John Henry - Carolina Chocolate Drops w/ Joe Thompson

It is not widely known in this day that the fiddle and banjo were commonly played by African Americans from slavery times to well into this century. The two instruments in combination once provided much of the dance music for the balls and frolics of both white and black Southerners. And thousands of dance tunes--waltzes, schottisches, and reels--were adapted and composed for the fiddle and banjo. Scholars have long established the African origins of the banjo, the prototype of which was made of hollow gourds and animal hides. The fiddle, of course, is the familiar name for the European violin, which was brought by early settlers from the British Isles and Germany. No one knows exactly when or how the instruments were first played together, but it was a marriage of two radically different cultural traditions, giving rise to one of America's first truly indigenous musical forms. Joe and Odell Thompson were among the few "old-time" stringband musicians who remained active in the South. They were first cousins who made their homes near the Alamance and Orange County line north of Mebane. Born and raised on farms in the area (Odell in 1911; Joe in 1918), they grew up helping their parents tend crops of tobacco, cotton, corn, and wheat. Music-making was much valued in their households, and the sounds of the banjo and fiddle could be heard often in the evenings and on weekends, whenever the work was done. Their fathers, Walter and John Arch Thompson, were constantly sought after by neighbors, black and white, to play for square dances. The Thompson boys soon began performing at Saturday-night dances with their dads. Joe recalled taking his position in the doorway between rooms filled with dancing couples. "We were playing [four- and eight-hand square dance] sets--I was only seven years old. We had straight chairs, and my feet couldn't touch the floor. And we were running them folks, man, a half an hour." As popular tastes in music and dancing changed through the years, there was less call for fiddlers and banjo players. Joe played his fiddle at dances and parties throughout the 1920s and '30s, while Odell took up the guitar and learned the blues. But their love of the old-time dance music persisted in more private settings, and they continued to perform favorite traditional standards such as "Georgia Buck" and "Hook and Line" at home and family reunions. The early 1970s brought a revival of interest in African American folk music traditions. The Thompsons were "discovered" by folklorists who encouraged them to play publicly again, only this time for predominately white audiences at folk festivals and special events. They appeared at the National Folk Festival at Lowell, Massachusetts, the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Washington state, and at New York's Carnegie Hall. They received a N. C. Folk Heritage Award in 1991. Until Odell's untimely death in 1994, the Thompsons’ playing was as inspired and vigorous as ever, thanks in large part to the love and support of their wives, Susie and Pauline. Their dynamic instrumental styles and soaring vocals packed plenty of punch and brought attention to the rich tradition of African American stringband music in the South. Joe Thompson received the National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship in 2007 and continued to play his fiddle for appreciative audiences in North Carolina into his 90s. He passed away in February 2012. If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!

Trembling Bed Springs Blues - Little Boy Fuller

Little Boy Fuller (Richard Trice) b. 16 November 1917, Hillsborough, North Carolina, USA. Born into a very musical family, Trice learned guitar early, and was partnering his brother Willie Trice, playing blues for dances by his early teens. In the 30s, he took up with Blind Boy Fuller, and his music developed very much in Fuller’s mould. In the late 30s he made records, two sides solo and two supporting his brother, very much in the eastern states style of the time. In the 40s, he moved to Newark, New Jersey, and not long afterwards made a solo record under the pseudonym Little Boy Fuller. In the 50s he moved back south, and his music moved in a religious direction when he joined a gospel quartet. He was interviewed by researchers in the 70s, but steadfastly refused to play blues guitar again. If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!

