Topic: Who's the most underrated country blues musician?

[dj]

Just one more thought on this.  A lot of the posters on these forums have been listening to country blues for a LONG time.  It's been over 40 years in my case.  Yet I still regularly discover gems that I've either not heard or that never caught my fancy in all that time.  Talk about underrated songs and artists!  I probably hear several artists and several dozen performances a year, at a minimum, that I've underrated for the last 40 years.  Some of these I've tried to share with folks here via posts in the "Songs you're listening to", "CDs/sets you're listening to", or various lyric threads.  I would very much encourage others to do the same.  (Or you could do like some - blueshome with Bob Campbell comes immediately to mind - and post a performance of an underrated song by an underrated artist.)  It especially helps others to discover these underrated artists and songs if, when you post, you post WHY the song, set, CD, or artist caught your ear.  Maybe it's just a word, like when I heard Whistlin' Alex Moore used the word "drizzle" and it set me off into some deep listening and lyric transcribing.  Or maybe it's a song form, or a chord, a catchy and unusual melody, or the way a voice or instrument is used.  Whatever it is, share it.  I for one would be very interested.  And then we'd end up having fewer underrated country blues musicians.   

[Big River]

Frank Stokes and Barbeque Bob (Robert Hicks) are two that always grab me when I hear their stuff. Those two deserve a lot more recognition, in my opinion. Nothing too flashy or technically brilliant about those two, but their vocals and overall sound get under your skin. Pretty hard to argue about Blind Lemon Jefferson, though. He was so influential with those early recordings, and such a virtuoso. James

[zoner]

Mississippi Jook Band

[Mister Steve]

Again, Blind Lemon Jefferson...and won't go into why I believe he still deserves even more recognition (which might turn into another thread?)...but will add Robert Wilkins...and without looking for a guitar hero at this stage in my life but music and musicians:  Sleepy John Estes.

[Blind Arthur]

Papa Charlie Jackson.
Sadly very little reissued. I know only Document, and I believe decades ago there were one Biograph and one Yazoo LP each.
If, as a jazz fan, you only know "Salty Dog" with Freddie Keppard?s band, then you have missed a very talented banjo player of the twentieth century. However, you need to favour more the songster style than the introspective all lonesome blues singer I find he is simply fun to listen to, and I was seriously happy when Document put out all his missing alternate takes from the first few sessions, I consider the "new" versions of Salty Dog, Shake That Thing and Mama Don?t You Think I know superior.
OK. Banjo playing is hardly associated with the blues and the turn of events has worked in favour of the guitar, or small bands, so I understand posterity?s main approach. I just would like to emphasize he is worth listening to from more than just a historical point of view.
Like Blind Lemon, his full is worth listening to.

[Rivers]

Well my "off the top of my head without thinking about it too much" vote would be that Brownie McGhee deserves much more recognition. He churned out a lot of samey and derivative stuff, pretty much on demand it seems, and that tends to obscure his legacy, particularly among the cognoscenti.

He did not innovate particularly, or get quirky, or flash. But I regard him as solid rock influencer after some focused listening over the past few years. I particularly enjoy his chord work and voicings to complement the vocals and Sonny's harp. There's also a very strong human aspect to his stuff, humorist, social commentator, cultural observer, similar to Big Bill in those respects. Someone needs to put out The Definitive BMcG Collection, there's a big gap right now. It would be a lot of (mostly fun) work going through it all and well worthwhile if the right ears were behind it, in my opinion.

The problem would be picking the gems from the near gems. He had a long career spread over several record companies, the copyright negotiations could be protracted. But I believe Brownie's legacy needs some serious tidying-up so we can more easily appreciate him. If that happens I think it's totally deserved.

[nobocaster]

Papa Charlie Jackson.

OK. Banjo playing is hardly associated with the blues and the turn of events has worked in favour of the guitar, or small bands, so I understand posterity?s main approach.

  I'm pretty sure Papa Charlie Jackson played a six-string banjo.. so he's kinda a guitar player with a banjo sound.  And yeah.. he's great!

[Alexei McDonald]

Papa Charlie Jackson.
Sadly very little reissued. I know only Document, and I believe decades ago there were one Biograph and one Yazoo LP each.

His complete recorded output was notionally available on LP with one disc each from Document, Matchbox, Biograph and Yazoo (no duplications between these!) - I had them all, but for the Document disc.   There are now three CDs from Document, but I don't think the sound quality is as good ; I think particularly of Sheik Of Desplaines Street, one of my favourites from the Biograph LP, which now sounds awful.

[Bunker Hill]

Papa Charlie Jackson.
Sadly very little reissued. I know only Document, and I believe decades ago there were one Biograph and one Yazoo LP each.

http://www.wirz.de/music/jackpfrm.htm

[Blind Arthur]

The Wirz-site is great, I know and appreciate and love it especially for the label shots and in that he also lists "tribute" ablbums.

On some titles in his late Paramount days he plays normal guitar Tailor Made Lover or the 2nd take of the earlier "Up The Way Bound".

Shame that there seems to be no better copy of "Papa Charlie And Blind Blake Talk About It" in existence -

Underappreciated? Would TommyMcClennan count? And Peetie Wheatstraw? They are among my favourite of the 1930ies artists.

[JohnLeePimp]

See this is practically impossible because, like most people here think that practically all of them are unfairly overlooked and their talent unapreciated etc... plus there's countless people that were never recorded or only the once

Even so I'd most definately go for Joe McCoy - he kicks ass

[jostber]

A couple that should have received more recognition:

Robert Curtis Smith
Dan Pickett
Ralph Willis

[Bunker Hill]

Underappreciated? Would TommyMcClennan count?

In 2007 Johnm started a topic in appreciation of TMcC.

http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?amp;Itemid=60&topic=3016.0

When you get to the bottom of that page click the Tommy tag and it will display a list of other discussions.

[Colin Brooks]

A man I really admire who most people seem not to have heard was John Lee who did five sides for Federal in 1951. He did an LP later, but it didn't seem a patch on the Federal sides.

[Blind Arthur]

Thanks for the link, Bunker Hill.