Bloomfield was an indifferent student and self-described social outcast and immersed himself in the multi-cultural music world that existed in Chicago in the 1950s. He got his first guitar at age 13. Initially attracted to the roots-rock sound of Elvis Presley and Scotty Moore, Bloomfield soon discovered the electrified big-city blues music indigenous to Chicago. At the age of 14, the exuberant guitar wunderkind began to visit the blues clubs on Chicago’s South Side with friend Roy Ruby in search of his new heroes: players such as Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, Howling Wolf, and Magic Sam. Not content with viewing the scene from the audience, Bloomfield was known to leap onto the stage, asking if he could sit in as he simultaneously plugged in his guitar and began playing riffs.
Bloomfield was quickly accepted on the South Side, as much for his ability as for the audiences' appreciation of the novelty of seeing a young white player in a part of town where few whites were seen. Bloomfield soon discovered a group of like-minded outcasts. Young white players such as Paul Butterfield, Nick Gravenites, Charlie Musselwhite, and Elvin Bishop were also establishing themselves as fans who could hold their own with established bluesmen, many of whom were old enough to be their fathers.
In addition to playing with the established stars of the day, Bloomfield began to search out older, forgotten bluesmen, playing and recording with Sleepy John Estes, Yank Rachell, Little Brother Montgomery and Big Joe Williams, among others. By this time he was managing a Chicago folk music club, the Fickle Pickle, and often hired older acoustic blues players for the Tuesday night blues sessions. Big Joe Williams memorialized those times in the song "Pick A Pickle" with the line "You know Mike Bloomfield...will always treat you right...come to the Pickle, every Tuesday night." Bloomfield’s relationship with Big Joe Williams is documented in "Me And Big Joe," a moving short story detailing Bloomfield’s adventures on the road with Williams.
Bloomfield's guitar work as a session player caught the ear of legendary CBS producer and talent scout John Hammond, Sr., who flew to Chicago and immediately signed him to a recording contract. However CBS was unsure of exactly how to promote their new artist, declining to release any of the tracks recorded by Bloomfield's band, which included harp player Charlie Musselwhite.
With a contract but not much else, Bloomfield returned to playing clubs around Chicago until he was approached by Paul Rothchild, the producer of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band albums. Bloomfield was recruited to play slide guitar and piano on early recordings (later released as The Lost Elektra Sessions) which were rejected for not fully capturing the sound of the band. Although more competitors than friends ("I knew Paul [and I] was scared of him" remembered Mike), the addition of Bloomfield to the Butterfield Band provided Paul Butterfield with a musician of equal caliber -- Paul and Michael inspired and challenged each other as they traded riffs and musical ideas, one establishing a pattern and the other following it, extending it, and handing it back.
In between recording sessions with the Butterfield Band, Bloomfield backed up Bob Dylan on the classic Highway 61 Revisited album, and appeared with him at the Newport Folk Music Festival in 1965 when Dylan stunned the purist folk music crowd by playing electric rock-and-roll. Declining an offer from Dylan to join his touring band, Bloomfield and the Butter Band returned to the studio; with the addition of pianist Mark Naftalin they finally captured their live sound on vinyl.
The first two Butterfield Blues Band albums, the Dylan sessions, and the live appearances by the Butterfield Band firmly established Bloomfield as one of the most talented and influential guitar players in America. The second album featured the Bloomfield composition "East-West" which ushered in an era of long instrumental psychedelic improvisations.
Bloomfield left the Butterfield Blues Band in early 1967 ostensibly to give original guitarist Elvin Bishop, in Mike's words, "a little space." Undoubtedly he had also become uncomfortable with Paul Butterfield's position as bandleader and was anxious to lead his own band.
That band, The Electric Flag, included Bloomfield's old friends from Chicago, organist Barry Goldberg and singer/songwriter Nick Gravenites, as well as bass player Harvey Brooks and drummer Buddy Miles. The band was well received at its official debut at the Monterey Pop Festival but quickly fell apart due to drugs, egos, and poor management.
Bloomfield, weary of the road, suffering from insomnia, and uncomfortable in the role of guitar superstar, returned to San Francisco to score movies, produce other artists, and play studio sessions. One of those sessions was a day of jamming in the studio with keyboardist Al Kooper, who had previously worked with Bloomfield on the 1965 Dylan sessions.
