James Joshua Whiting (born December 16, 1949), known professionally as Sugar Blue, is an American blues harmonica player. He is best known for playing on the 1978 Rolling Stones album Some Girls, and well as his partnership with blues guitarist Louisiana Red.
The Chicago Tribune said, "The sound of Sugar Blue's harmonica could pierce any night...it's the sound of a musician who transcends the supposed limitations of his instrument."
Biography Whiting was born in New York City in 1949. In the mid-1970s, Whiting played as a session musician on Johnny Shines's Too Wet to Plow (1975) and with Roosevelt Sykes. While in the company of the latter, he met Louisiana Red, and the two toured and recorded in 1978.
Taking advice from Memphis Slim, in the late 1970s Whiting traveled to Paris, France. According to Ronnie Wood, Whiting was found by Mick Jagger busking on the city streets. This led to him playing on several of the tracks on the Rolling Stones' Some Girls and Emotional Rescue albums: "Some Girls", "Send It to Me", "Down in the Hole" and "Miss You".
Trombonist Mike Zwerin backed Whiting on his solo debut album, Crossroads (1979). Following the release of his From Chicago to Paris (1982), Whiting joined Willie Dixon's Chicago Blues All Stars. In 1984, Whiting's track "Another Man Done Gone", appeared on the compilation album Blues Explosion. It won a Grammy in 1985 for Best Traditional Blues Album.
Whiting appeared with Brownie McGhee in the film Angel Heart (1987).
Whiting joined as a side musician recording with Willie Dixon on the Grammy Award winning album, Hidden Charms (1988).
His next album, Blue Blazes, was released in 1994 and it included his version of "Miss You". It was followed by In Your Eyes (1995) and Code Blue (2007).
He played on the album Down Too Long, by Southside Denny and the Skintones, in 1988. Whiting's next album, Threshold, was released by Beeble Music on January 26, 2010.
Writing in the Chicago Tribune, music critic Howard Reich said, "There's no mistaking Sugar Blue incendiary virtuosity. The speed and ferocity of his playing are matched by its inventiveness, with Blue packing nearly every phrase with trills, glissandos, clusters and chords. At times, it sounds as if two harps were working at once... intense, melodically ornate, punctuated by growls and swooping pitches, it's the sound of a musician who transcends the limitations of his instrument."
Discography Albums YearTitleLabelNumberNotes1978Red, Funk and BlueBlack PantherBP-1001 Duo with Louisiana Red1979King BeeJSP1006Duo with Louisiana Red1980CrossroadsBlue SilverBS-3004France; recorded 19791982From Chicago to ParisBlue SilverBS-3012, BS-3332France; recorded 1980 with Slim Pezin, Earl Howell1984High Voltage BluesJSP1081with Louisiana Red1988Hidden CharmsCapitol90595 As sideman with Willie Dixon1993Absolutely BlueSeven Seas/KingKICP-341Japan, recorded 19821994Blue BlazesAlligatorAL-4819Reissue of Absolutely Blue1995In Your EyesSeven Seas/King; AlligatorKICP-426; AL-48312006Right NowKozelSwitzerland; George Kay Band featuring Sugar Blue2007Code BlueBeeble8012010ThresholdBeeble8022012Raw Sugar - LiveBeeble8032016Blue VoyageM.C. Records00792019ColorsBeeble805
Compilations and reissues YearTitleLabelNumberNotes1979Stars of the StreetsWhale Productions / Egg Records (France)Egg 900582 CompilationPerformances of several street musicians were recorded live outdoors in the streets and parks of New York City. Track 1 : "Pontiac Blues" by Sugar Blue1980Jazz Gala '80Kingdom JazzGate 7010Recorded at the Palm Beach Casino, Cannes, France1984Blues Explosion (various artists)Atlantic80149Grammy winner; recorded live at Montreux, July 19821992From Paris to ChicagoEPM Blues Collection756Reissue of Crossroads and From Chicago to Paris1998The Blues Spectrum of Louisiana RedJSP803UK recording2007Another Man Done GoneWNTS/Believe DigitalMP3 downloadReissue of Crossroads and From Chicago to Paris
See also List of harmonica blues musicians List of Chicago blues musicians List of contemporary blues musicians List of harmonicists
References
External links Official website "Sugar Blue" in Gérard Herzhaft, Encyclopedia of the Blues, 2nd edition