WeenieCampbell.com
Country Blues => Super Electrical Recordings! => Topic started by: Pan on May 25, 2011, 06:03:37 AM
-
Steve McBill just posted this on the Woodshed:
http://www.artscenterofcc.com/recordstore/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=128&osCsid=gsc59omsookk83dkim9uqc08g4
Apparently these were the first recordings done after the original 1928 ones.
Cheers
Pan
-
Here's the description from the website. It's a little bit vague. Are they saying these are recordings made by Hoskins at Hurt's home in Mississippi upon rediscovery?
Spring Fed Records is proud to announce the upcoming September release of Discovery: The Rebirth of Mississippi John Hurt. This is a Pre-sale to be shipped on September 13, 2011 On a fateful day in 1963 guitarist, blues fanatic, and professional roamer Thomas Hoskins rapped on the door of a small house in rural Mississippi. It was the end of a long, twisted road and the beginning of a new road for the two men involved - Hoskins and Mississippi John Hurt. His love of blues music and respect for its players, his unincumbered sense of adventure, his manic dedication, his discovery of songs printed on 78 RPM discs from 1928, and his romantic attachment to travel led Tom Hoskins to Hurt's front stoop in Avalon, Mississippi in 1963. He found an amiable, humble man, who farmed to make a living. Hurt was surrounded by family, hadn't owned a guitar in years, and was amazed that a young white man had sought him out almost 35 years after his last recording sessions. Hoskins put his guitar in Hurt's hands, ran his tape recorder, and recorded a great player and singer in the comfort of his own home. Keep checking back to Spring Fed Records for more information concerning this never before published historic recording.
[emphasis added]
-
Timely release given the pending publication of the biography.
-
Indeed, these are the recordings Hoskins made on March 3, 1963 in Hurt's living room.
And they're timely (with Ratcliffe's book) because Phil turned the tape up in the course of his research for the book.
I'm co-producing the CD with Phil and Evan Hatch (of the Arts Center of Cannon County) with the co-operation of the Hurt and Hoskins estates.
Lots of 1st versions of tunes not recorded for OKeh. A long interview (16 min. +) and chit-chat before and after the songs. 19 tracks.
best,
bruce
-
Hopefully Hoskins kept his mouth shut while Hurt was singing. Many a recording has been ruined by musicologists and folklorists (or whatever they like to call themselves) and their pals who talk over (and sometimes even try to sing along or play with) these blues legends. The worst offender is that white guy who trys to play harmonica with Honey Boy Edwards. He simply ruined the concert when I saw him a few years ago at BB King's.
-
Excellent news, Bruce. Looking forward to it.
-
Tom Hoskins was neither a folklorist nor a musicologist ;)
bruce
-
That's wonderful that you were able to take part in this project, Bruce. I look forward to hearing the music.
All best,
Johnm
-
and btw, misterjones, that white guy with Honeyboy is his manager/booking agent and keeps Edwards working (and eating). Kind of a mixed blessing, I guess.
Best
bruce
P.S. Administrators--I've been trying to figure out how to post the cover image of the CD; a really nice previously unseen shot of John. Seems to be beyond my extremely limited skills.
-
When Hoskins recorded him, how long had it been since Hurt played?
-
You'll need to get Phil's book for the details, but Hurt had been playing all along---house parties, local gatherings, on the porch of the Valley Store, even on the radio when his church had a broadcast....he just didn't own a guitar when Tom "found" him. He's playing Tom's Gibson J-35 on the tape and his playing doesn't sound rusty.
best,
bruce
can anybody tell me how to insert a photo in these posts?
-
Bruce, when you post, after typing your text in the white text box, there is a clickable icon at the bottom left that says "Additional Options". Click that and you should see it expand to show the Attach field. Next to the Attach field is a Browse button. Click that and navigate to wherever the image file is stored on your computer, then doubleclick the file. That should add the filename to the Attach field. Then click Post as usual and your file should be attached to the message.
