The Land Where the Blues Began

• Artist: Alan Lomax
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1992
• Type: Video
• Genre: Blues

Review

This CD (the audio accompaniment to an episode of Alan Lomax's American Patchwork series on American roots music) examines the roots of Mississippi Delta blues. Recorded between 1933 and 1959 by Alan Lomax, Lewis Jones, John W. Work, John A. Lomax, and Herbert Halpert, the CD reveals much about the sources for Delta blues musicians' styles and the environment in which they lived (and live). This goes all the way back to fife-and-drum bands and the one-string diddley bow to illustrate the style's deep roots, through the use of contemporary electric instruments. Big Bill Broonzy and Muddy Waters make contributions, as well as other musicians whose names will be unfamiliar to all but the most diligent blues scholars. ~ All Music Guide, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Four O'Clock Flower Blues	Johnny Parth	Willie Blackwell, William Brown	(3:53)
Interview [#]		Willie Blackwell	(:27)
Walking Blues	Son House, Robert Johnson	Willie Brown, Son House, Fiddlin' Joe Martin, Leroy Williams	(6:43)
When I Lay My Burden Down		Turner Junior Johnson	(3:30)
Strange Things Happening in the Land [#]		Charles Haffer, Jr.	(3:46)
Missionary Sermon [#][Excerpt]		J.H. Terrell	(2:10)
Rock, Daniel		Reverend C. H. Savage	(2:33)
Satisfied [#]		Florence Stamp	(1:07)
I'm a Soldier in the Army of the Lord		Congregation of the Church of God in Christ	(3:19)
Sermon: Hell Is a Place [Two Excerpts][#]		Reverend Ribbins	(4:24)
The Preacher and the Bear [#]		M.C. Orr	(1:30)
Mississippi Sounding Calls		Joe Shores	(1:05)
Roustabout Song [#]		John Cameron	(1:01)
The Toast to Bud Doggett [#]		Willie Stark	(:57)
I Been Down in the Circle Before	Sampson Pittman	Sampson Pittman, Calvin Frazier	(3:50)
Rosie		Dobie Red	(2:45)
Early in the Morning		Tangle Eye, Little Red, Hard Hair, 22	(4:43)
I'm Goin' Home		D.W. "Bama" Stuart	(2:06)
Go Down, Old Hannah		Ernest Williams	(2:40)
John Henry	Traditional	Sid Hemphill, Alex Askew, Lucius Smith, Will Head	(3:13)
Emmaline, Take Your Time		Alex Askew	(1:40)
Jim and John	Ed Young, Lonnie Young	Ed Young, Lonnie Young, G.D. Young	(2:13)
Shake 'Em on Down	Mississippi Fred McDowell, Alan Lomax	Mississippi Fred McDowell	(2:40)
Wind Howling Blues	David Honeyboy Edwards	David Honeyboy Edwards	(3:15)
Country Blues	Muddy Waters	Muddy Waters	(3:25)
Black, Brown and White	Big Bill Broonzy	Big Bill Broonzy	(2:20)
Life Is Like That	Memphis Slim, Alan Lomax	Big Bill Broonzy, Memphis Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson	(2:57)
She Lived Her Life Too Fast	Joe Bennie Pugh	Forrest City Joe	(3:20)

Credits

Memphis Slim (Vocals), Hard Hair (Vocals), William Brown (Performer), Miles Pratcher (Guitar), Alex Askew (Quills), Matthew Barton (Research), Brad McCoy (Disc Transfers), Memphis Slim (Piano), Ellen Harold (Associate Editor), Willie Blackwell (Spoken Word), Big Bill Broonzy (Vocals), Willie Blackwell (Guitar), Thomas E. Martin (Drums), Alan Lomax (Liner Notes), Joe Bennie Pugh (Vocals), Gideon d'Arcangelo (Series Consultant), Anna L. Chairetakis (Research), Fannie Davis (Comb), Joe Shores (Vocals), Bill Nowlin (Series Coordinator), Willie Blackwell (Vocals), J Sylvester (Art Direction), Fiddlin' Joe Martin (Mandolin), Shirley Collins (Assistant), John A. Lomax (Engineer), Alex Askew (Pan Pipes), Reverend C. H. Savage (Vocals), Turner Junior Johnson (Vocals), Charles Haffer, Jr. (Vocals), Big Bill Broonzy (Guitar), Will Head (Drums (Bass)), Lonnie Young (Drums (Bass)), Adrian Cosentini (Disc Transfers), Turner Junior Johnson (Harmonica), Calvin Frazier (Guitar), Sid Hemphill (Vocals), Anna L. Chairetakis (Collection), Leroy Williams (Harmonica), Dobie Red (Vocals), Bess Lomax Hawes (Series Consultant), Willie Stark (Vocals), Fiddlin' Joe Martin (Spoken Word), David Honeyboy Edwards (Guitar), Steve Rosenthal (Mastering Producer), Little Red (Vocals), Jeff Todd Titon (Photography), Ed Young (Fife), David Honeyboy Edwards (Vocals), G.D. Young (Drums (Snare)), Sid Hemphill (Fiddle), Matthew Barton (Production Coordination), Jeffrey A. Greenberg (Collection), Mississippi Fred McDowell (Vocals), Mississippi Fred McDowell (Guitar), Adrienne Anderson (Vocals), Congregation of the Church of God in Christ (Performer), Lucius Smith (Banjo), Lewis Jones (Engineer), Sonny Rodgers (Guitar), Turner Junior Johnson (Performer), Phil Klum (Mastering), Sampson Pittman (Guitar), Muddy Waters (Vocals), William C. Brown (Guitar), Mike Donaldson (Disc Transfers), Alan Lomax (Engineer), Carrie Hamilton (Cover Illustration), Shirley Collins (Engineer), Sampson Pittman (Vocals), Joe Bennie Pugh (Harmonica), Susan Salsburg (Editorial Consultation), Anna L. Chairetakis (Compilation), Alan Lomax (Author), Steve Rosenthal (Restoration), Muddy Waters (Guitar), Dobie Red (Sound Effects), Alex Askew (Guitar), 22 (Performer), John Work (Engineer), Matthew Barton (Compilation), Tangle Eye (Vocals), Herbert Halpert (Engineer), J Sylvester (Design)