Hell, Big Bill Broonzy-the epitome of rural southern black folk music-had lived right there in Chicago, and it was no secret that he was one of the two biggest influences on Muddy's early evolution (the other being Son House). What they didn't seem to realize was that they had it all along. Certainly, their franchise was trying to capitalize on the folk movement. The Chess Brothers wanted part of that action. But now white college kids were rediscovering black artists-the originators of the art form-who fueled the folk blues revival across the country… Son House, Sleepy John Estes, Skip James, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and some others were now suddenly all the rage, as if being raised from the dead-only they weren't dead, hadn't died. But then it became more real when a few music researchers (Dick Waterman, Phil Spero and Nick Perls) went south and found the originators of Mississippi Delta music who were still alive and well, gradually coaxing them out of the shadows and back into the light. He wasn't exaggerating-during this early part of decade in American music, it was all about the emergence of artists like Pete Seeger, The Kingston Trio, Odetta, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul & Mary, and a young Bob Dylan among others. Based on well-documented itinerary notes from music historian Stefan Wirz, Muddy most likely made his overseas departure in the last week of September to arrive in time for the beginning of the Blues Festival tour in Frankfurt, Germany on September 24th.Ĭhess producer Ralph Bass, who wrote liner notes for the music that would become Folk Singer, mentions that the folk craze was taking over the country. Indeed, Muddy Waters was scheduled to perform as one of the main acts on the star-studded blues extravaganza. But things had changed by 1963 when Waters, Dixon, Guy, and James came together for this seminal event, which took place shortly before the 1963 American Folk Blues Festival, an event which, in hindsight, may have very well been the impetus for bringing this session to fruition. Some of Muddy's biggest Chess pieces had been already recorded between 1950-1960. It would be captured in a different manner than the usual approach, and there were reasons for it to be done this way.īy now, the once-plentiful and thriving urban Chicago blues scene was slowly dying on the vine in the black community several live venues were losing steam and money too even Muddy's main sidekick, guitarist Jimmy Rogers, had thrown in the towel as early as 1960 and said "I'm retired." His departure from the Chicago clubs lasted throughout the decade, 'til the next one started. In this early part of 1963, these three gentlemen, along with Chess session drummer Clifton James (the originator of the Bo Diddley drum beat, did you know?) came together to do a special recording for the Chess label. Among them were three kings: Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, and Buddy Guy. They also hired some of the greatest blues musicians in the world to make the music. Chess Records was owned and operated by Phil and Leonard Chess, who bought the building and hired a few key people to run the recording studio and its offices. In a gritty neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago sat a small legendary studio that ultimately became a powerhouse as the years went passing by. Yes, Chubby Checker had twisted his way over Fats Domino's blueberry hill, but American teens hadn't yet started to twist and shout, had they? During the first half, Jerry Lee's great balls of fire had already burned, The King's hound dogs had howled, Johnny had been good (but Chuck the Duck Walker was caught being bad). The fifties will always have the bragging rights of being the "golden era" of rock n' roll. For lack of a better term, I'm calling it a forensic approach to Muddy's music. Hopefully it comes together for an audio-linguistic joyride. Biographical info, backstory material, linguistic forays, historical comparisons, theoretical constructs, contextual insights, and even a few onomatopoeian overtures-it's all gonna be stewing in this pot of blues. At certain points during the journey things might not feel like a simple critique, or typical record review-I readily confess to including several digressions along the way to cut a much wider collective swath. Before we begin, please allow me a bit of a pre-entry disclaimer: This article might be a bit different than anything you may have read before on this subject, so just indulge for a while, if you please. For this occasion, I find no better reason to introduce to you a dissection of one of the greatest blues albums ever recorded, entitled Folk Singer. The 35 th anniversary of his passing has recently come and gone. Muddy Waters was born on Apand died on April 30, 1983.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |