Mighty Joe Young: Live From The North Side of Chicago

Track List:

1. Cruisin’ Down Highway 99
2. That’s All Right
3. Whole Lotta Lovin’
4. I Can’t Quit You Baby
5. Baby Please
6. Stormy Monday
7. Turning Point
8. Wise Fool’s Express

The Wise Fools Pub has a long and intriguing history played out in three acts.  Opening  in 1968, it quickly became one of the North Side’s most popular blues clubs, particularly once David Ungeleider took over in 1972. David began to book blues legends from South Side clubs—Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Jimmy Dawkins, to name a few. Even George Thorogood made his first Chicago appearance at the Wise Fools Pub.  Both Otis Rush and Mighty Joe Young recorded live albums at the club. This initial iteration of Wise Fool’s Pub lasted until 1993 when Ungeleider sold the club and it started booking local rock and cover bands.

Performance at Wise Fools Pub, Chicago, Illinois July 1978

Frankly, I feel Mighty Joe Young is one of the most talented guitar players in the country. I used Joe on many sessions because of his ability to interpret a particular feeling of a song. He has a traditional sound which he is able to mix with a very modern style and he used this combination to emphasize a mood.

I know that Mighty Joe Young always made his home at the Wise Fools pub, one of Chicago’s best known music spots. In fact, people from all over the world came to the Wise Fool’s Pub looking for blues and that club definitely earned its fine reputation for good music

—Willie Dixon