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ENFLUENZ MAGAZINE APR/MAY 07 ISSUE
Bobbie”Spider”Webb-The Life of a Blues Man
By: Lovii
The legendary Bobbie”Spider”Webb, currently retired, from the regular 9-5 working field, has dedicated his full attention on his music. He is still mesmerizing his audience with his style of play all over the world! It’s truly amazing to be able to sit and talk with a Man who is both full of life and that has and continues to do what he does best and that’s play the blues. He’s a mixture of history, a pure God giving talent with a melodic presence that ensures his place as a great legend in the history books! Bobbie has been playing music for over 45 years and it’s true about the old saying, “Things only gets better with time”! I’ve had the honor of hearing him play at several events and he’s has left me speechless and his music touched my soul!
Bobbie took me back in time to the very beginning when the music all started. Born in Texas, he relocated to San Francisco with his grandmother at the age of 5. Bobbie’s mother passed when he was young and his father worked within the train industry and that kept him gone a lot, so his grandmother stepped in to raise him and his siblings!
The Fillmore area now recognized as the Western Addition or Fillmore Jazz Preservation District has changed drastically since he was a boy. In fact he says what he finds interesting is that they would even consider the Fillmore area to be a Jazz district when there were only a few clubs in the area at that time back in the day. There were not many places that really had live entertainment but there was more jazz and music being played along the Divisadero St. strip than the Fillmore. Bobbie was given a special honor presented by The San Francisco Mayors Redevelopment Office. His name was also added with the many entertainers that have performed in the Jazz Preservation district and given his own star on the Walk of Fame on Fillmore St. due to his many achievements as a musician in the Fillmore in the hay days! I enjoyed hearing about the Fillmore because I have seen the changes that have occurred over the last 3 decades!
So I asked him what inspired him to play music. When he was a young boy his grandmother worked for Mr. Duffie the warden at San Quentin’s prison. Warden Duffie took an interest in her family and always asked about Bobbie and how his music was coming along? His grandmother told him that he wants to play the saxophone but he didn’t have a horn. At that time Bobbie was attending Marina Junior High school where he was playing in their band and using their instruments. He recalled one day as his grandmother went to work there was a letter waiting there for her for him. The letter stated that he was to go to Sherman and Clay and pick out whatever saxophone he wanted and he did so and the rest was history from there. So thanks to Warden Duffie, he was able to get his first horn, a silver tenor saxophone and he was able to continue his craft in which he has to this very day!
We talked about the clubs back in the day and what it was like. He told me how he used to sell the Sun Reporter Paper and how he would go into these clubs and at the end of the evening he would end up at Wesley Johnson’s Texas Playhouse or known as the Flamingo. Wesley Johnson would pick him up and take him to the end of the bar and tell the folks this was his boy from Texas support him and buy a paper and how he would sell out by the end of the evening! Places like The Fillmore Auditorium, The Blue Mirror, Booker T. Washington Hotel, Bop City and the New Orleans’s Swing Club among other places were the happening spots! Older, he began playing his music in night clubs. He played with Bobby Freeman at the Condor Club in San Francisco on Broadway for 10 years! Since then he has played with many legends such as Albert King, Mark Naftalin, Etta James, Eddie”Clean head” Vincent, John Lee Hooker, John Lee Hooker, JR, E.C. Scott, Jimmy McCracklin and recently sat in with the legendary Bobby Blue Bland! We can’t forget about OG Fillmore Slim, he sang with Bobbie’s band for 10 years before he made a name for himself and went on to doing big things too. One of his memorable performances was when he opened up for the group The Grateful Dead. There have been so many other greats he has played with but these are a few names that popped into his mind at that time!
I asked him what he thought about the music today. His thoughts were music has come a very long way! His concerns were that the younger generation is learning more about how to do beats but not the true essence of music and its history! He did give the younger generation credit, he feels that they are smarter about their publishing and copyrights something that the older generation failed to do and that’s the reason so many of the older generation in music is broke! He really emphasized that publishing and copyrights are very important!
