Topic: Mississippi Sheiks, Walter Vinson and Bo Carter ? March 1934

[frankie]

I have the two 78s made by the Sheiks onTuesday March 27 and it is definitely Walter singing on "Pop Skull Blues" and "Lonesome Grave, etc". I do not hear anything but Walter on his tri cone National and Lonnie on fiddle and it is one of the best of all Sheiks sides.  It is pitched at the E position so I think he is capoed at the second fret and playing out of the D position.

Totally agreed on who's singing and the position for Pop Skull, but the fiddle is also in D, so either they're tuned sharp, or the playback is a little fast (or both) - ain't no capo on the fiddle, that's for sure, and in general, the Sheiks appear to have ALWAYS played the guitar and fiddle in the same key (no retuning or capos for the main guitar, except for stuff like dropped-D or Bo's G-tuning).

She's Gone To Her Lonesome Grave is 100% pure E-flat, though - guitar and fiddle.

[frankie]

no doubt if he had been in good health he could have brought out some of his more old-timey material.

There was probably a lot of old-time stuff floating around in his brain... probably a lot more than he recorded in his commercial recording career...  pity we'll never know.

[uncle bud]

Not gonna check right now, but I do recall talk around here of Oliver having made some recordings of Bo when he interviewed him and that the results were sad. Though I would still be very curious. Did Oliver play them for some of our British friends? Mind is a blank. Those photographs were taken by Oliver as well.

[Bunker Hill]

I think Paul Oliver interviewed him in the 1960s. I gather he was blind and in bad health.

Yes on both counts. There's that iconic photo in both editions of Conversation (1965 & 1997) that Paul took of Carter seated holding a National supported upright on his left leg. The caption reads:

I Used To Play For Doctors. Once a medicine show guitarist, Bo Cater is now sick and blind, scarcely able to play his old National steel guitar.

[Bunker Hill]

Silly me, this has been a topic of discussion previously and said photo can be viewed here.

http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?amp;Itemid=60&topic=4444.0

That'll teach me to rush into print before checking out the TAGs. 

[JohnLeePimp]

Silly me, this has been a topic of discussion previously and said photo can be viewed here.

http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?amp;Itemid=60&topic=4444.0

That'll teach me to rush into print before checking out the TAGs. 

Anytime I try tags/links/search functions I get " You are not authorized to view this resource.
You need to login. "

...don't you hate it when computers are prejudiced against you

[Stumblin]

...don't you hate it when computers are prejudiced against you

I know this feeling only too well.
Some sort of support/activist network might grow out of this. This is only the beginning.
Brothers and sisters, let us take no more of this kind of crap from inanimate matter that we bought and f*cking well paid for. The sodding computer is not and never will be the boss of me.

[uncle bud]

Silly me, this has been a topic of discussion previously and said photo can be viewed here.

http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?amp;Itemid=60&topic=4444.0

That'll teach me to rush into print before checking out the TAGs.  

Anytime I try tags/links/search functions I get " You are not authorized to view this resource.
You need to login. "

...don't you hate it when computers are prejudiced against you

JohnLee, does this happen when you are in fact logged into Weenie? I've seen this message but only when I'm not logged in. And I can Search when not logged in, just the tags that I can't view unless logged in. If you get a moment to check, we might be able to investigate further.

Stumblin', good luck with that. 

[TallahatchieTrot]

I pull3ed out my copy of Sales Tax/Sweet Maggie on Bluebird and on Sales Tax it is BO singing solo 

[Stumblin]

I pull3ed out my copy of Sales Tax/Sweet Maggie on Bluebird and on Sales Tax it is BO singing solo 

That's also what it says in Godrich & Dixon. (Revised ed. 1969; p.504)
Perhaps Walter was in the studio with them, as he is clearly implicated in the opening spoken satirical sketch at the beginning of Sales Tax. I'd always assumed from the introduction that it was Walter singing. I'll have to give it another listen.

[uncle bud]

Bo singing lead, but Walter singing harmony in the chorus, plus there's two guitars.

[frankie]

Bo singing lead, but Walter singing harmony in the chorus, plus there's two guitars.

Agreed.  Not to mention that Walter figures prominently in the elaborate theatrical interlude.

[Slack]

Silly me, this has been a topic of discussion previously and said photo can be viewed here.

http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?amp;Itemid=60&topic=4444.0

That'll teach me to rush into print before checking out the TAGs.  

Anytime I try tags/links/search functions I get " You are not authorized to view this resource.
You need to login. "

...don't you hate it when computers are prejudiced against you

JohnLee, try logging out and then log back in.  If you have a problem still, send me a PM.

[blueshome]

Re the Bo recordings by Paul Oliver from 1960. These have never been released because of their poor quality, Bo is in very poor shape and they do him no favours. We got a chance to hear some back in EBA Bluesweek in 2000 or 2001. They were recognisably Bo in both singing and playing, but were very sad in showing the decline of this great performer. Paul was 100% right to hold them back. I presume they will now be in the EBA archive at Gloucester University.

[Shovel]

while we've got some m.sheiks experts in the room

what is the personnell for 'Lonely One In This Town", b-side of Sitting On Top Of the World Okeh 8784?  (if memory recalls, i think it lists carter as a writer? could be wrong about that)