Happy Birthday Robert Johnson -The "Kings" Of "Dinkytown"** In Their Prime- Spider John Koerner/Dave Ray/Tony Glover

Click on title to link to YouTube's film clip of the Tony Glover-directed film documentary "Blues, Rags & Hollers" from 1986 that forms a nice sequel to this CD done in 1963.

**Dinkytown refers to the student/hip ghetto, etc. of Minneapolis back in the days (and perhaps today as well). It also seemingly reflects on the range of the Koerner/Ray/Glover ambition.

CD Review

Blues, Rags& Hollers, Koerner, Ray& Glover, Vanguard Records, 1963

*The “Kings Of Dinkytown**” -The “Spider Man” Is In The House- The Music Of Folk’s Spider John Koerner and Sidekicks Dave Ray And Tony Glover

In a review of Spider John Koerner’s CD “Stargeezer” earlier this year I made the following comment that related to a question I was then asking about the fate of various male folk singers from the folk revival of the 1960s:

“Okay, Okay those of you who have been keeping tabs know that I have spend much of the last year, when not doing political commentary or book or movie reviews, reviewing many of the old time folk artists that, along with the blues, were the passion of my youth in the early 1960's. You might also know, if you are keeping tabs, that I have been attempting to answer a question that I have posed elsewhere in this space earlier about the fate or fates of various performers from that period. Spider John Koerner was a lesser known, but important, fixture on the Cambridge/Boston folk scene during that time, as well as later once the hubbub died down and he and a local stalwart, Mr. Bones, carried on the tradition in smaller venues and in front of smaller crowds.”

Well, here we go back to the basics of why I attentively listened to an old folk radio on late Sunday nights during my youth in order to learn what Koerner /Ray/Glover were up as they tried, and succeeded although it was a near thing, to translate their love of the blues in its country form into something that whites could appreciate and blacks could respect. Forty plus years out we know that white guys (and gals) can sing the blues, a bit differently from black guys (and gals) but the blues nevertheless. Tops on my list here are their version of the Robert Johnson/Elmore James classic "Dust My Broom" and the Blind Lemon Jefferson-inspired "One Kind Favor".

Song Lyrics: I Believe I'll Dust My Broom
Written and recorded by: Robert Johnson (1936)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm goin' get up in the mornin', I believe I'll dust my broom
I'm goin' get up in the mornin', I believe I'll dust my broom
Girlfriend, the black man you been lovin', girlfriend, can get my room

I'm gon' write a letter, telephone every town I know
I'm gon' write a letter, telephone every town I know
If I can't find her in West Helena, she must be in East Monroe I know

I don't want no woman, wants every downtown man she meet
I don't want no woman, wants every downtown man she meet
She's a no good doney, they shouldn't allow her on the street

I believe, I believe I'll go back home
I believe, I believe I'll go back home
You can mistreat me here, babe, but you can't when I go home

And I'm gettin' up in the mornin', I believe I'll dust my broom
I'm gettin' up in the mornin', I believe I'll dust my broom
Girlfriend, the black man you been lovin', girlfriend, can get my room

I'm gonna call up Chiney, see is my good girl over there
I'm gonna call up China, see is my good girl over there
'F I can't find her on Philippine's island, she must be in Ethiopia somewhere


© (1978) 1990, 1991 Lehsem II, LLC/Claud L. Johnson
Administered by Music & Media International, Inc.

Robert Johnson
(Robert Leroy Johnson)
May 8, 1911 - August 16, 1938


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Dust My Broom"
Lyrics as rewritten recorded by Elmore James
(Based on Robert Johnson's "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom")
(Song Recorded - 1959)

I'm gettin' up soon in the mornin'
I believe I'll dust my broom
I'm gettin' up soon in the mornin'
I believe I'll dust my broom
I quit the best girl I'm lovin',
now my friends can get in my room

I'm gonna write a letter, telephone every town I know
I'm gonna write a letter, telephone every town I know
If I don't find her in Mississippi,
she be in East Monroe I know

And I don't want no woman,
wants every downtown man she meets
No I don't want no woman,
wants every downtown man she meets
Man, she's a no good doney,
they shouldn't allow her on the street, yeah

I believe, I believe my time ain't long
I believe, I believe my time ain't long
I ain't gonna leave my baby,
and break up my happy home

*Early Texas Blues All Wrapped Up In One Package-The Music Of Henry Thomas

Click On Title To Link To YouTube's Film Clip Of Henry Thomas Performing "Bull Doze Blues".

