The Downchild Blues Band is a Canadian blues band, described by one reviewer as "the premier blues band in Canada". The band was formed in Toronto in 1969 and still performs today. The band's international fame is partially due to three of its songs, the originals I've Got Everything I Need (Almost) and Shot Gun Blues, and its adaptation of Flip Flop and Fly, all from its 1973 album, Straight Up, being featured on the first Blues Brothers album, Briefcase Full of Blues (1978). The band's musical style is described as being "a spirited, if fundamental, brand of jump-band and Chicago-style blues".
Donnie Walsh thinks a hat might make a difference.
“Something that will help the band fit in … or stand out,” says the veteran Canadian bluesman by way of explaining the title of the new Downchild album, I Need A Hat.
It’s a joke, of course. Downchild doesn’t need a hat, or a ticket, a tag, a bag, a niche, or a flashing neon sign.
Forty years on, Downchild remains a blues force, true to itself and without equal.
For just about every waking moment of the four decades since he formed the Downchild Blues Band – Canada’s best known and best loved blues outfit – Walsh has been living the dream that changed his life back in the early 1960s, when someone dropped a Jimmy Reed album onto the turntable at his girlfriend’s 16th birthday party in suburban North Toronto.
It’s a moment Walsh – he also answers to his “given” name, Mr. Downchild, taken from a song by Sonny Boy Williamson II – says he will never forget.
“That was it. I was hooked. I never wanted to play anything else.”
He drove his girlfriend crazy learning Reed’s lip-splitting harmonica technique, then James Cotton’s. He locked himself away from the world while he picked apart Muddy Waters’ and Albert King’s guitar licks, reconstructing them in his own inimitable style on a beat-up electric guitar. And when he did venture out, it was to one of Toronto’s legendary blues dives to catch his heroes Luther Allison, B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, all of them regular visitors in those days to Walsh’s hometown, Canada’s blues capital.
Walsh was a good student. He is recognized around the world as both a blues harp virtuoso with few equals, and an unusually expressive guitarist.
He wasn’t the only one, of course. They say Toronto’s built on the blues, but all across Canada the blues, particularly jump-style and Chicago blues that used to blast across the border from radio stations in northern U.S., is a basic, shared language.
Singer Chuck Jackson, tenor sax player Pat Carey, drummer Mike Fitzpatrick, bassist Gary Kendall, and pianist/organist Michael Fonfara – Walsh’s compadres in Downchild for the past decade and a half, and, he says, the “best musicians I’ve ever played with” – were soaking up the blues in their teenage years as well, in different parts of the country.
Their shared dedication has served them well. And with the release of their 16th album, I Need A Hat, October 6th, 2009, on the Canadian independent label Linus Entertainment, Donnie Walsh and his buddies are celebrating their collective longevity big time.
Comprising a new batch of Walsh originals – edgier, darker, more caustically humorous than ever before – I Need A Hat boasts a cluster of stellar guests. Dan Aykroyd – a long-time friend and admirer of Downchild – on harmonica, second-generation Canadian blues-rocker Colin James and Nashville-based Canadian roots music veteran Colin Linden on guitars, and Stax Records legend Wayne Jackson of the Memphis Horns on trumpet, all make muscular and eloquent contributions to the album, which Walsh produced over five days earlier this year in Toronto’s famed Metalworks Studios.
“It’s not really producing,” says Walsh, a self-deprecating homegrown star – when he’s not on the road, he’s fishing his favourite pickerel hole at his secret lake in northern Ontario – and a ribald raconteur with a lacerating dry wit.
“We’ve been together long enough to know just how everything fits, every groove, every note, every piece of punctuation. It’s not as if we have to go looking for hooks – they just happen. That’s one of the great things about a band that’s been together for as long as we have. It just gets better and better.”
“I get a buzz doing the final mix, tweaking the nuances, the little elements I know are in there, hiding somewhere. Those little bits are like pure gold to me. I love shining them up.”
“And it was really exciting this time to have so many great guests adding their own parts.”
During the past 40 years and against all odds, Walsh and his band mates have won countless music industry awards, including a Juno (Canada’s Grammy) for “Best Roots and Traditional Album” in 1991. They also received a Juno Award nomination in 2005 for “Blues Album of The Year” for their album “Come On In.” In 2007 Downchild was named “Entertainer of The Year” at the annual Maple Blues Awards (the Canadian equivalent of a W.C. Handy Award).
