Raful Neal

When he wasn’t busy siring progeny (the Neal home produced ten children, many of them apparently now using the blues), Raful Neal was staking his state among the top harpists over the Baton Rouge blues front. However, until lately, his discography didn’t reveal that position — but albums for Alligator and Ichiban possess righted that injustice. Blessed in Baton Rouge in 1936, Neal used the harp at age group 14, tutored by way of a local player called Ike Dark brown and inspired by Chicago mainstay Small Walter. Neal’s initial music group, the Clouds, also included guitarist Pal Man. This is the band Small Walter heard whilst in Baton Rouge and asked them to go as much as Chicago and complete on the gigs Walter couldn’t make. Man jumped at the opportunity but Neal elected to stay in Louisiana and increase his family members. The harpist debuted on vinyl fabric in 1958 using a 45 for Don Robey’s Houston-headquartered Peacock Information. But “Sunny Aspect of Appreciate,” great though it had been, didn’t result in an encore for Peacock or somewhere else until very much later on, when Neal resulted in with 45s on Whit, La Louisiane, and Fantastic. Neal’s debut recording, the aptly entitled Louisiana Legend, 1st surfaced on Bob Greenlee’s Ruler Snake Information and was found by Alligator in 1990. I Been Mistreated, Neal’s similarly swampy follow-up, premiered on Ichiban the next yr; sons Noel (on bass) and Raful Jr. (on acoustic guitar) pitched directly into help their older guy out. Neal toured all over the world and in 1997 he added harp to several tracks on Tabs Benoit’s Live: Swampland Jam record. The understated but solid Aged Friends made an appearance in 1998. Raful Neal passed away on Sept 1, 2004, following a lengthy bout with tumor.