Those familiar with the plaintive falsetto of Delta blues great Skip James will surely hear Skip's influence in the much lesser-known Johnny Temple's Evil Devil Blues, recorded in 1935, which features some delightfully unexpected melodic twists. And though Johnny Temple "never achieved stardom", he does have a Wikipedia page. [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Jul 5, 2008 - 9 comments

Kid Bailey was a Mississippi Delta bluesman blessed with the kind of slightly gravel-tinged voice that emanates authority. His recording career was a very short one, however, consisting of precisely one day, and yielding precisely two songs. Very little is known about Bailey himself, and the identity of the 2nd accompanying guitarist on his only known recording remains a mystery, though there has been some some speculation. I've been doing a little speculating myself, regarding some of Bailey's lyrics, and any of you blues linguists who might want to help fill in the blanks, please see the [more inside]. [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Feb 21, 2008 - 16 comments

Each of the following MySpace Music pages features bios and/or photos and/or videos and/or miscellaneous related materials and/or up to four songs by each of the following Delta Blues (and related) artists: Ishmon Bracey, Mance Lipscomb, Son House, Blind Willie Johnson, Charley Patton, Blind Boy Fuller, Skip James, Bukka White, Blind Willie McTell, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Robert Johnson, Babe Turner, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Howling Wolf, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Tommy Johnson, Reverend Gary Davis, Big Joe Williams, Mississippi John Hurt, Ramblin' Willard Thomas, John Lee Hooker and Oscar Buddy Woods. And here's some general Blues pages, featuring various artists: Delta Blues, Pre-War Blues and Blind Blues. You see, Delta Blues lovers, I comb MySpace so you don't have to! [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Oct 18, 2007 - 22 comments

Tommy Johnson - Cool Drink of Water [more inside]
posted by y2karl on Oct 17, 2007 - 15 comments

Poor Boy Long Way From Home. Momma Don't Allow. Aberdeen, Mississippi (look at him beat that National). Special Streamline (one of my favorite songs set to a compilation of old films). Plus some John Fahey, who decided to write Booker "Bukka" White a letter once, bringing him to prominence in the 60s blues/folk world. It's a YT Bukka White fest! There's some previous going on here as well.
posted by sleepy pete on Aug 10, 2007 - 8 comments