Old-time songster, Henry Thomas
May 11, 2010 1:21 AM Subscribe
Born in Big Sandy, Texas in 1874,
Henry Thomas was one of the oldest black musician who ever recorded for the phonograph companies of the 1920′s and his music represents a rare opportunity to hear what American black folk music must have sounded like in the last decade of the 19th century.
A word from yours truly, flapjax at midnite: Often when putting music posts together, I'll try to gather as many relevant links as possible, to do my small part towards making sure everyone gets their five bucks worth here at Mefi. I would've done so this time, but happily, Gadaya, of the
excellent Old Weird America blog has done all my work for me! I urge you, then, to check out the various links included in his post on Henry Thomas, and most of all, of course, to listen to the wonderful tracks there. I think you'll find Henry Thomas's use of the
quills especially delightful. His music harkens back to an archaic America which is nonetheless still very... familiar. It's a deep and beautiful part of our collective unconscious, I think.
posted by pjern at 1:42 AM on May 11, 2010