Keep On Trying - Big Daddy Wilson & Doc Fozz

Big Daddy Wilson was born less than 50 years ago in a small town called Edenton, North Carolina. The population of Edenton counts less than 6000, 55% African Americans, 25% below the poverty line. “We were very poor but I had a very beautiful childhood“, Wilson remembers. “Me and my sisters were raised by Mom and Grandma. We lived a simple life, we went to church every Sunday, school on weekdays. I also worked back then on the tobacco plantation and in the cotton fields, I was a real country boy.“ Wilson sang in church but he never thought about going on stage. “I was extremely shy.“ His guardians meant well for the fatherless boy and they often sent him to church also during the week. “That won´t hurt him, keeps little Wilson away from drugs and off the streets.“ Young Wilson quit school at 16, and sometime later joined the US Army. Being a poor black man in the south and living in a small town, jobs were scarce. After being stations in Germany, the young man became homesick. “I found out the quickest way to go back home was to see that you got married. They’ll allow you a vacation time about two weeks to go home to get married. Wilson convinced his officers of his impending wedding and returned Stateside, refusing to return to Germany. After six weeks his mom was so worried that she begged him to go back to the military. “And so I was back in Germany.“ A few years later Wilson met a German girl who became his wife. She is the reason for him staying and also the reason for a poem which became Wilson´s first song. And then Wilson heard the blues for the first time. Back in Edenton he had listened to music only in church and from the local, country radio station. But now he went for the first time to a real blues concert. “I met the blues here in Germany. I didn’t know what the blues was before“ Big Daddy Wilson says. “It was here that I found a part of me that was missing for so long in my life.“ It did not take long and the shy guy who had written some poems started looking for melodies. He went on stage, jammed all over the German blues scene and made an impression with his warm and soulful voice. He began touring with bands and as a duo and even released a few records. “My sister came all the way to see me perform and she couldn’t believe it. No, that’s not my brother. It seems like all my shyness was gone – thanks to my music. “ Champion Jack Dupree, Louisiana Red, Eddie Boyd... many musicians who made Europe their home and brought the blues with them succeeded here better than in the U.S. Even Luther Allison lived in Europe for 14 years before his big break. And now there´s Big Daddy Wilson, an American singer and songwriter who found his home in northern Germany. But something is different regarding Big Daddy Wilson. When he came over from the U.S. there was no blues in his baggage. He initially discovered the blues here in Germany which is where he will begin his international career. With his international solo debut on RUF Records Big Daddy Wilson is going to take one step further in his late career as a musician. For “Love Is The Key“ he recorded his own songs exclusively with a small band; taking it back to the roots, often reduced to acoustic instruments, but always full of soul. You can listen to his very first song here,“ Anna“ the song about his wife. Gospel is the foundation for “Keep Your Faith In Jah“, but this doesn’t keep the songwriter Wilson from praising the talents of a gypsy queen from New Orleans, “Jazzy Rose“. In “Hard Days Work“, Big Daddy uses monotone drones for hypnotic effects on the listener, while breezy off beats Jamaica-style let “Dreaming“ to swing along. Autobiographic aspects can be found elsewhere: “Ain´t No Slave“reminds us of the African-American history and at the same time makes us aware of Wilson’s grown confidence. His good friend Eric Bibb guests on two songs about Wilson’s roots ,”Country Boy” , “Walk A Mile In My Shoes”. He’s very proud of Bibb´s presence because “I’ve learnt so much from him,” says Wilson. The fruits of this learning can be tasted on Big Daddy’s imminent European Tour. Does he dare to imagine that he could take this music all the way back to his roots in North Carolina? “That’s a dream, but one that makes me nervous“ the Father of three laughs; it’s clear that his homesickness is gone – along with his shyness. If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!

GOING DOWN THAT ROAD FEELING BAD - PRESTON FULP

Preston Fulp, born in 1915, was a sawmill worker, a tobacco sharecropper, moonshiner, and blues and old-time guitarist. He made his recordings at the age of 78 and died a few months later in October 1993. Preston weaves stories of his life through both secular and sacred songs. He was the last original Piedmont blues from turn-of-the century Winston-Salem. -Timothy Duffy If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