Bobbie has continued over the years to the present to keeping the Blues alive! If that wasn’t enough he founded with his daughter a 501 c (3) non profit organization called The Blues and R & B Music Foundation, Inc. His organization produced the now landmark of the Jazz Preservation District with a large mural project entitled the Blues Evolution Part 1 and they’re currently getting ready to work on the second and final phase. This incredible mural project was painted by Santi Huckabi. To add to his accomplishments he continues to assist up and coming artist as well as keeps a very rich musical culture alive through a “FREE” festival, The California Blues Festival that he has produced for the past 13 years annually every Memorial Day in Golden Gates Band Shell Area. Giving back to the community is very important to Bobbie and he is very active in community projects. He sits on various boards and also hosts one of the most popular radio shows on KPOO 89.5 FM in San Francisco. He is very proud of his show and all of the support he receives from other artist, the public and fans! You can catch his show every Tuesday morning between 9am-12noon! It’s certainly a show you don’t want to miss. He also uses this opportunity to play some of the best in blues that folks have not heard, forgotten or simply love!
I just want to thank the Legendary Bobbie”Spider”Webb for taking time out of his busy schedule to speak with us. It’s always an honor to speak with those who play a vital part in our music history and he’s certainly one who is still doing it big! We look forward to the many wonderful things he will continue to do and he’s always welcomed back to rap with us anytime. His first CD entitled Classic Gems is available through CD Baby or you can purchase it directly from him! His sophomore CD is on the way and folks are already ready to purchase it! Keep a watch out for that and you can always go and hear him and his band, the Bobbie”Spider”Webb and the smooth blues band in the bay area. Continued Success! Lovii
See Bobbie with the Beautiful Cover Model, Shawna Lee and check out Bobbie"Spider"Webb's interview in the Apr/May Issue of Enfluenz Magazine: www.enfluenzmagazine.com Read his interview:The Life Of A Blues Man written by: Lovii
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- Apr/May 07 Issue
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Bio
Bobbie Webb born in Tyler, Texas and raised in San Francisco from the age of five. Mr. Webb has always had music in his home. He is a graduate of George Washington high School where he studied and played in the advanced band. He is now a world-class musician widely sought after for his Sax playing and the horn sections he leads. You may see Bobbie Webb performing in his own band, or backing some of the greatest musicians as they travel through the San Francisco Bay Area. He has played with the best of them and paid his dues. A chance to see Bobbie Webb in action is something you don’t want to miss!
Bobbie Webb is a musician you can count on to get the job done right in style every time. Whether performing with his Smooth Blues Band, or backing blues great tour, Bobbie Webb is “The Man”. He has performed with and has backed, Bobby Bland, Charles Brown, Albert King, Lowell Fulsom, Etta James, Percy Mayfield, T-Bone Walker, Little Milton, Clareance “Guitar” Sims, Frankie Lee, John Lee Hooker, John Lee Hooker, Jr. Eddie “Cleanhead” Vicente, Charlie Musselwhite, Al Rapone, Queen Aida, Jimmy McCrackin and many many more. He has also recorded albums with Percy Mayfield, Al Rapone, Maxine Howard and others.
In addition to working full time as a musician, Bobbie Webb serves as CEO and Founder of the Blues and R&B Music Foundation, Inc. The foundation is a direct result of Bobbie Webb’s experience in the fields of music and administration. The Blues and R&B Music Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit charitable organization established to promote, sponsor, and preserve the blues. Bobbie Webb has functioned as director and producer in addition to performing on stage as a musician, band leader, and host. The foundation is also working on providing instruments to young children who need them and to help elder and established musicians with benefit events in times of need. Mr. Webb was the former Treasurer of the Fillmore Merchants Association. He also sits as a Board member of the Market Street M.S.A. People in the Plaza.
Since 1995 the organization has promoted and produced annually the California Blues Festival held every Memorial Day in the Golden Gate Park’s Band Shell area in San Francisco. This event is ‘FREE” to the public. This festival features five hours of great musical performances in a comfortable, laid-back family environment.
Since October 2001, he has been the DJ of his own Tuesday morning Blues Show on KPOO 89.5 FM radio, which airs 9am to 12noon. This was a major step for him in the music industry. In honor of his contributions to the Western Addition for many years, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency has placed his name on the Fillmore Street “Walk of Fame” along with many other celebrities and entertainers.
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