American Thunder: How rock ‘n’ roll evolved. Part One. The first thunderous notes of the oldest of rock ‘n’ roll’s forerunners were hammered out by black musicians, on second-hand, often second-rate pianos called tin pans, in north-easternTexas, sometime around 1872. This new 1870s variety of popular piano music was just one of the musical strains that would…

“Wanna fight about it”, says Charlie Patton in the video below. Charlie’s singing his 1929 track, A Spoonful Blues. While he sounds as rough and tough as old boots, in reality Charlie Patton was a slight little guy, about the size of a jockey, albeit a jockey with a mighty voice. Now, many call Charlie…

Oh, the irony! White evangelists peddled drugs and booze, as black families feared the blues. When it comes to blues, booze, drugs and religion, this is a world laced with irony. In the early days of blues, black families, steeped in a century of Christianity, worried sick about sons, daughters and grandchildren playing what they…

American music’s history’s big black hole. When researching my blues and American music history book, America’s Gift, I became slowly aware of how a huge slice of America’s musical past had virtually disappeared into what South Carolina’s Cradle of Jazz Project has described as a black hole. Come to think of it, it was the very…

If I told you W.C. Handy’s classic “St. Louis Blues” was the most influential blues song ever recorded, would you believe me? Possibly not. You may well be thinking of an important blues by Big Bill Broonzy, Willie Dixon, or even Cream, a song that brought blues to the masses. However, my case is pretty…