Site Introduction
Why start this blog?
The Trips.
The initial point of this blog was to discuss a trip I had planned for August of 08. The trip, which I had dubbed “Rollin’ back to the Delta”, was more of a personal pilgrimage to re-discover the blues of Mississippi and the delta than anything else. However, I felt that I would document the entire experience online, and therefore share it with the world.
You can read about that trip here, and see the photos.
You can also read about the 2009 trip to Clarksdale and Memphis, dubbed “The Delta is Calling Your Name”, by clicking here. There are also photos posted as well.
Hopefully, there will be more trips planned in the future covering Helena, other parts of Arkansas, Chicago, parts of Texas, Florida, Georgia, and more.
The News.
Though we don’t post all the news going on in the blues world, we try to post what we find interesting. Some of it is old news. Some of it is current. Yet all of it, in some way or another, relates to the blues.
The Research.
The research, as well as the theories, are always fun. We try our best to back our theories – a lot of which we are not the originators of – with solid research, though we can’t always disclose our sources. We also enjoy doing research on various blues artists, and are currently working on uncovering facts surrounding Blind Blake, his life, and his death. Our research comes from our trips, witnesses, personal accounts, books, the internet (of course), conversations with other scholars and researchers, and more (For those looking to get into this, census records, city directories, death records, marriage records, court records, and other documents provide great starting points). A lot of times we run across theories and facts that others just haven’t published for a variety of reasons. Since our site is free, we tend to be an outlet for providing those facts without much recourse. Should we come across statements, or questionable content that can be disproved, it will be removed from the site promptly and swiftly.
Who are you?
There is actually a collective group of people that run this site, but I am the administrator. We work with a lot of different people to provide our online content. We all have different day jobs, but it is the blues that seems to always hold our passion. We love the blues. We listen to it. We study it. We play it. We live it.
For those of you still nosey enough to care, you can visit my personal “day job” site here.
Jason,
You need to go to Ben Prestage’s “My Space” page. He is going to be in the Bradenton area on 12/9, with the “Old Taildragger”. You guessed it, “T-Model Ford” is playing with him that evening. You might want to try and get to that one.
I’d like to thank you for your efforts and this amazing site! Keep up the good work! From a Fellow fan from Brazil,
Daniel
Daniel,
Thanks for being a fan of not only the site, but of the blues. It is always comforting to discover another blues fan. Keep checking back for updates!
Hey – check out the Deep Blues Festival. You might appreciate what we’re doing with this outsider and alternative blues fest.
http://www.deepbluesfestival.com
Maybe you’d add it to your festival list. We can use all the help we can get.
July 15 to 19, 2009 Minneapolis MN
Chris,
You have been added to the Festival List! I hope blues fans the world over come to the festival. If you send me an artist list once you have it, I will feature it on the home page….
Great Site – keep up the good work. I have been interested in Charley Patton for some time, as I grew up in Bolton, Mississippi, very close to where he was born. I have been doing some research on Patton recently and have found he and his family on the 1900 census. If you would like a copy, let me know and I will be happy to forward it.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable site, and I’m so glad to stumble into it. Nothing is more fascinating than the arcane world of early country blues. Many years ago, I wrote a book on Gennett Records, and if you desire a little photo essay on Charley Patton’s 1929 visit to Richmond, Ind., complete with photos of the local sites where he visited, just let me know – I could supply text and a few jpeg files.