More Paramount Records!

Great day for Paramount record lovers!  Found another article about the small Wisconsin furniture company turned record company to sell record players!  This one is from NPR, and discusses research of Scott Blackwood, and a reissue of Paramount recordings.  Unfortunately I couldn't find a link to the reissue or who is putting it out on the NPR site. The article is here on the NPR webpage

However, they did mention Revenant Records, so I checked them out and found the Paramount box set HERE Unfortunately all 5000 copies must have been sold because it is out of print!  ARGH!  The article from NPR is only a few days old!! I guess you will just have to look at the site and wonder what it would have been like to own a flash drive with 800 Paramount recordings on it, and all the rest of the cool stuff that came in the box. 

It's not Robert, but it sure looks cool!

A few years ago there was a brief stir created by a short film clip of a young bluesman. It does look like Robert Johnson, especially the extremely long fingers, but some pointy head academics ruin it:-) (as a pointed head academic I say that with love:-) Like most reality based fun spoilers, they did some research, and low and behold, they figure out the EXACT DATE, that the movie was filmed. So either Robert Johnson rose from the dead, faked his death, or ITS NOT ROBERT JOHNSON:-)

However, it is still a nice clip of a bluesman from the early 40s.

Delta Cultural Center In Helena Arkansas

The Dallas Morning News, has a very nice article about the Delta Cultural Center in Helena Arkansas. What is nice about the article is that they get the history right too! To read the article CLICK HERE.

Robert Johnson UPDATE

We have an update on the recording studio used by Robert Johnson in Dallas Texas. From The Dallas Observer, They have posted a PDF file of an interview Don Law gave for Frank Driggs who was producing Robert Johnson King of the Delta Blues Singers. That recording was a pivotal record that introduced Eric Clapton to Robert Johnson. Most of the notes and information from the questionnaire would end up on the liner notes for that LP. It is some great history, so follow this link HERE to read it.

Big Gigs In Storm Lake Iowa

Some cool blues shows are coming to Storm Lake the next few weeks. First it is the return of the Blues history concert series. Once again I am teaching Blues history at Buena Vista University, located on the frozen shores of Storm lake! This year we have on January 9th, The Eric Hovey Band, on January 13th Bob Dorr, and Jeff Peterson of the Blue Band, and on January 15th The Tom Gary Blues Band with special guest Ronn Hill. Ronn is suppose to play with us on the 15th, and this will be the first time he has played in over a year! So this should be a great show! Ronn now lives in Chicago, but he has also been blues and soul legend in every town he has lived in. Born in Des Moines, he has also established himself in not only Chicago, but also in Albuquerque New Mexico, and Las Vegas Nevada.

Also a couple more cool shows coming up. On January 9th Eric Hovey is playing at the Lake Ave Lounge. This is a cool retro bar located on Lake Ave in downtown Storm Lake. It is in the old Masons building, and has been refurbished to its classic 1950s look! Eric is performing from 9-1 on Friday January 9th, and on January 10th The Tom Gary Blues Band will have its CD release party from 8-12! These are some great shows so all of my Iowa readers head on down to Storm Lake and see some legends in blues!!!!!!

Real Blues History

I got this great email from Daddybstrong, about a conversation he had with a guy about Bill Haley. Click here to read his post. (To Check out his very cool blog Click HERE.) It is funny how little people know about the roots of rock and roll. All of the people we consider the fathers of rock and roll really stole their music from African American R&B and blues artists. Bill Haley, Jerry Lee, Elvis, Pat Boone, re-recorded songs that were already hits on the R&B Charts. However, it goes beyond that. It is the false information that some people have about history that bothers me. It reminds me of the post I deleted about a year ago. I had posted the story about a guy who believed that the Irish had a part in inventing the blues. I really laid into that statement, but I ended up deleting the post because the guy who I wrote about it was upset. (Trust me that won't happen again) The bottom line is that many people want to take credit for the accomplishment of African Americans. Part of it is just a total lack of knowledge and latent racism. Most of the people who make those comments are over the age of 45, so they grew up in a segregated world that forced second class citizenship upon African Americans. So people who grew up in the era obviously can't get it through their thick heads that perhaps someone besides white guys can invent something great. It is sad that in 2008 people still believe this crap. Just listen to some of the comments made in West Virgina about Barack Obama. Even Hillary Clinton who I used to respect has made crazy claims that she is the best choice for the Democrats because hard working white folks like her. Seriously, if it is the white redneck southern vote is the deciding vote for the next president then we are truly screwed.

