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Richer Tradition Country Blues and String Band Music 1923-1942
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About Richer Tradition Country Blues And String Band
The variety and originality that country blues artists brought to the recording studio in the 1920s were compromised. Record companies cut corners wherever they could. Diversity was sacrificed on the altar of standardisation. The mass migration of African American families to the Northern cities contributed. New arrivals in Chicago and Detroit easily discarded the country way of life. But as harsh and oppressive as the times were, those country ways still drew significant numbers back in the south. Record companies were initially skeptical. Then OKeh released Mamie Smith's Crazy Blues in 1920, and it was clear they had revealed a vast market. Other labels joined the rush and within a couple of years, Smith had been joined by the likes of Lucille Hegamin, Daisy Martin, Esther Bigeou, Lizzie Miles and Alberta Hunter. Then in February 1923, Bessie Smith cut her first session and demand for her material and the other 'Classic' blues singers expanded once again. The floodgates were open. Anyone with blues skills contacted a talent scout or made his way to a field recording session. While the Jeffersons, Blakes and Johnsons established themselves as market leaders, the following swell encompassed a broad spectrum of influence. Medicine show veterans and songsters such as Stovepipe No. 1, Pink Anderson, Papa Harvey Hull and Richard 'Rabbit' Brown, adept at blues, had repertoires that reflected black folk music. The vigor and freshness of these artist's lyrics and the power of their performance is a reminder that this is music tested in public performance, not composed for the studio. This compilation shows what a significant body of music, embracing a prolific body of styles and influences was produced, with most Americans unaware. But for the tenacity of a few collectors even these recordings might have been lost. Here they are, though, remastered and expertly annotated - evidence of a vast reservoir of talent too often overlooked.
