A History of the Blues: Chapter 5
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Note: 1933 - The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is formed to create a network of dams to control floods, prevent soil erosion, & provide affordable electricity in the rural south.
Prohibition is repealed.
Note: 1934 - Wurlitzer begins to manufacture coin operated juke boxes.
Formation of Southern tenant Farmers Union in Arkansas, a historically overlooked alliance between blacks & poor whites that can be seen as a forerunner to the civil rights movement of the 1960’s.
1/ Oh death – Charley Patton. (with Bertha Lee; his wife) 1934. The Complete….
For Bio. See Chapter 4
2/ Oh death – She-haw. 2001. Splinter
Made 2 studio & 1 live album of acoustic Hillbilly/ Blues.
Prohibition is repealed.
Note: 1934 - Wurlitzer begins to manufacture coin operated juke boxes.
Formation of Southern tenant Farmers Union in Arkansas, a historically overlooked alliance between blacks & poor whites that can be seen as a forerunner to the civil rights movement of the 1960’s.
1/ Oh death – Charley Patton. (with Bertha Lee; his wife) 1934. The Complete….
For Bio. See Chapter 4
2/ Oh death – She-haw. 2001. Splinter
Made 2 studio & 1 live album of acoustic Hillbilly/ Blues.
Tar Box Ramblers
3/ Oh death – Tarbox Ramblers. 2001. Tarbox Ramblers
The Tarbox Ramblers draw their influences from early 20th-century blues, hillbilly, and gospel. Thei sound comes not only from the early music but also from modern alt. rock & consists of leader/singer Michael Tarbox's open-tuned slide guitar, Johnny Sciascia's upright string bass, Daniel Kellar's fiddle, and Jon Cohan's drums.
4/ Oh death – David Johansen & the Harry Smiths. 2000.
David Johansen & the Harry Smiths
Best known for fronting the New York Dolls. Went mainly solo when dolls split & became Buster Pointdexter in 1984. Went back to his love of the blues in late 90’s, with the Harry Smiths
5/ Drop down mama – Sleepy John Estes. 1935. I ain’t gonna be worried no more,
1929-41
B.1899, Tenn. D.1977, Tenn. Born into a sharecropping family & lost the sight in one eye as a child. Played home made cigar box guitar at picnics. By mid 20’s had moved to memphis where he played street corners for tips. Recorded 12 sides in sept.1927. Years later he & Hammie Nixon moved to Chicago & played the streets. Rec. for Decca from 1935, cutting over 30 sides by ’40. 1942 went back home & lived in poverty. Lost other eye in 1949.Recorded a few sides on & off over next few years. Was ‘rediscovered’ in 1963 & made numerous recordings & played festivals until his death.
6/ Drop down mama – North Mississippi Allstars. 2000. Shake hands with shorty
Brothers Luther (guitar, mandolin, vocals) and Cody Dickinson (drums, sampling) formed the North Mississippi Allstars in 1996 with bassist Chris Chew. The sons of longtime Memphis production staple Jim Dickinson were born in Fayette County, TN, and their family later moved to northern Mississippi, where the boys soaked up the country-blues sound of the region from artists like Mississippi Fred McDowell and R.L. Burnside.
7/ Cross road blues – Robert Johnson. 1936. The complete…….
B.1911, Ms. D.1938,Ms. A genuinely legendary figure. Looked on in many quarters as the greatest delta bluesman ever; was certainly the most influential. His music was a huge influence on the likes of Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page/Led Zep. & countless others. His legend is helped by his short life & mysterious violent death. Most of his songs are now blues standards.
The Tarbox Ramblers draw their influences from early 20th-century blues, hillbilly, and gospel. Thei sound comes not only from the early music but also from modern alt. rock & consists of leader/singer Michael Tarbox's open-tuned slide guitar, Johnny Sciascia's upright string bass, Daniel Kellar's fiddle, and Jon Cohan's drums.
4/ Oh death – David Johansen & the Harry Smiths. 2000.
David Johansen & the Harry Smiths
Best known for fronting the New York Dolls. Went mainly solo when dolls split & became Buster Pointdexter in 1984. Went back to his love of the blues in late 90’s, with the Harry Smiths
5/ Drop down mama – Sleepy John Estes. 1935. I ain’t gonna be worried no more,
1929-41
B.1899, Tenn. D.1977, Tenn. Born into a sharecropping family & lost the sight in one eye as a child. Played home made cigar box guitar at picnics. By mid 20’s had moved to memphis where he played street corners for tips. Recorded 12 sides in sept.1927. Years later he & Hammie Nixon moved to Chicago & played the streets. Rec. for Decca from 1935, cutting over 30 sides by ’40. 1942 went back home & lived in poverty. Lost other eye in 1949.Recorded a few sides on & off over next few years. Was ‘rediscovered’ in 1963 & made numerous recordings & played festivals until his death.