I know we have come a long ways since the 1960s, but we still have a ways to go.

BF Burt At The Historical Building In Des Moines

Iowa City's BF Burt is putting on a show at the Historical Building of Iowa. It is a great show that covers the history of the blues in Iowa, and features performances of BF Burt and friends. Click on the picture for a bigger image with more details about the show.

Black History Month Stories About The Blues

The Cincinnati Enquirer, has a series of articles about the blues. I am not sure I buy into the death of the blues article that talks about youth and the blues. I know from experience that blues is in one of its currents ebbs, but that will soon change. I am not sure what will light the next blues fire, but it is due soon. To read the articles available from the Cincinnati Enquirer Click HERE.

Blues - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Blues - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nice link for those who want some more info about the blues.

Peter Green And Fleetwood Mac

This is an interesting article about the early Fleetwood Mac, and Peter Green. Some of you may not know that Fleetwood Mac was a blues band in its early days. This short article (Click Here) from the Star Online in Malaysia tells the story of Peter Green and Fleetwood mac. One thing that the article doesn't mention is that Peter Green has done some outstanding blues work, including a tribute album to Robert Johnson well before Eric Clapton did his.

Grafton Blues Association

www.graftonblues.org

A cool new website put together by the Grafton Blues Association. Grafton was home to the legendary Paramount Records. check them out.

Tinariwen Interview

Learn something new! The Aspen Times, has an interview with Tinairwen a west African band from the Mali area. However, they are not Malian, but Touareg, an ethnic group found in the northern dessert of Mali. It is an interesting connection between Africa and blues. Click HERE for more.

UPDATE

For some reason the link is dead. Here is a link to Wiki with a bio of the band. Here is a link to a myspace page with their music.

Having listened to the music, it is an interesting hybrid of African folk, and blues. I am not sure about the politics. Apparently there is some connection between the rebels and Muammar Al Gaddafi of Libya.

Czech Guitar Maker

A cool article from the Prague Post, about František Javůrek, who makes resonator steel guitars. I learned something new from the article, that the resonator guitar was created by a couple of Czech immigrants here in the United States. Here is an interesting quote from the article:

Two brothers, John and Rudy Dopyera, invented the resonator guitar as we know it today. They were born the sons of a local miller in Dolná Krupá, a village in the Trnava region of Slovakia. John built his first violin at an early age. After the family emigrated to California in 1908, John became a master luthier. Then, in 1926, vaudeville performer George Beauchamp asked him to construct a guitar whose sound would be louder and have more bite, and therefore outshine the other instruments in the combo. John Dopyera arranged three metal cones in a triangular pattern within a metal body, and joined them by a three-legged spider that supported the bridge. The basic design principle is similar to that of a loudspeaker, with the spider replacing the electro-magnetic driver. A later variation, also replicated by Amistar, used a single 9.5-inch cone that dramatically amplified the string vibrations. It had a less mellow sound, desired by some musicians, but increased the volume.

To read the whole article Click HERE

Artist Of The Week Big Bill Broonzy

One of the coolest stories from Iowa Blues history, and Iowa State University history,(My alma mater!) is that for about a year Big Bill Broonzy called ISU, and Iowa home. In the early 50s Bill was having health problems due to the smoky clubs in Chicago. He had played a concert at ISU, and was hoping to find a job on a farm in Iowa! He wrote to a professor at ISU who found him work as a janitor. For a year Big Bill recuperated in Ames, and eventually got well enough to perform for students and faculty. Bill enjoyed his brief stay in Ames, and joked that he went to college there. Eventually Bill was offered several thousand dollars to perform in France. Once he left for France Big Bill restarted his career, and only returned to Ames to pick up his stuff. However, he died of throat cancer in 1958.

Student Project: History Of The Blues

I think the person who made this is Ashley Spencer, but I hope my students watch this to get an idea of how to do a great project for their blues history class:-) I usally have them stick to one artist, but Ashley does a great job condensing the history of the blues into a couple minutes. Nice job Ashley!!! I hope you got an A!!:-)

Blues And Snake Update

If you had the chance to read my post about Blues and Snake (click here) then you probably enjoyed one of my rants on lazy reporting, and bands riding on the coattails of blues. However, I need to make a correction. I received a comment from one of the guys in the band who explained that the reporter made up a lot of the story, and that they never claimed to be a blues band. That they did have some sort of influence from Howling Wolf, but they consider themselves to be a hardcore band.

