WeenieCampbell.com
Country Blues => Weenie Campbell Main Forum => Topic started by: Johnm on February 17, 2004, 08:26:51 PM
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Hi all,
Andrew's comment in the Mississippi Sheiks thread that he wasn't aware that Walter Vinscon lived into the '70s got me thinking about an interesting topic: Who were some of the Country Blues players who lived into the '60s, '70s, or later, who either through choice or lack of opportunities ended up not getting the recognition they should have gotten at that time? Certainly Walter Vinscon would qualify. Also I would think Li'l Son Jackson, Jesse "Babyface" Thomas, Kokomo Arnold, who was rediscovered but would not play, Blind Connie Williams in Philadelphia and Pete Franklin in Indianapolis would fit the category too. I remember reading rumors that Robert Petway was still alive and living on the North Side of Chicago in the mid-'70s. I suppose it might be thought a depressing topic, but it's interesting, too. Why did some players achieve some real recognition while others were forgotten or neglected? Any other names?
All best,
John
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Hi:
Interesting topic.
One interesting example (at least to me) was Lonnie Johnson. Athough he lived and played into the late 60's, he never recieved the recognition he deserved as the 1920's "King of the Fretboard". Although he probably had more to teach guitarists than any of the rediscoveries of the 60's (with the exception of Gary Davis), as far as I know he was never interviewed about his guitar-playing or attracted hoards of aspiring students.
The lack of interest may have been (as pointed out by Grossman) that his style of blues was out of fashion at the time, neither the folkie style of John Hurt nor the Delta sounds of Skip James or Booker White. And when rediscovered he was playing in a style much different than in his heyday and on a dreaded ...electric guitar (gasp).
Still, I consider it the greatest ommision of the "rediscovery era" that Lonnie was not able to illuminate his guitar tips or enjoy the popularity he so richly deserved, before his death in Toronto.
Alex
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Hi all,
Good pick of Lonnie Johnson, Alex. I would think he definitely falls into this category. I do not have any of his post-rediscovery albums that came out on Prestige, but I heard a couple over at Orville Johnson's, and one thing that impressed me was the verve with which he sang the Standards he did, like "What A Difference A Day Made"--it was in direct contrast to the sometimes bland singing on his old blues records. Incidentally, virtually all of his '60s stuff is available on CD from www.fantasyjazz.com.
A couple of other people I thought of after I posted last night: Richard "Hacksaw" Harney, a Mississippi guy, very sophisticated and a tremendous player, seldom or never sang. Eugene Powell, also known as Sonny Boy Nelson, and in terms of performance, Pink Anderson. I know people made pilgrimages to see him, but I don't know of him ever playing festivals or coffee houses up around where I grew up, near Philadelphia.
Now for a computer ignoramus question. How do you make a link in a message? I'd like to make a link to fantasy above, and I've never known how to do that. Thanks--I have the feeling an extremely high percentage of the posters here know the answer to this one.
All best,
John
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John, there already seems to be a link. You're a hacker now and don't even know it...
Hacksaw Harney - Now here's a guy who should have been recorded more and better known. Outstanding in my opinion. His CD on Adelphi is a must have. People can check out http://www.adelphirecords.com/blues/9909.html (http://www.adelphirecords.com/blues/9909.html) for more info and should definitely check out the film footage available online of him playing at http://www.adelphirecords.com/video/Hacksaw.html. Paul Geremia spoke about him with great enthusiasm and disbelief that he was not better known.
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It is an interesting topic - not sure I agree with Grossman, it is hard to imagine Lonnie Johnson being out of style or no one appreciating his fabulous guitar at the time.? Anyway,
on to computer tutor:
Now for a computer ignoramus question.? How do you make a link in a message?? I'd like to make a link to fantasy above, and I've never known how to do that.
If you'll look at your message www.fantasyjazz.com is a link.? The forum software will scan your message when posted and look for a "www" (and other parameters) and convert the address to a link.
Now, if you want to get fancy and turn a word, like "Fantasy", into a link you'll have to use a Bulletin Board Code tag (that is what all those buttons above the smilies are, short cuts to save typing the code tags).? Here is how the link would look when typing in your message:
Hey, check out [url=http://www.fantasyjazz.com]Fantasy[/url] for Lonnie Johnson's 60's stuff.
Which will look like this after the messages is posted:
Hey, check out Fantasy (http://www.fantasyjazz.com) for Lonnie Johnson's 60's stuff.
If you want the word Fantasy in bold?
Hey, check out [url=http://www.fantasyjazz.com][b]Fantasy[/b][/url] for Lonnie Johnson's 60's stuff.
...will give this
Hey, check out Fantasy (http://www.fantasyjazz.com) for Lonnie Johnson's 60's stuff.
So a tag has two parts, one that defines the beginning of a fomat (or url) and one that defines the end... so the "/b" in brackets means to stop using bold.
