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Be Cool

WILLIE J. CAMPBELL

(1957-2022)

With a little help from his friends

Be Cool

WILLIE J. CAMPBELL

by

featuring musicians :

William J. Campbell - bass   /  Kid Ramos - guitar

Brian Templeton - harmonica, vocals  Jimi Bott - drums, percussion, tympani  Brooks Milgate - keyboards  Anson Funderburg - guitar (Tracks 2,4,6,7,10)  Mike Morgan - guitar (Track 2)  Shawn Pittman - guitar (Tracks 2,10)  Sugaray Rayford - vocals (Tracks 1,9)  Jimmie Wood - harmonica (Tracks 1,2,12)  David Hidalgo - guitar, vocals (Track 3)  Mondo Cortez - guitar (Track 12)  Kim Wilson - harmonica, vocals (Tracks 3,10,13)  Janiva Magness - vocals (Track 4)  Jason Rici - harmonica (Track 5) Sax Gordon - sax (Track 9)  Joe "Mack" McCarthy - sax (Track 9)  Joe Louis Walker - guitar (Track 9)

Blue Heart Records - 2023

Release date: August 25, 2023

(USA)

Tracklist:
01 You Better Let Go 04:32
02 No More 04:26
03 This Time 05:24
04 Can't Stay Away 06:29 
05 Drone 06:09
06 Docksidin' 04:08
07 My Fault 03:55
08 Forever Shall Be 04:33
09 Standby 04:35
10 Devil on my Shoulder 04:30
11 She's a Twister 03:16
12 One Man Chain Gang 04:37
13 You Can't Stop Her 03:04
14 Use as Needed 05:42
15 Albatross 03:09

willie j campbell 4.jfif

CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF

WILLIE J. CAMPBELL

This album not only contains music. Not just high temperature blues. Take it a few steps further, it's about love, friendship and fellowship. Born in Detroit in 1957, William J. Campell listened to tons of Motown soul while discovering BB, Albert and Freddie on the radio, later the Texas blues of Johnny Winter, the southern nuance of the Allman Brothers Band,  Canned Heat (Larry Taylor took him under his wing) and the West Coast pioneers. Since he settled in California, he discovered the town of Huntington Beach in the south of the state, where it never rains, and he was captivated by the beauty of his pier and entered fully into his imagination (image captured on the album cover). Campbell played bass with James Harman, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Lee McBee, The Manish Boys and many others, always leaving his mark as a musician and, above all, as an endearing guy. He unfortunately fell ill with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and his health condition suffered a progressive deterioration, leaving behind five decades of playing and touring. His great friend Kid Ramos took the initiative and gathered a large group of Willie's colleagues and friends to the studios to record this posthumous album that is already a tribute not just of his family, his friends and his close people but of all the blues music fans on the planet. Willie passed on December 17, 2022.

MUSEUM EXCLUSIVE PIECES

Willie J. Campbell playing bass on the albums below

willie j campbell James Harman 1988.jpg

1988

willie j campbell James Harman Fabulous Thunderbirds 2001.jpg

2001

willie j campbell The Manish Boys 2010.jpg

2010

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