Topic: What is the most obscure song/artist you're into?

[CF]

Isn't 'Cairo Blues' by Henry Spaulding his sole recording?

It's his only record, but he plays "Biddle Street Blues" on the flip. It's a good one, too, but no "Cairo" (what is?).

I don't remember ever having heard this Chris, thanks.
Ok, so Henry Spaulding for me.

[frankie]

The Pratchers (Bob and Miles)

[Mike Brosnan]

Charlie Kyle

[Blind Arthur]

Nap Hayes and Matthew Prater recorded four great timeless titles (and at the same session accompanied Lonnie Johnson on 2 titles):

"Somethin' Doin'":
"Easy Winner":
"Nothin' Doin'" :
and "Prater Blues", which i fail to find on YT, here is a very good modern cover :

[Lastfirstface]

The Pratchers (Bob and Miles)

There are a couple recordings of the Pratchers on the Lomax Cultural Equity archive that I haven't seen elsewhere:

http://research.culturalequity.org/rc-b2/get-audio-ix.do?ix=recording&id=709&idType=performerId&sortBy=abc

[frankie]

There are a couple recordings of the Pratchers on the Lomax Cultural Equity archive that I haven't seen elsewhere:

http://research.culturalequity.org/rc-b2/get-audio-ix.do?ix=recording&id=709&idType=performerId&sortBy=abc

That's all they recorded, as far as I know. I could listen to them a lot longer than that!

[waxwing]

This topic cracked me up when I saw it, thinking it was a little tongue-in-cheek, since most topics (cds/sets you're listening to; adventures in...; etc.) seem to have a strong "how obscure can you get" quality already. It's also pretty amazing that you can call someone obscure even though their recordings are all on youtube (not to mention iTunes, etc.).

So I'll go with a guy I met one afternoon about a decade back when I lived in SF and used to frequent Real Guitars and take my most recent guitar purchases (when I had money for that) to Gary Brawer's shop in the back. He was an African American street person, about my age (late 50s at the time, about as old as street people get) and he immediately said "That's Tommy Johnson" when he heard me playing maybe Canned Heat. Then he named a couple other songs/artists I played (I think it was a cool old F-30 (?), the guitar MJH choose over Martins and Gibsons when given a choice). I asked if he could play and he kinda demurred. I did hear him picking a little, tentatively, when I was in the back talking to Gary, but when I came up front again he was gone. Benny told me his name was "Lincoln" something, IIRC, and said he used to come in often but not for a while, said he used to play pretty well, but would usually be pretty drunk and they'd eventually give him 5 bucks to leave. I asked a few times and Benny said he never came in again after that. So, no recordings, afaik, no youtube, but obviously a player in his day. Wish I coulda heard him when.

Another I could go with is a guy named Art Taylor who actually had a taylor shop out 3rd Street in the Bay View, then a pretty exclusively black neighborhood, now gentrifying. He played a big Hammond B3 that he somehow dollied into clubs, with a trombone player, who had at one time been a drummer for Cab Calloway, and a younger drummer, forming a trio called The Blues Fuse. Art would sing mostly old jazz blues standards. A close friend of mine became their manager and for a few years he had them playing a few choice spots (Like happy hour at Pier 23) around the Bay area. Eventually Art, in his 70s developed cancer and was selling out his shop to move back with family in Mississippi. My friend Mike took me down to the shop one day and as we were talking asked Art if he would show me his old guitar, which turned out to be a Custom L-5, that he had gone to Kalamazoo to order, in pristine condition. He had been rhythm guitarist for Ray Charles back in Florida and Georgia when they would drive to gigs on the weekends (And he said the story of Ray driving by feeling the edge of the road with the tire was true, 'cause he was there). The L-5 had the DeArmond pick-up on a stick, and, of course, a plain 3rd string. He let me play it all afternoon and wouldn't play himself. I imagine that guitar made some young nephew or grandson very happy. Now my friend Mike did produce an album of the band, printing CD-Rs in small batches, but that was already a decade ago, and I'll bet you'd be hard pressed to find a copy anywhere.

So, modern day players, perhaps, yet pretty dang obscure.

Wax

[Blues Vintage]

Cripple Clarence Lofton

[bayrum78]

I second Belton Reese.

[jostber]

Ed Bell. Turner Parrish.

[oddenda]

Big Boy Cleveland. "Quill Blues" Come on!!!

pbl

[Lastfirstface]

I second Belton Reese.

I would love to hear those other Belton Reese recordings. Are McKenzie Case and Bile Them Cabbage Down the only ones that have been released?

[frailer24]

John Byrd for blues, J.P. Nestor for old-time.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Papa Eggshell and Reese Crenshaw.
All best,
Johnm

[jostber]

Tommie Bradley. Tom Dickson. Charlie Kyle. Willie Ezell.