Oliver Davis, who owns the Delta Fish Market and also happens to play slide guitar, says he never really intended to become an impresario; he and his buddies simply needed someplace to jam. Back in the late 1970s, Davis had a fish store at Washington and Kedzie, and his friends from the west-side blues scene would come over for informal musical get-togethers after hours and on weekends. Word about the sessions began to get around; established musicians like Johnny Littlejohn and Sunnyland Slim started showing up, people came around to listen, and Davis realized he had a good thing on his hands. Around 1980 he moved the fish market a few blocks south to the corner of Jackson and Kedzie. He eventually built a stage in the parking lot and became the proprietor of Chicago’s only outdoor blues club.
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Throughout most of the early 80s, the Delta Fish Market was one of Chicago’s most exciting and down-to- earth blues venues. Sunnyland, Littlejohn, and a wide assortment of musicians both famous and obscure played there on a regular basis. It became internationally known, and was the backdrop for several film and video projects; the Chicago Blues Festival used it for its first tribute to Howlin’ Wolf in 1985.
These seem to be the days of resurrection for blues on the west side. The legendary 1815 Club is back in action on Roosevelt Road, and now Davis is in command again at the Fish Market, with a newly acquired liquor license and an apparent determination to keep things running smoothly. The fish are as fresh as ever; the old crowd–including characters like George “Mr. Smellgood” Robinson (aka Harmonica George), who plays harmonica and also sells yarn-woven voodoo charms drenched in cheap perfume–is back. And it didn’t take long for Davis to round up a solid crew of bluesmen to pick up where they left off several years ago. A few–Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis (no relation to Oliver), guitarist Boston Blackie, keyboardist Foots Berry–had never left; others, like keyboard man Detroit Junior, drummer Ray Scott, bassist Robert “Pete” Peterson, and guitarist Vernon Harrington, are Chicago blues stalwarts who’ve recently been playing regularly at the Fish Market, often before making it to later gigs. A lot of musicians also come by to relax; there are sometimes nearly as many famous faces in the crowd as there are onstage.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photos/Marc PoKempner, James Fraher.
