A third Robert Johnson photograph . . .
Dick Waterman
given both time and budget to bring forth a major piece on Robert Johnson. Now
it is certainly noteworthy that a publication of their stature across the
global literary pantheon will undertake a project of this scope.
The writer's purpose seems to pose the question, "Why Robert Johnson? What is
so special about this one musician that creates an iconic status now seven
decades after his death?" He was not a major commercial success in his own
lifetime and musicians such as Leroy Carr, Kokomo Arnold, Lonnie Johnson and others
were much more accepted within the black community than Johnson was.
The intriguing part of his visit was the appearance of a photograph that
supposedly is a third image of Johnson. I had the opportunity to give it a long
look and, although I am cynical and skeptic to the bone, I admit that I am
convinced that it might well be him.
He is wearing a white shirt, no hat or jacket and he is holding a guitar.
There is a second man in the photo who is round-faced with soft features. It
supposedly is Johnny Shines and I simply could not make a determination on this
although I knew him well in his late years.
The man in the photo might or might not have a 'lazy' left eye that Johnson
supposedly had. However, in plain sight, are those long spidery thin fingers of
the left hand across the strings. It is a pretty compelling image to view.
I tuned him over to local Oxford attorney Tom Freeland, an expert on the
Mississippi inheritance circus that has evolved over the years regarding the
estate. I gave him contact information for Steve LaVere, Elijah Wald, Peter
Gurlanick, Gayle Dean Wardlow and some others.
He will be working on this for some period of time with no publication date
set. I suspect they'll try for the 70th anniversary of his death which is next
Spring.
So it asks the question of whether Robert Johnson was a black man who
achieved fame through his musical accomplishments or is he a white man's creation of
mythology (i.e. the crossroads legend) completely apart from the
African-American world?
I know that the Creative Editor of "Vanity Fair" (David Friend) is a huge
blues fan and he has given this established writer free rein to bring forth some
definitive findings.
Stay tuned . . .
Dick Waterman
Oxford, MS
www.dickwaterman.com
**************************************
Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
Blues-L web site: http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/
Archives & web interface: http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html
NetSpace LISTSERV(R) software donated by L-Soft, Inc. http://www.lsoft.com
To unsubscribe from BLUES-L, send an email with the message UNSUBSCRIBE BLUES-L to: list...@lists.netspace.org
Tom Muck
> supposedly is a third image of Johnson. I had the opportunity to give it a long
> look and, although I am cynical and skeptic to the bone, I admit that I am
> convinced that it might well be him.
That's amazing. They should get this photo to Honeyboy for a good look.
> So it asks the question of whether Robert Johnson was a black man who
> achieved fame through his musical accomplishments or is he a white man's creation of
> mythology (i.e. the crossroads legend) completely apart from the
> African-American world?
His music stands on it's own and created the fame even without all the extra mythology.
Tom
Fruteland Jackson
Fruteland Jackson
879 Joliet Street #221
Dyer IN 46311
773-400-6341
www.fruteland.com
Tom Muck
> There is a second man in the photo who is round-faced with soft features. It
> supposedly is Johnny Shines and I simply could not make a determination on this
> although I knew him well in his late years.
Actually, there is a mention of a Johnson/Shines photo at the Johnson movie site:
http://www.robertjohnsonfilm.com/Notes.html
"Robert Johnson's traveling companion, blues legend Johnny Shines claimed there was a photo taken of himself and Johnson by a woman named Johnnie Mae Crowder in Hughes, Arkansas, in 1937 and later published in a local newspaper. However, the photo has never surfaced."
Tom
Joel Fritz
the legend. The record looked interesting to me and I got completely
hooked in first two minutes of side one. Then I learned the mythology.
Johnson isn't the only delta player from his era that never got much
recognition. The big example is Hacksaw Harney. Before WWII he made
two sides backing up an accordion playing singer. Robert Lockwood
called him the best player he'd heard. The album he made after he had
had a stroke gives an idea of his talent. Lockwood also said that Harney
was a better piano player than he was a guitar player.
