Playing for the Man at the Door: Field Recordings from Mack McCormick

August 7, 2023 1:27 PM

Playing for the Man at the Door: Field Recordings from the Collection of Mack McCormick, 1958–1971 I have not been this excited about a new collection of vintage blues and African-American music in years...And this is as good as it can get.

See also

Hellhounds on His Trail: Mack McCormick’s Long, Tortured Quest to Find the Real Robert Johnson (Archive) (Previously)

posted by y2karl (7 comments total)

The audio is available on Spotify and I’m listening to it now. Great collection!
posted by larrybob at 2:30 PM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]

This sounds incredible - thanks for sharing it, y2karl!

The Smithsonian website has the liner notes available for free on the webpage to which you linked (just the text - no photos). I'm a sucker for good liner notes so this is really cool!
posted by ElKevbo at 2:52 PM on August 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

It’s also available on YouTube Music. Amazing stuff!
posted by Kattullus at 2:57 PM on August 7, 2023

I heard this discussed on a public radio station the other day, then forgot to follow up on listening /reading more. Thanks for the reminder.

Also, I just had to Google the even earlier pioneer of field recording the blues, Alan Lomax. (Maybe he's mentioned in these materials, which I haven't read yet.)
posted by NorthernLite at 5:27 PM on August 7, 2023

Plenty of Alan Lomax recordings in the Internet Archive but like a lot of audio there, most isn't 'cleaned up' so kinda hard to listen to.
posted by Rash at 5:39 PM on August 7, 2023

Alan Lomax, for all his merits and demerits, will be forever famous to perpetual neophyte country blues guitar players like myself for recording William Brown's Ragged and Dirty, Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor and Mississippi Blues -- the last of which some call the Stairway to Heaven for said neophytes.

Previously
posted by y2karl at 7:53 AM on August 10, 2023

Thanks so much y2karl, you have exquisite taste as always.
posted by spitbull at 1:28 PM on August 11, 2023