With more than 80 great musicians on the payroll during its long life, Downchild is a robust road beast, having racked up thousands of performances at concert halls, fairgrounds, saloons and roadhouses in every corner of the continent.
The inspiration for Aykroyd’s and the late John Belushi’s fabulous creation, The Blues Brothers – they recorded Downchild’s “Shotgun Blues” and Walsh’s “(I Got Everything I Need) Almost”, the latter shortlisted as one of Canada’s Essential Songs in a survey conducted by the Toronto Star in 2007 – Downchild is an institution in their homeland, and revered by blues fans around the world.
America’s National Public Radio service pays regular tribute, featuring Downchild in concert specials and blues programs.
For years a favourite on the North American festival circuit, the band made its first concert appearance in Europe in 2008, at the Lille Blues Festival in France, returning in 2009 for the Tobakken Blues Festival in Esjberg, Denmark. More trips to Europe, where Downchild’s reputation is almost mythical, are in the works.
Apart from its earliest incarnations, with Donnie’s brother, the late “Hock” Walsh as singer, Downchild was always more than a bar band. A party band, sure – good times guaranteed, just as it says on one of Downchild’s album titles.
But musicianship of the highest order, sharp arrangements, strict adherence to its legitimate sources, slick pacing and a steely fix on the moods of its audiences, have always set Downchild apart. This has been a class act for the better part of its 40-year life.
Drummer Mike Fitzpatrick credits the quality and individual character of the songs Walsh and singer Chuck Jackson – he contributed “Down in the Delta” and “I’ve Gotta Leave” to I Need A Hat – have brought to the band.
“The songwriting is exceptional,” he says. “There’s always some unexpected slant to the story in each song, or a line that cuts straight to the bone.”
Bassist Gary Kendall hears something old and something new each time he listens to I Need A Hat.
“The more I play it, the more I get it,” he says. “This is vintage Downchild – straight up blues, no frills, no R&B, nothing slick. But Donnie’s doing something new with his lyrics, commenting on what’s happening in the world, reaching out to people who’ve lost their jobs and are facing hard times. That’s different. His songs are usually much more personal.”
About the reasons for Downchild’s success, Walsh is succinct and unequivocal.
“First, it’s knowing your audience, and knowing when to give them what they want,” he says. “If they want to dance, you step up the groove. If they want to watch, you give them lots of solos.”
“As for keeping a band together for as long as Downchild has been around, it’s an unspoken thing, finding a balance between what I need and what I know each musician can give. Every member of this band is well equipped to do what each of us wants and needs. Downchild has always been bigger than the sum of its parts, and I can’t really explain why. “
“But I do know that after 40 years doing this, I’m happier than I’ve ever been. The hard parts are easier. I’m writing songs all the time – and better songs – which surprises me. I get to experience new things all the time, and see new places.”
“And I get to make my own records. I will never sell enough of them to put me out of work … but that’s probably a good thing.”
Almost
Downchild Blues Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I got everything I need, almost
But I don't got you
And you're the thing I need the most
I got a car that I bought
Won't get me far
I gotta wish on a star
I got everything I need, almost
I got everything I need, almost
But I don't got you
And you're the thing I need the most
I got friends who like me
Cause I got lots of dough
The people recognize me
Wherever I go
I don't got trouble gettin' high
But if I don't get you I believe I will die
I got everything I need, almost
I got everything I need, almost
But I don't got you
And you're the thing I need the most
I got everything I need, almost
I got everything I need, almost
I got everything I need, almost
I got everything I need, almost
But I don't got you
And you're the thing I need the most
The Downchild Blues Band's song "Almost" is a melancholic tune about a man who seemingly has everything he needs, except for the love and companionship of a significant other. The repetition of the phrase "I got everything I need, almost" emphasizes the theme of the song, as the singer tries to convince himself that he has everything he needs, even though he is aware that something crucial is missing.
The first two lines of the song establish that the singer has almost everything he needs but not the one thing that he truly desires - the person he loves. He goes on to identify the other things he has, such as a car that he bought, which might not be enough to take him far without the person he wants by his side. He expresses the desire "to wish on a star" to get what he wants.
