Topic: Blind Blake

[Bed Bug Bill]

I have been a Blake nut for 50 years. In that time I had massed together a lot of information,quotes etc, for my own amusement, thought that one day I may put it into an article.or something. 10 years or so ago I lost everything that was on my laptop. Most of it i can find again, but I've had many sessions over the years, trying to find one item with no luck. Maybe someone on here can help me find it. It is Gig Review from the entertainment page of a newspaper. Its only a couple of paragraphs, saying Blind Blake makes triumphant return to ,wherever, for the Annual Dinnner of the Order of,whatever. It mentions he is a Paramount Recording Star, and mentions some tunes he played, I think that one was Skoodle, and that the night was a success, and enjoyed by all. Pretty sure, it wasn't the Defender, but it was from a city or big town.
I would of got this from a Blues/Oldtime website or perhaps a Black Music/Culture website or even a University Website. This was all before the Death Certificate/grave discovery. Hope Someone out there knows about this, and can give me a link or copy.
Also Blake is credited with playing a National on ,I think ,Police Dog Blues, does any one know the source for this. and has recently been credited with playing a Holzapfel guitar circa 1917, does any one know the source for this aswell. Thanks for any help you can give.

[Bed Bug Bill]

All Quiet on the Western Front then.....,

[Stuart]

I read your initial post, Bill, but I didn't recall seeing the article you mentioned. You should contact Angie Mack and Alex van der Tuuk. It's possible they have the information you are looking for. Angie Mack's site, Paramountshome.org (IIRC), is not longer in existence, but that doesn't mean what was available there isn't in her archives somewhere. It's worth asking.

While I was searching for leads, I saw this recent book:

https://lsupress.org/books/detail/rise-and-fall-of-paramount-records/

At first I thought it was Alex van der Tuuk's book, given the similarity of their titles, but quickly discovered it's a different book.

Edited to correct as per Nyama74's post

[Nyama74]

Don't know if this helps or not but here are some cached versions of Angie Mack's old website:

https://web.archive.org/web/20070815000000*/http://www.paramountshome.org

[TenBrook]

While I was searching for leads, I saw this recent book:

https://lsupress.org/books/detail/rise-and-fall-of-paramount-records/

At first I thought it was Alex van der Tuuk's book, given the similarity of their titles, but quickly discovered it's a different book.

Edited to correct as per Nyama74's post

Thanks for sharing that book link Stuart. I started reading a preview on Amazon and it seemed very familiar. I checked, and Scott Blackwood, the author of the book you linked, wrote the contents of the coffee table sized books which were included in the Third Man Records Paramount box sets, so presumably the LSU Press book is taken from those box set books. It's been awhile since I initially read them, but I thought they were great then, so it's nice to see they are collected in a more widely accessible edition.

[Bed Bug Bill]

First chance, i've had to get back. Thankyou for the replies. I'll check out the links, but I think it's from before that investigatition. The gig review does exist, I didn't back it up, as it was on this particular website and freely available. It was interesting, as it implied he had played for white audiences and that they were familar with his music.
Seeing as I had found it, while just browsing, I was surprised, it had not surfaced ,in general articles on Blake.
The guitar identifications, seem to be opinions, and not confirmed. Thanks again.

[btasoundsradio]

didn't blake play washburns?

[Prof Scratchy]

I, too, saw the review article some years ago. It was fascinating, and I wish I’d saved the link. Thought I’d post in the spirit of not helping you find it again (which,sadly, I can’t), but just to confirm that you didn’t imagine it, BBB! Wouldn’t it be great if someone could repost the link. Google isn’t much help.

[Stuart]

This kind of thing can be maddening. Bookmarking the link is great as long as the web page still exists.  I'm at the point where I take screen shots or download images if possible. "Here today, gone tomorrow" should be the motto for a lot of the internet material. Live and learn, I guess. I'll keep looking. Maybe it will turn up somewhere.

[CF]

Not sure this is what the OP is looking for. I didn't save the date of the article, unfortunately.

[gtrworkshp]

Here's the other clipping;

[Stuart]

Thank you both for posting the clippings. They give us an actual glimpse into the world we imagine must have existed beyond the records, advertisements and anecdotes. It was a world full of personal interactions. I was struck by Blind Blake playing additional songs for his fans who stayed after the show. Totally cool, IMHO.

[Bed Bug Bill]

Thanks.That article is great. Not the one I had though.  A lesson to always back up info, sites come and go.