Whiskey Drinking Woman - Lou Donaldson, Dr. Lonnie Smith

Lou Donaldson (born November 1, 1926) is a jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Badin, North Carolina. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker. His first recordings were with the Charlie Singleton Orchestra in 1950 and then with bop emissaries Milt Jackson and Thelonious Monk in 1952, and he participated in several small groups with other jazz luminaries such as trumpeter Blue Mitchell, pianist Horace Silver, and drummer Art Blakey. In 1953, he also recorded sessions with the trumpet virtuoso Clifford Brown, and Philly Joe Jones. He was a member of Art Blakey's Quintet and appeared on some of their best regarded albums, including the two albums recorded at Birdland in February 1954 Night at Birdland. Donaldson has recorded in the bop, hard bop, and soul jazz genres. For many years his pianist was Herman Foster. He will be inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame on October 11, 2012 If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE” Video

I Heard The Angels Singin' - Big Daddy Wilson

Big Daddy Wilson was born less than 50 years ago in a small town called Edenton, North Carolina. The population of Edenton counts less than 6000, 55% African Americans, 25% below the poverty line. “We were very poor but I had a very beautiful childhood“, Wilson remembers. “Me and my sisters were raised by Mom and Grandma. We lived a simple life, we went to church every Sunday, school on weekdays. I also worked back then on the tobacco plantation and in the cotton fields, I was a real country boy.“ Wilson sang in church but he never thought about going on stage. “I was extremely shy.“ His guardians meant well for the fatherless boy and they often sent him to church also during the week. “That won´t hurt him, keeps little Wilson away from drugs and off the streets.“ Young Wilson quit school at 16, and sometime later joined the US Army. Being a poor black man in the south and living in a small town, jobs were scarce. After being stations in Germany, the young man became homesick. “I found out the quickest way to go back home was to see that you got married. They’ll allow you a vacation time about two weeks to go home to get married. Wilson convinced his officers of his impending wedding and returned Stateside, refusing to return to Germany. After six weeks his mom was so worried that she begged him to go back to the military. “And so I was back in Germany.“ A few years later Wilson met a German girl who became his wife. She is the reason for him staying and also the reason for a poem which became Wilson´s first song. And then Wilson heard the blues for the first time. Back in Edenton he had listened to music only in church and from the local, country radio station. But now he went for the first time to a real blues concert. “I met the blues here in Germany. I didn’t know what the blues was before“ Big Daddy Wilson says. “It was here that I found a part of me that was missing for so long in my life.“ It did not take long and the shy guy who had written some poems started looking for melodies. He went on stage, jammed all over the German blues scene and made an impression with his warm and soulful voice. He began touring with bands and as a duo and even released a few records. “My sister came all the way to see me perform and she couldn’t believe it. No, that’s not my brother. It seems like all my shyness was gone – thanks to my music. “ Champion Jack Dupree, Louisiana Red, Eddie Boyd... many musicians who made Europe their home and brought the blues with them succeeded here better than in the U.S. Even Luther Allison lived in Europe for 14 years before his big break. And now there´s Big Daddy Wilson, an American singer and songwriter who found his home in northern Germany. But something is different regarding Big Daddy Wilson. When he came over from the U.S. there was no blues in his baggage. He initially discovered the blues here in Germany which is where he will begin his international career. With his international solo debut on RUF Records Big Daddy Wilson is going to take one step further in his late career as a musician. For “Love Is The Key“ he recorded his own songs exclusively with a small band; taking it back to the roots, often reduced to acoustic instruments, but always full of soul. You can listen to his very first song here,“ Anna“ the song about his wife. Gospel is the foundation for “Keep Your Faith In Jah“, but this doesn’t keep the songwriter Wilson from praising the talents of a gypsy queen from New Orleans, “Jazzy Rose“. In “Hard Days Work“, Big Daddy uses monotone drones for hypnotic effects on the listener, while breezy off beats Jamaica-style let “Dreaming“ to swing along. Autobiographic aspects can be found elsewhere: “Ain´t No Slave“reminds us of the African-American history and at the same time makes us aware of Wilson’s grown confidence. His good friend Eric Bibb guests on two songs about Wilson’s roots ,”Country Boy” , “Walk A Mile In My Shoes”. He’s very proud of Bibb´s presence because “I’ve learnt so much from him,” says Wilson. The fruits of this learning can be tasted on Big Daddy’s imminent European Tour. Does he dare to imagine that he could take this music all the way back to his roots in North Carolina? “That’s a dream, but one that makes me nervous“ the Father of three laughs; it’s clear that his homesickness is gone – along with his shyness. If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!