Best way to learn is to play around a bit.? You can keep previewing or modifying your own message until you get what you like.? (See the Test Board.)
cheers,
slack
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...and always remember to test your links so you won't do something dumb like I just did --- being in a hurry I left off "jazz" in the links and fantasy alone takes you to some porn site! sheesh :-[
cheers,
slack
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What about Carl Martin? I've been listening to Crow Jane Blues on Testament, which was recorded between 1965 and 1966, and Martin's playing on guitar, mandolin and fiddle seems pretty snappy to me. Maybe a little slower than his prewar sides, but with plenty of bounce. Too bad he wasn't recorded a little more thoroughly.
I agree about Pink Anderson - didn't he suffer a stroke at some point that limited his ability to play? From reading the liner notes to the New Mississippi Sheiks LP (posted on Stefan Wirz's excellent site), it appears that a stroke may also have curtailed Walter Vincson musical activities. A real shame...
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fantasy alone takes you to some porn site!
I'll add it to the Links section...
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fantasy alone takes you to some porn site!
I'll add it to the Links section...
Thanks Uncle Bud, I knew I could count on you to keep that links section absolutely up to date.
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What about Carl Martin?? I've been listening to Crow Jane Blues on Testament, which was recorded between 1965 and 1966, and Martin's playing on guitar, mandolin and fiddle seems pretty snappy to me.? Maybe a little slower than his prewar sides, but with plenty of bounce.? Too bad he wasn't recorded a little more thoroughly.
And in this same vein - Joe Callicott.
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Howdy:
Religion (or rather religious conversion) was the factor that did not allow two great players of the 20's and 30's to record blues in the folk revival years, Ishmon Bracey and Robert Wilkins.
Alex
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Hi all,
I have a copy of the record Rev. Wilkins recorded right after his rediscovery on Piedmont. The version I have was put out by Origin Jazz which bought the rights for a while.? I believe Andy Cohen owns it now and intends to release it on his label in CD format. It is really good stuff, tremendous singing, as you would expect from Wilkins, and great "heavy" time. He does a version of "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" that is different than any other I've heard. I think Gene Rosenthal of Adelphi also recorded him and put out a CD that is in the same series as that Hacksaw Harney CD (which I need, thanks for the link, Andrew).
Does anybody know a dependable place to find Testament CDs?? I am very interested in the Carl Martin one, and I don't think I've ever seen it.
As long as I'm bouncing around, I thought of a couple of younger guys: Doug Quattlebaum, who did an album on Prestige, "Mr. Softee", and the great Robert Curtis Smith, who also had one album on Prestige. Paul Oliver told Michael Roach he had recorded a whole album's worth of stuff by Robert Curtis, but no one was interested in putting it out. I'll try and check on that this summer, when I'm in England.
All best,
John
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Does anybody know a dependable place to find Testament CDs?? I am very interested in the Carl Martin one, and I don't think I've ever seen it.
I got mine used at a local place (the Princeton Record Exchange).? I just checked at Roots and Rhythm and they have it listed for $9.98 in their Bargain Bin (http://www.rootsandrhythm.com/roots/BARGAINS/bargains__cd_blues.htm#CARL MARTIN)!
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Looks like there are a number of other Testament titles at Roots and Rhythm... and one more CD that includes Carl Martin - The Chicago String Band (http://www.rootsandrhythm.com/roots/BARGAINS/bargains__cd_blues.htm#THE CHICAGO STRING BAND).
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Does anybody know a dependable place to find Testament CDs? I am very interested in the Carl Martin one, and I don't think I've ever seen it.
John,
Under Weenie Campbell Main Forum / links, there's a page called "Record Companies" that has about 20 links. Just click on the Hightone Records logo and see what they have -- they currently handle Testament. They were really helpful to me when I was trying to locate a copy of the out-of-print Blind Connie Williams CD a few months back.
I've also had consistent luck with DownHome, the record/CD store in El Cerrito, California. If they don't have something, they have a really good network for tracking things down. Their specialty is the Arhoolie catalog, but they're good at finding stuff on all labels.
The Record Companies page also has a link to Prestige. I have spent more hours checking out their on-line catalog than I care to admit, not only for CB, but for their excellent jazz offerings.
My current interest is in tracking down copies of Shirely Griffith's two LPs; I've been looking all over for many months with no luck at all. If anyone has any leads for me to follow, please get in touch.
Lindy
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Some good deals at the Roots and Rhythm page.
Carl Martin is also on the Testament "Mandolin Blues" CD. Didn't see it in the R&R bargain catalog but it is on the Hightone website.
A number of the people mentioned are of course on the Prestige discs from Fantasy. I picked up a couple used discs awhile back from the Bluesville Years series. Volume 9 and 10 - "Down the Country Way" and "Country Roads, Country Days" have folks like Doug Quattlebaum, JT Adams and Shirley Griffith, Pete Franklin, Robert Curtis Smith, KC Douglas, Smoky Babe and other lesser knowns, as well as a little material some better knowns like Tampa Red, Jesse Fuller, Scrapper Blackwell. Good compilations to sample this stuff.