-
Ta, muchly Unca Bud
here it is
-
No problem, Bruce. Great photo.
In defense of folklorists and musicologists, they've given us a huge amount of music that would have disappeared completely if they hadn't been there to press the record button or drop the needle and occasionally ask what seem today to be odd, impertinent or the wrong questions. I'd cut them some slack and enjoy what they've captured.
-
and btw, misterjones, that white guy with Honeyboy is his manager/booking agent and keeps Edwards working (and eating). Kind of a mixed blessing, I guess.
Best
bruce
P.S. Administrators--I've been trying to figure out how to post the cover image of the CD; a really nice previously unseen shot of John. Seems to be beyond my extremely limited skills.
I understand that. That doesn't excuse his ego in insisting on performing with the last of the pre-war bluesmen or his astonishing lack of talent. I also understand the importance of (say)Leadbelly's last session and the foresight displayed by someone in getting the dying legend to record on that newfangled magnetic tape. But that doesn't excuse the gathered elite singing along and people talking about lord knows what in the background while Leadbelly was singing. I can cut some slack for John Lomax for some of his less than stellar interactions with Leadbelly, McTell, etc. because (unlike his son) I don't think he knew any better. But I cannot abide recorders ruining recordings by talking over a performance.
-
and btw, misterjones, that white guy with Honeyboy is his manager/booking agent and keeps Edwards working (and eating). Kind of a mixed blessing, I guess.
Best
bruce
P.S. Administrators--I've been trying to figure out how to post the cover image of the CD; a really nice previously unseen shot of John. Seems to be beyond my extremely limited skills.
I understand that. That doesn't excuse his ego in insisting on performing with the last of the pre-war bluesmen or his astonishing lack of talent. I also understand the importance of (say)Leadbelly's last session and the foresight displayed by someone in getting the dying legend to record on that newfangled magnetic tape. But that doesn't excuse the gathered elite singing along and people talking about lord knows what in the background while Leadbelly was singing. I can cut some slack for John Lomax for some of his less than stellar interactions with Leadbelly, McTell, etc. because (unlike his son) I don't think he knew any better. But I cannot abide recorders ruining recordings by talking over a performance.
I think you are expecting reverent studio recordings from what are mostly field recordings. Some talking, often loud talking, gets done when a bunch of people are hanging out and playing music at home or some gathering and happen to be recording it. We're eavesdropping on those situations. In the case of Leadbelly, I guess they could have left some of that more "social" material off and only released the music that had no intrusions, but I'm sure glad they didn't.
I also think Honeyboy generally needs some support on stage and is likely glad to have it.
-
There's an interesting little essay on Hoskins here: http://www.bluesworld.com/Fang.html
Tom Hoskins was neither a folklorist nor a musicologist ;)
bruce
-
I saw it, I ordered it a couple of weeks ago. I can't have too much Uncle John.
-
I think you are expecting reverent studio recordings from what are mostly field recordings. Some talking, often loud talking, gets done when a bunch of people are hanging out and playing music at home or some gathering and happen to be recording it. We're eavesdropping on those situations. In the case of Leadbelly, I guess they could have left some of that more "social" material off and only released the music that had no intrusions, but I'm sure glad they didn't.
I also think Honeyboy generally needs some support on stage and is likely glad to have it.
I LOVE informal recording and demos. I prefer them to the polished studio releases. I think Leadbelly's LOC recordings are superior to his official studio recordings. I could list many more examples. Bob Dylan was recorded informally many times in the 1960s. But those who recorded him (and those present at the time) had the decency to keep their mouths shut while he was playing. Sure, there was some between-song talk - nothing wrong with that - but they allowed him to perform uninterrupted. I prefer it that way, but I guess the consensus here is (for example) that Stefan Grossman's chatter on Davis' "I Am a True Vine" is a good thing. We'll have to agree to disagree on that.
I saw Honeyboy a couple of years ago, and I don't think he needed any support on stage. We'll have to agree to disagree on that, as well.