Stagger lee - WILBERT HARRISON

Wilbert Charles Harrison (January 5, 1929 – October 26, 1994) was an American rhythm and blues singer, pianist, guitarist and harmonica player. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, Harrison had a Billboard #1 record in 1959 with the song "Kansas City". The song was written in 1952 and was one of the first credited collaborations by the team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Harrison recorded "Kansas City" for the Harlem based entrepreneur Bobby Robinson. Harrison recorded for the Fire and Fury record labels, which were owned and operated by Robinson. After this success, Harrison continued to perform and record but it would be another ten years before he recorded "Let's Stick Together" that went to # 32 on the Billboard Hot 100, and a re-worked version titled "Let's Work Together" was later a hit for Canned Heat and Bryan Ferry. It was also recorded by country rock band The Kentucky Headhunters for the soundtrack to the movie, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. In 1970, Harrison had some success with "My Heart Is Yours", and he toured for many years with a band known as 'Wilbert Harrison and The Roamers', as well as a solo act. Harrison died of a stroke in 1994, in a Spencer, North Carolina nursing home at the age of 65. In 2001, his recording of "Kansas City" was given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award, and has also been named as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. He was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009. If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!

Out On The Farm - Elester Anderson

From the Eight-Hand Sets And Holy Steps: Early Dance Tunes And Songs Of Praise From North Carolina's Black Tradition (1978) Recorded by Glenn Hinson and Charles Ellertson (b Oct 25, 1925) in the late 1970s in Speed, Edgecombe County, North Carolina; Elester Anderson, vocal and guitar Photography by Dorothea Lange; Val Wilmer: Elester Anderson and daughter, Tarboro, North Carolina, 1972 If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

GOING DOWN THAT ROAD FEELING BAD - PRESTON FULP

Preston Fulp, born in 1915, was a sawmill worker, a tobacco sharecropper, moonshiner, and blues and old-time guitarist. He made his recordings at the age of 78 and died a few months later in October 1993. Preston weaves stories of his life through both secular and sacred songs. He was the last original Piedmont blues from turn-of-the century Winston-Salem. -Timothy Duffy “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!

Mockingbird - Inez & Charlie Foxx

Charlie Foxx (October 23, 1939 – September 18, 1998) and his sister Inez Foxx (born September 9, 1942) were an African-American rhythm and blues and soul duo from Greensboro, North Carolina. Inez sang lead vocal, while Charlie sang back-up and played guitar. Their most successful record was with their novelty composition, "Mockingbird". Released in 1963, it made the Top 10 on both the rhythm and blues and pop charts; the song was later covered by artists including Aretha Franklin, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Dusty Springfield, Etta James with Taj Mahal (musician) and Toby Keith. Other notable recordings were "Hurt by Love," "Ask Me," and "(1-2-3-4-5-6-7) Count the Days." They were known for their exciting live performances, of which a highlight was Inez's rendition of "I Stand Accused", which finished with a supposedly distraught Inez singing the last verse, while being carried offstage by Charlie. They toured extensively in Europe and their music played a key role in the development of the Northern Soul movement. Inez also had some success recording on her own, beginning in 1969, but her popularity faded in the 1970s. Charlie was already working as a record producer when they finally disbanded their act. Inez Foxx was married to the American songwriter and producer Luther Dixon. Together they wrote, and he produced, The Platters' mid-1960s return to hit-making with the single "I Love You 1000 Times".Luther Dixon produced Inez and Charlie's 1967 album Come By Here, but the couple later divorced. Charlie Foxx died from leukemia in 1998, at the age of 58. “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