I guess Buddy Moss would be another one of those guys who fit into this thread. Didn't do so great after rediscovery as I recall, though I have the Biograph record that's got some good playing on it.
edited to add: more on Buddy Moss here (http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?Itemid=47&?topic=93.0) in the Weenie Archives.
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Would Gus Cannon qualify as another?
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Ahhh... Downhome in El Cerrito totally rocks. Dab' Bro' took me there before dinner at Rosie's. I took two Arhoolie Robert Pete Williams CDs up to the checkout and asked the dude "Which one is the best intro to RPW's playing?"
He proceeded to give me a top-down appraisal of one versus the other, and we agreed that, based on my fingerpicking technique, hat size and the fact that I have Mars in Aries, Volume I would probably do it for me. 8)
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Memphis Minnie, d. 1973. I recall Del saying she'd been to visit her in the old folks home. I don't know when she stopped performing due to ill health, vague references to the Fifties on the 'net.
What a shame Willie McTell couldn't have hung on a just a bit longer, the Last Recording session is wonderful.
Dang this thread is ironic but it's good to tip yer hat to these folks. Gotta go, having intimations of mortality.
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I highly recommend the Chicago String Band album.
Peter
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Would Gus Cannon qualify as another?
Indeed!
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I think Gus was pretty old. I'm not sure when, '60s I think, but when he was interviewed, by whom I can't remember, maybe Wardlow, he was in his 80s. Were any rediscovery recordings of him made?
All for now.
John C.
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Yes - reissued by Fantasy Jazz (http://www.fantasyjazz.com/catalog/cannon_g_cat.html).
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Hi all,
The Gus Cannon from the 60s was originally released on the Memphis soul label, Stax, and is reputed to be one of the hardest albums to find on vinyl--sold something like 76 copies. I thought of another great one--Smokey Babe. Harry Oster recorded him for his own Folk Lyric label and then for Prestige. A wild and very exciting player in Spanish who did the best retread of Robert Johnson's Spanish sound a la"Terraplane" or "Stones In My Passway" that I've ever heard. He was a comparatively young guy, too. I never heard of him playing anywhere out of his home area.
Buddy Moss is a good one too, Andrew. I should have thought of him--I saw him one time.
All best,
John
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Looks like Smokey Babe is available on Arhoolie (http://www.arhoolie.com/titles/440.shtml), as are the rediscovery recordings by Black Ace (http://www.arhoolie.com/titles/374.shtml). Totally forgot about him...
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I have the Arhoolie Black Ace. Considered indispensible if you are hardened electric lap steel nut. I must listen to it again.
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Hi all,
Just returned to this thread after a while away and had some more thoughts on this topic. Two guys who I think still fall into this category are Henry Townsend and and Honeyboy Edwards. Fortunately there have been a number of releases in the past two years or so, but when you read in the interview that Lindy posted a while ago of Henry's compositional method (making up lyrics on the spot) it would have been very hard to over-expose him.
I took the link to the Adelphi site that Andrew posted and while looking at the other artists listed there realized that we didn't include any pianists in this category. Did any of you ever see Little Brother Montgomery? I didn't, but I think he was sensational, "Vicksburg Blues" is pretty hard to beat. One great I did see was Roosevelt Sykes--what a voice! It was like a horn, bright and loud, and he was a rocking pianist.
The main thing that occurred to me is that there is a reasonably good chance that many of the artists who we have listed in this thread had additional material recorded in the 60s, 70s or later that has never been released. I know for a fact that Nick Perls, the founder of Yazoo and Blue Goose Records made recordings that have never been released of Hacksaw Harney, Pete Franklin, Sam Chatmon, and almost certainly other country blues musicians who survived into that era. Nick passed away in 1987, and I believe his estate for things related to his music went to Shanachie Records, via Richard Nevins. I may try and see what happened to those unreleased recordings (or for that matter the records which were made, but which are currently unavailable on CD). As I mentioned earlier, Paul Oliver said he had an album's worth of stuff by Robert Curtis Smith, and Gale Dean Wardlow alludes to an album of Hayes McMullen that never came out. Similarly, it seems there is a good chance that Dr. Harry Oster had material by Smokey Babe, Robert Pete Williams, and Snooks Eaglin playing acoustic that was never released. Chris Strachwitz may well have some Li'l Son Jackson or John Jackson. Maybe it's time to try to convince some of the people holding this unreleased music to clear the vaults. I will start thinking about a way to actually do something practical and on a small scale to see if it is possible to get even one CD released through this kind of effort. Certainly, the easiest thing to do would be to license and re-release a pre-existing album on CD, which the current owners have no intention of re-releasing. All ideas are welcome to that end.
