Just to let you know: The 2018 Blues Calendars with CD should be here by November 10th., and we have lots of blues Christmas CD's in stock.
Some November Blues Births:
- November 4th.,1940-- Delbert McClinton
- November 16th.,1939-- Wesley Curley "W.C." Clark
- November 30th.,1953-- Ernest Ray "Ernie" Lancaster
Answer to the October 2017 Blues Question: the bluesman we were looking for is/was James "Iron Head" Baker, possible real name Reuben Avery Burrage, born approximately 1870, unknown exact place or date. James Baker was his prison name. The "Iron Head" nickname was given to him because, while he was on a work detail, a tree fell on his head. The tree sustained major damage, while he walked away, uninjured. He was first recorded on July 5,1933, 5 tracks, when he was 63 years old, at Central State Farm, Sugarland, Texas, a penitentiary. He was serving a 99 year sentence, not because he was a "major criminal", but because he was a repeat offender, guilty of burglary, not a violent crime. He recorded 8 more tracks there in December, one of which is the very first recorded version of "Black Betty". You have to look up that song to see what it is thought to describe, which includes a couple of references to prison life. He recorded 14 more tracks at Central State in May of 1934, including 3 versions of "Little John Henry", with 9 more in October. He is shown to have recorded 2 tracks in Dallas on April 7th.,1936. On May 3rd. and 5th.,1936, he recorded 2 versions of "Go Down, Old Hannah" at the state penitentiary in Rainford, Florida. On May 15th.,1936, he recorded 2 more tracks at the state penitentiary in Columbia, South Carolina. By May 29th.,1936, Iron Head is shown to be in Washington, D.C., where he recorded some 24 more songs, apparently as a free man. He had most likely been paroled due to the efforts of John Lomax, who was the man who had done all of the recording of Iron Head, and wanted his help to gain access to more southern prisons to record others. That relationship didn't work out well, so Iron Head moved back to Texas, where he was met by Alan Lomax, John's son, and Ruby, John's wife. She helped him find work, but by 1939, he was caught burglaring again, and sent back to prison at Ramsey State Farm, in Otey, Texas, where he recorded 3 more songs. In 1941 he wrote a letter to Alan, from which John quoted Iron Head telling Alan "Crime don't pay. I'm walking the straight road now and I won't turn back". I could find no info on him after that time. If you listen to some of his songs, you'll note that they're the "call and response" style used in "field hollers", chain gangs, and prison work details. His songs were classified as folk songs by John Lomax, who was commissioned by the Library of Congress to make these recordings. You'd be surprised how many bluesmen got their "start" in prison!
Blues Question for November 2017: Thought that since the previous month's Blues Question featured a musician who was a prisoner, I want to feature another musician who was, at one time, also a prisoner. This bluesman, however, fared much better than Iron Head, though he was convicted and sentenced to life for a fatal shooting, to be served at Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary. He was paroled after 3 years, due to the petioning of another musicologist who wanted to record him. He played guitar and kazoo. Any idea who this bluesman is ??
Blues Song and Artist(s) for November 2017: This song is about something almost everybody likes: "Oreo Cookie Blues", acoustic guitar and vocals-- Lonnie Mack, with second acoustic guitar by Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Blues Trivia for November 2017: In last month's Blues Blog I listed Will Shade and his Memphis Jug Band. That group had a fluid membership, one of which was Will Weldon, on guitar. The trivia part of that is on Weldon, born in Grenada, Mississippi in 1906, died April 30,1934, in Memphis, Tennessee. In some places, he is listed as Casey Bill (Will) Weldon. Casey Bill is shown, in some places, as being born July 10, 1909, others show February 2, 1901. His death is shown to be September 28, 1972 in some places, while in others it's listed as "unknown". Same with the place-- Kansas City, Missouri, or "unknown". I've spent 3 full days researching this info for this Blues Blog, and I still don't have a definitive answer. There is so much conflicting info on the Weldon name in music, including the fore-mentioned ones-- dates of recordings, what label they recorded on, where they recorded, travels in their later years, and on and on. My best guess is that there were TWO different Will Weldons, one who recorded with the Memphis Jug Band, from 1927 to 1934, and one who first recorded in 1935, as a sideman to Blind Teddy Darby, in Chicago. If you have more information and it can be verified as being correct, I'd like to hear from you.
Some November Blues Passings:
- November 2nd.,2014-- Finis Tasby
- November 16th.,1980-- Overton Vertis "O.V." Wright
- November 25th.,1997-- Fenton/ Fention Robinson, of the song "Somebody Loan Me a Dime"
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