​Today marks the 82nd birthday of Hall of Fame blues man Robert Calvin Bland, better known as Bobby "Blue". In a case of being "in the right place at the right time", Mr. Bland was born in Rosemark, Tennessee in 1930, then moved to Memphis at eighteen to begin his career. He became an original member of the Beale Streeters, an influential group of blues singers and musicians that included names such as B.B. King and Junior Parker.

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​Johnny Otis, one of the creators of rock and roll but primarily remembered as the godfather of rhythm and blues, has passed away at 90. Otis died at his home in the Los Angeles suburb of Altadena.

A consummate band leader and showman who was of Greek descent and changed his actual last name, Veliotes, to Otis because it sounded "more black," Otis was instrumental in spreading black music to white audiences via his performances, records, and radio show. Not only was he one of the top performers of his era, he had a huge influence on the shape of RnB and rock and roll as a producer.

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​Sad news emerged today that heavy metal godfather Tony Iommi has been diagnosed with the early stages of lymphoma. It was a big shock for Black Sabbath fans, as the group's original lineup have a new album and a world tour planned for 2012. Though already counted among rock and roll's ultimate survivors, Iommi certainly has the fight of his life ahead of him. The Big C has taken some of Rocks Off's greatest musical heroes over the years, including George Harrison, Joey Ramone, Frank Zappa and Iommi's bandmate in Heaven and Hell, Ronnie James Dio.

The outlook isn't quite as gloomy as some of Sabbath's best music, however. There are also music legends who have looked cancer straight in the eye and cracked a Fender Strat over the disease's head. Here are a few that give us hope for the original Iron Man.

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​Smooth jazz doesn't equal "Jazz In All Its Colors," say critics of KTSU. And that's why, according to those same critics, people aren't listening like they used to.

In this week's cover story (and accompanying sidebar by John Nova Lomax), current and former DJs of KTSU, as well as the station's lost listeners, talk about the so-called death of "The Choice" 90.9 FM, which will turn 40 years old in June.

Not only has KTSU lost its way by ditching straight-ahead jazz for commercially-geared smooth jazz, critics explain, but the people in charge have created a work environment that a former KTSU jock compares to a "concentration camp."

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​Hubert Sumlin, former guitarist with Howlin' Wolf and member of the Blues Hall of Fame is dead at the age of 80. Sumlin was ranked at number 65 in Rolling Stone's greatest guitar players of all time and has been cited as an influence on a wide range of blues and rock guitarists.

He was born in Mississippi, but spent most of his playing career in the well respected Chicago blues scene.

Even at 80, he continued to tour ringing in his birthday last month in New Jersey.

Check out Hubert Sumlin backed by Nicholas Tremulis Orchestra.

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Courtesy of Miller Outdoor Theatre Advisory Board

Doyle Bramhall

​The unexpected passing of Doyle Bramhall of heart failure November 12 has caused Lonesome, Onry and Mean to revisit the man's career. And while Bramhall is probably best known for his association with Stevie Ray Vaughan, who cut several of Bramhall's compositions and copped his singing style, Bramhall's greatest musical achievements may have been during his tenure with Marc Benno and the Nightcrawlers.

Benno and Bramhall formed the Nightcrawlers after the break up of Texas Storm, Jimmie Vaughan's band that included Bramhall as drummer and vocalist. The Nightcrawlers recorded a stellar string of albums in the mid-70s and had quite a bit of buzz but never really caught that one big break. We caught up with Benno, who was in a reminiscing mood, via phone today.

"I didn't fully realize until I was at the funeral what a big part Doyle had played in my life," Benno said. "It was a very moving service."

Benno recalled rough and tumble days in Austin in the early 70s "when we were all strung out and running wild."

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​While most of Houston only yawned when it was released, the Jonn Richardson/Rich del Grosso album Time Slips On By made Downbeat magazine's recently published Best of 2011 list.

Richardson, a monster picker who tours behind Diunnah Greenleaf and Otis Taylor, and del Grosso, a rare practitioner of blues mandolin and a frequent contributor to Blues Revue, are regulars on the local scene, playing everywhere from Shakespeare's Pub to the Big Easy blues jams.

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​Warren Haynes has one of the ultimate guitar player resumes, having played for years with the Allman Brothers, many tours with the Grateful Dead and offshoot Bob Weir and Friends as well as his own wildly popular jam band Govt. Mule. He's also toured with Dave Matthews.

Haynes comes to town next Friday, November 4, for a set at the House of Blues along with sacred steel warriors the Lee Brothers. We caught up with the guitarist at his hotel in Seattle.

RO: Time and again in interviews you mention the three kings, B.B., Freddie and Albert. Size those guys up for us.

WH: Well, Freddie and B.B. are the better singers. Even if Freddie hadn't played guitar I'd still be a huge fan. But you can trace where B.B. and Freddie came from, who their influences and heroes were. Albert just seems to appear out of nowhere and there's no sign of where he came from musically, it just seemed to be all him.

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KTSU on Facebook

Chris Tucker finds KTSU's smoother direction hard to swallow.

​Rocks Off has heard smooth jazzer Kenny G compared to rusty nails in the eyes, and what wallpaper might sound like if it boasted sonic properties. However, this is the first time that we've heard the soprano saxophonist's name and "concentration camp" in the same breath.

In addition to the Nazi Germany motif, local emcee Chris Tucker says that Donna Franklin has created a "slave mentality" environment at "The Choice," KTSU (90.9 FM). Franklin, the assistant general manager of Texas Southern University's radio station, says this isn't true and that Tucker is acting on a "personal vendetta."

According to the two, the hubbub started to conflagrate with the formation of the Concerned Legends of KTSU, an anonymous group that, to date, has published and distributed five emails.

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Photo by Jesse C. Smith Jr.

​Another of Houston's unique blues treasures, the effusive, ebullient and always stylish pianist Earl Gilliam, has moved on to the big juke joint in the sky. Gilliam, 81, died peacefully this morning at his home in Tomball of advanced lung disease. He had suffered from emphysema and other lung complications the past few years and was hospitalized several times, most recently with a collapsed lung.

Born in New Waverly on January 13, 1930, Gilliam moved to Houston when he was 18, just in time to be part of the first historic wave of Houston piano giants: Amos Milburn, Teddy Reynolds, Lonny Lyons and Elmore Nixon. After playing country-western gigs with his cousin for a while, Gilliam got his first major break when he was picked up by Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, the charismatic, hard-touring wild man who played guitar and fiddle.

In an amazing career that spanned more than 60 years, Gilliam literally played with virtually all of Houston's greatest talents at one time or another, plus a host of national blues acts that passed through places like Shady's Playhouse, where he ran the house band for years.

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