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Author Topic: Charlie Spand's guitar player?  (Read 1011 times)

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Offline Pan

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Charlie Spand's guitar player?
« on: March 31, 2012, 05:18:05 PM »
I wonder if anyone has an idea who the guitar player in these two recordings might be? According to B&G they were recorded in Richmond, Indiana on  Saturday, 17 August 1929, and the guitar player is unknown. Blind Blake, of course, comes to mind, but somehow it doesn't sound like him to me.  Or could it be him?





Spand later recorded (probably !) with guitarist Little Son Joe, who's a complete mystery to me. Apparently he was married and played with Memphis Minnie.

I would assume this has been discussed some time in history. Does anyone happen to know?

Just curious, thanks

Pan

Offline Rivers

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Re: Charlie Spand's guitar player?
« Reply #1 on: March 31, 2012, 06:10:40 PM »
It sounds like Lonnie Johnson to me, I'd almost put money on it.

Offline Pan

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Re: Charlie Spand's guitar player?
« Reply #2 on: April 01, 2012, 03:00:50 AM »
It sounds like Lonnie Johnson to me, I'd almost put money on it.

Thanks Rivers. Those bends do sound Lonnie-ish.

Cheers

Pan

Offline blueshome

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Re: Charlie Spand's guitar player?
« Reply #3 on: April 01, 2012, 05:10:51 AM »
There is plenty of general information on Charlie by following the tag below.
These recordings were made for Paramount, I'm not aware that Lonnie Johnson was associated with Paramount at this time (although I stand to be corrected) so it would be unlikely to be him in their studio for this session.

Offline Prof Scratchy

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Re: Charlie Spand's guitar player?
« Reply #4 on: April 01, 2012, 05:23:27 AM »
I think Godrich and Dixon has Blind Blake on these tracks. But who knows for sure?

Offline JohnLeePimp

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Re: Charlie Spand's guitar player?
« Reply #5 on: April 01, 2012, 05:29:09 AM »
It's some advanced guitar playing but I dunno about it being Lonnie Johnson - he always left noticeable pauses when he was done playing some lick, this guy reminds me of Josh White or the guitar playing Quillian brother

Also I believe John Miller is our resident expert on Ernest Lawlers
...so blue I shade a part of this town.

Offline dj

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Re: Charlie Spand's guitar player?
« Reply #6 on: April 01, 2012, 06:45:02 AM »
Blake was certainly in the studio that day, and was accompanied by Spand on Hastings Street and Pop It Stomp.  I can't fins any indication that Josh White was in Richmond before September 6th 1929.  That doesn't mean, of course, that he wasn't there.

Online Johnm

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Re: Charlie Spand's guitar player?
« Reply #7 on: April 01, 2012, 06:59:35 AM »
Hi all,
I agree with John Lee that it sounds the most like either Josh White, whom I believe it to be, partially because the playing is in Vestapol, which he was an early master of, or, I think, Hoke Rice, who played lead guitar with the Rufus and Ben Quillian.  Josh White seems the most likely candidate.
All best,
Johnm

Offline Pan

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Re: Charlie Spand's guitar player?
« Reply #8 on: April 01, 2012, 08:39:56 AM »
Thanks everybody!

Cheers
Pan

Offline Prof Scratchy

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Re: Charlie Spand's guitar player?
« Reply #9 on: April 02, 2012, 02:29:50 AM »
http://ourblues.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/charlie-spand.pdf

The above article discusses the question of Spand's guitarist(s) on the 1929 sides.

Offline Pan

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Re: Charlie Spand's guitar player?
« Reply #10 on: April 02, 2012, 08:04:20 AM »
Thanks professor, that was an interesting read. 

Quote
?Blues And Gospel Records? lists Spand?s second recording session in
Richmond, Indiana on Saturday, 17th August, 1929, with an unknown guitarist
as accompanist on Spand?s recordings. It has been suggested in the liner
notes of Magpie PY4416 that ?Good Gal? is really a feature for the superb
guitarist, thought, according to Bob Hall and Richard Noblett, to be Josh White.
The same information appeared in Howard Rye?s liner notes for Document?s
DOCD-5108. When I asked Howard Rye why he included Josh White?s name,
he replied that ?Johnny Parth of Document Records had already incorporated
this into the discography and I thought I had better acknowledge it? (e-mail, 2nd
September, 2006).
In a recent communication between Bob Hall and Guido van Rijn (e-mail,
3rd September, 2006), Bob Hall comments: ?The guitarist on the session was
always believed to be Blind Blake on aural identification, but I see that the
latest edition (of Blues And Gospel Records) states ?unknown?. There must
be some reason for this change of heart, but I don?t know what it is. The four
Spand matrices (GE-15453 to GE-15456) appear in the middle of a long Blind
Blake session on the same day so Blake was certainly present in the studio
and to me it sounds like him, especially on ?Good Gal? (GE-15453). As for Josh
White, I know of no connection between him and Spand, and White?s only
known Paramount session was a month later (with the Carver Boys)?.

Based on what we hear and what Johnm said about the tuning and guitar playing my vote goes for Josh White.

On a side note, the article also suggests that instead of Blind Blake, the guitarist for Spand's first session in June 6, 1929, on which two songs were recorded, "Soon This Morning" and "Fetch Your Water", could have been Freezone, who was also being recorded the same day. I don't have access to the two songs in question, but here's this only known recording of him, "Indian Squaw Blues". To my ears he doesn't sound anything like Blake.



Cheers

Pan

 


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