As some of you who have been reading this blog for a while probably know I am from Shreveport, Louisiana originally. I was born and raised there and grew up in a neighborhood just out side of downtown called Allendale. We had a few juke joints like that one on the corner of Dale and Alston St. They tore that building down a long time ago though.
They are busy tearing down that whole neighborhood. Things have changed, the blues there have changed too. I remember walking down Alston St. and passing this one house where a lady sat on the front porch. She listened to B.B. King's "The Thrill is Gone" over and over. I probably passed by that house hundreds, if not thousands of times. And that was the only song I ever heard coming from that house. It was not until I became an adult that I understood the kind of blues she had. That is the kind of blues that people in Shreveport have.
I have done a few post on my hometown blues favorite Leadbelly. The video below is a cool one that I had not seen before, it is of Pete Seeger talking about Leadbelly.
And I also want to introduce some to another Shreveport native who in my assessment is the real deal when it comes to the blues. Consider young Kenny Wayne Shepherd.
Check out the official Kenny Wayne Shepherd web site here.
Another blues song about Shreveport that some of you may know is this Memphis Minnie song.
Shreveport Blues
I've got a man in Shreveport, he's forever on my mind
I've got a man in Shreveport, he's forever on my mind
When I lay down at night, he bothers me all the time
He's a long tall papa, live mostly on Texas Avenue
He's a long tall papa, live mostly on Texas Avenue
And if I don't get that man, I'll forever have the Shreveport Blues
He's a sweet lovin' man, one that knows his stuff
He's a sweet lovin' man, one that knows his stuff
Takes me in his arms so easy, he's not a bit rough
I never get tired of lovin', cause he's got all I need
I never get tired of lovin', cause he's got all I need
I want my lovin', ten or twelve times a week
Shreveport Shreveport, Shreveport where is my man?
Shreveport Shreveport, Shreveport where is my man?
Shreveport Shreveport, Shreveport where is my man?
And for the blues piano fans, check out Jim Hession playing Jelly Roll Morton's Shreveport Stomp.
4 comments:
where do you live these days, and do you every go back to visit Louisiana?
Mister Anchovy, today I live in San Diego, CA. And there aren't very many juke joints around here either.
Cool! My maternal grandfather was a Louisianan before moving to Texas, where I was born, as a young man. AND, for two years as a boy I lived in Texarkana, TX, where one of our TV stations came from Shreveport....
Greg, you know what is funny about that. When I was a teen a good friend got his first car, it was an old passed down station wagon. We used to drive from Shreveport to Texarkana, TX all the time.
Mister Anchovy, I just realized that I did not really answer your question. The wife and I like to get back down there at least once a year. We were there last July. We drove, it was a lot of fun.
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