Sunday Morning Blues - Mississippi Fred McDowell, Mississippi John Hurt, Robert Nighthawk, Johnny Otis

This week focuses a lot on older folk and early R&B blues sounds as I continue with Volumes 33 and 34 of the ABC Of The Blues...

Mississippi Fred McDowell
Tennessee born Fred McDowell was primarily known for his folk and country blues sound, often placed with the Delta Blues musicians of his era - from the early 1920s through the 1960s. He lived and working in Mississippi until late in life. He died in Memphis in 1972 from cancer. He went mostly unnoticed by the public eye until the late 1950s just as there was a revival in the American Folk and Blues artists that had seen decline in the previous decade. Fred is somewhat famous for the phrase (and later album) "I do not play no Rock and Roll" - he didn't even use an electric guitar until the 60s. He also tutored Bonnie Raitt in the slide guitar.

Despite his claims that he does not play no Rock'n'Roll, his style of folk is the seed that would later become Rock. Especially on some of his faster songs, indeed he took some interest in rock music later, praising a stones cover of You Gotta Move, the original is not here. His slower slide guitar is less rock, and very roots and folk influenced.

Mississippi John Hurt
John Hurt, another blues musician from Mississippi, was predominately a Delta blues artist, with some country blues influence as well. John made some recordings in 1928 that failed to become a success and disappeared until the early 1960s when his early Avalon Blues recording was found, that along with the folk revival of the 60s gave him another shot at a career. Cutting only 12 known sides in 1928 he may have fallen into complete obscurity were it not for that revival. While he did record several albums he died in 1966, still leaving behind a good sized repertoire.

John Hurt's style is a finger-picked blues guitar, his singing more of a loud whisper than actual singing. The ten songs here are a good mix of his first and second careers as a musician. A good example of very early Delta blues, his style is very low key, almost mellow, for the blues.

Robert Nighthawk
Robert Lee McCollum, or Robert Lee McCoy, was a rambling blues musician. He didn't even settle on a particular style of blues. His early career as Robert McCoy had him wandering from the 1930s through the 1960s all over the midwest and east, making only a few recordings, mostly with other groups. In the late 1960s he resurfaced as Robert Nighthawk in Chicago and started to record. His style was so similar to Muddy Waters that there was a bit of a marketing rivalry on the label, Waters winning out by being more reliable and some say a better stage man. Robert continued to roam about the US after that, making a few more recordings, until his death in 1967.

Most of the songs here are from his Chicago era recordings, the ones that lost out to Muddy Waters. And you can hear the similarity in the two men, definitely a very Chicago-Blues style. His voice isn't as big, but still a very strong presence. It would have been nice if they'd managed to find any of his very early recordings in the more folk and delta styles.

Johnny Otis
From California, Johnny is one of the earliest Rhythm & Blues musicians credited, sometimes consider the Godfather of R&B. He had an extremely long career from the 1930s until his very recent death in January of 2012. While he was a musician some of his most known work is as a producer, composer and band leader. Throughout his recordings he varied widely in his styles, from the classic R&B to Rock, Doo Wop, more classic Blues, Swing, Jazz and some Gospel.

The recordings here focus nearly completely on his Rhythm And Blues work, with some more traditional blues as well, and most older recordings at that. A good look way back into the very start of the R&B, Swing, and Rock music that would shape the 1950s and beyond.

Next Week; Charley Patton, Snooky Pryor, Professor Longhair, and Junior Parker. Several of these are new to me too.