"an intricate guitarist, an astute songwriter and a stylistic innovator"

November 8, 2018 4:01 AM

Memphis Minnie — Guitar Queen, Hoodoo Lady and Songster is a site by guitarist Del Rey dedicated to blues musician Memphis Minnie. It has a biography, telling her story from her birth as Elizabeth "Kid" Douglas in 1897. It also includes an appreciative review from 1942 by Langston Hughes. Memphis Minnie recorded over 200 songs, most of whom are available on Spotify and other streaming services, but Del Rey curated a list of 28 songs on the website, and made a DVD tutorial on how to play the guitar like Memphis Minnie. She passed away in 1973, shortly after Led Zeppelin reworked one of her early recordings with Kansas Joe McCoy, When the Levee Breaks. Other well known songs by her include Me and My Chauffeur Blues, Hoodoo Lady Blues and Bumblebee.
posted by Kattullus (4 comments total)

Del Ray and Suzy Thompson are two modern interpreters of Mephis Minnie's songs. Both artists have lots of CDs available for sale on their websites.
posted by blob at 6:29 AM on November 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

That Hughes review is quite a thing!
posted by tavella at 8:27 AM on November 8, 2018 [4 favorites]

Just heard a radio spot about her on WKNO. Her tombstone was paid for by Bonnie Raitt.
posted by nestor_makhno at 12:14 PM on November 8, 2018 [2 favorites]

The 1st Jefferson Airplane LP (the one before Grace Slick) has a good version of Chauffeur Blues. I’ve heard that both the Beatles, “Drive My Car” and Peter Gabriel, “Sledgehammer” were both inspired by the cars=sex metaphors in the song.
posted by jonp72 at 5:45 AM on November 9, 2018 [1 favorite]