Don't Let the Devil Ride - Bishop Dready Manning

Bishop Dready Manning You may have been going to church all your life, but chances are you have never attended a church with as much spirit as Bishop Dready Manning’s St. Mark Holiness Church outside Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. Born in 1934, Bishop Manning, a traditional guitarist, harmonica player, and gospel singer, has infused his church with music and spirited singing, often tunes he has written himself. Since joining the Music Maker family in 1995, Bishop Manning has received program donations to rebuild his church and recorded on Came So Far. Music Maker has helped him arrange performances at the Bull Durham Blues Festival and other North Carolina venues. He is featured in the book Music Makers: Portraits and Songs from the Roots of America (2004) and in the film Toot Blues. “The Lord gave me this way of playing,” he explains in his velvety voice,” and He told me to use it in his service. So that’s just what I’m doing.” But Bishop Manning didn’t always use his extraordinary musical talent to serve the Lord. In his early days, he was a blues musician playing in clubs and piccolo joints and selling moonshine and he was “out of hand,” according to his wife Marie, who is an integral part of his church. A big change came when he suffered a mysterious hemorrhage in 1962 and was saved both physically and spiritually when some neighbors came to pray over him. “I had a converted mind right then,” he says. His family is a big part of his musical life – he and Marie and their five children toured for years and produced numerous 45s, albums, tapes and CDs. They still sing together in church every Sunday. His church services are rebroadcast on both radio and cable TV and he has a recording studio as well. Timothy Duffy sums it up when he says, “Besides his tremendous musicianship of guitar and harmonica, Dready is a powerful singer and songwriter. His recorded work has been given rave reviews throughout the world and earned the state of North Carolina great praise for being a home to such a wonderful musician.” – Miriam Sauls If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

Poor And Ain't Got A Dime - Floyd "Dipper Boy" Council

Floyd Council (September 2, 1911 – May 9, 1976) was an American blues guitarist and singer. He became a well-known practitioner of the Piedmont blues sound from that area, popular throughout the southeastern region of the US in the 1930s.

Born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, to Harrie and Lizzie Council, Floyd began his musical career on the streets of Chapel Hill in the 1920s, performing with two brothers, Leo and Thomas Strowd as "The Chapel Hillbillies". He recorded twice for ARC at sessions with Blind Boy Fuller in the mid-thirties, all examples of the Piedmont style.

Council suffered a stroke in the late 1960s which partially paralyzed his throat muscles and slowed his motor skills, but did not significantly damage his cognitive abilities. Folklorist Peter B. Lowry attempted to record him one afternoon in 1970, but he never regained his singing or playing abilities. Accounts say that he remained "quite sharp in mind".

Council died in 1976 of a heart attack, after moving to Sanford, North Carolina. He was buried at White Oak AME Zion Cemetery in Sanford.
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If You Wanna Be Happy - Jimmy Soul

Jimmy Soul (August 24, 1942 – June 25, 1988) was an American vocalist. He is best remembered for his 1963 million selling recording, "If You Wanna Be Happy."

Born James McCleese in Weldon, North Carolina, he performed gospel music as a teenager, later scouted by Frank Guida and recruited to sing songs handpicked for one of Guida's other hit artists, Gary U.S. Bonds. Soul only had two chart hit singles, both which were Bonds's cast-offs, "Twistin' Matilda" in 1962 and the Billboard Hot 100 number one hit "If You Wanna Be Happy" (based on the calypso, "Ugly Woman", by Roaring Lion) in 1963. "If You Wanna Be Happy" sold over one million gramophone records, earning gold disc status. It had two spells in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #39 (1963) and #68 (1991) respectively
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Blues Knocking At My Door - CAROLINA SLIM

Carolina Slim (August 22, 1923 – October 22, 1953) was an American Piedmont blues guitarist and singer. His best known tracks were "Black Cat Trail" and "I'll Never Walk in Your Door". He used various pseudonyms during his relatively brief recording career, including Country Paul, Jammin' Jim, Lazy Slim Jim and Paul Howard.In total he recorded 27 songs, but details of his life outside of his music career are scanty, and the exact reasons concerning the usage of differing names are also unclear
Carolina Slim was born Edward P. Hughes in Leasburg, North Carolina, United States. He learned to play the guitar from his father, and was influenced by Lightnin' Hopkins and Blind Boy Fuller. He later found work as an itinerant musician around Durham, North Carolina.

