Taj Mahal, the blues legend whose vibrant, worldly music encompassed African-rooted sounds of all kinds, will be inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
Mahal, whose real name is Henry St. Clair Fredericks, has been selected along with New Orleans soul singer Irma Thomas, Chicago bluesman Son Seals and ragtime guitar player Rev. Gary Davis to join the Blues Hall in Memphis, Tenn. They will be inducted in a ceremony on May 6, which will be followed the day after by the Blues Foundation's 30th annual Blues Music Awards.
"I'm very happy that a group of my peers think it's something I deserve after the years I've put into the music," said Mahal, 66, speaking by phone from the San Francisco Bay area.
Mahal, a two-time Grammy winner, in 1968 released his self-titled debut, which included contributions from Ry Cooder, an early collaborator. It included "Leaving Trunk" (in which he sings "I ain't never seen no whiskey, but the blues made me sloppy drunk"). One of his most famous tunes is "She Caught the Katy (And Left Me a Mule to Ride)," which ended up in the 1980 film "The Blues Brothers."
Mahal, who last year released "Maestro" and is touring this spring, doesn't know yet if he'll perform at the Blues Hall of Fame induction. But if he does, he -- as always -- would hope to see people moving in the audience.
"Most people that play blues don't dance do it! It's a listening music and a music they have a lot of knowledge about it," said Mahal. "They got country line-dancing down there in Nashville. Why can't we do some blues dancing down there in Memphis?"
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