The Ballad of Geeshie and Elvie
April 15, 2014 1:17 AM Subscribe
On the trail of the phantom women who changed American music and then vanished without a trace. With only six recordings known of their music, all that remains of a recording session in 1930, this music and recently uncovered information, the result of a long search for the story of these two blues musicians is presented by John Jeremiah Sullivan.
With that slender canon, Elvie Thomas and Geeshie Wiley left a legacy and more than a little a mystery. When Geeshie sings Skinny Leg Blues, is she recollecting a murder? Why did Elvie go to jail in her teens? Maybe we will never know. Johnson comes late to the story but finds enough to make these women real to us and to restore them to their rightful place in American musical history.
With that slender canon, Elvie Thomas and Geeshie Wiley left a legacy and more than a little a mystery. When Geeshie sings Skinny Leg Blues, is she recollecting a murder? Why did Elvie go to jail in her teens? Maybe we will never know. Johnson comes late to the story but finds enough to make these women real to us and to restore them to their rightful place in American musical history.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Double. -- goodnewsfortheinsane
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posted by Spatch at 1:20 AM on April 15, 2014 [1 favorite]