In 1950, he relocated to Newark, New Jersey, and made his recording debut for the Savoy label, billed as Carolina Slim. His first single was "Black Chariot Blues" b/w "Mama's Boogie", recorded on July 24, 1950, and released on Acorn Records (Acorn 3015), a subsidiary of Savoy. In 1951 and 1952, he recorded eight tracks for the King label in New York, this time using the name of Country Paul. Henry Glover met Slim at these recordings, and later commented that Slim was "a very sickly young man at the time". Slim's style blended Piedmont blues, prominent in songs such as "Carolina Boogie" and his cover version of Fuller's "Rag Mama Rag", with the influence of Hopkins meaning that he increasingly veered towards Texas blues.Occasionally, Slim incorporated a washboard as well as his more regular guitar, as if to emphasise his Carolina rootstock.

His recordings were not hugely popular, but sold in sufficient amounts for him to retain his recording contract. In June 1952, Slim recorded four more tracks for Savoy, but these were to be his final offerings.

Carolina Slim died in Newark, New Jersey, from a heart attack suffered whilst undergoing surgery on a back complaint. He was 30 years old.

In 1994, Document released a compilation album, Complete Recorded Works 1950-1952, which incorporated all of his 27 tracks
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No 9 Train - Tarheel Slim

Talk about a versatile musician: Alden Bunn (aka Tarheel Slim) recorded in virtually every postwar musical genre imaginable. Lowdown blues, gospel, vocal group R&B, poppish duets, even rockabilly weren't outside the sphere of his musicianship. However, spirituals were Bunn's first love. While still in North Carolina during the early '40s, the guitarist worked with the Gospel Four and then the Selah Jubilee Singers, who recorded for Continental and Decca. Bunn and Thurman Ruth broke away in 1949 to form their own group, the Jubilators. During a single day in New York in 1950, they recorded for four labels under four different names!
One of those labels was Apollo, who convinced them to go secular. That's basically how the Larks, one of the seminal early R&B vocal groups whose mellifluous early-'50s Apollo platters rank with the era's best, came to be. Bunn sang lead on a few of their bluesier items ("Eyesight to the Blind," for one), as well as doing two sessions of his own for the firm in 1952 under the name of Allen Bunn. As Alden Bunn, he encored on Bobby Robinson's Red Robin logo the next year. Bunn also sang with another R&B vocal group, the Wheels. And coupled with his future wife, Anna Sanford, Bunn recorded as the Lovers; "Darling It's Wonderful," their 1957 duet for Aladdin's Lamp subsidiary, was a substantial pop seller. (Ray Ellis did the arranging.)
Tarheel Slim made his official entrance in 1958 with his wife, now dubbed Little Ann, in a duet format for Robinson's Fire imprint ("It's Too Late," "Much Too Late"). Then old Tarheel came out of the gate like his pants were on fire with a pair of rockabilly raveups of his own, "Wildcat Tamer" and "No. 9 Train," with Jimmy Spruill on blazing lead guitar. After a few years off the scene, Tarheel Slim made a bit of a comeback during the early '70s, with an album for Pete Lowry's Trix logo that harked back to Bunn's Carolina blues heritage. It would prove his last.
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Joe & Odell Thompson

It is not widely known in this day that the fiddle and banjo were commonly played by African Americans from slavery times to well into this century. The two instruments in combination once provided much of the dance music for the balls and frolics of both white and black Southerners. And thousands of dance tunes--waltzes, schottisches, and reels--were adapted and composed for the fiddle and banjo.



Scholars have long established the African origins of the banjo, the prototype of which was made of hollow gourds and animal hides. The fiddle, of course, is the familiar name for the European violin, which was brought by early settlers from the British Isles and Germany. No one knows exactly when or how the instruments were first played together, but it was a marriage of two radically different cultural traditions, giving rise to one of America's first truly indigenous musical forms.



