For immediate release 3/7/2001
Contact: Bobby Davis, Beeper 773-651-7628; 773-783-1037; Mr. H. 312-813-1051; Steve Balkin, 312-341-3696, mar@openair.org

Bobby Davis Blues Band's new song: 'Maxwell Street, Jew Town, Chicago'

In tribute to the neighborhood, its musicians, and people of all races and religions, Maxwell Street Bluesman Bobby 'Top Hat' Davis and his band created a new blues song called "Maxwell Street, Jew Town, Chicago".

You can listen to this song by clicking here. Or, in your web browser, enter the address: <http://www.wiseman-enterprise.com/realmedia/maxwell/davis.ram>. However, you must have real audio software to hear it but most newer version web browsers contain it already.

This song, still a work in progress, was created as part of Mr. Davis's Blues TV Show on the Chicago Cable Public Access Channel. See below for pictures of this show. The band that night included Muddy Water's drummer Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith, Joan Baby on Bass, Scott Madden on electric guitar, Dave Dale on electric guitar, Rasheed Muhammad on keyboard, Mr. H on harmonica, Eddie Berner on supplemental vocals, and Bobby 'Top Hat' Davis on acoustic guitar and lead vocal. The band members all joined in as backup voices for the choruses.

Mr. Davis and his music partner, Mr. H. (Baron of the Blues), have been playing down on Maxwell Street since the 1950s. Davis was born in Dallas Texas in 1932 and played in various Blues bands in the South before coming to Chicago in 1957 with Roscoe Garden and Baby Face Willette. In 1959 Davis played organ by the service station at 14th and Halsted for 7 years with Rosie Davis on drums and Eris Davis on guitar.

Mr. H was raised in the Pilsen neighborhood next door to Maxwell Street and spent much of his spare time hanging out in the Maxwell Street Market, listening to Blues musicians. He started playing with them in the 1960s at various locations within the Maxwell Street neighborhood. In the early 1990s, he was regular at the makeshift Blues stage in front of the Johnny Dollar Thrift Shop, playing with Piano C. Red and his group of regulars.

In the last few years, both Mr. H. and Bobby Davis have been maintaining the tradition of live Blues on Maxwell Street by playing almost every weekend, in warm weather, right on Maxwell Street on Frank 'Little Sonny' Scott's Juketown Community Bandstand. Like the old days, these sessions bring musicians from all over the city and the world (e.g. Japan, Italy, Poland, England).

Says Bobby Davis, "I love this neighborhood. It was and is real friendly. It helped the poor man buy some clothes and wares so it was affordable. The food was great. Those greasy polish sausages was tasty and the music was down home. We, along with and as part of the Maxwell Street Coalition, want to keep it alive for the people, for the city, for the world. But UIC don't want us there. They destroyed the bandstand last year and our Wall of Fame. Tell me now, how is a Wall of Fame remembering the history of the area going to hurt the students of the University of Illinois?"

Mr. H. concurs, "I learned Blues down here. This was a place of real integration. I lived in one of those old buildings on Maxwell Street before I went to fight in Viet Nam. This area was open to people. All were welcome which wasn't always the case in the Loop or other Chicago neighborhoods. I know some people can get offended by the neighborhood's nickname, Jewtown, which is in the title of this song but we, and most people, use that name respectfully in reverence to the people who made this a thriving outdoor market area in the 19th century. The Wall of Fame was where we played Blues in the street. UIC destroyed that Wall last year. It contained names of some of the famous Jewish people who came from Maxwell Street like Benny Goodman, Saul Alinksy, Hyman Rickover, and Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg."

Maxwell Street Coalition member Steve Balkin comments, "Bobby Davis, Mr. H, their band, and fellow jammers, are musicians that have a compassionate feel for people and their troubles. They are instrumental in keeping the Maxwell Street tradition alive. There is still an old Romanian synagogue in the neighborhood, hot dog stands, and several merchants. But UIC is still intent on destroying it all as well as kicking out the musicians. There so much cleared land that it is more than enough for the University to build whatever it wants. In fact, there is so much land, that the University of Illinois has given most of it away to private developers. This is supposed to be college campus. Wouldn't you think that college students would like to eat at the hot dog stands, buy zoot suits, go to inexpensive while-you-wait tailors, live in lofts, and hear live Blues on the street? You know Blues does not come from large scale festivals or from fancy nightclubs. It comes from the culture; from the street. How will it hurt students to know that authentic experience?"

Images during the taping of 'Maxwell Street, Jew Town, Chicago'.

Bobby Davis wailing away with his guitar.

Close up of Bobby Davis's funky Maxwell Street guitar.

Bobby Davis singing with Mr. H.

Mr. Davis is looking for a recording contract to record this and others songs. Contact him at Beeper 312-936-8234.

A special thanks to Maria Montes of the School of the Art Institute for digitizing the sound and for image capture.

For more information about Maxwell Street visit these websites <http://www.openair.org/maxwell/preserve.html> and <http://www.maxwellstreet.org>.

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