All best,
John
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Maybe it's time to try to convince some of the people holding this unreleased music to clear the vaults. I will start thinking about a way to actually do something practical and on a small scale to see if it is possible to get even one CD released through this kind of effort. Certainly, the easiest thing to do would be to license and re-release a pre-existing album on CD, which the current owners have no intention of re-releasing. All ideas are welcome to that end.
I've had this idea for about 5 years now, always comes to mind whenever I'm driving down an interstate and see a sign for a local "adopt-a-highway" organization. We who have excess cash to build up our stocks of fine guitars might be willing to aim some of that money toward underwriting the expenses of producing individual CDs of the unreleased material you mentioned. The first step here would be to figure out exactly what the costs are; I've heard various figures that I won't put down in writing in the name of accuracy. If you could ask your contacts *exactly* how much it would take to remaster old tape recordings and to re-release a CD--I'm sure we're talking about thousands of dollars here--someone might be willing to put up the money for one project. Some seed $$ would be required for someone to canvass the various CD companies and rights holders to figure out what's really out there.
Case in point: I mentioned Shirley Griffith in a post last week; I wonder how much $$ it would actually take for Prestige to put out 1,000 copies each of his two vinyl LPs? My guess is that Prestige would be willing, and might even give some in-kind support, if someone was willing to do the underwriting.
Lindy
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Can anyone shed some light on the CD "The Blues Of Smoky Babe, The Hottest Brand Goin'" I couldn't find any other releases under his name on Amazon.
either as Smokey or Smoky. Usually Amazon has the Arhoolie stuff but alas no Smokey Babe. They do have the Stax Gus Cannon CD.(31 minutes)
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Can anyone shed some light on the CD "The Blues Of Smoky Babe, The Hottest Brand Goin'" I couldn't find any other releases under his name on Amazon.
either as Smokey or Smoky. Usually Amazon has the Arhoolie stuff but alas no Smokey Babe. They do have the Stax Gus Cannon CD.(31 minutes)
Blind Willie--
Go to www.fantasyjazz.com -- there's a link in Weenie's links/record company section -- and do a search for Smokey Babe or for the Bluesville label. "Hottest Brand Going" is the only CD of 100% Smokey. Some cuts show up on a couple of compilations. If memory serves me right, Arhoolie has a CD called "Louisiana Blues" that has one side of Smokey Babe and one side of someone else -- I know that other people on this list have talked about that CD. And that's all I'm aware of. Buy the Bluesville CD, it's great!
Lindy
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The Smokey Babe Hottest Brand Goin' CD is well worth picking up. One of my favorites of those Bluesville/Fantasy rereleases of lesser knowns. The Arhoolie CD with Herman E. Johnson stuff I haven't heard but it's available here (http://www.arhoolie.com/titles/440.shtml).
Re. rereleasing country blues. I know that in the past some of the heavy hitters on the prewarblues list have spoken about their experience trying to do this and characterized the experience as miserable. If that's true, it's too bad because I think it's a tremendous idea. Perhaps it's time for the Weenie Campbell record label.
The hardest part though may be securing the license to release stuff not previously issued. It seems to me people are sitting on this material. Stuff that has been released like Shirley Griffith may be difficult to get as well, since why would Fantasy license something that falls into their Bluesville series, even if they don't intend to do anything with it.
But what do I know, and I am being pessimistic too early in the game. Again, I think this is a great idea worth pursuing. Putting out a John Jackson record would be wonderful!
andrew
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fantasy alone takes you to some porn site!
I'll add it to the Links section...
Thanks Uncle Bud, I knew I could count on you to keep that links section absolutely up to date.
From what I've been hearing lately, our appointed federales may be cutting such links in the not-too-distant future - or maybe they'll erect a National Firewall.
More nearly on-topic, has anyone heard Alvin "Little Pink" Anderson? Not quite an elder himself, he's continued his dad's tradition of playing: http://www.musicmaker.org/reviewpinkadnblues.html, adding "modern" stylings: http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Delta/1915/littlepink.html. Perhaps closest to the tradition, though, is his particular snake oil, mentioned in the second paragraph of this link: http://www.oafb.net/once108.html.
I don't know how unrecorded Floyd Council is, but - for whatever reason - his recordings seem to be mostly unreleased, according to this post: http:/hem.passagen.se/evilclown/pinkfloyd/FC.htm
And thanks, Uncle Bud, for linking to those videos of Hacksaw Harney. I'd sure like to see the rest of that reel!
Cheers,
Jed
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Perhaps it's time for the Weenie Campbell record label.
Now there's an idea.
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Perhaps it's time for the Weenie Campbell record label.
Now there's an idea.
Yup. I wasn't kidding either.
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Y'all,
I thought this was an appropriate topic for this link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/21/national/21BLUE.html?adxnnl=1&8hpib=&adxnnlx=1079878661-jlZCMUz1OAqebsCFsDV4sQ
It's a story about Tim Duffy's Music Maker organization, and there are plenty of mentions of people we should have heard a lot more from before they were (re)discovered. Several new names of performers that I didn't recognize. Also, a photo and some ink on John Dee Holman.