Super Session, the resultant release, with Bloomfield on side one and guitarist Stephen Stills on side two, once again thrust Bloomfield into the spotlight. Kooper's production and the improvisational nature of the recording session captured the quintessential Bloomfield sound: the fast flurries of notes, the incredible string bending, the precise attack, and his masterful use of tension and release.
Although Super Session was the most successful recording of his career, Bloomfield considered it to be a scam, more of an excuse to sell records than a pursuit of musical goals. After a follow-up live album, he "retired" to San Francisco and lowered his visibility.
In the seventies Bloomfield played gigs in the San Francisco area and infrequently toured as Bloomfield And Friends, a group which usually included Mark Naftalin and Nick Gravenites. Bloomfield also occasionally helped out friends by lending his name to recording projects and business propositions, such as the ill-fated Electric Flag reunion in 1974 and the KGB album in 1976. In the mid-seventies Bloomfield recorded a number of albums with a more traditional blues focus for smaller record labels. He also recorded an instructional album of various blues styles for Guitar Player magazine.
By the late seventies Bloomfield's continuing drug and health problems caused erratic behavior and missed gigs, alienating a number of his old associates. Bloomfield continued playing with other musicians, including Dave Shorey and Jonathan Cramer. In the summer of 1980 he toured Italy with classical guitarist Woody Harris and cellist Maggie Edmondson. On November 15, 1980, Bloomfield joined Bob Dylan on stage at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco and jammed on "Like A Rolling Stone," the song they had recorded together 15 years earlier.
Michael Bloomfield was found dead in his car of a drug overdose in San Francisco, California on February 15, 1981.
Death In My Family
Mike Bloomfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And my mother died last night
There's a death in my family
And my mother died last night
Don't tell me to work now, people
Because paying don't seem right
Now, my mother was a good woman
Now, my mother was a good woman
And she loved me all the days
She was the best friend in my life
And right now, she's passed away
They say try to remember
She has gone to a better rest
Oh, she was sick for so long people
Maybe this is best
But how my heart is achin
I could never have guessed
Whoa, well well well well
Well well well well well well
Whoa, well well well well
Well well well well well well well
I wanted to low her down easy
I wanted to ring the tollin bell
The song "Death In My Family" by Mike Bloomfield is a poignant and emotional ballad about the death of the singer's mother. The lyrics express the deep hurt and grief the singer is feeling after losing his mother, and the conflicted emotions he experiences when others attempt to console him with words of comfort. The opening lines "There's a death in my family, and my mother died last night" set the tone of the song, emphasizing the tragic loss the singer has just experienced.
The song also touches on the theme of how different people react to death and grief, with the singer feeling conflicted about returning to work so soon after his mother's passing. He is struggling to come to terms with the fact that life goes on, even after such a devastating loss. Throughout the song, the singer remembers his mother's love and friendship, and how much she meant to him during her lifetime. The chorus "Well well well well well well, I wanted to ring the tollin' bell" expresses the singer's desire to mourn and honor his mother's passing in his own way.
Overall, "Death In My Family" is a beautiful tribute to the singer's mother, and a powerful exploration of the universal experience of grief and loss.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a death in my family
The singer has recently experienced the loss of a loved one
And my mother died last night
Specifically, the singer's mother has passed away
Don't tell me to work now, people
The singer is grieving and doesn't want to be told to ignore their feelings and return to normal activities
Because paying don't seem right
They feel that focusing on work and financial obligations would be disrespectful to their mother's memory
Now, my mother was a good woman
The artist fondly remembers their mother and believes she was a kind, admirable person
And she loved me all the days
The mother had a strong bond with her child
She was the best friend in my life
The mother was not only a parent, but someone the singer trusted and relied on
And right now, she's passed away
The artist is in mourning and struggling with the finality of death
They say try to remember
Others are offering comfort and advice to the artist, suggesting they reflect on happy memories of their mother
She has gone to a better rest
The artist may believe in an afterlife where their mother is free from suffering
Oh, she was sick for so long people
The mother was battling an illness and her death may have been a relief from her pain
Maybe this is best
The artist is attempting to accept their mother's passing as a necessary end to her suffering
But how my heart is achin
Despite trying to find comfort and make sense of the situation, the singer is deeply saddened by their loss
I could never have guessed
The suddenness of the mother's death may have come as a shock to the singer
I wanted to low her down easy
The singer wishes they could have eased their mother's transition into death somehow
I wanted to ring the tollin bell
They wanted to honor her life and mourn her loss with a symbolic gesture, like ringing a bell
Writer(s): michael bloomfield
Contributed by Nora H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.