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  • Searching For Robert Johnson: Guitar expert spots new photograph on eBay auction

    ...As he pored over the mass of texts and thumbnail photos that the eBay search engine had pulled up on that day in 2005, one strangely worded listing caught Schein’s eye. It read, “Old Snapshot Blues Guitar B.B. King???” He clicked on the link, then took in the sepia-toned image that opened on his monitor. Two young black men stared back at Schein from what seemed to be another time. They stood against a plain backdrop wearing snazzy suits, hats, and self-conscious smiles. The man on the left held a guitar stiffly against his lean frame. Neither man looked like B. B. King, but as Schein studied the figure with the guitar, noticing in particular the extraordinary length of his fingers and the way his left eye seemed narrower and out of sync with his right, it occurred to him that he had stumbled across something significant and rare... the more convinced he became that it depicted one of the most mysterious and mythologized blues artists produced by the Delta: the guitarist, singer, and...
  • Down By (Copyright) Law

    Why is Nina Paley depressed? Her debut feature film, Sita Sings the Blues — which she animated herself in Adobe Flash — screened to general acclaim at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. It won the best feature-film award at this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival and best American feature at the Avignon Film Festival . Oh, wait, here’s the problem — she can’t find a distributor willing to take a chance on her unconventional, very personal film. ( This is a bad year to be shopping an indie. ) Because she doesn’t have “synch rights” to the compositions underlying the Annette Hanshaw songs that inspired the story — and now constitute its backbone — she can’t give the film away . Having invested so much in striking prints of the film for festivals and making screener DVDs for press, she’s too broke to pay the $220,000 it would take to clear the 11 songs for distribution . (Don’t miss the spreadsheet showing exactly how much the various players expect her to pay to clear...
  • It’s good to be loved

    In the French Quarters of New Orleans you are very likely to come across various street entertainers. Grampa Elliott is one such performer. Elliott Small has had a smattering of recordings over the years like the 1976 Malaco record discussed here Since that time no record lables have produced any of his work that I can find. He spent his time performing on street corners in the Quarter until Katrina, some people feared the worse, but he turned up on Royal street in 2005 no worse for wear. Here is a story by Rick Bragg of the NYT Grandpa Elliot & Stoney B. Born in New Orleans, Grandpa Elliot began his career over 50 years ago, tap dancing on Bourbon Street, and now plays harp and sings harmony on Royal and Toulouse. He joins Chicago “Blues Man” Michael Stone (a.k.a. Stoney B.) and is oftentimes accompanied by Oscar Castro on guitar. Together and singularly, they form formidable singers and musicians, playing everything, as Grandpa puts it, “From A to Z.” It was Stoney who gave Grandpa...
  • Mississippi Fred McDowell

    When the Rolling tones recorded an old blues tune called You Gotta Move on Sticky Fingers back in 1971, it was another instance of a tune by an old black man, known only to blues aficionados, suddenly becoming part of the consciousness of a gazillion people who probably never would've heard it otherwise. But let's pay a little visit to the man who originally wrote and recorded the song, Mississippi Fred McDowell , shall we? Here's a jumping version of Shake 'em On Down , his haunting Going Down to the River , the gospel blues of When I Lay My Burden Down , Highway 61 , My Babe (you'll note the similarity to "This Train"), Louise , and his version of the American folk/blues standard John Henry . And don't miss the beautiful 1969 documentary featuring McDowell at Internet Archive, Blues Maker , which features some superlative acoustic performances, and footage of the people and environment of the Mississippi delta country.
  • King of the blues one-man bands

    Presenting Jesse Fuller and his fotdella : San Francisco Bay Blues ; Red River Blues ; John Henry .
  • Lookin' for a home...

    In the little town of Enterprise, Alabama, there stands a bizarre statue that would make any card-carrying surrealist proud: an archetypical Greek goddess raises her arms toward heaven and holds high above her head... an enormous insect . Of course, it's the boll weevil . That cotton-eatin' critter inspired not only the world's only monument to an agricultural pest, but some great tunes as well , from a wide range of artists . [note: see hoverovers for link descriptions] The Doc Pomus-penned tune (sung by Elvis) Little Sister refers to the boll weevil in one of its lines. MeFier Astro Zombie's tune A Man is Coming , right here at MetaFilter Music, opens with a line addressed to a boll weevil.
  • There's Always One More Time

    September 14, 1998 "the Tan Canary" passes away. He started out as a gospel singer but went on to perform blues, soul, county, and jazz. In 1968 he covered the country standard "Release Me" and it became a hit. His audience grew, but stardom outside of his home in New Orleans was not to be his. Tom Surowicz pointed out in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, "Adams could sing sophisticated jazz. He could sing sentimental pop, or stirring gospel. He had precious few peers when tackling Southern deep-soul classics. And on the right night, with the right band, he all but owned the blues." I Won't Cry was his first hit 1959, and from the same site Part Of Me His song Hell Yes I Cheated is featured on an interesting compilation called More Dirty Laundry: The Soul of Black Country Myspace
  • Johnny Temple

    Those familiar with the plaintive falsetto of Delta blues great Skip James will surely hear Skip's influence in the much lesser-known Johnny Temple 's Evil Devil Blues , recorded in 1935, which features some delightfully unexpected melodic twists. And though Johnny Temple "never achieved stardom", he does have a Wikipedia page . The Johnny Temple YT clip is from PreWarMusic , who's posted several clips well worth your time and attention from early American music figures who aren't exactly household names. I really like this one, for example: Bed Spring Poker . Skip James, of course, has been featured in a number of previous MeFi posts .
  • Canadian Brass

    The brass quintet Canadian Brass is both venerable--it's been around 38 years--and prolific--its discography is as long as your arm. While they often play classical arrangements , they also mix in jazz and blues , along with a complement of showmanship and humor . (Also, they play Flight of the Bumblebee on the tuba .) [Mouseover for titles.]
  • High Sheriff on my heels. I better get on my way, yes!

    The full length of Tom Davenport's " Born for Hard Luck " featuring Peg Leg Sam , the last of the great medicine show singers/dancers/musicians. Too busy to watch? Read the transcript with footnotes. Other films in Davenport's American Traditional Culture series available here . Tip o' the hat to hortense for the pointer. Previous Folkstreams post.
  • Rockabilly Rundown

    Whole Lotta Shakin' - a PRI documentary series on the history of rockabilly, hosted by Rosie Flores .
  • living blues in postwar Chicago

    Wayne Miller's compelling B&W photos of Chicago 1946-1948 set to Muddy Water's "I feel like going home." (flash alert; via bifurcated rivets )
  • Do You Like American Music?

    Sounds of America is a new monthly streaming audio program, a collaboration between the National Museum of American History and Smithsonian Global Sound . Up now are 3 episodes: African-American music in New Orleans, Women in American Music, and Freedom Songs of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement.
  • Yeah!

    Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers live at the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, 1973 . Watch out!
  • The King of Kings

    The youngest of the three kings of blues guitar, Freddie King ( The Texas Cannonball ) is probably best known for his instrumental Hideaway , but what stands out in retrospect is his amazing intensity . Having grown up in Texas and then Chicago , during the 1970s he found a niche playing to mostly white audiences in supper clubs and at festivals -- what he called the Fillmore Circuit -- although he also played other more challenging venues . His music, always funky and sweaty, just got funkier and sweatier . His death in 1976, at the age of 42, took him at his prime .
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