Joe and Odell Thompson were among the few "old-time" stringband musicians still active in the South. They were first cousins who made their homes near the Alamance and Orange County line north of Mebane. Born and raised on farms in the area (Odell in 1911; Joe in 1918), they grew up helping their parents tend crops of tobacco, cotton, corn, and wheat. Music-making was much valued in their households, and the sounds of the banjo and fiddle could be heard often in the evenings and on weekends, whenever the work was done. Joe and Odell's fathers, Walter and John Arch Thompson, were constantly sought after by neighbors, black and white, to play for square dances.



The Thompson boys soon began performing at Saturday-night dances with their dads. Joe recalls taking his position in the doorway between rooms filled with dancing couples. "We were playing [four- and eight-hand square dance] sets--I was only seven years old. We had straight chairs, and my feet couldn't touch the floor. And we were running them folks, man, a half an hour."



As popular tastes in music and dancing changed through the years, there was less call for fiddlers and banjo players. Joe played his fiddle at dances and parties throughout the 1920s and '30s, while Odell took up the guitar and learned the blues. But the Thompson's love of the old-time dance music persisted in more private settings, and they continued to perform favorite traditional standards such as "Georgia Buck" and "Hook and Line" at home and family reunions.



The early 1970s brought a revival of interest in African American folk music traditions. The Thompsons were "discovered" by folklorists who encouraged them to play publicly again, only this time for predominately white audiences at folk festivals and special events. In more recent years, they appeared at the National Folk Festival at Lowell, Massachusetts, the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Washington state, and at New York's Carnegie Hall.



Until Odell's untimely death in 1994, the Thompson's playing was as inspired and vigorous as ever, thanks in large part to the love and support of their wives, Susie and Pauline. Their dynamic instrumental styles and soaring vocals packed plenty of punch and brought attention to the rich tradition of African American stringband music in the South. Joe Thompson continues to play his fiddle for appreciative audiences in North Carolina.
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Soul Food - Guitar Crusher

Sidney Selby is a true blues man. He also goes by 'Bone Crusher' and 'Guitar Crusher', names he earned throughout his career.
Born in rural Hyde County N.C. in 1931 during the height of the Depression, he toiled in the cotton fields during his youth but set aside Sundays for exercising his rich baritone in the choir of Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church, continuing a tradition which gave rise to a whole generation of blues singers of his era.
He moved to New York in the 50s, found a job and started singing in Church again. However. encouraged by his friends, he soon formed his own band, the Midnight Rockers and began attracting a large following.
The year 1960 marked the beginning of a decade of performances with The Drifters, The Isley Brothers, Ben E. King and other major R&B talents which flourished during the 1960's musical renaissance.
Selby was signed by Columbia Records and remained under contract until 1970, when the musical tastes in America began to shift away from blues and soul sounds. So, in the early 80s GUITAR CRUSHER headed for Europe and a more hospitals blues climate. Here his performance on major festivals marked the start of his comeback. The now internationally-known singer and writer has since accorded 4 albums singing his own compositions with force and assurance in his gospel-inflected voice. His transfixing vocal power won him a reputation as 'The Big Voice From New York', a headliner on the european blues-circuit.
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Step It Up And Go - Moses Rascoe

Moses Rascoe got his first guitar in North Carolina at the age of 13 and turned professional in Pennsylvania some 50-odd years later. In between, he traveled the roads as a day laborer and truck driver, playing guitar only for "a dollar or a drink," as he told Jack Roberts in Living Blues. But he'd picked up plenty of songs over the years, from old Brownie McGhee Piedmont blues to Jimmy Reed's '50s jukebox hits, and when he retired from trucking at the age of 65, he gave his music a shot. The local folk-music community took notice, as did blues and folk festivals from Chicago to Europe. Rascoe recorded his first album live at Godfrey Daniels, a Pennsylvania coffeehouse, in 1987.
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Bar/None Records artists: The db's - Falling off the Sky - New Release Review