I do feel sorry that I was hard on the kids, after all I should know that reporters make up quotes, misquote, and are generally pretty lazy. I not saying all reporters are that way. Dana Larson, who is the editor for the Pilot Tribune, here in Storm Lake, has always done a great job anytime I have talked to him for a story. Yet, almost every interview i have had over the years has ended up garbled, and messed up. So much so, that I have just grown to distrust almost everyone, but Dana.

Sometimes bad reporting has ruined reputations almost beyond repair. I think one of the greatest tragedies of bad reporting goes back to the death of Mama Cass. Almost everyone thinks that she died from choking on a ham sandwich. However, that is not true. What happened was a reporter pressed the medical examiner to speculate on why she died. The medical examiner knew a half eaten sandwich was found in the room, and speculated that she died of a heart attack while choking on the sandwich. Of course, he later found out that she didn't choke, but died from a heart attack. After all Cass was a big woman, and was in ill health. Unfortunately Mama Cass became the but of a ton of jokes, because people made fun of the fact that a fat woman died choking on a sandwich even though IT WASN'T TRUE.

Finally, I need to address one comment about musical snobbery that came from one of the blues and snakes fans that left a comment on the board. It is not musical snobbery to defend the blues. It is also not a case that I know more about blues then anyone else and I am flaunting it. What I am doing is trying get the truth out about the blues. there is so much BS about blues, that it tires me, when people called it the "devils music" or "depressing music" or when a band thinks they can get a gig, or sell more cds by claiming they are blues, when they have no clue what the blues are. I would say that wouldn't you get angry if I were to call myself a hardcore band, and try to pass myself off as that???? Of course you would say that my music is not hardcore! Yup! Just like I would say that the music you listen to is not blues! I don't think I am being a snob about that. I also will continue to battle the misconception that Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil to play the blues. Perhaps this is a trivial matter to many of you, but it is important to me. Robert worked hard to learn and play his instrument. EVERY blues performer worked hard, and practiced for years to learn to play the blues. It sells Robert and every blues performer that followed him short, to believe that the blues is so easy that all you have to do is go down to the crossroads late at night and sign a paper selling your soul, and you are a bluesman. If you do a search on Robert Johnson on this site, you will see a lot of posts about this issue. I write about it, because I am tired of hearing the story. It has nothing to do with the blues, and the connection be the devil, or Legba, or Satan, and the blues is a minor part that receives far too much press, and legitimacy from lazy reporters who have watch the movie Crossroads, once to many time.

Bottom line, to the band Blues and Snake, keep up the good work. I think you guys are a great band. To anyone else offended get a life:-)

Fruitland Jackson In Des Moines

Received an email from Serena, at CIBS, and she sent out a reminder about an upcoming show with Fruitland Jackson. The show is at the Forest Ave Library in Des Moines on November 18:

Nov. 18 – (Sun.) 2:00 PM – Special Celebration: Award winning guitarist/oral historian Fruteland Jackson presents “All About The Blues”

SPECIAL HOURS 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM - This Sunday Only!

Fort Worth Weekly CD Reivew: Black Ace, I Am The Boss Card In Your Hand

The Forth Worth Weekly has an outstanding review of a reissue of Black Ace's I Am The Boss Card In Your Hand. What makes the review so great is that it is also great history. It tells not only the story of Black Ace, but also of Chris Strachwitz, who founded Arhoolie records. This is a must read for anyone interested in blues history. Check it out HERE.

Blues History Class At Purdue/ Buena Vista University

Channel 18 in Lafayette Indiana has a story about a blues history class offered by Purdue University. On Thursday they are putting on a performance called, Juneteeth The Cotton Club Review. For more details click HERE.


I did receive word that my blues history class is on the schedule again for J-Term at Buena Vista University. Once again I am lining up artists to perform. I am very interested in any national artists who would like to give a short lecture to a class of 20 kids, and then perform a set for them in the school auditorium. If anyone is interested please email me at bluesman2001@hotmail.com

Muslim Influence On The Blues

The Saudi Armco World, (Click HERE)has an interesting article about Muslim influence on the blues. At this point I am not sure what to make of it. Certainly Islam was around Africa at the time Europeans were gathering West Africans and transporting them to the Americas. However, I do believe the author is making one mistake comparing a call to prayer song, and a work song as evidence. The work song that they have certainly sounds similar to the call to prayer, but it is also an anomaly as a work song. In other words, it has the structure of a work song, but its melody and vocal are different from a lot of the work songs that I have heard. Yet, anything is possible when dealing with a music that has roots so far down, and so long ago, that it is probably impossible to tell where they start.