...The cult of and luster for country blues among these record collectors came about because not only were recordings by Charley Patton, Son House, Skip James and Robert Johnson not successfully sold to African Americans, but other record collectors were not interested in them either. There were so many collectors of New Orleans jazz that not only did the recordings became too expensive to collect, they also didn't want them -- they wanted to find something that required more energy to uncover, and more energy to actually appreciate. Anyone who has ever listened to Charley Patton knows that you have to learn how to listen to him, you have to really struggle -- it is a work of archeology, really, to make out what he is saying. It is powerful, and I don't want to deny its power, but you have to learn how to hear that power, and African Americans, when these records came out, didn't necessarily hear that.
From
an interview with Marybeth Hamilton, author of
In Search of the Blues [more inside]
posted by y2karl
on May 26, 2012 -
13 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
