by Leon Jay Morton | Oct 3, 2019 | Uncategorized
Tommy McClennan’s life, like his music, is elusive, hard to pin down, in between worlds, eras, and styles. Born in the Delta (sources disagree on the exact date and location, but his friend Big Bill Broonzy said that it was Yazoo City, in 1908), Tommy McClennan played...
by Leon Jay Morton | Oct 3, 2019 | Uncategorized
The story of Blind Willie Johnson is compelling on so many levels that it may be best to start with your ears:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH4metotdRk Blind Willie Johnson’s wordless recording of the old spiritual standard “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground,”...
by Leon Jay Morton | Oct 3, 2019 | Uncategorized
The Blues of Louisiana is not quite the Blues of the Delta. Yes, geographically, the Delta is partially in the state of Louisiana, straddling the Mississippi River. The musical traditions of the Mississippi side are well-known, and make up most of what we call...
by Leon Jay Morton | Oct 3, 2019 | Uncategorized
Most music scholars know that the Blues moved from the rural American South into Southern Cities, and then to the great cities farther north up through the center of the continent: St. Louis, Detroit, Chicago. A cursory look at where blues records were made will...
by Leon Jay Morton | Oct 3, 2019 | Uncategorized
The blues and the rich history it lends to the music of today run as deep as the mighty Mississippi and just as wide. This comes together from hundreds of years of troubled times, of revolutions and through many races, colors and creeds. The most important and...
by Leon Jay Morton | Oct 3, 2019 | Uncategorized
So many of the musical terms we hear have an origin that even the most obsessed music enthusiast wouldn’t be aware of. But when you really get into the meat of it, regardless if you have been listening to the same music for decades; the knowledge of the origin will...
Recent Comments