Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Willie Dixon, Big Momma Thornton, Sun House, Howlin Wolf, Little Walter, Jimmy Rogers, Otis Spann, Luther Georgie-Boy Snake Johnson, Shakey Horton, Lowell Fulson, Sun Ra, Arthur Crudup, Lightnin Hopkins .... these are some of the legendary blues artists that Will Ashwood Kavanna booked as a blues agent in the 60s and 70s.  It may seem like a historic roster today, but frankly, in those days, we could barely pay our phone bill, he quipped. 

Kavanna, promoter and agent turned attorney, worked with a virtual Who's Who of historic figures in Delta blues.  When he worked with Muddy Waters the band included Otis Spann, Luther Georgie-Boy Snake Johnson and Little Walter.  Kavanna was Muddy's exclusive agent from the mid 60s to the early 70s when Robert Messenger was Waters personal manager.  In a footnote to his years with Muddy, Kavanna looks back to 1969 when Bob Messenger negotiated a deal for Muddy to cross over to Columbia Records.  Muddy, who could not read or write, decided to resign with Chess Records instead.  I’ve often felt had he signed with Columbia, Muddy would have enjoyed the commercial success that John Lee and BB King have lived to enjoy, says Kavanna. 

The first Chicago Blues All Stars in 1967 consisted of Willie Dixon, Johnny Shines (fellow traveler with Robert Johnson), Clifton James, Shakey Horton and Sunnyland Slim (Al Luandrow) who had played piano with Ma Rainey in Memphis.  I packaged these musicians together as a way to introduce them to white college audiences to get bookings.  Kavanna says, As an agent I was merely trying to think up a gimmick to create bookings for the blues.  You have no idea how hard it was back then to get work because of the color barriers.  We had to teach the white college buyers their musical heritage.  He produced and packaged the first Ann Arbor Blues Festivals in 1968 and 1969 which were recorded for an Atlantic Records double LP and released in 1971. 

In addition, Kavanna packaged and sold the concept for the production of the First Generation Blues Festival, a series of ten concerts at the famed Electric Circus in Greenwich Village in 1968.  This marked the very first time many of these first generation American blues artists appeared in New York City.  This concert series featured artists such as big Momma Thornton, Lowell Fulson, Lightnin Hopkins, Arthur Crudup and Sun House (who mentioned both Muddy and Robert Johnson).  The New York Times referred to these events as seminal turning points in Americas own discovery of its musical heritage. 

A former musician himself, as a teenager, Kavanna performed in the great Catskill mountain resorts, playing trumpet, trombone, guitar and bass.  He shared the stage with greats like Louis Prima, Louis Jordan, Sammy Davis Jr., Fats Domino, Jane  Mansfield and the Treniers (whom he credits with first coining the term rock music in their 1940s hit record, "Rock Is Our Business”). 

Kavanna took the unusual step of clerking with a judge and in 1984 passed the New York State Bar without attending law school.  He has a degree from Babson College in international economics.  As an entertainment attorney, more recently in 1994, he played a key role in the 25th anniversary reunion festival of Woodstock at the original Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York.  Last summer at Blues 2000, Kavanna was a featured speaker, sharing stories of his years of working with legends.  These days, Kavanna lives New York City where he practices entertainment law.  He may be reached at P.O. Box 20322, New York, NY 10021-0065. (212) 592-3947