Category Archives: ARTICLES

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 →

MIXED BAG – #5 A.)         The record company, Trix, was an exercise in masochism, par excellence, that began in 1971 as a side-line to the research with a couple of 45s. They were produced to show off to the world … Continue reading →

When Bruce (Bastin) and I began our “southeastern tours”, we had minimal idea what to do or how to do it, by and large – there was not really anything in the way of published guidelines – we just “did” … Continue reading →

MIXED BAG – #4 (1.)   I tend to be a voracious reader, often showing little discrimination in what I read (no porn, though). Recently I was given a book by Chuck D of Public Enemy [FIGHT THE POWER: Rap, Race … Continue reading →

So, that’s the general skinny on what I have done directly vis-à-vis Black music, and folklore, over a few decades of my life, with a few digressions and obstacles along the way. The music has been a part of it … Continue reading →

In 1964 I made my first unsteady steps into the realm of blues historical documentation (back door folklore studies) after a few years of collecting records [see O&S #28] and I got lucky the first time out of the blocks… … Continue reading →