Bman's Blues Report

Archie Edwards (September 4, 1918 – June 18, 1998) was an American Piedmont blues guitarist, who in a sporadic career spanning several decades, worked variously with Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, and John Jackson.His best known tracks included "Saturday Night Hop", "The Road is Rough and Rocky", and "I Called My Baby Long Distance". In the 1950s, his own barber shop attracted blues musicians, who helped to kickstart Edwards' musical career. Edwards described his performing as "I play what they call the old Piedmont style, but I call it East Virginia blues 'cause that's where I learned it" Born on a farm near Union Hall, Virginia, United States, his early work left some time to engage with local musicians, but he had to share his first guitar with his two brothers. Inspired by recordings of Blind Boy Fuller and Blind Lemon Jefferson, he played locally and found employment in a sawmill. In 1937, he relocated to New Jersey, working ...