6/ Drop down mama – North Mississippi Allstars. 2000. Shake hands with shorty
Brothers Luther (guitar, mandolin, vocals) and Cody Dickinson (drums, sampling) formed the North Mississippi Allstars in 1996 with bassist Chris Chew. The sons of longtime Memphis production staple Jim Dickinson were born in Fayette County, TN, and their family later moved to northern Mississippi, where the boys soaked up the country-blues sound of the region from artists like Mississippi Fred McDowell and R.L. Burnside.
7/ Cross road blues – Robert Johnson. 1936. The complete…….
B.1911, Ms. D.1938,Ms. A genuinely legendary figure. Looked on in many quarters as the greatest delta bluesman ever; was certainly the most influential. His music was a huge influence on the likes of Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page/Led Zep. & countless others. His legend is helped by his short life & mysterious violent death. Most of his songs are now blues standards.
8/ Cross road blues – Peter Green. 2000. Hot food powder
B.1946, London. Regarded by many as the greatest white blues guitarist ever. Joined John Mayalls Bluesbreakers in 1966, as replacement for Eric Clapton. 1967, started ‘Peter Greens Fleetwood Mac’. Left in mid ’70 due to personality problems after taking too much acid, & became a gravedigger. Refused all royalties on his back catalogue. Made a couple of solo albums in the late ‘70’s – early 80’s. Surprisingly came back with ‘Splinter group’ in the mid ‘90’s & has made half a dozen blues albums since.
9/ Judgement day – Robert Johnson. 1936. The complete…………
10/ Judgement day – Hilltops. 1991. Big black river
Based in Oxford, MS, the Hilltops served as a precursor to the band Blue Mountain and the later music career of John Stirratt (Wilco, Uncle Tupelo). One of the best and most popular bands in the North Mississippi/Memphis region during their late-'80s existence.
Note:- 1937 - Bessie Smith dies as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident on Highway 61 in Mississippi.
B.1946, London. Regarded by many as the greatest white blues guitarist ever. Joined John Mayalls Bluesbreakers in 1966, as replacement for Eric Clapton. 1967, started ‘Peter Greens Fleetwood Mac’. Left in mid ’70 due to personality problems after taking too much acid, & became a gravedigger. Refused all royalties on his back catalogue. Made a couple of solo albums in the late ‘70’s – early 80’s. Surprisingly came back with ‘Splinter group’ in the mid ‘90’s & has made half a dozen blues albums since.
9/ Judgement day – Robert Johnson. 1936. The complete…………
10/ Judgement day – Hilltops. 1991. Big black river
Based in Oxford, MS, the Hilltops served as a precursor to the band Blue Mountain and the later music career of John Stirratt (Wilco, Uncle Tupelo). One of the best and most popular bands in the North Mississippi/Memphis region during their late-'80s existence.
Note:- 1937 - Bessie Smith dies as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident on Highway 61 in Mississippi.
11/ Rock Island line – Leadbelly. 1937. Good morning blues
B.1888, La. D.1949, N.Y.C. Played Accordian, Bass, 6 & 12 string guitar, Harmonica, Mandolin & piano. His main influence was Blind Lemon Jefferson, who he travelled with for a while in 1915. He was the son of sharecroppers, who moved to Texas when he was 5 years old. He was given 33 years for killing a man in 1917. In 1925 he was given a pardon for composing & singing a song pleading for his freedom. !930, convicted of assault. 1933, the Lomaxes recorded him. When he was released he became their chauffeur. He sang anything the audience wanted including Blues, Spirituals, dance tunes & folk ballads. Moved to New York in 1934 where he recorded for the Library of Congress & Folkways, but never earned much money. Died in poverty. Soon after his death Pete Seeger’s group, The Weavers, had a million seller with his ‘Goodnight Irene’.
12/ Rock Island line – Lonnie Donegan. 1955. E.P.collection
B.1931, Glasgow. D.2002, Peterborough. In the 50’s, he launched Skiffle with ‘Rock Island Line’. Played in jazz bands with Chris Barber & Ken Colyer at start of music career. Finished up playing mostly blues.