CD Review

Texas Blues: Early Blues Masters From The Lone Star State: 4CD Set, Various artists, JSP records, London, 2004

Well here we go again. Just when you thought I had stopped talking about Texas after my many reviews of things Texas like the work of the writer Larry McMurtry and singers Janis Joplin, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Mance Lipscomb, Lonnie Johnson and the electric Lightnin’ Hopkins I am here to review a four CD compilation of early Texas bluesmen. Now in this space I have reviewed North Carolina blues, Delta blues, traveling up river to Memphis blues and then to the Mecca, Chicago blues. They all have their own distinct variations and to a musicologist there are some subtle ways of playing that draw those distinctions out. For the laity though what makes that distinction is the rather laid-back way in which the music flows. Flows nicely, to be sure, but not in the pristine pick of North Carolina blues, the sweat of the plantation of Delta blues, the honky-tonk sound of Memphis or the raw blues sound of Chicago but the hard strum and slurring of words that is much softer by comparison than those other sounds.

I mentioned above the names Blind Lemon Jefferson, Mance Lipscomb and Lonnie Johnson. These are the traditions that the artists on these CDs are working with. They are mainly contemporaries and obviously not as well known either because the vagaries of fate, personal or otherwise didn’t leave much room for their work to become widely recognized in the “golden age” of this type of music in the late 1920’s before the deal when down in the Great Depression and cut off their sources of wider fame. Nevertheless we can, thanks to the producers of this set, get to hear them almost one hundred years later. Hell, most of them still sound good, at least in spots. Here is the cream: Disc A, Henry Thomas on the much-covered classic “John Henry” , a great version of “Don’t You Leave Me Here” and the novelty number (all railroad stops) “Railroadin’ Some”; Pete Harris on “Blind Lemon’s Song” (the also much-covered “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” :Disc C, Oscar Woods on the salacious “Don’t Sell It” and “Boll Weevil Blues” and Smith Casey on “East Texas Rag”. Also included in this series are Ramblin’ Thomas, Willie Reed, Coley Jones, Little Hat Jones, Jesse Thomas and Black Ace. Some good stuff by the lot of them but nothing that really jumped out like with Henry Thomas and Oscar Woods.

Bull Doze Blues - Henry Thomas

I'm going away, babe, and it won't be long
I'm going away and it won't be long
I'm going away and it won't be long

Just as sure as that train leaves out of that Mobile yard
Just as sure as that train leaves out of that Mobile yard
Just as sure as that train leaves out of that Mobile yard

Come shake your hand, tell your papa goodbye
Come shake your hand, tell your papa goodbye
Come shake your hand, tell your papa goodbye

I'm going back to Tennessee
I'm going back to Memphis, Tennessee
I'm going back, Memphis, Tennessee

I'm going where I never get bulldozed
I'm going where I never get the bulldoze
I'm going where I never get bulldozed

If you don't believe I'm sinking, look what a hole I'm in
If you don't believe I'm sinking, look what a hole I'm in
If you don't believe I'm sinking, look what a fool I've been.

Oh, my babe, take me back. How in the world, Lord, take me back.

*Early Texas Blues All Wrapped Up In One Package-The Blues Of Johnny Temple

Click On Title To Link To YouTube's Film Clip Of Johnny Temple Performing "The Evil Devil Blues".

