Meanwhile others, like Papa Charlie Jackson were overlooked. I’m not an authority on musical anthropology, so take it for what it’s worth. Jackson’s “Airy Man” showed up on a Yazoo Records album that the Missus gave me years ago. The chords were unusual, and the liner notes said this:
“Airy Man Blues,” a work in the key of D, illustrates Jackson’s most complex blues picking in the uptempo idiom at which he and very few other bluesmen excelled. Two fingers play melody and harmonies with support from a thumb which is quite steady within several different patterns. Often he executes complex or seemingly impromptu runs on three or more strings. The basic chord changes are:
D, D, G7, D;
G, D, E, A/A7;
D, D, G7, D;
G7, D, E/A7, D.
In the break he changes to
B, B7, E, E7, A, A7 D/D minor, D.
Despite the length of these phrases and the comedy of his lyrics, the song is well within the basic blues idiom, lacking in all essential ragtime qualities except speed.
So I looked for a live vid of Papa Charlie Jackson, but instead found a cool tribute by “Gnarlemagne.”
On growing up in New Orleans Parish: “There was music all around us, and in my family you’d better play something, even if you just banged on a tin can.” Lonnie Johnson
Lonnie Johnson created the single-note guitar solo in the 1920s, and decades passed before the guitar was regarded as more than a background rhythm instrument. Although Johnson is primarily regarded as a bluesman, he played other styles equally well.
I don’t know who’s on drums or piano, but that’s Willie Dixon on bass, and the vid is likely from the mid to late 1960s. Don’t know who introduced Lonnie Johnson on that vid either, so the best thing is for me to shut up and introduce
The Overnight Open Thread.
[Update: Don’t miss tomorrow’s BlogMockRadio Show at 8PM EST. Special Guest to be announced. Lizardheads gonna be ‘splody.]
Lineup: Buddy Guy – vocal, guitar; Scott Holt – guitar; Anthony Zamagni – keyboards; Greg Rzab – bass; Ray Allison – drums.
Buddy Guy is one of my favorite bluesmen. Growing up dirt poor in Louisiana, he moved to Chicago where he played on the street for sandwiches before he was picked up by Cobra Records. He’s the real deal.
When SRV died, Buddy Guy stepped up to front Double Trouble, and did a great version of “Leave My Lil’ Girl Alone.”
Lineup: Buddy Guy, John Mayer, Chris Layton & Tommy Shannon
To Bagua, haysoos and anyone else here, have at it, because it’s Blues Night on The Overnight Open Thread.
The Diary of Daedalus
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