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Episode 4: "Standin' at the Crossroads" Locale: Mississippi Delta This episode explores Depression-era styles including the revolutionary music of Robert Johnson — the single most important country blues artist of the pre-War era. It examines Johnson’s legacy and investigates the “mythology” of the blues, including the battle between the sacred and the secular. Listeners visit the legendary crossroads of Highways 49 and 61 at midnight on a Saturday night. Interviewees include Eric Clapton, Chris Thomas King, and Bonnie Raitt. The program ends with a performance by two modern exponents of the Piedmont blues style, Cephas and Wiggins. Listen: Full Version » Windows Media Part 1 » Windows Media Part 2 » Windows Media Part 3 » Windows Media Read Transcript » Supplemental Audio: Cephas and Wiggins Mamie Windows Media George Thorogood (1 of 2) Windows Media George Thorogood (2 of 2) Windows Media Rory Block (1 of 2) Windows Media Rory Block (2 of 2) Windows Media Supplemental Material: Names Discussed in this Episode Links courtesy of All Music Guide Aerosmith, The Allman Brothers, Beck, Chuck Berry, Blind Blake, Rory Block, Ruth Brown, Willie Brown, Jerry Butler, Canned Heat, Eddie Cantor, John Cephas, Cephas & Wiggins, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bo Diddley, Georgia Tom Dorsey (Barrelhouse Tommy), Bob Dylan, John Fogerty, Buddy Guy, Ben Harper, Jimi Hendrix, Hot Tuna, Son House, Elmore James, The Jefferson Airplane, Robert Johnson, Tommy Johnson, Jorma Kaukonen, Chris Thomas King, Leadbelly, Robert Lockwood Jr., Taj Mahal, Brownie McGhee, Blind Willie McTell, Bonnie Raitt, Tampa Red, Keith Richards, Jerry Ricks, Jimmy Rogers, The Rolling Stones, George Thorogood, Muddy Waters, Phil Wiggins, Lucinda Williams Read transcript of this episode (PDF): Episode 4 Transcript (Adobe Acrobat PDF) » Read transcript of this episode (HTML): | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Producer's Notes Episode 4: “Standin’ at the Crossroads” As this episode makes explicit, the crossroads as a literary device is based on centuries-old legends about choosing God or the Devil: picking the path on which to travel life’s journey. But if you will allow me to retort, the paths don’t seem to cross but instead run parallel for the entire length. Most people seem to walk the greenbelt in between. This show contains examples of Blues and Gospel music occupying opposite sides of the same road, and two notable examples did not make the final edit of the program. The first is a music comparison I discovered: “What Do You Think About Jesus (He’s All Right)” sung by the Memphis Pentecostal Congregation and recorded by Alan Lomax in the 1950’s, has a remarkably similar rhythm to B.B. King’s 1966 “Sloppy Drunk” (‘I’d rather be sloppy drunk/ Than anything I know…’). Exactly the same beat, exactly the same tempo, and very nearly the same key, as if the two songs were traveling the same path to different ends. Similarly, Solomon Burke related a story about the recording of one of his signature songs “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” for Atlantic records in 1964. The producer, Jerry Wexler, heard a demo of the song and shook his head: the song will never work. Burke insisted. “This is a very important song. It’s a march in my church. It works all over the country. I mean, people get up and give money. This is the song.” Wexler eventually assented to the wisdom of the church and the song became a minor R&B hit, later covered by the Rolling Stones and the Blues Brothers.
Peter Crimmins
Citations:
Major funding for the radio series comes from Volkswagen. The Blues is a co-production of EMP Radio and Ben Manilla Productions, in association with WGBH Radio, Boston. Produced by Peter Crimmins and Matt Bauer. Executive Producers: Robert Santelli and Ben Manilla. Executive in charge for WGBH Radio: Robert Lyons. |
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 Ten Things to Help You Become a Better Blues Musician, by Don Mock |
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 Sweet Home Chicago: Big City Blues 1946-1966 Excello Records and the Swamp Blues 2003 W.C. Handy Blues Awards Weekend (Feature Article) The British Blues A Once-in-a-Lifetime Lineup Salutes the Blues Memphis: A Century of the Blues Clarksdale: Delta Blues Past and Present The Piedmont Blues: Alive and Well in D.C. Q&A with Peter Guralnick Don Robey and Duke-Peacock Records Celebrating the Year of the Blues |
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This is an archived page, and no longer actively updated. As of 2/1/04, its contents, including but not limited to dates and contact information, may no longer be current or accurate. |
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