CD Review

Texas Blues: Early Blues Masters From The Lone Star State: 4CD Set, Various artists, JSP records, London, 2004



Eric Clapton Me and the Devil Blues Lyrics:


By Robert Johnson



Early this mornin', when you knocked upon my door
Early this mornin', ooh, when you knocked upon my door
And I said, "hello, satan, I believe it's time to go"

Me and the devil, was walkin' side by side
Me and the devil, ooh, was walkin' side by side
[ Find more Lyrics on www.mp3lyrics.org/RAF ]
I'm goin' to beat my woman, until I get satisfied

She say you don't see why, that I will dog her 'round
[Spoken:] Now, baby, you know you ain't doin' me right, now
She say you don't see why, ooh, that I will dog her 'round
It must-a be that old evil spirit, so deep down in the ground

You may bury my body, down by the highway side

[Spoken:] Baby, I don't care where you bury my body when I'm dead and gone
You may bury my body, ooh, down by the highway side
So my old evil spirit, can get a Greyhound bus and ride
Lyrics: Me and the Devil Blues, Eric Clapton [end]

*Early Texas Blues All Wrapped Up In One Package- The Music Of Ramblin' Thomas

Click On Title To Link To YouTube's Film Clip Of Ramblin' Thomas Performing The Very Timely "No Job Blues".

CD Review

Texas Blues: Early Blues Masters From The Lone Star State: 4CD Set, Various artists, JSP records, London, 2004

Out In The 1920s Jazz Age Blues Night- Blind Lemon Is In The House- A CD Review

Click on the headline to link to a YouTube film clip of Blind Lemon Jefferson holding forth on one of his signature blues tunes, Black Snake Moan.

Blind Lemon, Blind Lemon Jefferson, 1978

Yah, I know it is hard to keep the names of all these blind blues singers straight. Blind Willie, Blind Lemon, Blind Blake, etc. but there are differences. It is interesting that so many of these blind black singers, probably otherwise unemployable, gave the blues (and sometimes their root music, gospel, also) a tryout on the streets and seemingly thrived on this market niche. The just mentioned gospel roots of many of these performers shows the tension between the godly church music of their youth and the ‘devil’s’ music of their maturity and I believe added to the authenticity of the music. This compilation, although technically not the best due more to problems with the old time recording material than anything else, highlights Blind Lemon’s most enduring songs. The classic Black Snake Moan is included here. Not included here but a must listen for anybody interested in this music is another Jefferson classic See That My Grave is Kept Clean that has been covered by many, many artists, including Bob Dylan.

*Finding The Roots Of The Roots-The Country Blues Experience

Click ON Title To Link To YouTube's Film Clip Of Mississippi John Hurt doing "Spike Driver's Blues".

CD REVIEW

Before The Blues: Volume 3, Yazoo, 1996

I have been harping away lately on the various trends in the blues that started to appear in America as an indigenous music form in the early 20th century. However, as a good historical materialist it is worth noting (and incidentally adding another reason to the use of this methodology) that, as the producers of this CD make clear that the roots of the roots go back some way, perhaps, even to the old country traditions (British Isles) of a few centuries ago. I take special note that in the 19th century there was basically one common ‘folk’ music and that it only split into its black and white racial components later (and then, certainly not fully).

This argument is presented in greater depth in the always informative liner notes booklet that accompanies Yazoo productions and make virtually any purchase of their CDs worthwhile. I also note that the distinctive blues sound comes into its own once its sheds the old country fiddle and banjo and is replaced by guitar and piano as instrumentation. From personal experience my ear has always been more prone to pick up that mesmerizing guitar or piano-driven blues beat than the earlier reel, jig and breakdown sound. Thanks, blues forebears for that shift.

Several of the performers included in this CD compilation (one of three which I will ultimately review) I have mentioned previously in this space. Memphis Minnie is fresh and saucy on “Frisco Town”, John Hurt rings out smoothly, as always, on his version of the John Henry saga, “Spike Driver’s Blues”. Furry Lewis is just fine on his part one of “Kassie Jones (you really need to get a CD that has the two parts together, by the way). Blind Boy Fuller gives “Thousand Woman Blues” a workout as does Blind Blake on “Champaign Charlie Is My Name”. Barbecue Bob surprises with his “Black Skunk Blues”. However, the “king of the hill” on this one is an incredible version of “Levee Camp Moan Blues” (a Son House specialty) by Texas Alexander. Wow.

The liner notes mention that record companies in the 1920’s (when most of this stuff was recorded), catering to the new found commercial popularity of the blues sound, labeled anything and everything that was not nailed down otherwise as the blues. Clearly some of this material is not the blues in any recognizable musical sense and some hits the sources right on the head (think Furry Lewis on that “Kassie Jones” track) but that is what makes looking for the roots of the roots interesting.