Skip James, Son House, and Charley Patton weren't as commercially
successful as the big names either. The singles Robert Lockwood
recorded in 1941 are as good as almost any pre-war blues record.
Dick Waterman wrote:
> A recently had a visit from a senior writer from "Vanity Fair" who has been
> given both time and budget to bring forth a major piece on Robert Johnson. Now
> it is certainly noteworthy that a publication of their stature across the
> global literary pantheon will undertake a project of this scope.
>
> The writer's purpose seems to pose the question, "Why Robert Johnson? What is
> so special about this one musician that creates an iconic status now seven
> decades after his death?" He was not a major commercial success in his own
> lifetime and musicians such as Leroy Carr, Kokomo Arnold, Lonnie Johnson and others
> were much more accepted within the black community than Johnson was.
>
>
Blues-L web site: http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/
Dick Waterman
> Johnson isn't the only delta player from his era that never got much
> recognition. The big example is Hacksaw Harney. Before WWII he made
> two sides backing up an accordion playing singer. Robert Lockwood
> called him the best player he'd heard. The album he made after he had
> had a stroke gives an idea of his talent. Lockwood also said that Harney
> was a better piano player than he was a guitar player.
>
The Boston Blues Society brought Harney to Cambridge to play in the early
1970s. I don't recall if it was recorded but it might have been. He split the
show with Houston Stackhouse.
Dick Waterman
Oxford, MS
www.dickwaterman.com
**************************************
Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
Blues-L web site: http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/
E Willett
George
Blues-L web site: http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/<http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/>
Archives & web interface: http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html<http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html>
NetSpace LISTSERV(R) software donated by L-Soft, Inc. http://www.lsoft.com<http://www.lsoft.com/>
To unsubscribe from BLUES-L, send an email with the message UNSUBSCRIBE BLUES-L to: list...@lists.netspace.org<mailto:list...@lists.netspace.org>
Joel Fritz
Adelphi, which is currently in print on cd. I'd love to hear what he
sounded like before his stroke. He was on the folk circuit before he
had it. I'd love to have heard the show with Harney and Stackhouse.
--
It's never too late to do something your parents didn't want you to do.
When that time comes Barrelhouse Solly will be there for you. He cares.
Tunes: http://www.myspace.com/barrelhousesolly
Fractious felines: http://ratemykitten.com/my/?gallery=willie_mctell
Joel Fritz
songs. I think it's the only compilation that has all four. In 1941
Lockwood was already doing more sophisticated harmony. Even so his
guitar playing is completely true to the tradition.
E Willett wrote:
> The only 1941 Robert Lockwood I have a copy of (on CD) is "Little Boy
> Blue"...and I love it!
> George
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Joel Fritz <mailto:willie...@comcast.net>
> *To:* BLU...@LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG <mailto:BLU...@LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, August 21, 2007 4:44 PM
> *Subject:* Re: A third Robert Johnson photograph . . .
> <http://www.netspace.org/%7Eblues-l/>
> Archives & web interface:
> http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html
> NetSpace LISTSERV(R) software donated by L-Soft, Inc.
> http://www.lsoft.com
> To unsubscribe from BLUES-L, send an email with the message
> UNSUBSCRIBE BLUES-L to: list...@lists.netspace.org
> <mailto:list...@lists.netspace.org>
>
--
It's never too late to do something your parents didn't want you to do.
When that time comes Barrelhouse Solly will be there for you. He cares.
Tunes: http://www.myspace.com/barrelhousesolly
Fractious felines: http://ratemykitten.com/my/?gallery=willie_mctell
Blues-L web site: http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/
Alan Lloyd
would be happy to answer any questions...except about Robert Johnson.
