 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
||||
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
||||
 |
||
 |
||
Episode 5: "Mystery Train" Locale: Memphis Beale Street in Memphis was to blues what 52nd Street in New York was to jazz. Packed clubs, street musicians, all-night card games, ladies of the night, fights, and some of the best music heard anywhere added to the color of Saturday night on Beale Street. Artists who launched careers in Memphis include B.B. King, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Sonny Boy Williamson, Ike Turner, and Little Milton. The show concludes with a live recording by Richard Johnston, winner of the Best New Artist Handy, from the 2003 W.C. Handy Awards, held every year in Memphis to honor the best in blues music. Listen: Full Version » Windows Media Part 1 » Windows Media Part 2 » Windows Media Part 3 » Windows Media Read Transcript » Supplemental Audio: B.B. King (1 of 2) Windows Media B.B. King (2 of 2) Windows Media Bobby "Blue" Bland (1 of 2) Windows Media Bobby "Blue" Bland (2 of 2) Windows Media Richard Johnston Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burnin' Windows Media Rufus Thomas (1 of 3) Windows Media Rufus Thomas (2 of 3) Windows Media Rufus Thomas (3 of 3) Windows Media Supplemental Material: Names Discussed in this Episode Links courtesy of All Music Guide Johnny Ace, The Beale Streeters, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats, Johnny Cash, Cedell Davis, Jim Dickinson, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Earl Forest, Rosco Gordon, Richard Johnston , B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Robert Jr. Lockwood, Taj Mahal , Brownie McGhee , Aleck "Rice" Miller, Little Milton, Charlie Musselwhite, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Jerry Ricks, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Sonny Terry, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Ike Turner, Rufus Thomas, John Lee Williamson, Sonny Boy Williamson I, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Kim Wilson, Howlin' Wolf Read transcript of this episode (PDF): Episode 5 Transcript (Adobe Acrobat PDF) » Read transcript of this episode (HTML): | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Producer's Notes Episode 5: “Mystery Train” In the opening to this episode there is a short soundbite from Blues and R&B singer/guitarist Little Milton, who was in Memphis in the 1950s and remembers “…having fun and making money. Who wanted to sleep?” That is as concise a recipe for Rock and Roll as I’ve ever heard. While there is economic and social history that helps explain why Memphis was ground zero for the evolution of Rock and Roll from the Blues, record producer Jim Dickinson offers a less scientific explanation (which did not make the final edit of the show). Centuries ago, before white men settled in the area, Dickinson said there was a buffalo trail that ran across the future Union Avenue, right over the plot of land that would become Sun Records where Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Howlin’ Wolf, and Elvis would make their first recordings. “I mean,” said Dickinson, “even the buffalo knew there was something special about Memphis.” We, the editorial team for The Blues radio project, do not subscribe to the teachings of Magick, but the longitude and latitude of Memphis does seem to have a magnetism that attracts not just bison but hound dogs (Elvis via Big Mama Thornton), howlin’ wolves, and even a stage-trained chicken named Butch.
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. |
||
 |
||||
|
 |
|
||
|
|
 Ten Things to Help You Become a Better Blues Musician, by Don Mock |
|
|
|
|
 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 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
||
 |
||||
|
|
E-mail to friend »
Link to YOTB » Link to this page » |
|
|
|
Download Windows Media Player » Download Adobe Acrobat Reader » |
|
||
|
|
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. |
|
|