-
I am delighted to report that the biography is now out, nearly 2 months ahead of schedule. Amazon shipped my copy yesterday, and I received it today.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1617030082/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thebesselofboocd
-
I popped on the UK Amazon with a view to ordering my copy. Its priced at over ?30- which is currently about $50. So I didn't order I'm afraid.
US Amazon is $23...
A real shame- but I suspect those of us in the UK who are interested, may be better off ordering from the US and paying the shipping.
-
I popped on the UK Amazon with a view to ordering my copy. Its priced at over ?30- which is currently about $50. So I didn't order I'm afraid.
I'm too experienced the same shock and took similar non action. Hopefully by the time it is published in UK (September) it might have come down in price due to folk like us voting with our feet.
US Amazon is $23...
A real shame- but I suspect those of us in the UK who are interested, may be better off ordering from the US and paying the shipping.
Hmm on the one occasion I attempted to do this on Amazon US in past after a few days later I was emailed that due to pending UK publication they could not fulfil my order and cancelled it. But that was some years ago.......
-
I turned away from Amazon both US and UK some time ago because of their sloppy packaging for some of my shipments. I have tried different vendors after that and in my opinion Book Depository is the best. Free shipping, fast delivery, real service and they've the John Hurt bio as well:
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Mississippi-John-Hurt-Philip-Ratcliffe/9781617030086
-
How many times have you heard the story of a young white country blues fan driving from Washington D.C. to central Mississippi to find a musicianer who last recorded in New York City in 1928? The ?Discovery? CD is a recording of that fan meeting the object of his search for the first time. It showed up in my mailbox two days ago, and it?s great!
It starts with Mississippi John Hurt playing ?Cow Hookin? Blues?; track #2 is a 16-minute interview. It took a minute or two for the light bulb to go on over my head that I was listening to a major event in country blues history?Tom Hoskins interviewing John Smith Hurt in Avalon, 1963. Jessie Hurt is sitting next to her husband, helping him remember details and dates. Grandkids are sitting nearby, other family members come and go. Roosters are crowing, especially during ?Got the Blues.? John?s warmth comes through clearly throughout the entire CD, just as you would expect.
I especially like listening to the religious numbers, ?Do Lord, Remember Me,? ?Take My Hand,? ?Waiting for You,? ?Preaching on the Old Campground/Glory Glory.? Jessie sings along with John (there are other voices, too), and after each song they all share a good laugh, enjoying the simple pleasure of singing a song together in the front room of their home, except that a young white fan of the country blues just happens to have a portable tape recorder to capture the moment.
Two minutes into ?Pallet on the Floor,? John and Jessie and others burst out laughing, I can?t tell what over (maybe one of the grandkids dancing to the song?), but it sounds like they?re close to falling off their chairs they?re laughing so hard, the joy lasts throughout the song. More roosters during ?Spike Drivers? and ?Louis Collins.? John says it?s getting close to feeding time for the cows he takes care of for his boss.
Wow, it?s the first time for ?Casey Jones,? ?Coffee Blues,? ?Mermaids,? ?Richland Woman,? ?Ain?t Nobody But You? to ever be recorded (or if they were recorded in 1928, they never made it to disc). The reel-to-reel recordings have survived 50-plus years in storage in great shape; in the booklet there?s a photo of the kind of portable tape recorder that Hoskins likely used. There are a couple of photos of John in Avalon I hadn?t seen before, and many photos that we?re already familiar with.
You can visit the Arts Center of Cannon County website at www.artscenterofcc.com for the full set list.
Many many thanks to those who put this CD together, it?s a wonderful historical document. Bruce, please pass on our collective appreciation to your fellow producers.
Lindy
-
Received mine last week--Highly recommended! Same goes for the book.
-
Lindy and Stuart,
Thanks for the good words. Indeed, the laughter during Pallet is the grandkids cutting up and dancing to the music.
I'm partial to the antiphonal singing of the gospel tunes as well.