Alan Lloyd
London England
Walter Potter
music was distributed or advertised well in the black community at the
time. Of the songs he recorded, were they all given roughly the same
amount of promotion or even pressed in the same quantities? What
parameters did the mostly white run record companies at the time use to
determine how many records to press and how much effort to put into
promotion? Maybe they just didn't try to sell his music all that hard.
Maybe the record company had a sure bet they promoted harder at the time
than the relative new-comer. I certainly don't know. I do think
Johnson's music stands on its own merits but is, um .. not over-rated
but maybe over emphasized in the current view of the history of the blues.
--
Walter
--
Keep on keepin' on ...
E Willett
George
----- Original Message -----
To: BLU...@LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG<mailto:BLU...@LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG>
Subject: Re: A third Robert Johnson photograph . . .
> www.dickwaterman.com<http://www.dickwaterman.com/>
>
>
>
> **************************************
> Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
> http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour<http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour>
>
> Blues-L web site: http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/<http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/>
> Archives & web interface: http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html<http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html>
> NetSpace LISTSERV(R) software donated by L-Soft, Inc. http://www.lsoft.com<http://www.lsoft.com/>
> To unsubscribe from BLUES-L, send an email with the message UNSUBSCRIBE BLUES-L to: list...@lists.netspace.org<mailto:list...@lists.netspace.org>
>
>
--
Keep on keepin' on ...
Blues-L web site: http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/<http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/>
Archives & web interface: http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html<http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html>
NetSpace LISTSERV(R) software donated by L-Soft, Inc. http://www.lsoft.com<http://www.lsoft.com/>
To unsubscribe from BLUES-L, send an email with the message UNSUBSCRIBE BLUES-L to: list...@lists.netspace.org<mailto:list...@lists.netspace.org>
Jim Wells
Is Gone" at Henry Qualls' house and birthday party in Elmo, Texas several
years ago has now passed the 20,000 views level!!!
And many of the very young people who have gone to it and make up most of
the views (looking for Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers, a very popular
teenage rock band in NJ) are starting to leave compliments and are enjoying
the BLUES by our Joe!!!! New convertees to the blues, hopefully...
Who knows maybe a joint project might come to pass... Wonder what true blues
tune might work with them and not wind up being more rock...hmmmm...
By the way, if you're interested in the film (whose hand-held quality isn't
great, I fully admit - but atleast it's REAL and a true performance despite
some), the URL is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3UXjgh7c7Y#GU5U2spHI_4
Rgds...Jim
Ron Weinstock
of such artists as Carr and Lonnie Johnson. One thing is clear is that if
Robert Johnson had not lived, blues would have developed pretty much as it
did, whereas without Lonnie Johnson (and Johnson is reported to called
himself one of the Johnson boys) or Leroy Carr, the music would have been
fundamentally different. These artists were much more integral to the
development and evolution of blues than Johnson.
I should note that at the Poconos I had a lively discussion with the fine
guitarist with Jody Williams and he emphatically made these points which I
find quite reasonable and emphasized a lot of discussion of Johnson's
influence comes from after the release of the lp, King of the Delta Blues
Singers.
Ron
> > Blues-L web site:
http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/<http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/>
> > Archives & web interface:
http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html<http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html>
> > NetSpace LISTSERV(R) software donated by L-Soft, Inc.
http://www.lsoft.com<http://www.lsoft.com/>
> > To unsubscribe from BLUES-L, send an email with the message UNSUBSCRIBE
BLUES-L to: list...@lists.netspace.org<mailto:list...@lists.netspace.org>
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Keep on keepin' on ...
