The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Theme by Samauraiguitarist and Gagne

"Ever wonder what the theme to Fresh Prince would've sounded like if Will came from down in the Mississippi delta?"

Well Samuraiguitarist and Jeff Gagne did, and I like their cover version. 

Blues Music Link In the Spotlight

While surfing the web I came accross a cool link that blues guitar players might find valuable. It is a list of Tabs for blues music standards.

http://kristinhall.org/songbook/BluesAndStandards.html

Play the blues!


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Leonard Feather Explains the Blues

Blues Art: Muddy Smiles

Muddy Smile 2007 Giclee Print

Jacobs, Reesa


Buy at AllPosters.com

The blues by Yeats

Sometimes I'm asked just what is the blues? Well it is a lifestyle. A way of looking at the world, a worldview, you might call it. It is universal and has been expressed by many cultures over time.

Although mostly associated with African American culture, it is in fact just an explanation of the condition of man. At least that is what I think. Consider the words of William Butler Yeats, who wrote,

"We begin to live when we have conceived life as tragedy."

Now tell me if that is not a clear and concise statement of the blues.

The Devil rode on a big black stallion: Question

Someone asked via email;

Hello there,

I'm looking to download this song I lost a long time ago on cassette. I remember the lyrics because i've felt them every once in a while. Even during stable relationships, haha.

The devil rode on a big black stallion traveling in a cloud of flames (x3)
Drifter was his name
Driftre destroyed teh hearts of women all across the land (x3)
he lives in the minds I know, of evrey travelin' man

and so on, till the main lines appear:
The wind's my lover
and Drifter's my steed
and the devil's theonly friend
I'll ever need
The wind, the Drifter, the Devil an' me
we ride together through all eternity


If you know these lyrics, please end my search and tell me where they come from!

Enjoy your day and greetings from Holland!

----------------------
So I go to my old friend Google and enter in parts of the lyrics to see what I can come up with.

I start with "The devil rode on a big black stallion traveling in a cloud of flames" no quote marks.

I get a lot of hits from literature about black stallions, it seems that many books were written about black stallions, named devil.

So I try a few other combinations because I figure that the asker of the question may not be remembering the lyric just right, as is often the case.

Again I am coming up with many hits to items that have black, devil, and stallion in them.

So I think maybe I should simplify the search and put part of it in quotes for an exact match. So this time I enter "The Devil Rode on a Big Black Stallion"

Bingo I get a hit to Charles Mingus' album "Changes One" which has the song Devil Blues.


Which has the lyrics; "The Devil rode on a big black stallion, ridin' on a cloud of rain..."

I am guessing that this is the song that you are refering to.

Which gets me to thinking, wait a minute Robert Johnson wrote a song called Me and the Devil Blues. Which led me to...

Probably most interesting of all;

Robert Johnson - Me and the Devil Blues


Feel free to send any blues questions that you might have to my email address above, when I have time I like to do the research and find answers to interesting questions.

As it heats up, try to stay cool and stay blue.

Link to Wayne Miller's Chicago 1946-48 Photo Essay

First you should go to the post prior to this one and pause the music.

A friend from StumbleUpon sent me this link. Magnum Photos Chicago 1946-48 Photo essay by Wayne Miller.

We may differ in race, color, language, wealth, and politics. But look at what we all have in common. If I could photograph these universal truths, I thought that might help us understand.
- Wayne Miller

It is my contention that the blues if nothing else is one of those universal truths.

If the blues had a flower.

How blue can you get?

This has nothing to do with music, but it got me to thinking when I saw this. It would make a perfect flower for the blues. Maybe I'll have to get Mrs. F. a buch of these.

The AFP reports that genetically-modified blue roses will soon be going on sale in Japan. Click the above image to read about it.

2nd Annual Deep Blues & Film Festival

Got an email letting me know about the 2nd Annual Deep Blues Festival and 1st Annual Film Festival. I just wanted to pass the word on and let you all know about it.

They will be screening the Jessie Mae Hemphill movie Dare You To Do It Again which is where a couple of the videos in my lat post come from.

2nd Annual Deep Blues Festival Expands To
45 Performers with International Acts and a Film Festival

Fri - Sun, July 18-20, 2008 - 11:00am - 10:00pm
Washington County Fairgrounds - Lake Elmo, MN
Tickets on sale at Deep Blues Festival.com

Go here to get more info and to buy tickets; Deep Blues Festival web site
Visit for more info and music; Deep Blues Festival@MySpace
Visit for more info on the blues film festival that is going on at the same time; Deep Blues Film Festival@MySpace

Big Joe Williams Videos

BLUES PLAYLIST: BIG JOE WILLIAMS, PART 1




BLUES PLAYLIST: BIG JOE WILLIAMS, PART 2


There are some great videos on YouTube that can not be embedded :(

Well I guess I'll just have to link to them. Take this video of Big Joe Williams playing Baby Please Don't Go for example.

Note the guitar playing and the foot stomps and taps. Dude had rhythm.

