By Patti Roberts

Sacramento has been blessed with many blues legends gracing our stages and nightclubs, including Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Little Milton and Etta James. 

Add to that our blues talent such as Rick Estrin, Mick Martin, the late Charles”LIttle Charlie” Baty, Marcel Smith, Chrissie O’Dell and the late Johnny Heartsman. 

Much of the credit for shining the spotlight on these musical talents goes to the Sacramento Blues Society (SBS), now celebrating its 45th anniversary with its stated mission of “promoting and preserving blues music as the original American art form.” Founded in 1979, SBS is the third oldest blues society in the United States, with the Santa Barbara Blues Society being the oldest, followed by ​​Pennsylvania’s Bucks County Blues Society.

Though there have been smaller celebrations throughout the year, the big SBS anniversary celebration will take place Aug. 11 at Harlow’s in Sacramento. Billed as “Songs That Changed Our Lives,” the event will star local blues performers Chrissie O’Dell, Dana Moret, Pinkie Rideau and Tia Carroll. 

Origins of the Sacramento Blues Society 

The society’s origins come from those who saw a need to organize and promote local blues shows in Sacramento almost a half-century ago.  

Mick Martin, known for his 33 years of broadcasting “Mick Martin’s Blues Party” on Capitol Public Radio, as well as leading his own blues band Mick Martin and The Blues Rockers, is one of the founders of the Sacramento Blues Society along with Jeff Hughson. In 1979 at the 3rd annual Sacramento Blues Festival in William Land Park, both men started going on stage between acts and signing folks up to join the newly formed organization. 

“I grabbed two yellow legal pads from my car and 29-year-old buddy Jeff Hughson by the arm,” Martin said. “With religious fervor, I explained we needed a blues society. Over the next two days, we created lists of possible members by going up on stage between sets. Jeff was voted in as the first president and things started rollin’ and tumblin’ from there.” 

The love and importance of blues music brought the community together under the banner of SBS with the purpose of supporting musicians and singers as well as the local venues where they perform. They also wanted to keep the history and knowledge of the blues genre alive by bringing in younger audiences. 

The result is more than four decades of concerts and events, as well as introducing blues to a younger audience through unique programs like SBS’ Blues in the Schools (BITS) Program for students K-12, as well as providing music scholarships at Sacramento State and funds to provide musical instruments, equipment and support to students. 

Martin is one of the most notable souls of the local blues scene. “I have spent 60 years as a devotee, musician, band leader and radio disc jockey spreading the word that ‘the blues had a baby and they called it rock ’n’ roll,’” Martin said, referencing the name of a famous Muddy Waters’ song. “Blues is the foundation of popular music, and it gives voice to black culture and heritage.”

Martin reflected on how blues entered his life at a young age.  

“When the Rolling Stones came out with their version of Willie Dixon’s “Little Red Rooster” in 1964, I was 13 years old and that was the first time I heard white people play the blues properly,” he said. “So, I started performing that and other songs by Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Jimmy Reed, and Black artists whose records I bought.” 

The blues also hit a special note for local singer Marcel Smith, an SBS board member and 2016 SBS Hall of Fame inductee.  

“My passion for blues music ignited during my youth when I stumbled upon classic records by iconic soul and blues musicians such as B.B. King, Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, Sam Cooke and Etta James in my parents’ music collection,” Smith said. “The raw emotion and compelling storytelling within blues music resonated deeply with me, drawing me towards its authentic and soulful expression.” 

Smith became involved with SBS while serving as the lead vocalist with the Soul Prophets and performing at SBS shows. 

“As time progressed, I assumed a board role within the organization,” Smith said. “Throughout this journey, I have observed the significant impact that the Sacramento Blues Society has made on both the local blues community and the broader music scene in Sacramento.” 

SBS’s Mindy Giles has also helped spread the importance of blues to the area by producing and stage managing the society’s events, in addition to getting word out through its websites and media outreach. She’s been a blues aficionado since she was in her teens and has worked in the music industry her whole professional life, with an emphasis on the blues. 