>
> Blues-L web site:
http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/<http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/>
> Archives & web interface:
http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html<http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html>
> NetSpace LISTSERV(R) software donated by L-Soft, Inc.
http://www.lsoft.com<http://www.lsoft.com/>
> To unsubscribe from BLUES-L, send an email with the message UNSUBSCRIBE
BLUES-L to: list...@lists.netspace.org<mailto:list...@lists.netspace.org>
>
>Blues-L web site: http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/
>Archives & web interface: http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html
>NetSpace LISTSERV(R) software donated by L-Soft, Inc. http://www.lsoft.com
>To unsubscribe from BLUES-L, send an email with the message UNSUBSCRIBE
BLUES-L to: list...@lists.netspace.org
>========================================================================
Joel Fritz
frailing style which was far from new when he recorded. He also did
some fingerpicking and the regular chording on "Hot Tamales." If you
can rely on what contemporaries had to say, his recorded work was a
small sample of what he could do. Even so, considering the number of
players who came from the same area he did, you'd think he'd have had
more followers. Johnny Shines and Robert Lockwood could do his style
very well but they generally played in a more modern way.
Muddy Waters' style probably owes more to Son House, whom he knew than
Johnson whom he never met.
I think the Johnson legend got going when John Hammond wanted to get him
for the Spirituals to Swing concerts and couldn't find him. After that
it grew.
Whether or not Johnson was a major contributor to blues evolution, he
sure made some great records.
--
It's never too late to do something your parents didn't want you to do.
When that time comes Barrelhouse Solly will be there for you. He cares.
Tunes: http://www.myspace.com/barrelhousesolly
Fractious felines: http://ratemykitten.com/my/?gallery=willie_mctell
Blues-L web site: http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/
Patrick Morris
Houston Stackhouse, the Cryin Won't Help You Blues singer. I've not heard his name mentioned in some time. I believe his son is still preforming...?
Patrick
"To make a bad day worse, spend it wishing for the impossible." -- Calvin and Hobbes
"Life, if you're luck and work at it, is one long slow release from ignorance! " - Hunter S. Thompson
"I think age is a very high price to pay for maturity." - Tom Stoppard
Tom Muck
Tom
----- Original Message -----
From: "Patrick Morris" <pdvm...@btinternet.com>
To: <BLU...@LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG>
Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 10:57 AM
Subject: Re: A third Robert Johnson photograph . . .
Patrick Morris
Cheers
Patrick -- in a wet, very windy August winters day in London!
Tom Muck <t...@maild.inte-net.com> wrote:
"Crying Won't Help You" was by Robert Nighthawk, but was on the same CD from Testament (Masters of Modern Blues) that Houston Stackhouse was on.
Tom
----- Original Message -----
From: "Patrick Morris"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 10:57 AM
Subject: Re: A third Robert Johnson photograph . . .
> As
"To make a bad day worse, spend it wishing for the impossible." -- Calvin and Hobbes
Tom Muck
E Willett
George
----- Original Message -----
To: BLU...@LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG<mailto:BLU...@LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG>
Subject: Re: A third Robert Johnson photograph . . .
There's a JSP box called "When the Levee Breaks" that has all four
songs. I think it's the only compilation that has all four. In 1941
Lockwood was already doing more sophisticated harmony. Even so his
guitar playing is completely true to the tradition.
E Willett wrote:
> The only 1941 Robert Lockwood I have a copy of (on CD) is "Little Boy
> Blue"...and I love it!
> George
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Joel Fritz <mailto:willie...@comcast.net<mailto:willie...@comcast.net>>
> *To:* BLU...@LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG<mailto:BLU...@LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG> <mailto:BLU...@LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG<mailto:BLU...@LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG>>
> Blues-L web site: http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/<http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/>
> <http://www.netspace.org/%7Eblues-l/<http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/>>
> Archives & web interface:
> http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html<http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html>
> NetSpace LISTSERV(R) software donated by L-Soft, Inc.
> http://www.lsoft.com<http://www.lsoft.com/>
> To unsubscribe from BLUES-L, send an email with the message
> UNSUBSCRIBE BLUES-L to: list...@lists.netspace.org<mailto:list...@lists.netspace.org>
> <mailto:list...@lists.netspace.org<mailto:list...@lists.netspace.org>>
>
--
It's never too late to do something your parents didn't want you to do.
