Episode 6: Country Blues
W-A-Y-O-L-P Rochester | 104.3 FM | streaming at wayofm.org
Welcome to episode six of The Roots of Jazz and Blues with King Henry. Here on W-A-Y-O-L-P Rochester, broadcasting at 104.3 FM and streaming at wayofm.org. So far in our blues journey, we've listened to Delta Blues and female blues singers. Today, we'll hear country blues. This is a general label for blues that grew up outside of big cities. Now, Delta Blues might be considered to be a kind of country blues, but it holds a special place as the bedrock of all blues.
Today, we'll look at three styles of country blues: jug band music, Piedmont blues, and folk blues.
Jug bands originated in medicine shows. These were shows that traveled to rural towns and provided free music to gather crowds so that the owners could hawk miracle cures. These elixirs were mostly strong alcohol, and some were further poisoned with morphine or cocaine. While traveling medicine shows died out in the early 1900s, the music persisted throughout the 1930s.
Jug bands mixed traditional instruments with homemade instruments, foremost blowing on jugs to provide rhythm, much like beatboxing. They also made bass fiddles out of wash tubs and broomsticks. And used washboards for rhythm. Many even incorporated kazoos.
Clifford Hayes led the first recorded jug band. In 1923, he teamed with country singer Jimmy Rogers in Clifford Hayes' Old Southern Jug Band with "My Good Girl's Gone Blues", 1923.
Clifford Hayes played in many jug bands, including the original Louisville Jug Band, the Dixieland Jug Blowers, and Clifford's Louisville Jug Band. Next, let's listen to the Dixieland Jug Blowers, "Please Don't Holler Mama", from 1927.
The Memphis Jug Band formed in 1926 around Will Shade. It was known for its unique sound, with a kazoo as a lead instrument, played like a trumpet. "Son Brimmer" was the nickname of Will Shade, and their first recorded song is "Son Brimmer's Blues". The style of the Memphis Jug Band changed over time as members of the band came in and out. Charles Burst played tenor banjo, and when he joined the band, he added quite a bit of complexity and some jazz influences. Let's hear him in "Insane Crazy Blues".
Cannon's Jug Stompers remained popular through the 1930s. One of their songs, "Walk Right In", became a hit for Dr. Hook in 1970. But let's hear the original 1930 version of "Walk Right In".
One of my favorite groups is the Mississippi Sheiks. The core of this group were the brothers Carter, Lonnie, and Sam Chetman. The Sheiks are highly collectible today. In fact, the most valuable record in my collection is "Crackin' Them Things" by the Sheiks, even though it is almost worn through. Let's listen to just a few seconds of my scratchy copy.
Pretty bad, you have to admit, but it's still worth over $100. Let's hear a good copy now. 1930, the Mississippi Sheiks, "Crackin' Them Things".
The Mississippi Sheiks' biggest hit has been covered by dozens of groups, from Frank Sinatra to the Grateful Dead. Here we go with "Sitting on Top of the World" from 1930.
Our last jug band today is led by Daddy Stovepipe. His real name was Johnny Watson. The nickname Stovepipe came from the fact that he performed in a top hat. He was born in Mobile in 1862. His first record came out in 1924 and his last in 1960 when he was aged 93. Let's hear his first record, "Sundown Blues".
Daddy Stovepipe often performed with his wife who went by the name Mississippi Sarah. Their performances were notable for the humorous banter between the two. Let's listen to their performance from 1935, "The Spasm".
Thank you for listening to the Roots of Jazz and Blues with King Henry on W-A-Y-O-L-P Rochester.
Our next style of country blues is Piedmont blues. It's characterized by finger-picking guitar where the melody is picked out by the forefinger while the thumb maintains a bass rhythm. It's named after the Piedmont region of the U.S., which is between the East Coast and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
We begin our exploration of Piedmont blues with three blind musicians: Blind Willie McTell, Blind Blake, and Blind Boy Fuller.
Blind Willie McTell was born in Georgia and as a teenager worked as a street performer. He first recorded in 1927 but never had a big hit. Still, he had a long career and in the 1950s he was back playing the streets of Atlanta. His most famous song, "Statesboro Blues", had many famous covers in the 1960s by Taj Mahal, the Allman Brothers Band, and others. Let's listen now to 1928 "Statesboro Blues" by Blind Willie McTell.
After listening to that recording, I had to double check that he was indeed the vocalist. He had a very high voice and could easily be mistaken for a woman blues singer. Bob Dylan was a big fan and wrote the song "Blind Willie McTell" in 1983. He also recorded a cover of McTell's "Broke Down Engine." Let's listen to Blind Willie McTell's version, 1931, "Broke Down Engine Blues".