Giles served as vice president of Alligator Records in Chicago and came to Sacramento in 1997 as marketing director of Tower Records-owned “Bayside Entertainment.” When Tower went bankrupt in 2012, she lost her job and switched to writing about music for Pulse! magazine, Sacramento News & Review and Blues Access. 

“I love the genre of the blues,” Giles said. “Though blues comes from a place of oppression and unfairness, it’s an emotional and cathartic approach to life, bringing people to a joyful place. We’re now a divided culture where I believe blues can bring us together.” 

According to Giles, along with recognizing the importance of supporting local musicians, SBS also knows the importance of highlighting the venues where they play. She names notable past venues such as Sam’s Hofbrau, Malarkey’s and Tootsie’s. Current locations that offer blues include The Torch Club, Harlow’s, Powerhouse Pub and Our Family BBQ and Pie.  

Blues in the Schools Program expands the blues audiences

Since 2005, the SBS has served more than 56,000 students in its BITS Program through assembly presentations at schools, civic locations, and at-risk facilities. In addition, they offer an intensive eight-week after-school program teaching songwriting, band formation, practice discipline and leadership skills. 

“Blues in The Schools initiative, through which we deliver live blues music performances and educational workshops to local schools, aims to introduce students to the richness of this significant music genre,” said Smith. “It’s our efforts to engage younger audiences and individuals from diverse backgrounds.” 

The program is an effort to bring a younger audience, especially community members of color, to recognize and appreciate blues music and its history. 

“Blues in The Schools stands out for me because I got my ‘marching orders’ from songwriter, producer and performer Willie Dixon when he came to Oakland in the early ’80s with the first Blues in The Schools program,” Martin said. “I began doing my bit by teaching blues harmonica in juvenile halls, programs for foster children and other after-school programs under the auspices of the Placer County Office of Education in the mid-80s.” 

As the anniversary celebration approaches, SBS members reflected on its history with sentiment and pride. 

“It’s a milestone and a miracle,” said Martin. “It has taken so many dedicated people to keep it going over the years.” 

“The 45th anniversary of the Sacramento Blues Society is a significant milestone that highlights the enduring power of blues music to bring people together and uplift communities,” Smith said. “It’s a testament to the dedication of our members, volunteers, and supporters who have kept the blues alive in Sacramento for over four decades.” 

“It’s been my honor to serve the Sacramento Blues Society as president this year,” SBS President Barbara Katen said. “The fact that we have been able to keep a strictly volunteer organization going and growing stronger year after year is a testament to the amazing people in our community who love blues music and support what we do.” 

Sacramento Blues Society’s archive exhibit — which recognizes both the society’s and local blues musicians’ roles in music history — is coming to the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room in August.  

Included in the exhibit will be a timeline of how blues has made a mark in Sacramento: including historic VHS videos, cassettes, and media interviews; iconic photos, flyers and posters; and written documents such as old letters, contracts, and media coverage.  

Most of the items for the exhibit were donated by Jan Kelley, an active SBS member since 1985 who has served as board president twice, was elected as a member of the 2014 Hall of Fame and is co-editor of the society’s bi-monthly newsletter Blue Notes.  

“The Sacramento Blues Society archive at the Sacramento Room would not exist without the diligence and care of Jan Kelley,” Sacramento Public Library Assistant Devon Miller, who is curating the collection, said. Miller is a blues connoisseur who’s been going to SBS blues concerts since the 1980s and has a passion for blues as “a uniquely American art form that served as the foundation for rock & roll and speaks to the human condition of struggle and loss, sometimes with humor, sometimes with pathos.”

Kelley started and maintained the SBS archive from 1980 to the present, and donated her well-organized collection to the Sacramento Public Library’s for the archive exhibit. 

“Blues music is the original form of most genres of American music, which isn’t particularly well-known but is an important part of music history,” Kelley said. “Many people mistakenly think of the Blues as sad music until they experience it in person.”  

This story was funded by the City of Sacramento’s Arts and Creative Economy Journalism Grant to Solving Sacramento. Following our journalism code of ethics and protocols, the city had no editorial influence over this story and no city official reviewed this story before it was published. Our partners include California Groundbreakers, Capital Public Radio, Outword, Russian America Media, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento News & Review, Sacramento Observer and Univision 19.