I have been listening to the newest release, Falling off the Sky, from The db's and it's quite tasty. It's not bluesy but a very strongly crafted power pop recording. The db's formed back in the late 70's releasing 4 albums over about 10 years. The original band is back together and sounding great. The recording opens with That Time Is Gone, a great gritty rocker sounding fresh and familiar. All of the swagger you'd want from a NYC power pop band. Before We Were Born, a straight up pop song with British sounding influences is up next. This is really a strong melodic track. The Wonder of Love, a pop rock track with a bit of a back beat even squeezes a cool guitar solo in. Write Back has the classic hook that you'd expect from a radio play track. Far Away And Long Ago has the delicacy of a George Harrison ballad. Very nice. World To Cry is another strong track with solid hooks. Vocal and instrumental is equally well constructed and executed. The Adventures of Albetross and Doggerell sounds a bit like a it could have come from a Nirvana recording... a pretty tall order. Curt indicated that he was influenced by those who came before him. She Won't Drive In The Rain Anymore is a particularly interesting track with interesting lyrics and painterly instrumental construction. My favorite after the opener. The title track, Falling off the Sky, completing the recording sounds like it was written by a prominent songwriting duo from Liverpool but possibly while they were on a stay over at Wilco's studio in Chicago. This is a very solid recording of power pop music and one that I am very anxious to lend to my best friend. I feel very confident that it will see great success.

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Naima - John Coltrane

Merely mention the name John Coltrane and you’re likely to evoke a deeply emotional, often spiritual response from even the most casual jazz fan.

Born September 23, 1926 in Hamlet, North Carolina, John Coltrane was always surrounded by music. His father played several instruments sparking Coltrane’s study of E-flat horn and clarinet. While in high school, Coltrane’s musical influences shifted to the likes of Lester Young and Johnny Hodges prompting him to switch to alto saxophone. He continued his musical training in Philadelphia at Granoff Studios and the Ornstein School of Music. He was called to military service during WWII, where he performed in the U.S. Navy Band in Hawaii.

After the war, Coltrane began playing tenor saxophone with the Eddie "CleanHead" Vinson Band, and was later quoted as saying, "A wider area of listening opened up for me. There were many things that people like Hawk, and Ben and Tab Smith were doing in the ‘40’s that I didn’t understand, but that I felt emotionally." Prior to joining the Dizzy Gillespie band, Coltrane performed with Jimmy Heath where his passion for experimentation began to take shape. However, it was his work with the Miles Davis Quintet in 1958 that would lead to his own musical evolution. " Miles music gave me plenty of freedom," he once said. During that period, he became known for using the three-on-one chord approach, and what has been called the ‘sheets of sound,’ a method of playing multiple notes at one time.

By 1960 Coltrane had formed his own quartet which included pianist McCoy Tyner, drummer Elvin Jones, and bassist Jimmy Garrison. Eventually adding players like Eric Dolphy, and Pharoah Sanders. The John Coltrane Quartet created some of the most innovative and expressive music in Jazz history including the hit albums: "My Favorite Things," "Africa Brass," " Impressions," " Giant Steps," and his monumental work "A Love Supreme" which attests to the power, glory, love, and greatness of God. Coltrane felt we must all make a conscious effort to effect positive change in the world, and that his music was an instrument to create positive thought patterns in the minds of people.

In 1967, liver disease took Coltrane’s life leaving many to wonder what might have been. Yet decades after his departure his music can be heard in motion pictures, on television and radio. Recent film projects that have made references to Coltrane’s artistry in dialogue or musical compositions include, "Mr. Holland’s Opus", "The General’s Daughter", "Malcolm X", "Mo Better Blues", "Jerry McGuire", "White Night", "The Last Graduation", "Come Unto Thee", "Eyes On The Prize II" and "Four Little Girls". Also, popular television series such as "NYPD Blue", "The Cosby Show", "Day’s Of Our Lives", "Crime Stories" and "ER", have also relied on the beautiful melodies of this distinguished saxophonist.
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