In this column: Weevil, Boll Weevil, The Katy, The Santa Fe, The Mule, Brook Benton, Bessie Tucker, Taj Mahal, Big Joe Williams Weevil in Can't get no grinding (Muddy Waters) and Boll Weevil (Lead Belly). See an earlier episode.The wheat weevil / grain weevil in "Can't get no grinding" (Muddy Water) is a beetle that …
In this column: Shorty George Blues, Shorty George, Sippie Wallace, Lead Belly, John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers, Shorty George Snowden, Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth, Mailed in the air, Monkey Man, Alan Lomax, James Baker, Mallory Line Shorty George BluesBeulah "Sippie" Wallace recorded "Shorty George Blues" in 1923. It is like "Fore Day Creep" and …
In this column: Fore Day Creep, Creepers, Don't advertise your man, Grinding, Can't get no grinding, Axe to grind, Bushel and a peck, Ida Cox, Bessie Smith, Sippie Wallace, Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie, Muddy Waters Ida Cox recorded "Fore Day Creep". The song describes the situation when a man early in the morning …
In this column: Easy Rider, Pimp Walk, Rider, Day Rider, Ghost Rider, Leadbelly, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lennon/McCartney, Jim Morrison, Stan Jones When "easy rider" is used for a sexual partner, the word "easy" for a woman and a man has a different meaning. For a woman it is an expression of admiration, for a man …
In this column: See See Rider, Rider, freeloaders, traveling blues men, Fore Day Rider, Ma Rainey, Alan Lomax, LeRoy Carr, Jay McShann See See Rider / C.C. Rider / See See Rider Blues or Easy Rider is a 12-bar blues song. Gertrude "Ma" Rainey recorded it in 1924 followed by many other musicians over the …
In this column: Signifying, Match box hold my clothes, Baby bought a ticket, Sonny Boy Williamson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King, Howling Wolf, Lucky Peterson Signifying in the blues refers to the use of doubletalk that is understood by members of one’s community.Blues lyrics use metaphor to allow the singer to brag about physical attributes …
In this column: Riding the blinds, Riding the axes, Armful of Greyhound, Shut your damper down, Eddie Mapp, Sam Cooke, Jimmy Burns, Magic Sam Meaning It was common for musicians to jump onto freight trains to visit nearby towns and farms. Later they moved on to other states and metropolitan areas. If the crew didn't …
In this column: a bad joke that could easily go wrong Hair today, gone tomorrow The hall is divided into two halves with rows of chairs. The right half is fairly busy. In the left, in the middle, one man. The audience consists of detainees from a penitentiary psychiatric hospital. At that time our blues band …
In this column: Terraplane, Axe-handle pistol,Tombstone bullets, Meet me at the bottom, Robert Johnson, Pink Higgins, Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter, Otis Span, Buddy Moss, Bumble Bee Slim, Pink Anderson I've been driving my Terraplane for a year since I've been gone... (Robert Johnson) Meaning The Terraplane was popular and Robert Johnson wrote "Terraplane Blues" in …
The Crossroads (Devil's Crossroads) is the location where the legend says blues musician Robert Johnson sold his soul to the Devil for the ability to play a mean guitar. Located at the corner of Highway 61 (The Blues Highway) and Highway 49 in Clarksdale (Mississippi). According to Son House the true crossroads is located at …
In this column: Highway 49, Mississippi, Gulfport, Tutwiler, Greenwood North Jackson, Big Joe Williams, Clarksdale, Crossroads, Howling Wolf, Old Highway 49, Saucier, Perkinston
In this column: Mississippi River flood of 1927, also called Great Flood of 1927, flooding of the lower Mississippi River valley in April 1927, one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States. More than 23,000 square miles (60,000 square km) of land was submerged, hundreds of thousands of people were …
Along Highway 61 blues came in the 30s and 40s from the south to the recording studios in Chicago, Memphis and New York and contributed to the foundations of jazz and rock and roll. Therefore 61 is also called the "Blues Highway".In 2005, the Mississippi Blues Trail was created by placing display and information panels.
In this column: communication with the public Aron Burton said to me, "the first thing they told me, when I sang in a choir; you have to look at people." That was his way to point out to me that I had to keep my eyes open when I sing. But I find that difficult. …
