If this piques the curiosity of even just one F-Chatter who's not gotten into this genre, then this thread has served it's purpose. Blues is it, man. Though I've got an almost equal-sized, critically "greater" collection of Jazz, and used to have several hundred Rock albums that mattered (since reduced), it all owes it's form, shape, expression... existence to Blues. I loaned a dozen or so of my favorite Blues CD's out a year or so ago & while I miss them, I'm glad my Poker buds in L.A. get to hear them. Bastards. Nevertheless, here's a rundown of what 127 Blues albums I have in this room where I keep in touch with F-Chat & lesser sites - a few other CDs are in the kid's "studio." This list is not for mere display or "show and tell" - since everybody's tastes are different - It's to see what strikes a chord. Little Willie Anderson Carey Bell Buster Benton Blind Blake Scrapper Blackwell Michael Bloomfield Big Bill Broonzy R.L. Burnside Aron Burton - 2 Butler Twins Cannon's Jug Stompers Carter Brothers W.C. Clark - 2 Albert Collins Pee Wee Crayton Cream R. Crumb and the Cheap Suit Serenaders Crying Sam Collins Lester Davenport Rev. Gary Davis - 2 Floyd Dixon Willie Dixon Snooks Eaglin Ronnie Earl Dave "Honeyboy" Edwards - 2 Sleepy John Estes John Fahey Jesse Fuller Lowell Fulson - 4 Grady Gaines and the Texas Upsetters Guitar Slim Buddy Guy - 3 Peppermint Harris Homesick James Earl Hooker John Lee Hooker - 5 Lightnin' Hopkins - 7 Howlin' Wolf - 4 Long John Hunter Skip James Blind Lemon Jefferson - 3 Big Jack Johnson with Kim Wilson Lonnie Johnson Robert Johnson Junior Kimbrough Albert King - 3 B.B. King - 6 Freddie King Leadbelly Alan Lomax Field Recordings Furry Lewis - 2 John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers w/ Eric Clapton Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry Little Milton Mississippi John Hurt Mississippi Sheiks Original Five Blind Boys of Alabama Bobby Parker - 2 Charley Patton - 2 Asie Payton John Primer Professor Longhair Ma Rainey Otis Rush Lonnie Shields - 2 Johnny Shines - 3 Johnny Shines and Robert Lockwood Funny Papa Smith Charlie Spand Arbee Stidham Frank Stokes Sunnyland Slim Koko Taylor Little Johnny Taylor Susan Tedeschi Band Sonny Terry Big Mama Thornton Tré T-Model Ford - 2 Stevie Ray Vaughan Various Artists - Takoma Blues Casey Bill Weldon Philip Walker - 2 Muddy Waters - 3 Robert Wilkins Kim Wilson
ACK! I started to panic when I didn't see Huddy Ledbetter (Leadbelly) named in the first dozen or so names... Had no idea as I scrolled that the list would be so long. P.S. I predict a crazy German will chime in at any moment...
Oh, man - Leadbelly's Absolutely the Best was playing a bit ago. Factoid: He played a song for the Governor of Texas... Please, Governor Neff, Be good 'n' kind Have mercy on my great long time... I don't see to save my soul If I don't get a pardon, try me on a parole... If I had you, Governor Neff, like you got me I'd wake up in the mornin' and I'd set you free ...and got pardoned from Prison in (looks it up) 1923. Yup - dig this, kids - At the time he was pardoned, he had 23 years remaining on his 30 year sentence for... escaping from Prison. It gets better/worse... After going back in for attempted homicide a few years later he was pardoned again in 1934. Thing is, the guys that helped him get out - Alan and John Lomax - later parted ways with Huddie after he held a knife to Alan's throat. Of the whole lot of performers, Blues or otherwise, he had to have been the most violent. One would think he thrashed on his guitar, but he didn't. No wonder you went looking for him, FJ...
Listening to those crackling, popping recordings... just awesome. It's one of those pleasures shared by very few other people, because they "can't understand" the lyrics and I guess don't want to try to. I usually save Leadbelly for a long, nighttime drive by myself. Page and Plant had nothing on ol' Leadbelly performing "Gallows Pole"
You'd think more people would get the joke when you walk around in Austin efffing Texas with an "I'm Skip James, B!tch!" shirt on (with accompanying picture of Skip James). Unfortuantely, the only comments I got were "It's Rick. RICK." Thanks a lot, idiots. If you feel like making a similar list with delta blues artists, I'd be interested. Geeshie(chie) Wiley rules.
Nice story! Unfortunately, true! Are there 2 guys that go by "Geechie"? One being Johnnie "Geechie" Temple? Insofar as Delta Blues in the 1st post's collection goes - Charley Patton, Robert Johnson, Johnny Shines, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Robert Lockwood (Johnson's stepson) [preceding 3 played/travelled with Robert Johnson], Lonnie Johnson (damn near virtuoso influenced Robert Johnson to be Delta Blues, as Robert was previously laughed/shamed out of the room by Patton & the boys before he went off into legend time {legend which was actually copied from Tommy Johnson} & as such Lonnie gifted Delta Blues) Skip James, Muddy Waters - though he's more commonly associated with Chicago Blues, his My Home is in the Delta to me, is the sum of all parts. He took his acoustic Delta sizzle to the Big City and plugged in. And how. Anyhoo, I understand your preferences entirely, as what bums me out is what is in the now-distant Poker Room has some Chicago Blues, but is mostly Delta Blues. Otherwise, the list would have Son House, Crudup, Elmore James, Tommy Johnson, Nighthawk, Bracey... There's a guy I want you to check out - I've been out of touch with him for a few years, but he is or was "Honeyboy" Edwards driver/assistant for the longest time - his name's Waymon Meeks. Only disc I have of him is from a Radio Show - he even had a cold - but he doesn't screw around. Plays Delta and Piedmont in the truest form. http://www.buttermilkmeeks.com/
Like Dave says - crackling music, nothing like it. Yes, this is why I don't have an iPod. It just isn't the same. While I do have quite a few MP3's, CD's and some albums are still around. Good stuff wax. You have quite a range in music, and I really dig that.