The third stanza talks about how the man has friends who like him because of the money he has, and how he is recognized wherever he goes. The singer, however, knows that he can't buy true love and that if he doesn't get what he wants, he believes that he will eventually die. The song is compelling in its simplicity, and the wistful tone is evident throughout the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
I got everything I need, almost
I have most of the things that I desire, but not all.
I got everything I need, almost
Again, I have a lot of things that could create happiness, but not everything
But I don't got you
I don't have the one person that truly completes me
And you're the thing I need the most
Without you, I cannot truly achieve a state of happiness and completeness
I got a car that I bought
I have a car, but it is not the best car and it won't take me very far
Won't get me far
It doesn't have the capability to take me where I want to go
I gotta wish on a star
I have to hope and dream that one day I can have better things
Tell me mama
I'm asking for your advice and guidance, Mama
I got friends who like me
There are people in my life who like me, but I can't be sure if they like me for me or my money
Cause I got lots of dough
This is why I'm not sure if people like me for me or my money - I have a lot of money
The people recognize me
I'm well-known in my community thanks to my wealth
Wherever I go
Everywhere I go, people know me and my status
I don't got trouble gettin' high
I don't have a problem getting myself into the party scene and keeping up with the popular crowd
But if I don't get you I believe I will die
Despite everything that I have, the only thing that would truly make me happy and content is having you in my life
I got everything I need, almost
I reiterate the common theme of being close to, but not quite obtaining all the things that would make me happy
I got everything I need, almost
This statement is repeated twice to emphasize the idea that I have most of what I want, but not quite everything
I got everything I need, almost
And again, I repeat that I am so close to having everything that I could want, but not quite there yet
But I don't got you
I repeat the line that defines my want and desire - to have you in my life
And you're the thing I need the most
The last line of the song reiterates that point, that the one thing I need to truly have a fulfilling life is you.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: DONALD GILBERT WALSH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@PeterByker
World Class Blues, and a source of pride to Canada's musical heritage. Downchild lives FOREVER
@smallywaters7063
I love the turn arounds.
@bspdre
I think this was recorded at SOUND HORN STUDIOS in the basement of Rochdale College, in 1969. I think it was produced by Alan Duffy and the late great Billy Bryans. I believe it may have been recorded on a Revox B77 two track tape deck with two Traynor MX-8 mixers, but I may be wrong.
@ClydeCrum
The Blues Brothers did a really good cover of this, but there's nothing like the original.
@thehuninthesungames9244
Yeah BLues Brothers did it better
@donjohnson62
http://deejayjay-waitaminute.blogspot.ca/2016/03/i-got-everything-i-need-almost-by.htmlPlaylist(en) "I Got Everything I Need (Almost)" by Downchild Blues Band*
I had forgotten how good these guys were. I also forget what led me to stream this song on to my playlist. (I have a "playlist" that I can listen to however I want to -- and without wires! Some technology is too wonderful for my poor words.) I was in my twenties when I often saw this brilliant band in bars in cities where I was living, and falling in love, and learning about the blues -- of goddamned course, they're on my playlist. This singer (he was big and hairy and completely unpretentious, as I remember) -- oh man, back so many years ago, he told us all about how he had it all: a car, a wish on a star, lots of friends (who liked him!), lots of dough, fame, no trouble getting high. But he had wisely discovered what he'd been missing, and he was also telling us about how he'd come to his senses. Perfect horns, drums, guitars, and a dazzling harmonica that forced us to move our bodies backed up his epiphany. (There's usually music for those, right?)* I believe they eventually shortened their name to "Downchild", but I prefer the extended nomenclature.
@TheBCBuddy
RIP James 'Jim' Douglas Milne passed away on Saturday, June 16th, 2018 in Lions Gate Hospital, Vancouver after a short illness. He was 70 years old.
Always known as The Downchild Blues Band’s “original bass player." he was a founding member with Donnie Walsh and Richard Walsh (Hock) in 1969 and performed on the band`s earliest recordings, Bootleg, Straight Up, Dancing, Ready To Go and So Far. His bass playing is featured on the Downchild classics, “Flip, Flop & Fly,” “Shotgun Blues,” “(I`ve Got Everything I Need) Almost” and many of the songs that gave the band its signature sound.
@astragreen
No way is donnie walsh playing harmonica on this cut, probably a session player, donnie tries playing this today however it's obvious he's miles away, not disrespectful even elvis had get in nashville session musicians they all recorded with them, you needed the best!