13/ Good morning little schoolgirl – Sonny Boy Williamson (1). (John Lee Williamson). 1937.Nothing but the bluesB.1914, Tn. D.1948, Ill. Easily the most important harmonica player of the pre-war era, John Lee Williamson almost single-handedly made the humble mouth organ a worthy lead instrument for blues bands — leading the way for the amazing innovations of Little Walter and a platoon of others to follow. If not for his tragic murder in 1948 while on his way home from a Chicago gin mill, Williamson would doubtless have been right there alongside them. It can safely be noted that Williamson made the most of his limited time on the planet. Already a harp virtuoso in his teens, the first Sonny Boy (Rice Miller would adopt the same monicker down in the Delta) learned from Hammie Nixon and Noah Lewis and rambled with Sleepy John Estes and Yank Rachell before settling in Chicago in 1934. Williamson's extreme versatility and consistent ingenuity won him a Bluebird recording contract in 1937. Recorded proliffically for the rest of his life.
Note:- 1938 - John Hammond puts on the first ‘Spirituals to Swing’ concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall, featuring Big Bill Broonzy, among others.
Note:- 1941 - Alan Lomax records 26 year old McKinley Morganfield (a.k.a. Muddy waters) for the Library of Congress on Stovall’s farm.
Japanese attack pearl harbour; the U.S. enters w.w.2. Recording became almost non-existent due to the raw materials being required for the war effort. There was a migration from the south, to the west & north (to Chicago( to work in the war industries.
B.1888, La. D.1949, N.Y.C. Played Accordian, Bass, 6 & 12 string guitar, Harmonica, Mandolin & piano. His main influence was Blind Lemon Jefferson, who he travelled with for a while in 1915. He was the son of sharecroppers, who moved to Texas when he was 5 years old. He was given 33 years for killing a man in 1917. In 1925 he was given a pardon for composing & singing a song pleading for his freedom. !930, convicted of assault. 1933, the Lomaxes recorded him. When he was released he became their chauffeur. He sang anything the audience wanted including Blues, Spirituals, dance tunes & folk ballads. Moved to New York in 1934 where he recorded for the Library of Congress & Folkways, but never earned much money. Died in poverty. Soon after his death Pete Seeger’s group, The Weavers, had a million seller with his ‘Goodnight Irene’.
12/ Rock Island line – Lonnie Donegan. 1955. E.P.collection
B.1931, Glasgow. D.2002, Peterborough. In the 50’s, he launched Skiffle with ‘Rock Island Line’. Played in jazz bands with Chris Barber & Ken Colyer at start of music career. Finished up playing mostly blues.
13/ Good morning little schoolgirl – Sonny Boy Williamson (1). (John Lee Williamson). 1937.Nothing but the bluesB.1914, Tn. D.1948, Ill. Easily the most important harmonica player of the pre-war era, John Lee Williamson almost single-handedly made the humble mouth organ a worthy lead instrument for blues bands — leading the way for the amazing innovations of Little Walter and a platoon of others to follow. If not for his tragic murder in 1948 while on his way home from a Chicago gin mill, Williamson would doubtless have been right there alongside them. It can safely be noted that Williamson made the most of his limited time on the planet. Already a harp virtuoso in his teens, the first Sonny Boy (Rice Miller would adopt the same monicker down in the Delta) learned from Hammie Nixon and Noah Lewis and rambled with Sleepy John Estes and Yank Rachell before settling in Chicago in 1934. Williamson's extreme versatility and consistent ingenuity won him a Bluebird recording contract in 1937. Recorded proliffically for the rest of his life.
Note:- 1938 - John Hammond puts on the first ‘Spirituals to Swing’ concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall, featuring Big Bill Broonzy, among others.
Note:- 1941 - Alan Lomax records 26 year old McKinley Morganfield (a.k.a. Muddy waters) for the Library of Congress on Stovall’s farm.
Japanese attack pearl harbour; the U.S. enters w.w.2. Recording became almost non-existent due to the raw materials being required for the war effort. There was a migration from the south, to the west & north (to Chicago( to work in the war industries.
14/ Take a little walk with me – Robert jr. Lockwood. 1941. American roots music
B.1915, Arkansas. D.2006 Stepson of Robert Johnson. First played professionally after Johnson’s death & continued until his own death.
