One fine old day in old LA, in the year of nineteen and sixty, one Frederick Usher met
Eddie "One String" Jones, heard him lay down some deep blues on his
diddley bow, and was so taken with Jones'
monochord masterpieces that he ran home, grabbed his tape recorder and recorded Jones in the alley. One other recording session ensued soon thereafter, which was
released as an LP in 1964. By that time, however, the mysterious Eddie Jones (if that was even his real name) was long gone, and was never heard from again.
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posted by flapjax at midnite
on May 24, 2008 -
22 comments
For lovers of old-time, mountain banjo styles and songs,
Roscoe Holcomb and
Dock Boggs are revered figures. To many, however, plucker and singer
David Akeman remains uncelebrated or unknown, even by his stage name of
Stringbean. Is it because he
was for a time actually
famous as a
country music showbiz staple, and therefore lacks
folk cred? Or maybe the purists just can't get with those
low-hanging pants the man was known for, his original
hillbilly homeboy styling? Or was it cause on any given tune his
left hand would likely be
off the neck of the banjo more than on it? Whatever the reason, it's time folks took a new look at Stringbean. After all, the lines between
folk and commercial styles have
always been blurry in American music. Let's hear it for
Stringbeeeeeeeaaan! [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Oct 17, 2007 -
15 comments