My buddy Jack Pearson---a fabulous musician as well as ProTools wizard (listen to him on Spring Fed Records' gospel CD I'm Believin' where he does some sublime slide work as well as playing a very advanced O Glory How Happy I Am)---spent a lot of hours working on the 48 year old tape sound. A few artifacts remain, but you shoulda heard the source recording!
All-in-all a very pleasant project to be part of....me, I love the booklet's graphics. Props to Sharisse Steber and Evan Hatch for a beautiful package.
best,
bruce
-
I just noticed this thread a few days ago and immediately ordered a copy. Got it today and all I can say is wowwwwwwwwwwwww!! I've always loved John Hurt and he was a major inspiration in my blues guitar development, as he was to so many others. To feel present at the moment of his rediscovery...words fail me. To anyone with an interest in this type of music it is simply a "must-have" item. Thanks so much Bruce and everyone involved in making this available.
-
After listening to it for the last week or so, I realize that I've been using the wrong standard all of my life when listening to music. Now everything else sounds too clean and polished! Gotta get a rooster...
-
I was SO excited to hear this recording was available. I am a huge John Hurt fan (I include some of his songs in my repertoire, and I'm on the board of the Hurt Foundation). This is like the Holy Grail. I am awestruck and sublimely grateful to Phil Ratcliffe, Bruce Nemerov and everyone else involved, for first of all, finding this recording, and then making the effort to turn it into a CD available to the general public.
However, there are some things that bother me about the CD, and it has not become a favorite of mine, much to my own surprise. I still recommend that you all buy it and hear it -- it is just an amazing document and I hope the people who made it at least break even on the project. But I want to reopen this discussion and hear from others who have listened to it.
The guitar is capoed up four frets. The liner notes speculate that this was to help Hurt sing because he had a cold. But it seems to me that if anything that would make it more difficult to sing with a cold. My guess is that the guitar, which Hoskins was lending Hurt, happened to have the capo there, and Hurt chose not to mess with the man's guitar. He left it where it made it more difficult for him to sing and possibly also to play.
Which brings us to the most troubling aspect...Hoskins was 22 and Hurt is in his early 70s, yet Hurt calls Hoskins "sir" and Hoskins calls Hurt "John" throughout! My, what a different session this might have been had Hoskins just tried calling the older man, an idol of his, "Mr. Hurt." And asked Hurt to call him "Tom." I think the way they address each other colors the entire program. Hurt is not comfortable, this is not a group of friends and family having fun with a newcomer present. It is a strange, unequal and unwilling meeting. Again, I know it is a part of its time, it is something that happened, I appreciate hearing it, it's too late to ask anyone to change the way they addressed each other there. But this factor dominates the proceedings and affects the music, I believe. Most of the music is not at the high standards we expect from Hurt. And this certainly does not show that it took studio wizardry to make him sound good. There are many, many live recordings of Hurt, and they are almost always topnotch. I promise to listen to this one some more, and maybe it will grow on me.
And a telling exchange comes at the end, when Hurt talks about "feeding time" and there are a few chuckles as Hoskins says he'll end the session so Hurt can get to his job of feeding his boss' cattle. Despite the chuckles this is no joke. Hurt may have been torn between getting in trouble with his boss who needs him to work or getting in trouble with this mysterious visitor who wants to hear him play. That conflict may have been on his mind for awhile and, again, may have influenced the music.
OK, those are some of my initial reactions to the CD. Again, please don't attack! I am not criticizing anyone involved with this (except possibly Hoskins); I love the project and am delighted to get to hear and own the recoding; just commenting on the goings-on inside the little Avalon house that day (that we fortunately get to spy on as if through a keyhole) and asking others what they think of it after listening. Thanks. Cheers, SC
-
Your observations and your discomfort are all valid.
At the same time, this was Mississippi, 1963, with all that entails. And Hoskins was just a kid who may not have been as "respectful" to elders (black or white) as we sometimes might wish, even today. I'll choose to cut Hoskins some slack, while acknowledging we wish he'd handled some of these things more politely, more sensitively.
