Early Blues

grindy · 10-18-2015, 03:52 PM

Let's talk about early blues.
I really love the raw pre-WWII stuff, with these musicians whose lives are often shrouded in mystery, with only a handful of recordings left for us to appreciate.

Of course Robert Johnson is the most famous of them, his guitar playing being years ahead of his time.

And then there's Tommy Johnson (no relation

with his awesome singing.

The wonderful Skip James. We're lucky enough to have quite a lot of recordings by him done later in his life with superior sound quality, but this is one of the old ones.

I'll be posting more stuff later on. Hope some other members enjoy this music.

~~ChelseaDagger~~ · 10-18-2015, 05:19 PM

Thanks for posting this! This is definitely a genre I'd like to delve into more. Just listened to the first one and will be returning later when I get the chance.

*subscribed*

dwill123 · 10-18-2015, 05:22 PM

grindy · 10-18-2015, 05:36 PM

^I love this one!

This one is a bit of cheating, since it was recorded in 1967. But screw that, it's still Skip James and this video is pure magic.

Traveling_Alone · 10-18-2015, 11:24 PM

Barbecue Bob Hicks - He was dead and gone before he had lived 30 years, but I dig what he gave us in his short time here.

Blind Willie McTell - As someone that lives ~hour away from Statesboro McTell and particularly this song have always been of particular interest for me.

Psy-Fi · 10-19-2015, 01:23 AM

Spoiler for 8 YouTube Videos:

Psy-Fi · 10-19-2015, 03:13 AM

A few more while I'm still on a blues binge...

Spoiler for 7 more YouTube videos:

Drinking, drugging, sex, infidelity, incarceration, bad luck, death. I think that just about covers everything.

grindy · 10-19-2015, 06:53 AM

Thanks so much TA & PF!
Some awesome musicians there, most of them unknown to me.

Traveling_Alone · 10-19-2015, 08:13 AM

Spoiler for Some more Blues:

**Frownland** · 10-19-2015, 08:32 AM

Some early blues guys who probably snickered at Robert Johnson's mainstream sound.

Here's a classic, and the dude's blind so that makes the music better by some blues rule I haven't figured out yet.

10-18-2015, 03:52 PM	#1 (permalink)
grindy . Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: . Posts: 7,201	Early Blues Let's talk about early blues. I really love the raw pre-WWII stuff, with these musicians whose lives are often shrouded in mystery, with only a handful of recordings left for us to appreciate. Of course Robert Johnson is the most famous of them, his guitar playing being years ahead of his time. And then there's Tommy Johnson (no relation with his awesome singing. The wonderful Skip James. We're lucky enough to have quite a lot of recordings by him done later in his life with superior sound quality, but this is one of the old ones. I'll be posting more stuff later on. Hope some other members enjoy this music. __________________ *A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.*

10-18-2015, 05:36 PM	#4 (permalink)
grindy . Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: . Posts: 7,201	^I love this one! This one is a bit of cheating, since it was recorded in 1967. But screw that, it's still Skip James and this video is pure magic. __________________ *A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.*

10-18-2015, 11:24 PM	#5 (permalink)
Traveling_Alone Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: GA Posts: 93	Barbecue Bob Hicks - He was dead and gone before he had lived 30 years, but I dig what he gave us in his short time here. Blind Willie McTell - As someone that lives ~hour away from Statesboro McTell and particularly this song have always been of particular interest for me. __________________ “And when at last you find someone to whom you feel you can pour out your soul, you stop in shock at the words you utter— they are so rusty, so ugly, so meaningless and feeble from being kept in the small cramped dark inside you so long.” ― Sylvia Plath

10-19-2015, 06:53 AM	#8 (permalink)
grindy . Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: . Posts: 7,201	Thanks so much TA & PF! Some awesome musicians there, most of them unknown to me. __________________ *A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.*

10-19-2015, 08:13 AM	#9 (permalink)
Traveling_Alone Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: GA Posts: 93	Spoiler for Some more Blues: Kokomo Arnold - Rev. Robert Wilkins - Kansas Joe McCoy - and one more, Gus Cannon - __________________ “And when at last you find someone to whom you feel you can pour out your soul, you stop in shock at the words you utter— they are so rusty, so ugly, so meaningless and feeble from being kept in the small cramped dark inside you so long.” ― Sylvia Plath

10-18-2015, 05:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
~~ChelseaDagger~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: In the fires of your own disillusion Posts: 684	Thanks for posting this! This is definitely a genre I'd like to delve into more. Just listened to the first one and will be returning later when I get the chance. subscribed

10-18-2015, 05:22 PM	#3 (permalink)
dwill123 Music Addict Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 265

10-19-2015, 08:32 AM	#10 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,548	Some early blues guys who probably snickered at Robert Johnson's mainstream sound. Here's a classic, and the dude's blind so that makes the music better by some blues rule I haven't figured out yet. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x