When that time comes Barrelhouse Solly will be there for you. He cares.
Tunes: http://www.myspace.com/barrelhousesolly<http://www.myspace.com/barrelhousesolly>
Fractious felines: http://ratemykitten.com/my/?gallery=willie_mctell<http://ratemykitten.com/my/?gallery=willie_mctell>
Blues-L web site: http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/<http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/>
Archives & web interface: http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html<http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html>
NetSpace LISTSERV(R) software donated by L-Soft, Inc. http://www.lsoft.com<http://www.lsoft.com/>
To unsubscribe from BLUES-L, send an email with the message UNSUBSCRIBE BLUES-L to: list...@lists.netspace.org<mailto:list...@lists.netspace.org>
Blues-L web site: http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/
E Willett
And that's why he's so well know for only 29 (?) tracks...
George
----- Original Message -----
From: Joel Fritz<mailto:willie...@comcast.net>
To: BLU...@LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG<mailto:BLU...@LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG>
Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2007 8:28 PM
Subject: Re: A third Robert Johnson photograph . . .
Most of Johnson's recorded material was the pinnacle of the Delta
frailing style which was far from new when he recorded. He also did
some fingerpicking and the regular chording on "Hot Tamales." If you
can rely on what contemporaries had to say, his recorded work was a
small sample of what he could do. Even so, considering the number of
players who came from the same area he did, you'd think he'd have had
more followers. Johnny Shines and Robert Lockwood could do his style
very well but they generally played in a more modern way.
Muddy Waters' style probably owes more to Son House, whom he knew than
Johnson whom he never met.
I think the Johnson legend got going when John Hammond wanted to get him
for the Spirituals to Swing concerts and couldn't find him. After that
it grew.
Whether or not Johnson was a major contributor to blues evolution, he
sure made some great records.
James Miller
in Dick Waterman's excellent book "Between Midnight and Day."
-----Original Message-----
From: Blues Music List [mailto:BLU...@LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG] On Behalf Of
E Willett
Blues-L web site: http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/<http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/>
Archives & web interface:
http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html<http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html>
NetSpace LISTSERV(R) software donated by L-Soft, Inc.
http://www.lsoft.com<http://www.lsoft.com/>
To unsubscribe from BLUES-L, send an email with the message UNSUBSCRIBE
BLUES-L to: list...@lists.netspace.org<mailto:list...@lists.netspace.org>
Jef Jaisun
is the first time I've heard it applied to blues guitar styles. Can
you cite some artists who played that way?
http://www.frailing.com/ says:
The frailing discussed in this site is not what banjo players refer
to as frailing. To banjo players, 'frailing' means 'clawhammer', a
technique that is rythmically identical to what we teach here but
that involves downpicking, not up-picking. ...Frailing the Guitar,
published by Mel Bay Publications, contains tab, notation and a CD of
basic and advanced patterns and a half dozen or so fiddle tunes. It
also contains material on singer- songwriter accompaniment and a
section for those interested in using the delayed thumb in playing
blues. Note this book is not about clawhammer, but about the frailing
UPPICKING pattern. Most of the material, however, is interchangeable
with clawhammer style.
Jef
On 21 Aug 2007 17:41:47 -0700, willie...@comcast.net (Joel Fritz) wrote:
>Most of Johnson's recorded material was the pinnacle of the Delta
>frailing style which was far from new when he recorded.
Blues-L web site: http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/
Wolfman
interesting for me, though, is the question apparently being considered
by the Vogue writer as set out by Dick Waterman; namely,
"So it asks the question of whether Robert Johnson was a black man who
achieved fame through his musical accomplishments or is he a white man's
creation of
mythology (i.e. the crossroads legend) completely apart from the
African-American world?"
I'm with Joel Fritz on this one-- he says "I got completely hooked in
the first two minutes of side one" in describing his relationship with
Robert Johnson's music.
