A little over 30 years ago singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell had her limo driver conduct her to the humble home of
bluesman Furry Lewis. Joni was out to cop a little inspiration, which she apparently did, as she subsequently named a
song after him. At that point, the name of Furry Lewis was suddenly made known to millions of people who'd never heard of him before.
Perhaps a few of those folks even sought out Lewis'
recordings. Course, back then there were no CD reissues, no YouTube, no mp3s floating around in the ether. But
you can check out
Mister Furry Lewis now: no need to have your limousine take you to the ghetto! Oh, but as far as Joni's tune, well, Furry
wasn't all that pleased about it.
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Sep 30, 2007 -
48 comments
Ry Cooder once said
Dark Was The Night--Cold Was The Ground was
the most soulful, transcendent piece of American music recorded in the 20th Century.
Unearthly and
music of the spheres were common descriptions long before both became fact when it was included on a golden record was affixed to the star bound
Voyager space probe. My first encounter with
Dark Was The Night was while watching, and then listening to the soundtrack album of, Piero Paulo Pasolini’s
The Gospel According To St. Matthew--or as it is known in Sicily kickin' Bootsville,
Il Vangelo de Matteo--which is, in my humble opinion, the Greatest. Jesus. Movie. Evar. Ironically, coincidentally and serendipitously, it was an apt choice by Pasolini, as the
hymn from which
Blind Willie Johnson's wordless moan derives is a song about Christ’s passion—his suffering and crucifixion. (Continued with much more within)
posted by y2karl
on Sep 15, 2005 -
67 comments