Lindy
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Neat article. There are still a lot of the old players around. I've run into them in every town I've lived in. Fresno had Kenny Hall and Mercy Dee, and a bunch of others. Sacramento had Peppermint Harris, living in total poverty. There was an old guy in the Sacramento area that would show up at County fairs and sit on a bench playing country blues with a harmonica rack. Check out your own community. Some of my favorite musical memories are of these folks.
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Hi all,
One person who falls into this category I think, who is still sounding great is Santa Cruz resident and erstwhile Port Townsend instructor Robert Lowery. Wouldn't it be great to have a current recording of Robert, sounding as good as he did, singing and playing last summer? It's something to think about.
All best,
Johnm
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Yep, John, I enjoyed Robert Lowery in person very much at PT. And I confess that , for me, he has fallen back into obscurity since then, what with on-line lessons, our sites, PT and minidiscs we made while there. He would be a good one for a new CD and another visit to PT.
I have been enjoying the work on Lawdy, Lawdy Worried Blues. I am very glad to have made the acquaintance of Teddy Darby, thatnks to you. We do seem to have extant a few of his recordings. I do wish there were more of his and Pink Anderson's stuff.
Ciao !
Miller
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Hi all,
One current player who I think falls into this category is New Orleans native Snooks Eaglin. I don't think Snooks has ever really stopped recording since he began in the late '50s, but it is a long time since he did any acoustic recording. I still remember the old Folkways record recorded by Dr. Harry Oster, where Snooks played "High Society", "Sophisticated Blues", "Come Back, Baby", and most amazing of all, the mambo "Lookin' For A Woman". It was some pretty scary playing, and I liked his singing, too. I don't really care if he is playing acoustic or electric, but it would be great to have a solo album of Snooks that really showcased what he can do.
All best,
Johnm
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I certainly echo JohnM's sentiments about Snooks Eaglin. The folkways recording has always been one of my favourites, so much so that the grooves were worn thin a long time ago. Only this week I had a parcel from the good folks at Folkways with a custom CD version of that record - pricey but well worth it in this particular case, if only to marvel at Snooks's version of High Society again. I was lucky enough to see Snooks on a rare (possibly only) visit to these shores a few years ago. The occasion was a poorly attended festival in the grounds of a castle in North Wales. The weather was superb, the festival stage was outside, and Snooks's playing (unfortunately on one of those modern pluggy-inny guitars) was unbelievably good. In the grand scheme of things, Snooks must still be of an age where he's at the top of his game. I think some of our US contributors should get in a suitably vintage automobile and do a road movie, destination New Orleans, with an acoustic guitar in the boot(sorry, trunk) - aim and objective to record and film Snooks playing his entire repertoire, and stopping on the way there and the way back to similarly record and film the many other under-recorded artists of Snooks's generation.
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Hi all,
Returning to this thread after a bit of a lay-off, I thought of a musician I would have liked to have heard more from in the '60s: Alec Seward. He did one album for Prestige Bluesville, "Creeper's Blues", on which he was backed by Larry Johnson, of "Fast and Funky", but on harmonica. Alec Seward was a wonderful Blues singer and nice player. One of his biggest boosters was Sonny Terry, who said of him, "Alec could sing a bitch!". There are two re-issue CDs available of the duo Alec Seward played in with Louis Hayes in the '40s, Guitar Slim (Seward) and Jelly Belly (Hayes), one on Arhoolie and one on Delmark. Both are reviewed in the Reviews section of the site. I know he lived into the mid-60s at least, and possibly into the early '70s. He certainly deserved more recognition.
All best,
Johnm
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One I've been listening a lot to lately and wishing there was more of is Pernell Charity. Charity was discovered by Kip Lornell I believe and recorded by Pete Lowry in the early 1970s. The album Pernell Charity - The Virginian, released on Trix Records, is the only material I know of that's available. Charity is influenced by the music of Blind Boy Fuller, as are a number of those Trix artists it seems, and I would say he is very near the top of the list. I saw him dismissed as "derivative" somewhere, and he is certainly strongly influenced by Fuller's records - and to a lesser extent, Lightnin' Hopkins - but he is a wonderful player and solid singer. Lowry and Lornell recorded him on a number of different guitars, so there is also a nice variety to the material. There's even a hybrid Lemon/Fuller piece in Blind Lemon's Blues. I know from the notes that Lowry recorded much more of Charity than we have on this record, and it would be great to hear more.
I recently got a few of the Trix CDs through the Amazon marketplace at a ridiculously cheap price, so those interested in Trix artists like Charity, Henry Johnson, Willie Trice, Roy Dunn and the like should take a look. These guys have also been on the Juke for awhile.