Here's my story about my Robert Johnson awakening-- It was 1966. I was
an eighteen year old student in Vancouver. I went to the University of
British Columbia music library and checked out some vinyl lps of
"blues", this music I knew I liked, but hadn't heard much. I remember I
grabbed some Memphis Slim, Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson.
The library had turntable listening booths with headphones, which was
great, because I didn't have a record player. I listened to the music.
All good and wonderful. I put Robert Johnson on the turntable last.
Wow! This eerie, otherworldly sound poured out of the headphones. The
lyrics were likewise otherworldly. This was the deepest, purest blues
I'd ever heard. I listened to the album twice. I read the famous liner
notes written by Frank Driggs, which further inflamed my imagination.
But it was the music and lyrics, first and foremost, which grabbed me
and never let go, even to this day. So to answer the question posed by
the Vogue writer, for me, Robert Johnson achieved his fame through his
musical accomplishments. Had I not read another word about Robert
Johnson, his music was nevertheless forever burned in my memory after
that first listening.
--
wolfm...@fastmail.fm
--
http://www.fastmail.fm - One of many happy users:
http://www.fastmail.fm/docs/quotes.html
Dick Waterman
> I've read the comments about the photograph with interest. More
> interesting for me, though, is the question apparently being considered
> by the Vogue writer as set out by Dick Waterman; namely,
>
> "So it asks the question of whether Robert Johnson was a black man who
> achieved fame through his musical accomplishments or is he a white man's
> creation of
> mythology (i.e. the crossroads legend) completely apart from the
> African-American world?"
>
First of all, it is "Vanity Fair" and not "Vogue."
I was paraphrasing his thoughts that came from some hours of conversation. He
is listed on their masthead as "Senior Writer" so he does come with serious
chops. He is curious as to why this one blues man is held in popular esteem
above those other blues artists who were much more commercially successful. No
one is being placed in any category as being "better." It is important to him,
as a writer, that Johnson is virtually unknown to black people who were alive
and listing to music in the 1930s.
He is seeking to find a determination as to why Robert Johnson's mythology
continues onward although, he acknowledges, that simply by writing about him in
"Vanity Fair," he continues it himself.
As for Robert having more than one grave site, it probably means that Robert
is the one bier to have when you're having more than one.
Dick Waterman
Oxford, MS
www.dickwaterman.com
**************************************
Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
Blues-L web site: http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/
jaywatt...@comcast.net
"As for Robert having more than one grave site, it probably means that Robert
is the one bier to have when you're having more than one."
Come on, Dick. How many Schaefer drinkers are there left? Did you know that Louis Armstrong once did the ad? (great pun)
Jay
E Willett
----- Original Message -----
To: BLU...@LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG<mailto:BLU...@LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG>
Subject: Re: A third Robert Johnson photograph . . .
Dick sagely observed:
"As for Robert having more than one grave site, it probably means that Robert
is the one bier to have when you're having more than one."
Come on, Dick. How many Schaefer drinkers are there left? Did you know that Louis Armstrong once did the ad? (great pun)
Jay
-------------- Original message --------------
From: Dick Waterman <Jinx...@aol.com<mailto:Jinx...@aol.com>>
> In a message dated 8/23/07 1:38:29 PM, wolfm...@fastmail.fm<mailto:wolfm...@fastmail.fm> writes:
>
>
> > I've read the comments about the photograph with interest. More
> > interesting for me, though, is the question apparently being considered
> > by the Vogue writer as set out by Dick Waterman; namely,
> >
> > "So it asks the question of whether Robert Johnson was a black man who
> > achieved fame through his musical accomplishments or is he a white man's
> > creation of
> > mythology (i.e. the crossroads legend) completely apart from the
> > African-American world?"
> >
>
> First of all, it is "Vanity Fair" and not "Vogue."