Thanks for the heads up, Tom. SoulSeek and Ares should be busy for a few days. PS - Geeshie/chie is a female. 2 mp3's are on archive.org. To get to the other, click on her name. I include both spellings, because they're both right, apparently.
Last year Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry had a pretty cool exhibit on the history of the blues. They had a ton of old films and artifacts, as well as great background on its migration north to Chicago. One exhibit allowed you to listen to Zep songs on headphones, along with the originals they "borrowed" from.
My Mother-in-Law is in town, staying with a Sister-in-Law. Born in Little Rock Arkansas in 1929, moved to Robinsonville, MS as a very small child. Her eleventh and last child is my Bride, who was born in Robinsonville in the year, well, I ain't sayin' - but she's still 29, just like she was the year before that and the year before that... but she looks younger. They moved from Robinsinville to St. Louis before she my gal was into teens, if I'm not mistaken. So? I showed her some footage from a documentary tape on Robert Johnson, "Oh, I knew him" - 3 people jaws dropped & said 'HUH?! YOU KNEW ROBERT JOHNSON?' - because of the late, late hour, I fast-forwarded to a nice, in-depth segment with a gentleman from Robinsinville. Last name's Coffee. She says, "Oh, I know him - all his daughters" & rattled off their names in rapid succession. Too bad my Bride's Dad's long gone, as he was 20 years older than his own Bride & no telling how much he knew. Robinsinville was a small, one road town when my Bride was a kid, for example there were less than 100 people there. I understand Most of the places have been torn down, for Casinos. But, in it's day, there were juke joints, drawing resident and nonresident alike into town. Robert Johnson hung his hat in Robinsonville for a few months, having married at 17 in '29. He hit the road, married 3 times, kept at least 1 woman in every town. Robert Johnson displayed his skills to those who'd mocked him before - none other than Son House (moved to Robinsonville in '30) and Wille Brown (long-time Robinsonville local) & stayed another month, making damn sure everybody knew who the King was. Plenty of time for a local kid to see the guy who's not only back in town, but everybody's talking about in the dinkiest of towns with jukiest of juke joints. He created quite a stir. From those who separate fact from fiction... http://www.doktorsnake.com/voodoo/robert_johnson_crossroads.html Johnson's time in Southern Mississippi was very important because it was there that his musical talent came to fruition. When he returned to Robinsonville, Son House and Willie Brown were astounded by his development. "He was so good!" recalled Son. "When he finished, all our mouths were standing open. I said, 'Well, ain't that fast! He's gone now!'" This was when rumors began about Johnson trading his soul to the Devil in exchange for guitar expertise. Not only had be suddenly become a brilliant musician, but he had also gained extraordinary charisma, to the point that his performance often moved a crowd to tears and also attracted many blues players, destined to become famous in their own right, as his disciples. On top of all this, his career took off. So, that's why I give credence to her statement - Hell, I remember being 9 & being nosy about something that happened miles away. If we couldn't ride our bikes or on the handlebars, we'd run to the scene of the you-name-it. So... It was late, so I told her I'm going to pick her brain a little, and she's looking forward to doing just that. Might be tough, as she's a devout Jehovah's Witness - may gloss over her own parents going out on the town (honor thy Father and they Mother) but she seemed very forthcoming. I want to hear from her about how she "knew" Robert Johnson as a 9-year-old, life on the Plantation and what she has to say about the Blues Scene with locals like Son House & Willie Brown as neighbors & if she can recall the likes of Charley Patton and others who did more than just pass through.
I love blues......especially what can be called Delta blues.......there's nothing like a steel guitar and harp !! Been a fan of this music for over twenty years now and listen to it every day when I can. How come Etta James is not on your list ? She's one of the all time female greats !!
Thanks for reminding me - only disc I have of her is Etta James and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson - The Late Show. Highly, highly recommended! But this thread ain't about me! We've all got collections of any size or another and Blues to unearth.
Sounds similar to a story my dad had of one of the sharecroppers near one of his dad's projects (gramps was a civil engineer... Washington on the Brazos is on his resume, as are several other things). Some old guy all the locals loved to listen to whenever he would; Mance Lipscomb.
wow, that is one impressive list. I've spent the last few years building my classical and jazz collections... which are finally taking shape, but that is simply beyond compare... I applaud your obsession.
Good to see Otis Rush on the list. Anyone who likes the blues and hasn't heard his version of As The Years Go Passing By, please get it (on 1994's Ain't Enough Comin' In) it will make your hair stand on end.
John Lee Hooker.... Dirty, greasy, nasty, raunchy, from the gut (and lower)..... What more could you want in the blues?
