Sun 7 Dec 2008
Big Road Blues Show 12/7/08: Studs Terkel Tribute
Posted by Jeff under 1920's Blues, 1950's Blues, Playlists
[2] Comments
| ARTIST | SONG | ALBUM |
|---|---|---|
| Broonzy, Terry, McGhee | Key to the Highway | Blues With... |
| Broonzy, Terry, McGhee | What are the Blues | Blues With... |
| Broonzy, Terry, McGhee | Blood River Blues | Blues With... |
| Broonzy, Terry, McGhee | Crow Jane Blues | Blues With... |
| Broonzy, Terry, McGhee | Willie May | Blues With... |
| Broonzy, Terry, McGhee | Daisy | Blues With... |
| Broonzy, Terry, McGhee | Louise / Shuffle Rag | Blues With... |
| Broonzy, Terry, McGhee | The Blues | Blues With... |
| Broonzy, Terry, McGhee | Talk on the Blues | Blues With... |
| Broonzy, Terry, McGhee | Talk on the Spirituals | Blues With... |
| Broonzy, Terry, McGhee | Oh, What a Beautiful City | Blues With... |
| Broonzy, Terry, McGhee | I'm Going To Tell God... | Blues With... |
| Broonzy, Terry, McGhee | Hush, Somebody Is Calling Me | Blues With... |
| Broonzy, Terry, McGhee | When the Saints Go Marching In | Blues With... |
| Big Bill Broonzy | Early Days | His Story |
| Big Bill Broonzy | Blues: Bill Bailey | His Story |
| Big Bill Broonzy | Willie Mae Blues | His Story |
| Big Bill Broonzy | Experiences | His Story |
| Big Bill Broonzy | Travelling | His Story |
| Big Bill Broonzy | Joe Turner Blues No. 1 | His Story |
Show Notes:
By now you’ve probably heard about the passing of oral historian, radio host and writer Studs Terkel just over a month ago. It’s a shame he didn’t hang on long enough to see Barack Obama win the presidency. Studs was a champion of the underdog, the “non-celebrated” and had plenty to say on racial issues. I don’t claim to be an expert on Studs and in fact feel a bit guilty that I didn’t read more by him. What I did know about Studs was his connection with the blues; in particular the two wonderful albums of interviews and music that were issued on the Folkways label: Big Bill Broonzy: His Story (1956) and Blues With Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee (1958). These were from Studs’ radio program, which he began In 1953 on WFMT, Chicago and ran until 1998. There was also another album with Pete Seeger, which I don’t own, called Studs Terkel’s Weekly Almanac: Radio Programme, No. 4: Folk Music and Blues. Oh, and like myself, Studs was born in the Bronx which is always a plus in my book. I won’t rehash Studs’ background as the internet is loaded with obituaries but I thought I would share the above-mentioned Folkways albums in their entirety.
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| Read Liner Notes (PDF) |
Broonzy spent a good part of the early ’40s barnstorming the South with Lil Green’s road show or back in Chicago with Memphis Slim.He continued alternating stints in Chicago and New York with coast-to-coast road work until 1951. In 1951, Broonzy took his first tour of Europe, where he was met with enthusiasm and appreciation. His appearances in Europe introduced the blues to European audiences and were especially influential in London’s emerging skiffle and rock blues scene. Broonzy’s success also set the stage for later blues artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson II and Muddy Waters to play European venues. Broonzy toured Europe again in 1955 and 1957. Back in the States he recorded for Chess, Columbia and Folkways, working with a spectrum of artists from Blind John Davis to Pete Seeger. In 1955, Big Bill Blues, his life as told to Danish writer Yannick Bruynoghe, was published. In 1957, after one more British tour, the pace began to catch up with Broonzy. He spent the last year of his life in and out of hospitals and succumbed to cancer in 1958.
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| Read Liner Notes (PDF) |
Nice post. Thank you for the info. Keep it up.
I think that the Columbia LP of Broonzy that you refer to is the same as my first blues LP purchase. It was in a world folk music series and was a collection of stuff recorded for Vogue Records in France!I think.