>
> I was paraphrasing his thoughts that came from some hours of conversation. He
> is listed on their masthead as "Senior Writer" so he does come with serious
> chops. He is curious as to why this one blues man is held in popular esteem
> above those other blues artists who were much more commercially successful. No
> one is being placed in any category as being "better." It is important to him,
> as a writer, that Johnson is virtually unknown to black people who were alive
> and listing to music in the 1930s.
>
> He is seeking to find a determination as to why Robert Johnson's mythology
> continues onward although, he acknowledges, that simply by writing about him in
> "Vanity Fair," he continues it himself.
>
> As for Robert having more than one grave site, it probably means that Robert
> is the one bier to have when you're having more than one.
>
> Dick Waterman
> Oxford, MS
> www.dickwaterman.com<http://www.dickwaterman.com/>
>
>
>
> **************************************
> Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
> http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour<http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour>
>
> Blues-L web site: http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/<http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/>
> Archives & web interface: http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html<http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html>
> NetSpace LISTSERV(R) software donated by L-Soft, Inc. http://www.lsoft.com<http://www.lsoft.com/>
> To unsubscribe from BLUES-L, send an email with the message UNSUBSCRIBE BLUES-L
> to: list...@lists.netspace.org<mailto:list...@lists.netspace.org>
Blues-L web site: http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/<http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/>
Archives & web interface: http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html<http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html>
NetSpace LISTSERV(R) software donated by L-Soft, Inc. http://www.lsoft.com<http://www.lsoft.com/>
To unsubscribe from BLUES-L, send an email with the message UNSUBSCRIBE BLUES-L to: list...@lists.netspace.org<mailto:list...@lists.netspace.org>
Joel Fritz
the banjo style includes, a lot of the time, a single note on the odd
numbered beat. Big Joe Williams is a good example. Henry Thomas did it
exclusively. Barbecue Bob did it on a lot of songs. It's
characteristic of a lot of Delta style songs in open G. Peetie
Wheatstraw's records where he played guitar are very similar to Big Joe
Williams. I just got a JSP box called "When the Levee Breaks," four
discs of songs by Mississippi players. It has a lot of examples.
Garfield Akers is just one of the people who played that way.
I'd call songs like "Preachin' Blues" frailing. I suppose to
differentiate it from the banjo style we could call it "Syncopated
Strumming" or something else.
This is a digression but "When the Levee Breaks" is a great
compilation. I've mentioned the Lockwood tunes but there are some other
wonderful players. It has people like Freddie Spruell, King Solomon
Hill--maybe the eeriest country blues sound on record, Willie "61"
Blackwell--lyrics like you've never heard. It has easter eggs like the
two recently discovered Son House sides and an interesting alternate
take of "Traveling Riverside Blues." You can get it for around $20 of
you shop for it.
--
It's never too late to do something your parents didn't want you to do.
When that time comes Barrelhouse Solly will be there for you. He cares.
Tunes: http://www.myspace.com/barrelhousesolly
Fractious felines: http://ratemykitten.com/my/?gallery=willie_mctell
Patrick Morris
Dick Waterman <Jinx...@aol.com> wrote: In a message dated 8/23/07 1:38:29 PM, wolfm...@fastmail.fm writes:
> probably means that Robert
is the one bier to have when you're having more than one.
Dick Waterman
Oxford, MS
www.dickwaterman.com
**************************************
Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
Blues-L web site: http://www.netspace.org/~blues-l/
Archives & web interface: http://lists.netspace.org/archives/blues-l.html
NetSpace LISTSERV(R) software donated by L-Soft, Inc. http://www.lsoft.com
To unsubscribe from BLUES-L, send an email with the message UNSUBSCRIBE BLUES-L to: list...@lists.netspace.org
"To make a bad day worse, spend it wishing for the impossible." -- Calvin and Hobbes
"Life, if you're luck and work at it, is one long slow release from ignorance! " - Hunter S. Thompson
"I think age is a very high price to pay for maturity." - Tom Stoppard