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Returning to this thread after a bit of a lay-off, I thought of a musician I would have liked to have heard more from in the '60s: Alec Seward. He did one album for Prestige Bluesville, "Creeper's Blues", on which he was backed by Larry Johnson, of "Fast and Funky", but on harmonica. Alec Seward was a wonderful Blues singer and nice player. One of his biggest boosters was Sonny Terry, who said of him, "Alec could sing a bitch!".
I own a 1975 Blue Labor LP entitled Late One Saturday Evening (BL103) which is a 1966 "house party" recording. The LP is under his name but he doesn't appear on songs, those items marked * below he's not present:
V/g with Julia Carr (v -1) Sonny Terry (v -2/h) Brownie McGhee (v -3/g -4) Joseph "Washboard Doc" Doctor (v /wb -5).
New York City, Autumn 1966
What has Annie got
Risin? Sun shine on
Her ways are so sweet *-2,3,4,5
C.C. rider -4
C.C. rider -1,4
Goin? down slow
Rock me darlin?
Late one Saturday evening (omit Terry)
Blues all around my head *-1,4,5
Feel so good
Blues all around my head* -2,4
Trouble in mind -1
Creepin? blues
Cousin John* -2,4
I wish I?d listened
[Seward does not appear to feature on titles ]
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Hi Bunker Hill,
The time before last that I was in England I saw a CD version of that recording (which was the source of the Sonny Terry quote) and stupidly did not pick it up. Of course I've never seen it again, but next time I go to England . . . .
All best,
Johnm
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The time before last that I was in England I saw a CD version of that recording (which was the source of the Sonny Terry quote) and stupidly did not pick it up. Of course I've never seen it again, but next time I go to England . . . .
Stupid is my middle name! Had I bothered to look at Chris Smith's gigantic booklet "That's The Stuff: The Recordings of Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry, Stick McGhee & J. C Burris" I could have reported that it had been available on the Blue Alliance label (TBA13007) and that the CD booklet only lists one of the versions of C. C. Rider although both are present. :(
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One I've been listening a lot to lately and wishing there was more of is Pernell Charity.
In his notes to almost every one of the CD releases of the Trix catalog, Pete Lowry says "there's enough in the can by this artist for another CD". My wish would be that all Lowry's material would see the light of day. If I had to choose just one artist, it'd be Henry Johnson, "the Union County Flash".
Of non-Trix artists, I guess the person I most wish had recorded more is Frank Hovington.
Artists with releases in the 1920s and 30s that should have been tempted to record upon their rediscovery: Rube Lacey and Ishmon Bracey.
And stuff that exists that should be made commercially available: the music by Drew County MS musicians that David Evans recorded when doing his research for Big Road Blues. (Stefan Wirz or Bunker Hill: please make my day by pointing out that this was released 2 years ago on some minor British label ;D)
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Hi all,
Frank Hovington is a great candidate, dj. I would like to hear more of Hayes McMullen. The one cut of his that accompanies the Wardlow book, "Lookahere Woman" is terrific. Joe Calicott seems like a fellow who might have known many more songs than he recorded, and he sang so beautifully, especially as an older man. I would have liked to have heard more of Welly and Rich Trice, too. Anybody who would play "Diddie Wa Diddie" in E (Welly) and "Step It Up And Go" (as "Pack It Up And Go") in A (Rich) is worth hearing more of.
All best,
Johnm
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How about Baby Tate ?
He impressed me very much when I was a teenager in the 70ties. I heard him the first time on a Folkways album called "The Blues", which contained music to the shortfilm, with the same title, by Sam Charters. The album had also some great Pink Anderson tunes (a touching Cottonfields sung with his 6 year old son) and some by Furry Lewis. Would love to see that film btw.
Quoting the Penguin guide to the blues : "Baby Tate wasn't an originator but his versions are lively, meaningful and personalized. Even at his most Fullerish (Blind Boy) he wasn't a mindless imitator"
Pete Lowry recorded Tate extensively but never issued the material. Only one cd on Prestige is available now. He also accompanied Peg Leg Sam on his Trix cd.
Baby Tate was only 56 when he died in 1972 so he had much more to offer...
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Hi all,
It has been a while since this thread has been posted to, but a number of players have come to my attention since then. From the George Mitchell Collection, I would love to have heard more from John Lee Ziegler, Lonzie Thomas, Cecil Barfield, Jimmy Lee Williams, Robert Driggs and Rosa Lee Hill. It would have been great to hear more material from Henry Johnson, too. On the piano side, I sure wish Romeo Nelson had been recorded more.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi John - I can't recall if I have mentioned this before or not, but in the case of some of the George Mitchell recordings, there are some additional tracks that are not on the CD set but are available in mp3 format if one has an emusic.com account. These include quite a number of additional recordings from Cecil Barfield, as well as some additional tracks from Lonzie Thomas, John Lee Zeigler and quite a few others.
You can preview excerpts from the tracks at emusic.com if you have an account. I believe registering for an account gets you 25 free tracks or something. It does require installing emusic download manager software, though that seems to work just fine.
