Dang @tomic601, yer swell. Both Charlie and Butterfield were living in San Francisco in the late-60’s/early-70’s, and showing us white boys how to play Blues. Robben Ford came to town in ’71, with his family band, The Charles Ford Band (named after the dad), with brothers Pattrick (drums) and Mark (harp, vocals). The guy in my senior year of high school band joined them on bass, which he has never let any of us forget ;-) .
Musselwhite heard Robben play, and offered him a job in his band. That was the end of The Charles Ford Band! Next thing we knew, Robben was in L.A., working with Joni Mitchell, then Miles Davis and George Harrison. I used to see him play in little bars around town, just as I did Lucinda Williams around L.A. before she broke big with her Car Wheels album (once in a pizza parlor with about a half-dozen people in the room). I still prefer to hear live music in small venues.
Mike Bloomfield left the Butterfield band after their East-West, album, starting The Electric Flag with Buddy Miles, Barry Goldberg, and Harvey Brooks. One of the best bands I ever saw! the doors had to follow them on stage at that show (the Santa Clara Folk/Rock Festival in the Summer of '68), and paled miserably in comparison.
I just gave a listen to the new Immediate Family single, and hey, it’s pretty good. A nice Blues shuffle, pretty cool. The guitarists play too much like Englishmen for my liking (Les Pauls’ with too much sustain and distortion), but I’m picky that way.
