Monthly Archives: April 2015

  As with the prior Danny McLean-written pieces, this is yet another in a series of memorats by folks who helped me during my most active decade of field-work throughout the Southeastern US. While I mostly traveled solo in that … Continue reading →

To write that Paul Oliver has contributed much to our knowledge, understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of that music known as “blues” would be a gross understatement. Beginning with BLUES FELL THIS MORNING: Meaning in the Blues in 1960 through to … Continue reading →

It had to happen sometime… my friend Eddie Kirkland died 27 February, 2011 in Tampa, Florida. He was helicoptered to a hospital from the scene where he died; he was 88 (approximately!). Not just “another man done gone”, but another … Continue reading →

It’s interesting (and maybe amazing) what sends an individual in one direction and not another – often it’s not obvious. While George Mitchell and Roger Brown began their delving into the history of blues music and its older performers in … Continue reading →

Field-work. When one is acting as a folklorist “in the field”, there are many folks one meets along the way who give you a hand with greater or lesser amounts of “data” regarding whatever it is you are trying to … Continue reading →

MIXED BAG – #6 While I am mainly something of a Luddite, I have picked up on a few interesting web sites on the internet that would be of interest to our readers. Most are not exclusively “blues” oriented, but … Continue reading →

Continuing with Danny McLean’s NC memories of Shorty, a.o. from his letter to me: It was a nice time when Valerie Wilmer and Terri Quay[e] came to visit Shorty. We went to see him at Willie Johnson’s who was pretty … Continue reading →

         As a result of my piece in Blues & Rhythm (#248) that dealt with North Carolina’s Guitar Shorty (John Henry Fortescue) and Danny McLean, I received a long letter from Danny after he got his copy of the magazine. … Continue reading →

COHEN, Rich – MACHERS AND ROCKERS: Chess Records and the Business of Rock & Roll; Norton (2004) New York & London. 220 pp. BROVEN, John – RECORD MAKERS AND BREAKERS: Voices of the Independent Rock ‘n’ Roll Pioneers; University of … Continue reading →

Someone has finally come up with a book that attempts to look at how W.E. have examined African-American musical cultures over the centuries, literally: IN SEARCH OF THE BLUES: Black Voices, White Visions. By one Marybeth Hamilton (a Californian living … Continue reading →