I haven't yet ordered or heard the CD, though I intend to.
But it is what it is, just as there are many of us who grow uncomfortable listening to Alan Lomax interview Blind Willie McTell in 1941 when he presses Willie about "hard times" songs.
-
Chezz -
You jump to 21st Century politically correct conclusions way too fast, without knowing the relationship verities if the South in those days. Willie Trice always referred to me as "Mr. Pete" (and Bastin as "Mr. Bruce"). This was the loosest he could go with White people - and we were friends to the end. We tried to "break" him of that, but to no avail - I knew him for almost a decade. You had to have been there, mate!
pbl
-
Fast forward a year or so.
I have a John Hurt CD on Edsel (CD446) where Pete Seeger interviews Hurt. I haven't played it in a while so I could be wrong but I think Seeger says "Call me Pete" but I don't think Hurt does.
Throughout Seeger attempts friendliness (I'm sure quite genuinely) but Hurt is clearly uneasy.
That's what 70 years of Southern living no doubt did.
-
I think Tom Rushen has it spot on.
It is of its time, and with that hindsight some of it is embarrassing and uncomfortable to hear. I agree that it creates a certain discomfort and tension in listening to the recording.
Very hard to blame those involved though, as the way in which they conducted themselves was also very much a product of the time and place.
One has to look at it as a fascinating historical document, a musical treasure trove, and a nagging reminder of just how recently things were very different.
-
Chezz -
You jump to 21st Century politically correct conclusions way too fast, without knowing the relationship verities if the South in those days. Willie Trice always referred to me as "Mr. Pete" (and Bastin as "Mr. Bruce"). This was the loosest he could go with White people - and we were friends to the end. We tried to "break" him of that, but to no avail - I knew him for almost a decade. You had to have been there, mate!
pbl
I had a similar experience doing my book on the Pilgrim Jubilees. I interviewed all members of the group many times over several weeks, but the one I had the most contact with was lead singer and manager Clay Graham, and we built up quite a close rapport. Yet he almost always called me "Mr Alan" ... even when we were having a beer. I finally made some progress by telling him that every time he called me "Mr Alan" I'd call him "Mr Clay" ... and then doing it. But he didn't ever completely drop it.
PS: Gidday Pete, fancy seeing you here....
Al Y
-
Well, downloading the entire album at once is only 8 or 9 Euro on amazon.de, the CD itself being something like 21 or 22 here. It?s not bad at all. I?m looking forward to doing it when I?m off from work.
-
I, too, was uncomfortable, back in the mid 1960s, talking to southern African-Americans, such as Mississippi John, Mance Lipscomb, and Elizabeth Cotten. I tried to get them to call me by my first name, but to no avail -- I was "Mr. Lofgren" and Liz was "Miz Lofgren." Since then, I've realized that it was a protective mechanism -- they were continuing a practice that they HAD to follow in the South, and if you change your behavior during a weekend spent in the North, you run the risk of forgetting your "manners" when you get back home.
Musicians who lived outside of the south, such as Rev. Gary Davis and Jesse Fuller, were much less likely to use the "Mr." appellation.
I may have posted this before, but there's some sonic mementos that I find interesting from Hurt, Davis and Cotten at http://www.lizlyle.lofgrens.org/BrnSnift/SonicAlbum.html .
Lyle
-
Just ordered it on Amazon uk for ?9.35.
-
That Mississippi John Hurt w/ Bessie Jones & Georgia Sea Island Singers is fabulous!!
--Peter
I may have posted this before, but there's some sonic mementos that I find interesting from Hurt, Davis and Cotten at http://www.lizlyle.lofgrens.org/BrnSnift/SonicAlbum.html .
