American Deep Blues Touring 1960's Britain
February 23, 2014 12:20 PM   Subscribe

The American Folk Blues Festival 1962 - 1966; Vol 2; Vol 3 - The festival was an annual event with dozens of classic blues greats like Sonny Boy Williamson, Muddy Waters & Howlin' Wolf playing to appreciative UK audiences. "Attendees at Manchester in 1962, the first ever venue for the festival in Britain, included Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones and Jimmy Page. Subsequent attendees at the first London festivals are believed to have also included such influential musicians as Eric Burdon, Eric Clapton, and Steve Winwood. Collectively these were the primary movers in the blues explosion that would lead to the British Invasion."

Related clips in the Manchester Railroad Station
Muddy Waters - You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Didn't It Rain

Volume 1:
Opening: Sonny Boy Williamson: Keep It to Yourself
4:50 Muddy Waters: Mojo Workin'
8:36 Lonnie Johnson: Too Late to Cry
13:42 Big Joe Williams: Baby Please Don't Go (playing his 9 string guitar)
16:55 Sonny Boy Williamson: Bye Bye Bird; Getting Out of Town
25:32 Lightnin' Hopkins: Come Go Home with Me; Lightnins' Blues
33:46 Sugar Pie DeSanto: Baby What You Want Me To Do; Rock Me Baby
39:47 Howlin' Wolf: Smokestack Lightning; Don't Laugh at Me
49:34 Big Joe Turner: Oh Well , Oh Well
59:53 Junior Wells - What I'd Say

Note:
Hubert Sumlin playing with Sonny Boy, Sugar Pie and Howlin' Wolf. Here is a great clip of Hubert Sumlin talking about Wolf and playing some riffs; Otis Rush playing with Big Joe; Matt "Guitar" Murphy playing with Muddy.

Volume 2
Opening: Sonny Boy Williamson: Bye Bye Bird; My Younger Days
4:47 Sunnyland Slim & Hubert Sumlin: Come On Home Baby
8:53 Willie Dixon: Nervous
12:50 Lightnin' Hopkins: Mojo Hand
16:10 Victoria Spivey: Black Snake Blues
20:53 Memphis Slim: Everyday I Have the Blues
23:14 T-Bone Walker: Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong
28:29 Roosevelt Sykes: Tall Heavy Mama
31:11 Willie Dixon: Sittin & Cryin
34:38 Matt Guitar Murphy, Sunnyland Slim: Murphy's Boogie
38:56 Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee: Shake for Me, I'll Be Back Someday
43:08 Howlin Wolf: Shake for Me, I'll bBe Back Someday, Love Me Darlin'
54:58 Big Mama Thornton - Down Home Shakedown

Note John Lee Hooker on the Big Mama Thornton cut


Volume 3
:
Opening: Big Mama Thornton: Hound Dog
2:34 Roosevelt Sykes: Gulfport Boogie
4:43 Buddy Guy: Out of Sight
7:07 Dr. Isaiah Ross: Feel So Good
10:39 Joe Turner: Flip, Flop & Fly
15:39 Skip James: All Night Long, Crow Jane
20:26 Bukka White: Got Sick & Tired
26:21 Son House: Death Letter Blues
31:18 Hound Dog Taylor: Wild About You
33:54 Koko Taylor: Wang Dang Doodle
36:52 Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee: Stranger Blues, Afraid of Fire: Burnt Child, Move Across the River
46:25 Helen Humes: The Blues Ain't Nothin' But a Woman
posted by madamjujujive (19 comments total) 70 users marked this as a favorite
 
Yes. Absolutely goddamned right. This is the stuff. Thanks madamjujujive.
posted by wabbittwax at 1:20 PM on February 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


Is it November already? Because this is best post material.
posted by Dr Dracator at 1:25 PM on February 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


I viewed (and DLed) these a couple years ago when a cousin of mine alerted me to their existence. Yeah, this is essence of the blues right here. Unless someone can get video of Robert Johnson tearing up a roadhouse, this is as good as it gets.
posted by Ber at 1:29 PM on February 23, 2014 [2 favorites]


I did the same as you, Ber! I've watched these many times over the past year or so. Hurrah for the British youngsters who took this in, made it their own, and then brought some terrific music back to the States.
posted by CincyBlues at 1:44 PM on February 23, 2014


Related: previously
posted by spock at 3:44 PM on February 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


At exactly 45 minutes into Volume 1 "Don't Laugh At Me" starts, and you can hear throughout the song the exact riff Jimmy Page quoted on Led Zep II at 1:30 during The Lemon Song.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 4:20 PM on February 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


That riff is also featured prominently in "Killing Floor" which is the song "Lemon Song" is... um ... based on.
posted by wabbittwax at 5:56 PM on February 23, 2014 [2 favorites]


@32:58 in vol 1 (Hopkins playing), there's some crazy echoey weirdness going on in the background. He's playing solo, but there's some weird reverb thing going on. Can anyone else spot it? I had to have my headphones on to pick it up. Eerie.

EDIT: Also, I think I may win the lurker award. I created this account about 13 years ago. This was my first post. Can someone do some crazy SQL query in the user logs to figure it out? :)
posted by nerftoe at 6:13 PM on February 23, 2014 [6 favorites]


They made it to ye olde YouTubes! These are some of the very finest film documentations of the blues to ever appear. Glad they're here, cause I haven't seen *all* of 'em myself. Thanks, mjjj.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:37 PM on February 23, 2014


"those British boys want to play the blues real bad, and they do"
--Sonny Boy Williamson on The Yardbirds, while on that tour.
posted by sourwookie at 7:42 PM on February 23, 2014 [2 favorites]


Glad you stop lurking, neftoe - welcome!
posted by madamjujujive at 7:43 PM on February 23, 2014


We Brits of a certain age were truly blessed.
posted by Mister Bijou at 7:55 PM on February 23, 2014


Those British players all had art school to fall back on, at least.
posted by thelonius at 8:07 PM on February 23, 2014


In the British boys' defense, they did get better.
posted by wabbittwax at 8:16 PM on February 23, 2014


I just discovered Sister Rosetta Tharpe recently. She is amazing.

Buddy Guy in 1969 with Jack Bruce and Buddy Miles
posted by Golden Eternity at 8:20 PM on February 23, 2014 [4 favorites]


In the British boys' defence... they were listening to, respected, and loved this music.
posted by Mister Bijou at 8:21 PM on February 23, 2014


Damn. There goes my bandwidth and all my free time for the next week or so.
Thank you, Madam.
posted by drhydro at 9:09 PM on February 23, 2014


I'm sittin' here sadly
In the Cote d'Ivoire.
(de do do de do)
My internet's crappy
Not even one bar!
(de do do de do)
Sometimes I visit,
Metafilter won't load.
(de do do de do)
And I guess that Youtube
Would make it implode.
(de do do de do)
Can't wait til I get home -
Nope, there I can't lose
(de do do de do)
'Cause the internet's faster...
And I'll download the blues!
(de do de do de do de do da da doo!)
posted by ChuraChura at 2:52 AM on February 24, 2014 [7 favorites]


I cannot even tell you how intoxicating thie is

I'm drunk with it.
posted by salishsea at 7:52 PM on February 28, 2014 [1 favorite]


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