RL in '78, TJ in '83

March 15, 2012 4:56 AM

Oh yeah. There he is, Mr. RL Burnside, in the year of nineteen and seventy eight, Independence, Mississippi, porch fulla kids, singin' about when his first wife left him, million-dollar smile on his face. And there he is again, with his guitar and amp, out by the barb wire fence, a poor boy a long way from home. These two little gems just added to the Alan Lomax Archive YouTube channel, where you'll also find some wonderful newly-uploaded clips (filmed in 1983) from fretless banjo plucker Tommy Jarrell, the toast of Toast, North Carolina.
posted by flapjax at midnite (9 comments total)

RL Burnside, previously.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:56 AM on March 15, 2012

Time to Shake 'em on down!

The audio is a little poor, but the close up on the slide guitar technique, incredible.
posted by Chekhovian at 5:12 AM on March 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mrs Burnside Is Sick Of Your Shit
posted by DU at 5:17 AM on March 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

On the first video listed, the pan to the little girl patting to the beat is a perfect moment captured.
posted by drowsy at 6:05 AM on March 15, 2012

Awesome. After the first post about the Alan Lomax Archive Youtube channel I was a little disappointed at how few movies were up. And that all the Tommy Jarrell clips were of him playing the fiddle. The fiddle's great, but he's one of my all time favorite clawhammer banjo players.
posted by Drab_Parts at 6:08 AM on March 15, 2012

Boyd Rivers: You Got to Take Sick and Die
posted by swift at 6:56 AM on March 15, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wow, that Sweet Sunny South is absolutely amazing. And how unusual to think a youtube comment says it best: No Mr. Jarrell, you did not make a mess of it.
posted by fritley at 8:15 AM on March 15, 2012

I love me some RL Burnside . I really like the way the North Mississippi Allstars cover some of his songs and the fact they are from the part of Mississippi where this sound originated and that they seem to really love and understand this music.
posted by white_devil at 12:07 PM on March 15, 2012

Here's a sweet little story about an old blues guitar player: Etta Baker.
posted by mightshould at 10:36 AM on March 16, 2012