Writings by Kirk McElhearn
Guitarist Woody Mann joins us to discuss his documentary about the life of the great blues and gospel musician Rev. Gary Davis.
Listen to The Next Track: Episode #54 – Guitarist Woody Mann Talks about His Documentary on the Life of Rev. Gary Davis.
Find out more, and subscribe to the podcast, at The Next Track website. You can follow The Next Track on Twitter at @NextTrackCast, to keep up to date with new episodes, and new articles from the website.
Jorma Kaukonen is one of my favorite musicians. Hearing him got me interested in acoustic blues music, and the electric music he played with Hot Tuna was also excellent. I saw Jorma live many times back in the 1970s, and early 1980s, and the best performance I ever saw was a three-hour show at the University of Pennsylvania in November 1978. I always found it astonishing how this one guy could sit on a chair and play acoustic guitar for three hours and keep audiences dancing.
Here’s a pro-shot video of Jorma at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, NJ, in May of that year. The black-and-white video is poor, but the music is great.
Shake ’em On Down’ is the story of Fred McDowell, the godfather of the North Mississippi style of blues. Through interviews and never-before-seen footage of Fred McDowell and other blues legends, the film tells the story of a Mississippi sharecropper who went on to influence the music of the Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt, RL Burnside, Taj Mahal and the North Mississipp All Stars.
Mississippi Blues. I’m in.
Source: Watch Full Episodes Online of REEL SOUTH on PBS | SHAKE EM ON DOWN
Doug and Kirk welcome musician, historian, and author Elijah Wald to discuss the history of the blues.
Listen to The Next Track: Episode #20 – You Think You Know about the Blues? Eliah Wald on the History of the Blues.
Find out more, and subscribe to the podcast, at The Next Track website. You can follow The Next Track on Twitter at @NextTrackCast, to keep up to date with new episodes, and new articles from the website.