I've used emusic to plug some holes in my collection without having to buy a whole lot of the same material all over again, as well as for some of this extra George Mitchell stuff. It's not bad, though obviously best if you do a lot of your listening on a computer or iPod-like device.
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Some great artists that should have recorded more:
Smith Casey
King Solomon Hill
Scrapper Blackwell (60's)
Little Hat Jones
Montana Taylor
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Surprised nobody mentioned Tommy Johnson.
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On the piano side, I sure wish Romeo Nelson had been recorded more.
All best,
Johnm
I'll second that. The sad thing is that in the mid 60s he gave up music and took a series of day jobs in areas like construction work or elevator operating. He suffered a heart attack in 1972 and, just prior to his death in 1974, Eric Kriss and Jim O'Neal interviewed him. I don't think this was ever published but, from memory, portions were cited in a Kriss's piano instructional as well the Living Blues obituary.
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I`d like more Henry Spaulding and Lane Hardin.
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Hi all,
Just so that the thread ends up being about the same thing all the way through, the title references Country Blues musicians who lived into the LP era, and who for whatever reason, never got the opportunity, or enough opportunities, to record. We can all think of players from the pre-War era whom we wish had recorded more titles.
all best,
Johnm
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Cat Iron,Scott Dunbar,Napoleon Strickland and Mager Johnson-all brilliant-and all under-recorded i think.
lyndvs.
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Cat Iron
Oh if only Fred Ramsay had recorded more! See http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?amp;Itemid=128&topic=5025.0 for previous discussion of Cat Iron which has within it a link to a discography containing nice illustrative material. Years ago I scanned the 8 page booklet as jpegs I'll see if I've kept them. Maybe Stefan Wirz can put them to some use. :)
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John Dudley, from Alan Lomax's '59 recording trip. See his tag for more info. (Also, I believe Blind Joe Reynolds was still alive into the early 60's. Just imagine.) For some electric country blues, I'd like to have heard more from Boyd Gilmore, Charlie Booker, and Baby Face Turner.
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More of Dan Pickett would have been something too.
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More of Dan Pickett would have been something too.
I wouldn't say no to that! ;D
Three years ago Mr Pickett got some good press here in Weenieland http://tinyurl.com/mhhp8z
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As we all know a lot of these old cats only recorded "a" record. A couple like Jim Thompkins/Freezone only have a side that was issued. Some like Bobby Grant definitely twek your curiousity. His one record is about as good as them old blues gets. What happened? John D.Fox won't be found in any blues book I have yet his one record...wow! Six Cylinder Smith? Sammy Hill? Henry Spaulding? Kid Bailey? Mattie Delaney? Great stuff but only "a" record. What a shame we don't have more by those and others. Spaulding's.."Cairo"...is a classic. What happened?
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Thought I'd merge this into our long standing "We should have heard more from them" thread so's youse could benefit from what has gone before, BD.
Wax
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Couldn't resist BD... John D Fox is in Blues and Gospel, he also recorded as Emory Brooks and Alex Monroe. Plus, he also recorded another dozen plus sides as duets with Sam Collins... don't get excited as except all but one seem unissued.
Seek and ye shall fiind :o
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Adding Alec Johnson to this thread, discussion at http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?amp;Itemid=128&topic=7229.0 or tag index http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?amp;Itemid=128&action=tags;id=1803
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Hi all,
Just so that the thread ends up being about the same thing all the way through, the title references Country Blues musicians who lived into the LP era, who were known about by people who could have made it happen, and who for whatever reason, never got the opportunity, or enough opportunities, to record. We can all think of players from the pre-War era whom we wish had recorded more titles.
all best,
Johnm
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Whoops, I had missed that.
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Hi all,
One musician who might possibly fall into this category is Little Hat Jones. His whereabouts were known as of the '60s, I believe, and he lived into the '70s. I don't know if he still played, but if he did, and even if he was a bit rusty, it's a shame if his playing in that period went altogether undocumented.
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
One musician who might possibly fall into this category is Little Hat Jones. His whereabouts were known as of the '60s, I believe, and he lived into the '70s. I don't know if he still played, but if he did, and even if he was a bit rusty, it's a shame if his playing in that period went altogether undocumented.
All best,
Johnm
A couple of college students interviewed him in mid 60s. Discovery of the published piece told by Robert Tilling "Long Gone and Got Away Lucky", Blues & Rhythm 135 (Xmas 1998 pps 4-8). I had a feeling this had found its way onto the internet but in meantime here's Stefan's discography containing photo. He died in 1981.
http://www.wirz.de/music/jonelhfrm.htm (http://www.wirz.de/music/jonelhfrm.htm)
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Thanks for that information and the link, Bunker Hill.
All best,
Johnm
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From the Morris County Texas Cemeteries site:
Morningstar Cemetery
Naples, TX
JONES, George
Oct 5, 1899
Mar 7, 1981
Sec C, L South Side; FHM
Wish I'd have known, my girlfriend just drove through Naples yesterday. I've always liked Little Hat's stuff.