Lyle
-
I had a similar experience doing my book on the Pilgrim Jubilees. I interviewed all members of the group many times over several weeks, but the one I had the most contact with was lead singer and manager Clay Graham, and we built up quite a close rapport. Yet he almost always called me "Mr Alan" ... even when we were having a beer. I finally made some progress by telling him that every time he called me "Mr Alan" I'd call him "Mr Clay" ... and then doing it. But he didn't ever completely drop it.
I left out what was probably the main point I was going to make ... that this didn't happened in the 1960s; it was only 11 years ago.
Al Y
-
This is slightly off-topic but -- I remember, about 30 years ago, we were in southwest Louisiana and we took the fiddler Lionel Leleux over to near Lake Charles to visit his friend Varise Conner. Both men were in their 80s. Even though they had known each other for at least 60 years, they still referred to each other as "Mr. Conner" and "Mr. Leleux." And just a few weeks ago, in that part of the country again, we visited "Mr. Milton", the 93 year old fiddler Milton Vanicor -- who played on many of Iry LeJeune's historic recordings. It's the closest thing we have to a time machine, to hang out with people who were witnesses and participants in this amazing regional music of a time that's gone forever (as every time is, I suppose.) He brought out a ladderback chair upon which rested the backsides of Iry LeJeune and Amede Ardoin (not at the same time) and I got to play music in it too!!!
-
So, Suzy -- did sitting in that chair affect your music in any way? If so, how? Were you playing fiddle or accordion? I need to know these things.
Lyle
-
I don't know yet - I was playing accordion. I'm hoping that some of the Iry LeJeune/Amede Ardoin juju seeped in.
Here's a photo of Mr. Milton, also one of a replica of his first fiddle (with the Prince Albert can) and his most recent fiddle, which he constructed and it sounds fantastic plugged into his little amp, really sounds like a fiddle (NOT like an electric fiddle).
[attachment deleted by admin]
-
Just got home today to see Chezz' comments.
On the tape (but not the CD, unfortunately) there are long sections of MJH tuning and "noodling." Tom suggests John take the capo off but John, by his response, clearly wants it there. He's not being deferential to the White Man---it's a musical decision.
I also recall (Phil can verify this; check the biography. I think it's in there) that Tom left his guitar with John the night before the taping. I'm sure he put the Gibson through its paces in privacy.
As for the cold/capo thing: If you listen to MJH hacking and coughing (the few places we didn't/couldn't edit it out), it's pretty clear he's got bad chest congestion. Much harder to sing down in one's range without triggering a spasm. Had John a head-cold, Chezz, I'd agree with you, but his speaking voice is normal and he ain't sniffling.
The black/white thing in the South is very complicated....I can't add anything to Al and Lyle and Peter B.
best,
Bruce
-
In the Pete Seeger interview referred to by Tony above, Seeger says something like "John -- can I call you John? You can call me Pete." The words sound innocent enough, but in the context others have already described in detail, it seems clear to me Seeger's words are deliberate and political. The subtext is "we are equal and should treat each other as such" but all of Hurt's 70-plus years would resist slipping into that kind of discourse. It's an interesting moment, and I agree with Tony that Hurt never sounds entirely comfortable.
I think to expect the same kind awareness and calm sensitivity that the veteran activist Seeger demonstrates from a 22-year-old dreamer who has found himself in Avalon, Mississippi, a town that doesn't appear on contemporary maps, and has just rediscovered a bluesman who until that point has been only a legend and a distant voice on some 78s, is probably asking too much. If he was a civil rights activist going down south with another agenda, that would be rather different. I can only imagine the experience in Avalon being surreal and overwhelming. Being called Sir or Mister would likely be low on his list of things to process from that encounter.
There are other examples of uncomfortable interview recordings of blues musicians. Seems to me those where the interview subject sounds comfortable are rare! Leadbelly is relaxed and using given names on the Last Sessions recordings, but he's still a little cautious about what he says at times -- maybe that's for Martha's benefit. There's even awkward interaction found in northern whites interviewing southern whites.
-
I've had the CD for a few weeks but only got round to playing it last night. I somehow didn't really want to.
