Biography

Willie Buck
Willie Buck Way
Delmark DE 857

1. You Want Me to Trust You 3:56
2. (All I’m Doin’ is) Thinking of You 2:39
3. Bottom of the Hill 3:51
4. I Got You (and You Got Me) 3:08
5 Can’t Say Something Good About Me 4:29
6. There’s a Woman 4:21
7. My Mind Froze Up 4:07
8. Crawlin’ King Snake 3:36
9. I Give So Much to You 3:53
10. Heck of a Time 4:28
11. The Men Ought to Learn (To Treat the Women Right) 4:59
12. Please Have Mercy 4:30
13. Look What You’ve Done 2:42
14. Willie Buck Way 3:50
15. Twenty-Four Seven 3:32
16. Blues Before Sunrise 6:03
17. I’d Rather Love You 4:22

Willie Buck, vocals
Billy Flynn, guitar
Thaddeus Krolicki, electric and acoustic guitar
Scott Dirks, harmonica
Johnny “Fingers” Iguana, piano
Bob Stroger, bass
Jimmi Mayes, drums
Big Spider Beck (aka Scott Dirks), harmonica (5,8,13) and piano (12,16)
Mervyn “Harmonica” Hinds, harmonica (7,15)

Recorded October 1, 2017 and January 11, 2018 at Joyride Studios, Chicago


"the overall sound remains resolutely old-school: a listener might be forgiven for thinking these tracks were outtakes from some forgotten 1957 Chess session, as harpists Scott Dirks and “Big Spider” Beck, pianist Johnny Iguana, venerable bassist Bob Stroger, and drummer Jimmi Mayes recreate that fabled sound with almost eerie verisimilitude"- David Whiteis, Chicago Blues Guide

"And what a voice Buck has. Despite being born in 1937 and leading his own bands in Chicago for over 50 years, his vocals remain in top condition with his innate inability to get inside the lyrics of each song. Buck’s vocal mannerisms and music owe a tangible debt to Muddy Waters, but at no point does he come across as mannered or contrived. Rather, he has absorbed Muddy’s influences so completely that they are merely a part of the whole that is Willie Buck"- Rhys Williams, BLUES BLAST

Willie Buck’s previous Delmark album, Cell Phone Man (released October, 2012), debuted on Living Blues Radio Chart in the #1 position in the December issue along with an 8-page feature story and a glowing album review. “His vocals are sinewy and expressive (he demonstrates a powerful upper range that even a lot of his longtime fans will find surprising)...postwar Chicago blues have long been, and remain, a contemporary music to him, and he delivers them with both urgency and élan.” – David Whiteis

Willie Buck was born in 1937 in Houston, Mississippi, near Tupelo as one of eight children. He’s been on the scene since his arrival in Chicago as a teenager in the midst of the heyday of Chicago blues in 1953. His first exposure to live blues in the big city came when an older relative snuck him in to see Muddy Waters at the very peak of his powers and fame. The sound of Muddy’s classic band had such an impact on Willie that he quickly absorbed it as his own, and even in the face of all the changes and developments in music over the next half century, he’s held onto to it with unwavering devotion ever since.

Ask anyone who has spent any time in the trenches of the Chicago blues scene about Willie Buck, and you’ll hear the same things: he’s one of the last of the old-school blues singers, one of the few guys who has a real handle on the classic Chicago blues from the ‘50s, a hard worker who over the years carved out a niche for himself in the south and west side blues joints. Buck has been leading his own bands in Chicago for 50 years.

His self-produced debut album came out in 1982, later re-released on Delmark as The Life I Love (Delmark 805) with John Primer, Louis Myers, Dave Myers and Little Mac Simmons. (He also received a bit of mainstream attention when he was featured briefly in the Academy Award nominated 1994 documentary film “Hoop Dreams” - he’s the father of one of the main characters.)

This new album, Willie Buck Way, features 12 new Buck originals with fresh covers of Muddy Waters, Leroy Carr and others. Willie Buck Way is the name of an honorary street named after Willie in his hometown, Chicago. Notes and original artwork by Plastic Crimewave (Steve Krakow) featured in the CD pamphlet



Producer: Willie Buck, Thaddeus Krolicki & Scott Dirks Executive Producers: Julia A. Miller and Elbio Barilari Recorded by Brian Leach Mixed by Blaise Barton Recorded October 1, 2017 and January 11, 2018 at Joyride Studios
Photos: Art Voytovich

Willie Buck Full Band Session Recorded October 1st, 2017 at Joyride Studios
Producer: Scott Dirks
Recording Engineer: Brian Leach

Willie Buck: Vocals
Scott Dirks: Harmonica (all tracks except as noted)
Billy Flynn: Guitar
Thaddeus Krolicki: Guitar
Bob Stroger: Bass
Jimmi Mayes Drums
Johnny “Fingers” Iguana (all tracks except as noted)
Dave Waldman: Harmonica and Piano (as noted)

1. You Want Me to Trust You 3:56 (William Crawford, BMI)
2. Can’t Say Something Good About Me 4:29 (Billy Flynn, Easy Baby Music, BMI)
Dave Waldman-Harmonica, Billy Flynn-lead guitar and solo
3. There’s a Woman 4:21 (William Crawford, BMI)
4. There’s a Woman 4:21 (alternate vocal mix)
5. Willie Buck Way 3:50 (William Crawford, BMI)
6. The Men Ought to Learn (To Treat the Women Right) 4:59 (William Crawford, BMI)
Thaddeus Krolicki-lead guitar and solos
7. I Give So Much to You 3:53 (William Crawford, BMI)
8. I Got You (and You Got Me) 3:08 (William Crawford, BMI)
9. I’d Rather Love You 4:22 (William Crawford, BMI)
Billy Flynn-lead guitar and solos
10. (All I’m Doin’ is) Thinking of You 2:39 (William Crawford, BMI)
11. Bottom of the Hill 3:51 (William Crawford, BMI)
12. Heck of a Time 4:28 (William Crawford, BMI)
Billy Flynn-first guitar solo, Thaddeus Krolicki-outro guitar solo
13. Crawling Kingsnake 3:36 (
Dave Waldman-Harmonica
14. Look What You’ve Done 2:42 (McKinley Morganfield, Watertoons Music, BMI)
Dave Waldman-Harmonica
15. Blues Before Sunrise 6:03 (Leroy Carr, MCA Publishing, ASCAP)
Billy Flynn-lead guitar and solo, Dave Waldman-piano
16. Please Have Mercy 4:30 (McKinley Morganfield, Watertoons Music, BMI)
Dave Waldman-piano

Willie Buck Full Acoustic Session Recorded January 11th, 2018 at Joyride Studios
Producer: Scott Dirks
Recording Engineer: Brian Leach

1. My Mind Froze Up 4:07 (William Crawford-BMI)
2. Twenty-Four Seven 3:32 (William Crawford-BMI)

Mixed and Mastered By Blaise Barton

Willie Buck: Vocals
Mervyn “Harmonica” Hinds: Harmonica
Thaddeus Krolicki: Guitar