Blues Images 2017 calendar available!

For better than a decade now, noted record collector and dealer John Tefteller has been publishing the Blues Images calendar. Featuring vintage 1920s-era Paramount Records advertising art – some with photos, but most with gorgeous B&W artwork – the presentation is simple, but the impact is indelible. By literally rescuing this art from the dumpster, Tefteller has preserved a vital historical exploration of blues music.

This year’s Blues Images calendar includes fanciful images that promoted Paramount releases like Jed Davenport’s “How Long Blues” (February), Memphis Minnie’s “I’m Talkin About You!” (March), Charlie Patton’s “Lord, I’m Discouraged” (May), and Blind Willie Johnson’s gospel-blues gem “Let Your Light Shine On Me” (December) as well as artwork featuring rare photos of the Mobile Strugglers and Piedmont bluesman Big Bill Broonzy. Each page is annotated with historical information on the artist, and each month includes the birth and death dates of classic blues artists.

Tefteller offers a heck of a lot of value for the $24.95 (plus shipping) you’ll spend on the 2017 Blues Images calendar – each year he includes a full-length CD with the calendar that features rare, impossible-to-find tracks from the artists that are featured with each month’s artwork. Many of the tracks are exclusives sourced from Tefteller’s extensive personal collection, and have been remastered from the original 78rpm records using the revolutionary new American Epic digital technique that really makes the sound on these antique shellac flapjacks shine. The 2017 CD includes tracks from both well-known blues artists like the aforementioned Memphis Minnie and Charlie Patton tracks as well as Skip James’ “Illinois Blues,” Ishman Bracey’s “Woman Woman Blues,” and Big Bill Broonzy’s “I Can’t Be Satisfied.”

The Blues Images 2017 CD also includes a wealth of material from obscure bluesmen like Garfield Akers (“Cottonfield Blues – Part I and Part II”), Blind Joe Reynolds (“Nehi Blues”), Joe Williams (“Mr. Devil Blues”), and the Memphis Strugglers (“Memphis Blues”). The calendar is a collector’s item as well as an attractive wall-hanger for any old-school blues fan, and the accompanying CD – with 23 tracks total – is akin to those expensive import discs you buy but with tracks that are scarcer than hen’s teeth. Get your copy from the Blues Images website!