Page 67 - Blues Festival Guide Magazine 2017

“There is going to be a song in an upcoming Hawaii Five-0
episode – an old track by Big Walter Horton, an older track
by Fenton Robinson will be used in an episode of Bull, and
an upcoming episode of Greenleaf will have a track from our
Grammy-nominated Blind Willie Johnson tribute album, sung by
Lucinda Williams. It’s her version of ‘God Don’t Never Change.’
There’s my [work] week.”
McCabe said he would watch commercials with no sound
and add music to them. He said he’d always offer seven different
tunes as possibilities, but admitted he had a bias for the blues.
“It was an opportunity to pay those artists… I was proud of
that,” he said. “A lot of them didn’t get paid like they should
have. If you get a Howlin’ Wolf track from the Chess Box Set, it’s
going to be great. It’s going to give your brand some credibility
and some coolness.”
Keeping cool while working with your music heroes can be a
challenge. “I had to pretend with all these artists that I was totally
composed,” McCabe said. “I had to pretend that I didn’t really
care. [One time, the] engineer turned around and said, ‘It’s the
Allman Brothers,’ and the hair on the back of my neck just stood
up. We were like little kids.”
McCabe said blues artists accustomed to playing hundreds
of shows a year were easy to work with, since they were so
fast and on their best behavior because it was a well-paying
“corporate gig.”
“We had to do the commercial with Leon Russell late at night
because he slept during the day,” he said. “He was very quick.
He was a genius. It was awe inspiring to watch these guys. I’ve
worked with Etta James, Wilson Pickett, Sam Moore, B.B. King,
Bo Diddley and more. And these were just one-take guys. It was
just stunning to be around. It was amazing to hear it happening.”
The use of blues music in marketing has a rich history, and
is just one more way the blues has impacted the American
landscape. So, while you may not hear your favorite blues songs
on your mainstream radio dial, you might catch them on the latest
television program or commercial.

The 2011 recipient of Keeping the Blues Alive (Journalism)
award, Tim Parsons is the editor of the online music magazine
TahoeOnstage.com. He also contributes to the Blues Festival
Guide and Blues Music Magazine. He lives at Lake Tahoe with his
wife, Joan, and three dogs, Wooford, Dock Watson and DigzBee.

Producing Gregg Allman circa 1993 at Omega Studios: (l to r) John McCurry
(arranger), Steve McCabe (producer), Gregg Allman, Steve Hardwick (account
executive), Josh Abbey (engineer ) Photo courtesy Steve McCabe

Blues Festival Guide 2017 65