"FRISCO TOWN"-Memphis Minnie

That old 'Frisco train makes a mile a minute
That old 'Frisco train makes a mile a minute
Well, in that old coach, I'm gonna sit right in it
I'm on my way, to 'Frisco town

You can toot your whistle, you can ring your bell
You can toot your whistle, you can ring your bell
But I know you been wanting it by the way you smell
I'm on my way to 'Frisco town

There's a boa constrictor and a lemon stick
There's a boa constrictor and a lemon stick
I don't mind being with you but my mama's sick
I'm on my way to 'Frisco town

I would tell you what's the matter, but I done got scared
I would tell you what's the matter, but I done got scared
You got to wait now, until we go to bed
I'm on my way to 'Frisco town

If you was sick, I wouldn't worry you
If you was sick, I wouldn't worry you
I wouldn't want you to do something that you couldn't do
I'm on my way to 'Frisco town

Well, if you want it, you can get it, and I ain't mad
Well, if you want it, you can get it, and I ain't mad
If you tell me this is something that you ain't never had
I'm on my way to 'Frisco town

Look-a here, you get mad everytime I call your name
Look-a here, you get mad everytime I call your name
I ain't never told you that you couldn't get that thing
I'm on my way to 'Frisco town

I woke up this morning about half past five
I woke up this morning about half past five
My baby turned over, cried just like a child
I'm on my way to 'Frisco town

I got something to tell you, I don't want to make you mad
I got something to tell you, I don't want to make you mad
I got something for you, make you feel glad
I'm on my way to 'Frisco town

Look-a here, look-a here, what you want me to do
Look-a here, look-a here, what you want me to do
Give you my jelly when die for you
I'm on my way to 'Frisco town

I got something to tell you, gonna break your heart
I got something to tell you, gonna break your heart
We been together so far, we gotta get apart
I'm on my way to 'Frisco town

Memphis Minnie - BUMBLE BEE


Bumble bee, bumble bee, please come back to me
Bumble bee, bumble bee, please come back to me
He got the best old stinger any bumble bee that I ever seen

He stung me this morning, I been looking for him all day long
He stung me this morning, I been looking for him all day long
Lord, it got me to the place, hate to see my bumble bee leave home

Bumble bee, bumble bee, don't be gone so long
Bumble bee, bumble bee, don't be gone so long
You's my bumble bee and you're needed here at home

I can't stand to hear him buzz, buzz, buzz
Come in, bumble bee, want you to stop your fuss
You're my bumble bee and you know your stuff
Oh, sting me, bumble bee, until I get enough

Bumble bee, bumble bee, don't be gone so long
Bumble bee, bumble bee, don't be gone so long
You's my bumble bee and you're needed here at home

I don't mind you going, ain't going to stay so long
Don't mind you going, don't be gone so long
You's my bumble bee and you're needed here at home

I can't stand to hear him buzz, buzz, buzz
Come in, bumble bee, I want you to stop your fuss
You's my bumble bee and you know your stuff
Oh, sting me bumble bee, until I get enough

"Mean Old Bedbug Blues"- Furry Lewis

Mean old bedbug sho' is evil, he don't mean me no good
Mean old bedbug sho' is evil, he don't mean me no good
He thinks I'm a woodpecker and he takes me for a chunk o' wood

When I lay down at night I wonder how can a poor man sleep
When I lay down at night I wonder how can a poor man sleep
With one hole in your head while the other one in your feet

Bedbug's big as a jackass, he will bite you, stand and grin
Bedbug's big as a jackass, will bite you and stand and grin
Drink a bowl of bedbug poison, come back and bite you again

Saw one morn' in a corner, Lord I tried so hard to see
Saw one morn' in a corner, Lord I tried so hard to see
It was a mother bedbug Lord, prayin' for some oat to eat

I had to sit up all night long, my feet can't touch the floor
I had to sit up all night long, my feet can't touch the floor
Cause the mean old bedbug told me I can't live there no more