Having done so, part of me wishes it didn't exist - I certainly won't play it often.
Musically Hurt is obviously unprepared and unpracticed. The encounter must have been strange on both sides and the impression I get is of Hoskins trying (too?) hard and Hurt being as uncommunicative as he could get away with without upsetting Hoskins. His wife is much more willing to engage. At times things loosen up but I'm guessing that's when Hurt gets back into a groove of playing with his family and forgets the strange white presence that's manifested itself at his door.
The encounter had a happy ending certainly for us and hopefully for Hurt but his discomfort is palpable and Hoskins seems like an alien from another world whose apparent benign intent could, for Hurt, be hiding something much more sinister.
-
In Bob Tilling's book, Rev. Davis is quoted as saying that when they asked for tobacco at the store they asked for Mr. Prince Albert.
On his last CD, Dave Van Ronk recalls talking with John Hurt about Hoskins, and how things ended badly and Mr. Hurt said that if it wasn't for Hoskins, he (MJH) would still be picking cotton.
Thanks to all for giving us this incredible piece of history.
Mike (not Mr.)
-
The encounter must have been strange on both sides and the impression I get is of Hoskins trying (too?) hard and Hurt being as uncommunicative as he could get away with without upsetting Hoskins.
Not surprising, considering that Hurt thought Hoskins was probably an FBI agent. The other night, we saw a documentary, "Cointelpro: The FBI's War on Black America." Evidently, Hurt was right to be circumspect.
Lyle
-
In Bob Tilling's book, Rev. Davis is quoted as saying that when they asked for tobacco at the store they asked for Mr. Prince Albert.
In 1947 Sib, Natchez and Leroy (John Lee Williamson, Broonzy and Memphis Slim) have a laugh about this very topic on the 1957 Blues In The Mississippi Night LP. I think this may have been reprinted in Lomax's Land Where The Blues Began.
-
South, North, East, West, I never got the thing of calling these older men by their first names. Calling REVEREND Davis, Gary? That was so jarring, so wrong sounding to my ear. Did these kids actually consider themselves his equal? Just bad manners anyway you cut it, across racial boundaries or not. Respect for age is one of the bedrocks of civilization and now that I'm nearing the big 60 I promise to kick the living shit out of any piss ant who doesn't address me as Mr. or Sir! Kicking the shit outta piss ants another bedrock of civilization! ;)
-
ok, Mister Sir Mr. O'Muck!
Mike
-
Young Muck, as your elder you'd better call me Mister then.
-
OK Mr Richard sir!
-
Bruce -- Thanks for clearing up the capo question. My interpretation was incorrect; the one in the CD notes apparently is correct, that Hurt chose to place the capo there to help him sing through his cold.
TonyGilroy -- Thanks for confirming that you had similar feelings to mine (uncomfortable) upon listening to the CD.
Others who responded -- Thanks for discussing this difficult subject. I lived for many years in the Deep South and hung out with (and played with and sometimes interviewed) musicians and others of all social strata, so I am not speaking as a naive outsider when I say the relationship between the two men on this CD makes me uncomfortable. Regardless of whether Hurt was asked (or willing) to call his young visitor by his first name, the visitor still could have called his host "Mr. Hurt." I still believe that would have made a world of difference in the whole interaction and in the music.
Oh, and a correction: someone referred to Alan Lomax's interview with Willie McTell provoking similar discomfort in listeners. Actually it is JOHN Lomax who did that interview with McTell.
Cheers, SC
-
Just another perspective that might be worth considering. 1963 was pretty early to be disrespecting our elders, but what do I know, I was only 11 at the time and 2000 miles to the east. It was routine by the time I was 17, there was a revolution going on. Long live the revolution.
Add to that the complexities of racial interaction (which thankfully I'm mostly free from) and you might conclude it was pretty ballsy of the interviewer to not play those.. I hesitate to say the word... games.
I guess it comes down to asking how far can you go with breaking down useless social conventions before it becomes counter productive?
As I say, just another angle.