Please click link to see video >>>Baby Please Don't Go

Please click link to see video >>>Big Joe Williams

Match Box Blues - A History

There is a Zen saying, "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear."

As a student of the blues, I know when someone is being a teacher, or taking me to school. I enjoyed the lesson on the history of that proverbial blues song "Match Box Blues" given over at Heart on a Stick Blog.

These two comprehensive entries (linked below) will give you all the information that you will ever need about this song and the many artist who preformed it over the years.

The More You Cry (The Matchbox Blues Blues, Pt. 1)

The Further You Drive Me Away (The Matchbox Blues Blues, Pt. 2)

Just to give you an idea of what a treasure these post are, consider the opening note to post one.

[Note 1: These are long. No, seriously. I don't expect anyone to read any of it. But there are 33 mp3s in these two entries and, as they're pretty much taking up all my online storage space, they won't be up very long. A week, maybe. The text and the stitched-together comparison track up will stay up, but grab whatever else you might want while you can.]

These were posted yesterday, so if you want to check out any of the mp3s you better get over there soon.


Leadbelly - Match box blues

Howlin Wolf Video - May I Have A Talk With You

Wolf begins by asking that age old question, have you ever been loved, have you ever loved a woman...

Uncle Johnny Williams on "The Blues"

This is the best explination of what the blues are that I have ever heard. Right from the mouth of a bluesman.

Notes from YouTube; Uncle Johnny Williams talks about how the blues were born. Scene from the new movie, "Electrified: The Story of Maxwell Street"

Electrified The Movie
Cheat You Fair The Movie
Electrified Blues

Lightnin' Hopkins talks about the blues

Back in 2006, I wrote the following about Lightnin' Hopkins;

If you want to learn how to play blues guitar, a good place to start would be to buy ever piece of Lightnin Hopkins' music that you can find and to study it nonstop. Lightnin's nimble dexterity, his ability to create some of the coolest boggie riffs, his often funny improvised lyrics that fit into whatever situation the bluesman found himself in, all combine to make him one of my favorite blues performers.

Or if like me you just like listening to someone who knows how to play a guitar, then you might want to check this out;

It was true then and it is true now.

Check the man out in his own words.

Lightnin' Hopkins talks about the blues



Lightnin' Hopkins sings Green Onions



Lightnin' Hopkins Mojo Hand 1962

Request From Down Under For Bessie Smith

A reader from Australia said, "I love reading your blog! As an Australian it's somewhat a gateway to a subculture of American blues."

This kind of jarred me out of this malaise that I am in (notice no updates since I don't know when).

He went on to request some Bessie Smith mp3s (because my old links are broken), though I am too lazy to actually post some myself or fix the broken links, I can oblige by doing a search and reporting my results and linking to them.

Over at the cool blog Badminton Stamps you can find an mp3 to one of my favorite Bessie Smith songs "Take Me For a Buggy Ride." I don't think this song is really about riding in a buggy, kind of like this blog is not named after the act of making lemon aid ;)

Speaking of Lemons, I now call Mrs. F my lemon. So it gives a whole nother meaning to "Squeeze My Lemon."

More links to blogs that have some Bessie Smith mp3s;

Louis Armstrong w/King Oliver featuring Bessie Smith - Big Butter and Egg Man
Album: High Society
Posted at: Lil Mike's Last Known Thoughts & Random Revelatons

Bessie Smith - Hustlin' Dan
Album: Moistworks Dan
Posted at: Moistworks

Bessie Smith
- Graveyard Dream Blues
- Down Hearted Blues
- Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do
Albums: Various
Posted at: Doors Of The Kingdom. This is an excellent post, you have to check it out, great write up and many mp3 links to download.

And finally, YouTube has some good Bessie Smith Links you can check them out here. Make sure you check out the "St. Louis Blues" Video, it is too cool. Also of note is the video, Careless love blues.

One of my favorite videos over at YouTube about Bessie Smith is not a song by Bessie Smith, but it is a song about Bessie Smith:

Norah Jones performs The Band's "Bessie Smith"

HOWLIN WOLF STORY

I really found this video interesting.

From the notes for this video;

Please help the Howlin' Wolf Blues Society of West Point, MS. Inc.

P.O. Box 1334
West Point, MS. 39773
Fax: (662) 495-2007
tel: (662) 494-2921

email: rramsey@wpms.net

BB King & Tracy Chapman The Thrill is Gone

Of all the songs on the CD Duces Wild, this is my favorite.

I feel like going to Mississippi...

And on my way there I got Mr. Mississippi John Hurt on my mind ...

Mississippi John Hurt - Lonesome Valley Blues



Mississippi John Hurt - Spike Driver Blues



Mississippi John Hurt - Goodnight Irene

The story that he tells before playing is delightful.



D.C. Blues: Library of Congress Recordings, Vol. 2

click image for info

Mississippi John Hurt @Amazon.com


Mississippi John Hurt @ SqueezeMyLemon