I never had a man, black or white, kiss me dead on the mouth before, but that's what he done. He say 'Lord, man, you done 100 percent. I've been on this job 35 years and I never seen a man do what you done in 2 days' - Bukka White, on Lester Melrose's reaction to his having written 12 new songs, Chicago, March 1940
Hi all, I agree, "Fast and Funky" is a great album, but I wouldn't consider Larry Johnson a revivalist. He was born in the late '30s, and is an older man than either Robert Belfour or Precious Bryant, both of whom have died before him and neither of whom would be described as revivalists. Larry grew up in Georgia, heard blues around him in his early years and first learned from musicians of his own acquaintance, I think. I think Larry is at the very tail end of the East Coast Blues tradition, but came up in it more or less the way many of his predecessors did. I see a real break between him and most present-day revivalist players, who more often than not, have learned primarily from recorded sources rather than from older friends and neighbors. All best, Johnm
Thank you John, I thought Larry was a late bloomer er something, might be thinking of someone else. He was in a particularly inspired mode when he made this record. I haven't heard everything he's done but F&F is as good as I've heard of him. As an aside, I love how he pretty much has no endings worked out for many of the tunes on the record! They kinda just fall apart at the end. I tend to do the same thing, it's really fun & interesting to leave certain parts of tunes unplanned & try to dig yourself outta holes
"Fast & Funky" is a great album, but don't overlook "Country Blues" ("Midnight Hour Blues") that was recorded about a year later. It's available for around $10-$12.
I agree with John--Larry was and is in the continuum.
Larry was one of Gary Davis' few Black students as well. There is an LP of material recorded by Bobby Robinson (he actually issued a single in the mid 60s! on the Blue Soul label), much of it released by Blue Horizon. They also recorded him in 1969, unreleased so far. His first recordings were with guitarist Hank Adkins for Prestige Records in 1965. Since then, at least one album for Armadillo in the UK.
At least the person on the cover of L-1024 looks roughly as though he knows how to hold a guitar (even if the chord he is fretting looks a bit suss). My favorite of this type of cover shot is the cover of Yazoo L-1026, Bottleneck Guitar Classics, which shows a man purportedly playing a Style 0 National in lap position. Only problem ... he's picking behind the bridge.
Hi all, Larry's first recordings were on Prestige Bluesville, and they were as a harmonica player, backing Big Joe Williams and Alec Seward on two different releases. All best, Johnm
Well, my day is made. I received a record collection from a friend who is downsizing and in it was a copy of the LP Fast And Funky on Blue Goose from 1971 by Larry Johnson. This is a very hard record to locate and is kind of holy grail material for Piedmont Blues aficionados. The guy sure had the feel and knew his way around the acoustic Piedmont style. A better album I could not recommend. It is too bad that it is not more widely available. It is a classic for all times.
I'm glad you were able to get a copy, Lightnin'. It's been one of my favorites for decades. I picked up the LP soon after it was released and bought a copy of the CD from the Baltimore Blues Society in the late 1990s. I spoke with a fellow from the BBS on the phone and he told me that although they had a pretty good relationship with Larry, securing the rights to the album took some work. Like many of the Blue Goose releases, it's a such a great record. I hope that someone will secure the rights to the album and make it available. It's music at its best, IMHO.
« Last Edit: August 05, 2020, 05:43:04 PM by Stuart »