Tag Archives: Cornell Dupree
Cornell Dupree
“What I consider ‘me’ is a funky blues player.”
From Dupree’s home in Ft. Worth, by phone
August, 1995
Hang on and get ready for a super-funky-blues/soul ride thanks to some truly amazing video. Cornell Dupree, the subject of this interview, is the main man here and it’s a treat to hear and watch him in action: first, on a live clip of him performing “Memphis Soul Stew” with King Curtis’s band, which also features phenomenal drummer Bernard “Pretty” Purdie; and then an hour-long live set from Dupree’s ’70s band Stuff – a taste of heaven for fans of instrumental soul music (I know you’re out there). But it gets even better. Or certainly weirder, in a wonderful way. The rough clip of one of Dupree’s (and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s) mentor, little known guitarist U.P. Wilson, is pure juke joint magnificence, an insanely cool act of blues bravado. And for the finale, meet Windell Capel, an obscure soul showman with a shtick you just got to see.
