VOA常速英语2008年-Lurrie Bell Keeps Blues Alive With 'Let's Talk

By Doug Levine
Washington
12 February 2008

Life is good for Chicago bluesman Lurrie Bell. The singer and guitarist was recently nominated for three Blues¹ Music Awards, and his latest album is riding up the blues charts. As VOA's Doug Levine tells us, Lurrie's love for the blues began right at home.

Lurrie Bell was literally² born into the blues. His father, the late harmonica master Carey Bell, was a legend on the Chicago blues scene, playing alongside Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon. Being introduced to the blues at such an early age, Lurrie, a self-taught guitarist, naturally gravitated towards music. He was just a teenager when he became a regular on the Chicago blues circuit.

Lurrie's early years included stints³ with Koko Taylor's Blues Machine, the Sons of Blues, Eddie Clearwater and Big Walter Horton. Lurrie says he learned from the best, including his father who inspired him both on and off the stage.

"Every time I played with my father, I learned something," Bell says. "Every time I hit a note with my dad, it was a learning experience for me."

Lurrie Bell is doing his best to keep the blues torch burning. His new release, Let's Talk About Love, marks a return to traditional blues, or, as Lurrie describes it, blues from the heart.

"I tried to be as traditional as I could on this particular record," Bell says. "I've got some stuff that you would say is modern Chicago blues but I wanted to let people know, basically, in my heart, that the blues live on forever and ever."

Music has indeed come to Lurrie's rescue. He says he's managed to stay focused even after the devastating⁴ losses of his wife Susan and father Carey in 2007.

"I'm doing better than I've ever done in my life," Bell says. "I'm having a good year. I gave up drinking and other bad habits that I had, and right now, I'm paying more attention to my music more than ever nowadays."

Lurrie Bell recently performed at the International Blues Festival in Santiago, Chile. Later this year, he will appear at the Bern International Jazz Festival in Switzerland and the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, Tennessee.

1 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

2 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

3 stints   

n.定额工作( stint的名词复数 )；定量；限额；慷慨地做某事

参考例句：

• He stints himself in [of] sleep. 他节制睡眠。 来自辞典例句
• She never stints herself of money to buy books for her children. 她从不吝惜掏钱让子女们买书。 来自互联网

4 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。