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My pick would be George Torey. Those two sides from 1937 are unparalleled.
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bta--
We have an existing thread called "We should have heard more from them":
https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=245.msg1316#msg1316
You can add George Torey's name to the list.
Lindy
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Allen Shaw, Tom Dickson. And Willie Brown of course.
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L. C. Green.
He was born in Mississippi in 1921, moved to Michigan at some point, and died there in 1985.
He recorded 6 songs for Dot (primarily a country/western label) in 1952 and another 5 for Joe Von Battle's Von label in, probably, 1953. Green played guitar, and all his recorded works were accompanied by Walter Mitchell on harmonica. He also accompanied Mitchell (who was credited as Sam Kelly) one one title.
Green wasn't a major artist or a great composer, but at his best as on "When The Sun Is Shining" he was pleasantly funky with a bit of desperation thrown in. You'd think that someone would have dug him up and recorded him during the blues revival of the 60s and 70s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrRIOhtP73Y (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrRIOhtP73Y)
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Thanks for mentioning L.C. Green, dj. I have that cut on a Detroit Blues anthology I bought several years ago, and it has long been one of my favorites--what a terrific instrumental hook! I like it despite finding it rhythmically disorienting. Robert Curtis Smith covered this tune on his Prestige Bluesville album from the early '60s. It's always treat to hear it.
All best,
Johnm
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bobo thomas!
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Walter Roland.
With the recent Sonny Scott and Lucille Bogan lyric threads, I've been listening a lot to them, which inevitably leads to listening to a lot of Walter Roland. Roland could do it all - great singer, great pianist, really good guitar player. The July 1933 session he did with Bogan and Scott is, to me, one of the greatest pre-war blues recording sessions.
Roland lived until 1972, but never recorded after 1935. It's a shame he wasn't part of the post-war blues rediscovery. Maybe Alabama was a bit too far off the beaten track.
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Agreed. Such a great versatile musician.
I contacted Allmusic Guide a while ago and told them he didn't vanish in 1935;
After 1935, however, Roland seems to have dropped off the face of the earth -- his subsequent activities and ultimate fate remain unknown.
At least they added his birth and death date previously stated undetermined.
Walter Roland - Allmusic
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/walter-roland-mn0000813231/biography (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/walter-roland-mn0000813231/biography)
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Thanks for reviving this thread, dj. Walter Roland is certainly a great choice. There are certainly a lot of musicians I'd put in this category whose work I was not familiar with when the category was started. I'd especially like to have heard more from Dennins McMillon and Sonny Jones, too East Coast players whose only solo titles (four apiece) can be offend on the "Blind Boy Fuller, Vol. 2" set on JSP. I sure wish Romeo Nelson had recorded more titles too.
All best,
Johnm
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I sure wish Romeo Nelson had recorded more titles too.
Agreed. Nelson lived on well into the LP age - he died in 1974 - and was visited by researchers and interviewed in the 1960s and 70s. It would have been nice if someone had recorded an LP or 2 of his work than.
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Just a bit more on Romeo Nelson. According to an article in Frog Annual Number 5 (thanks, btasoundsradio, for inspiring me to pull that off the shelf) by Michael Hortig, Pete Welding and Erwin Helfer made an attempt to record him in 1964, but he was out of practice and the 3 tracks recorded were unusable. Welding touched base with Nelson again in 1965, and though his playing was much improved, it still needed a bit more work. A final attempt to record Nelson was contemplated in 1966, but nothing came of it, apparently for lack of money to cover costs. So we came close to hearing more from him.
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Pete Welding's recordings, and other documents, are held in the archive of the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. The Romeo Nelson tapes are probably among the 700 tapes in the collection. See: https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/holdingsInfo?searchId=1929&recCount=25&recPointer=0&bibId=17244296
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Another thought prompted by recent lyric posts:
Josh White
Okay, I know that he survived and recorded prolifically well into the LP era, but...
After moving to New York and becoming a bit of a studio regular for Vocalion, with sessions with Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell, Buddy Moss, and Walter Roland and Lucille Bogan, White severely injured his left hand in early 1936, severing a tendon, with gangrene (or some other infection) eventually setting in. He stopped playing for a few years, and when he returned to performing, he was more of a strumming/simple picking folksinger. He probably would have moved in this direction anyway, as that's where the money was in New York City at the time. But I can't help wishing and wondering what he would have done had he never injured his hand. So in his case, it's "I wish we could have heard more of an uninjured Josh White, at least occasionally playing as he did in 1935."
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Hi all,
I have a bunch to add to this list: Smith Casey, Dennis McMillon, Roosevelt Antrim, Sonny Jones, Tarter & Gay, Little Buddy Doyle, Allen Shaw, Mattie Delaney, Rosa Lee Hill, John Lee Ziegler, Robert Diggs.Any other under-recorded favorites out there?
All best,
Johnm