Chris Whitley – 'On Air'

I first became aware of Chris in 1981, when he was busking in Washington Square Park, in Greenwich Village.  What struck about Chris back then was, he was twenty-one years old, and already a fully realized bluesman, who could hold his own against any blues act.  

Chris was also friendly, mild-mannered, and refreshingly modest (a lot of buskers back then acted as if they were some sort of "star").  As with many street musicians who come to New York, they arrive in early Spring, and leave late Autumn, and Chris was no different.  Through the grapevine, I heard "He's somewhere in Europe" (I later found out, he actually went to Belgium).

In 1991, I was shopping in Tower Records' downtown location, and there I saw a large promotional poster for Chris' first album 'Living with the Law' — and on the prestigious Columbia Records label no less!

Chris Whitley was stolen from us by cancer far too early, at the age of 45.  He was an incredible guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter willing to walk away from a lucrative contract and a carefully crafted record company image to maintain the integrity of his music.  Chris was fearless when it came to following his musical instinct, which is reflected in his seventeen albums.



'On Air' was recorded on September 8, 2003, in the Radio Bremen Sendesaal concert hall in Bremen, Germany, and was broadcast live, hence "On Air".  It was released in 2008 on the Tradition & Moderne label.

This is my favorite Chris Whitley recording.  It's just his voice, his National Reso-Phonic guitar and a miked foot stomp board, it reminds me of him playing in Washington Square Park, only there he kept time by stomping his cowboy boots on the pavement.

The 18 tracks are some of his best original work, stripped to the bone, and intermingled with several covers by J.J. Cale, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, the Doors, and Buddy Holly.  It's hard to single out any of the songs, as they are all sublime.

Yesterday was a decidedly strange day.  Monday afternoon, I had a slight toothache, but by Monday night, it went away.  I woke up Tuesday morning in a great deal of pain, went to my Dentist, and ended up having a root canal.  When I returned to the button factory, on my front stoop was the cutest little ginger "tom" kitten, who was clearly distressed, so I picked him up, brought him upstairs, gave him a bowl of milk.  When I tried to pet, his little head, he bit me and ran away.  A few hours later, he came out of hiding I fed him, and gave him a bath, which was straight out of an "I Love Lucy" episode.  So it looks like a have a cat…  Friday he goes to the Vet.

Sooo, for the freeload help me name this cat.