15/ Catfish blues – Robert Petway. 1941. Guitar blues
A well-respected country blues artist despite his limited output, Robert Petway was a blues guitarist who recorded eight sides for Bluebird Records in 1941 and followed those up with eight more in 1942 (of which six were issued). Little biographical information is available on Petway, although it is known that he lived and played in Mississippi. The only surviving image of him shows him in overalls, holding a metal-bodied National resonator guitar. His song "Catfish Blues" gained some notoriety when it was recorded by Muddy Waters, who renamed it "Rollin' Stone," providing the inspiration years later for the name of the rock band, the Rolling Stones.
16/ Deep sea blues (a.k.a.catfish blues) – Tommy McLennan. 1941. Before the blues, Vol.2.
B.1908, Miss. D.1958. Very little known. Recorded 1939 – 1942. Incredibly powerful, no frills, raw Delta blues player.
17/ Key to the highway – Big Bill Broonzy. 1941. Roots of rock
B.1893, Miss. D.1958, Ill. Literally born on the banks of the Mississippi, he was one of a family of 17. Moved to Chicago mid ‘20’s. First recorded 1927. Last recorded 1958.
18/ Key to the highway – Jo Ann Kelly. 1969
19/ Key to the highway – Eric Clapton & B.B.King. 2000. Riding with the king
Clapton, B.1945, England. King, B.1925, Miss. 74 entries in R ‘n’ B charts from 1951 – 1985. Became a radio D.J. in Memphis in 1948, whilst playing his music in spare time. First hit in 1949 & has recorded & toured ever since.
B.1915, Arkansas. D.2006 Stepson of Robert Johnson. First played professionally after Johnson’s death & continued until his own death.
15/ Catfish blues – Robert Petway. 1941. Guitar blues
A well-respected country blues artist despite his limited output, Robert Petway was a blues guitarist who recorded eight sides for Bluebird Records in 1941 and followed those up with eight more in 1942 (of which six were issued). Little biographical information is available on Petway, although it is known that he lived and played in Mississippi. The only surviving image of him shows him in overalls, holding a metal-bodied National resonator guitar. His song "Catfish Blues" gained some notoriety when it was recorded by Muddy Waters, who renamed it "Rollin' Stone," providing the inspiration years later for the name of the rock band, the Rolling Stones.
16/ Deep sea blues (a.k.a.catfish blues) – Tommy McLennan. 1941. Before the blues, Vol.2.
B.1908, Miss. D.1958. Very little known. Recorded 1939 – 1942. Incredibly powerful, no frills, raw Delta blues player.
17/ Key to the highway – Big Bill Broonzy. 1941. Roots of rock
B.1893, Miss. D.1958, Ill. Literally born on the banks of the Mississippi, he was one of a family of 17. Moved to Chicago mid ‘20’s. First recorded 1927. Last recorded 1958.
18/ Key to the highway – Jo Ann Kelly. 1969
19/ Key to the highway – Eric Clapton & B.B.King. 2000. Riding with the king
Clapton, B.1945, England. King, B.1925, Miss. 74 entries in R ‘n’ B charts from 1951 – 1985. Became a radio D.J. in Memphis in 1948, whilst playing his music in spare time. First hit in 1949 & has recorded & toured ever since.
20/ Country blues – Muddy Waters. 1941.
21/ Interview no.1. – Muddy Waters. 1941.
22/ I be’s troubled. – Muddy Waters .1941.
23/ I can’t be satisfied – Muddy Waters. 1948.
(All 4 of the above tracks are from 'The complete plantation recordings'.)
B.1915, Miss. D.1983, Ill. One of the all time great (if not THE greatest) Chicago bluesmen. Basically took the old time rural blues & electrified it in his own style. Estimates state that more than 50 musicians worked with him & went on to record in their own right. Superb slide player & powerful vocalist. Started out as a field hand & tractor driver on Stovall’s plantation.
21/ Interview no.1. – Muddy Waters. 1941.
22/ I be’s troubled. – Muddy Waters .1941.
23/ I can’t be satisfied – Muddy Waters. 1948.
(All 4 of the above tracks are from 'The complete plantation recordings'.)
B.1915, Miss. D.1983, Ill. One of the all time great (if not THE greatest) Chicago bluesmen. Basically took the old time rural blues & electrified it in his own style. Estimates state that more than 50 musicians worked with him & went on to record in their own right. Superb slide player & powerful vocalist. Started out as a field hand & tractor driver on Stovall’s plantation.