Tucker, Thomas Have Their Blues Recipe Down to a ‘T’

The blues is simple music.

Nobody knows that better than blues veterans Johnny Tucker and James “Broadway” Thomas, who play Cozy’s on Saturday night.

After many years of working as sidemen for other performers, Tucker and Thomas have finally stepped up to the front of the stage. And they’re proud to say that most of the tunes on their newly released first CD, “Stranded,” are simple three-chord affairs.

“Simplicity is the key,” says bassist-singer Thomas. “Our stuff is just that.”

His partner Tucker agrees.

“Sometimes, you can kinda get lost, but we just make it simple,” says Tucker. “Anybody can play the blues.”

Hmmmm? Maybe that’s true. But playing the blues is a lot like cooking: Anybody who can light a match can cook, but there are only a few gourmet chefs around.

Tucker & Thomas’ recipes might be simple, but they certainly know their way around the kitchen.

As a bass player-drummer tandem, they’re rock solid. Also, they perform blues vocal duets with a skintight blend. And all that comes from years of working together.

Tucker, 51, who originally hails from Fresno, and Thomas, 56, a native of the Lone Star state, first got together here in Los Angeles.

“We met in 1967 in the Johnny Otis Band,” says Thomas. “I would sing a song called ‘Funky Broadway,’ and people started calling me ‘Broadway.’ ”

Over the years, the twosome have recorded and toured with many blues greats including Lowell Fulson, Ted Hawkins, Big Jay McNeely, Taj Mahal, Pee Wee Crayton and Lonesome Sundown. For the last 15 years, they’ve worked with L.A.-based blues guitarist Phillip Walker.

The album contains punchy versions of Albert King’s “Hey Baby,” and Lloyd Price’s “Lawdy Miss Clawdy.” But the song that really stands out is a very funkified rendition of “Mustang Sally.”

Joining Tucker and Thomas on “Stranded” are guitarist James Armstrong, pianist Leon Haywood and other West Coast blues pros. Tucker even gives way on the drums on several tunes to his brother, Aaron Tucker, who regularly works with Smokey Wilson.

“I’m not into who’s playing what,” says Tucker. “I’m all about making things sound good.”

And they do.

“Stranded” is available on Hightone Records, but you can hear Tucker & Thomas live this weekend.

* Tucker & Thomas play Saturday night at Cozy’s Bar & Grill, 14058 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. $5 cover. (818) 986-6000.

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The King Is Dead: When blues singer-guitarist Luther Allison appeared at B.B. King’s in Universal City on July 1, he seemed to have the world at his feet. Little did anyone know it would turn out to be one of his last performances.

After a self-imposed exile in Europe, Allison returned to America in 1994 with the CD “Soul-Fixin Man,” his first U.S. release in 20 years. Over the next three years, he won every award the blues world had to offer, including eight W.C. Handy Awards and 10 Living Blues Awards.

His latest album, “Reckless,” was on Billboard’s Blues Chart for 12 weeks and topped the Living Blues Radio Charts since May. Blues Revue magazine went so far as to declare Allison the “New King of the Blues.”

But less than two weeks after his Universal City gig, Allison was diagnosed with inoperable lung and brain cancer. He died Aug. 12 in Madison, Wis. He was 57.

Allison was a performer who held nothing back. He gave up his whole emotional load. His concerts sometimes ran three to four hours. His performance style has been described as “slash and burn.”

In a world where we have synthesized drums, artificial intelligence, imitation mayonnaise and scores of ersatz blues men, Allison is going to be missed.