A Tribute To The Blues Blinds- Johnson, Jefferson, McTell, Blake

CD REVIEWS

The Complete Collection of Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Willie Johnson, Sony 1993

Blind Willie Johnson

A tradition developed early, and I am not sure how, but it was very early in the 1900’s of blind black men with musical ability (and probably some with none) going to the small town Southern street and singing for their dinner, so to speak. I, for one, am glad that they did because an inordinate part of early blues music would be missing without their collective contributions. Here we start our tribute with Blind Willie Johnson; this is Reverend Blind Willie Johnson, by the way. What makes Reverend Johnson a shade bit different from other blues singers of the period, with the partial exception of Skip James, is that the vast bulk of his music is religious in orientation unlike the more traditional moaning and groaning about work, women and whiskey.

For those who saw part of Martin Scorcese’s PBS Blues Project a few years back you might remember that Blind Willie (along with Skip James) was highlighted in Wim Wender’s section. You might also know then that Johnson’s Soul of A Man is traveling the universe as a selection of one of humankind’s musical expressions. Take that and You Have Friend In Jesus with female accompaniment and you are at the height of Blind Willie’s talent. As for the rest you will have to listen for yourself.

Blind Blake-Ragtime Guitar's Foremost Finger Picker, Blind Blake, Yahoo, 1989

Before the blues began to dominate the black Southern country music scene there was a transition period where the previously dominant ragtime commingled with the emerging blues picking sound. That is where Blind Blake comes into view. This CD shows off his masterly picking style but also shows that he gets the new blues country beat. This CD has liner notes that are very informative (as are most Yahoo liner notes) about these evolutionary moves and Blake's innovations. As to the music highlights here are Southern Rag, Hard Pushing Papa, Sweet Papa Low Down and a classic rendition of Rope Stretching Blues (about the thoughts of a black prisoner just before his scheduled hanging- legal this time- with the great line 'in a couple of days I will not be singing this song'. Reason enough, right there to get rid of the death penalty.). Get this if you need a nice clean country blues pick.


CD REVIEW

When The Sun Goes Down, Blind Willie McTell, BMG Music, 2003

Recently I have been doing a run of reviews on old time country blues players that have included the likes of Mississippi John Hurt and Son House. Here we are getting a little slice of what the acoustic blues looked like when it went to the Southern cities in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Hurt and House stayed on the farm, so to speak, but McTell, blind from birth I believe, went to the streets of the cities to sing his songs and make his daily bread. Along the way he worked with women singers and sometimes with the legendary Tommy Dorsey (no, not the bandleader from the forties). But mainly he worked the streets and joints alone.

A close listen immediately tells you that this artist is different from the country blues singers. The guitar work is more polished (check it out on Statesboro Blues, if you want a treat) but the whole presentation is also different. The lyrics are more polished and the presentation is clearly for an audience that can walk out the door if it does not like what it hears. Hell, there are seven other guys or gals down the street to listen to. This is really the first manifestation, in song, of the changeover in the blues from the chant like quality of the pace of the cotton field to the rhythms of urban life. It changes again latter when it goes north and gets electrified but here McTell and a little later Big Bill Broozey (and, as always, Robert Johnson) are pushing the work in new directions.

The Best of Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Yahoo, 1990

Yes, I know it is hard to keep the names of all these male blind blues singers straight. Blind Willie, Blind Lemon, Blind Blake, etc. but there are differences in their styles from Willie Johnson's more gospel -oriented work to McTell's barrel house renditions. It is interesting that so many of these blind black singers, probably otherwise unemployable at the time due to their impairments, gave the blues (and sometimes their root music, gospel, also) a tryout on the streets and seemingly thrived on this market niche. The just mentioned gospel roots of many of these performers shows the tension between the godly church music of their youth and the `devil's' music of their maturity and I believe added to the authenticity of the music. It is the backdrop of Blind Lemon's works, as well.

This compilation, although technically not the best due more to problems with the old time recording material than anything else, highlights Blind Lemon's most enduring songs. The classic Easy Rider and Black Snake Moan are included here. Also included here and a must listen for anybody interested in this music is another Jefferson classic See That My Grave is Kept Clean that has been covered by many, many artists, including Bob Dylan.