Artist: Dutch Mason, Album: Wish Me Luck, Song: Polk Salad Annie

"You know what she couldn't cook up she'd put in a pipe and smoke it."  Dutch Mason was a blues musician from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.  He grew up in a very musical family and started playing drums in his parent's Dixieland band.  A few years later, he learned guitar listening to Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis.  However, by the age of 19, Dutch was learning about the blues like most young kids through late night radio broadcasts from the U.S..  After hearing B.B. King, he traded in rock and roll for the blues.  He started gigging for a living which turned into a profession that would last him close to 50 years.  Most of those years were tough, playing bars in small towns across Canada for little or no money.  He did it for the love of the blues and because he needed to in order to survive.  He developed arthritis and diabetes during his later years yet kept performing.  In the end, he became just a vocalist and often performed from a wheelchair.  He would eventually open for his childhood idol, B.B. King, in Montreal at the Forum.  B.B. nicknamed him The Canadian King of the Blues which was later modified by a former band member to The Prime Minister of the Blues.  He has received The Office Of The Order Of Canada honour and on his 60th birthday, former Prime Minister Jean Chretien sent him a plaque wishing him a Happy Birthday from "One Prime Minister to Another".  He is a Juno winner and was inducted into the Canadian Blues and Jazz Hall Of Fame.  He has 15 albums to his credit and his last release in 2004, featured his son, Garrett Mason, on guitar.  Garrett is also a Juno award winning blues musician (http://www.garrettmason.com/.  Sadly, Dutch passed away two years later in 2006, of complications related to his diabetes.  A true legend who dedicated his life to the blues.  Much of Dutch's musical output was his own creative interpretations of other people's music.  His album in 1979, entitled, Wish Me Luck, included a very cool cover of the Tony Joe White classic, Polk Salad Annie.  You can check out the song on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL_Ia3xXdRs).  The song was also included on his last release in 2004 entitled, Half Ain't Been Told.  You can purchase Wish Me Luck on Itunes.  You can read about Dutch and his legacy at http://dutchmason.com/.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!