who stuck with the blues, Hallyday deployed Butler on the ballad “Love Affair,” which also featured popular country and bluegrass singer Kathy Mattea. The song finds the rockeur national in fine form as he enters his 50s, a graying lothario yearning for “a sweet love, sweet love to share.”
The song, written by Jerry Lynn Williams, is a gleaming piece of pop perfection. Even Hallyday’s stilted English pronounciations are quickly forgiven as the showman revs up through the song.
The critics and European fans agreed: “Rough Town” went to No. 1 on the French music charts, as well as No. 4 in Belgium and No. 5 in Switzerland. “Love Affair” was released as one of two singles from the album.
Even with the addition of Mattea, Hallyday’s offering did not make a ripple in the U.S. America has always viewed Hallyday as something of gag, an idol for a country that also reveres Jerry Lewis and Mickey Mouse. Even so, Hallyday maintained a career-long one-sided crush with the American myth.
Lester is in complete “for hire” mode on this track. In fact, he didn’t toot a note under two-thirds of the way through the song. The best compliment that can be paid is that Butler’s playing is wildly appropriate, and hints at the studio career he could have had. (On this session, he again appears with studio luminaries such as Hutchinson, Richie Hayward on drums, Chuck Leavell on organ, and on and on.)
Butler is in familiar territory on the moody blues “Lightin'” which succeeds in its goal to be a pop interpretation of the low-down. It’s a string of cliches saved by spot-on musicianship and dynamics.
Here, Lester is allowed to spread out, playing the opening lick and joining in with the horn section on the verses. He also gets a full 12 bars to solo, and doesn’t waste the opportunity.
What could have been.
Today, Johnny Rivers — who will be 81 on Nov. 9, 2024 — is retired. He played his last gig in 2023.
Johnny Hallyday died on Dec. 5, 2017, in Marnes-la-Coquette, France. He was 74.
No Fightin' 