Little is known of the life of our next singer. Some say he was born in Florida, others say the Sea Islands of Georgia. Blind Blake showed up at Paramount Records in 1926 and recorded 80 sides in just three years. Perhaps because of the mystery of his life, these records are highly sought after. Let's hear his first record, "Early Morning Blues".
In 1930, Blind Blake took part in an all-star blues record called the "Hometown Skiffle". This was a true blues supergroup. It included Blind Lemon Jefferson, Will Ezell, Charlie Spand, the Hokum Boys, Papa Charlie Jackson, and of course Blind Blake. Let's listen now to both sides.
We now come to my personal favorite Piedmont Blues player, Blind Boy Fuller. He was also very popular with the public during his lifetime. As a teenager, he was working as a laborer when he went blind. The cause was untreated neonatal conjunctivitis. This is a bacterial infection of the eyes that occurs during birth of an infant and is why today infants are always given eye drops when they're born. By 1928, he was completely blind. He decided to support himself as a musician. He studied records by Blind Blake and others.
Now let's listen to both sides of a wonderful record from my own collection, 1940 Blind Boy Fuller, "Little Woman, You're So Sweet", followed by "Step It Up and Go".
We have to skip dozens of great Piedmont blues players, but I decided we had to include one more, Robert Hicks, who was known to the public as Barbecue Bob. He played six and 12 string guitar. For most of his life, he had to support himself doing odd jobs, and he was, in fact, working at Tidwell's Barbecue in Atlanta when he met a talent scout from Columbia Records. In just over four years, he recorded 68 songs. The first, from 1927, was "Barbecue Blues".
Bob died young at age 29 of tuberculosis, but before then he recorded his most remarkable song, an expression of black pride he titled "Chocolate to the Bone" from 1928.
Our last style of country blues today are folk blues. But first, let me remind you, this is W-A-Y-O-L-P, Rochester, and you're listening to The Roots of Jazz and Blues with King Henry.
Folk blues combine traditional folk music from the Appalachian Mountains with blues.
One of the great folk blues musicians was Memphis Minnie. She grew up just south of Memphis, Tennessee. At age 13, she ran away from her farm family to play on street corners of Memphis. At age 16, she toured with the Ringling Brothers Circus. By 20, she was back in Memphis, singing in nightclubs. Her first records were made with her first husband, Kansas Joe. Let's listen to Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe, "I Want That" from 1929.
Minnie's biggest hit was released in 1941, "Me and My Chauffeur Blues". Let's listen.
Our next artist, Mississippi John Hurt, grew up in Avalon, Mississippi. He taught himself guitar at age nine and at age 35 recorded several sides for OK Records. Unfortunately, these were commercial failures and he went back to farming. But let's listen to one that in the 1960s became one of the most famous blues songs in history, "Avalon Blues", 1928, Mississippi John Hurt.
John Hurt was rediscovered in 1963 by folk historian Dick Spotwood. Spotwood had heard a copy of "Avalon Blues" and traveled to Avalon to try to find the artist. So at age 70, John Hurt began recording and touring again. The world discovered him at the 1963 Newport Jazz Festival. Let's listen now to a rare recording, never released as a record. It was actually part of a movie of the festival. Mississippi John Hurt playing a bluesy version of "Casey Jones".
Our next musician, Howard Armstrong, played in a string band. He grew up in Tennessee in a musical family. He and his eight brothers and sisters and parents all played. He joined together with his brother Roland and guitarist Ted Bogan to perform at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. The next year with Bogan and using the name Louie Bluey for himself, he recorded "The State Street Rag".
As with many of artists on today's show, Howard had to put his musical career on hold in the 1940s and the 1950s when the public lost interest in folk music and blues. He was then rediscovered in the folk music revival of the 1960s, and then went on to record and tour throughout the '90s. Let's hear his 1985 version of that same "State Street Rag".
Our last artist on today's show is Sam John Hopkins. He hailed from Centerville, Texas, and fell in love with the blues as a child. He had a formative meeting at age eight at a church picnic where he met that most famous of blues musicians, Blind Lemon Jefferson. Hopkins played non-professionally for friends and church groups, but was unable to break into the music world until 1946 when he was scouted by Aladdin Records.
The record company teamed him with Wilson Smith, who had the nickname Thunder. So the record company gave Sam the nickname Lightning Hopkins. So let's listen now to their first recording, 1946 Lightning Hopkins and Wilson Thunder Smith, "Katie Mae".
Hopkins went on to have a long and successful career through the 1980s. In fact, he was even named by the city of Houston, Texas as their poet in residence. We'll close out today's show with a track from his first 33 LP record. The record was named "Lightnin' Hopkins" and the track is "Bad Luck and Trouble" from 1959.
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