From Russia (and Ukraine) with love. How Sebastopol tuning opened the door to open blues tuning

From Russia (and Ukraine) with love. How Sebastopol tuning opened the door to open blues tuning

“It’s like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book on it or something. I think that you could do with a few pics to drive the message hoome a little bit, but other than that, this is great blog. A great read. I will certainly…

Did George Bernard Shaw write the world’s first anti-rock music review?

Did George Bernard Shaw write the world’s first anti-rock music review?

Admittedly, it wasn’t a good review, but one of the earliest descriptions of the wild pre-blues African-American-style music heard in London during 1890 came from no less a source than the celebrated Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw. The photograph below was taken around the time Shaw wrote his damning account of being forced to listen…

Landmark Blind Lemon tracks recorded 86 years ago this month

Landmark Blind Lemon tracks recorded 86 years ago this month

BluesMuse 3. Blind Lemon Jefferson, Furry Lewis and The Rolling Stones. This month is the 86th anniversary of the recording of the only two Blind Lemon Jefferson tracks that give us a true picture of the legendary performer’s talent. Known as the ‘Father of the Texas Blues’, Lemon recorded about 100 tracks for Paramount between…

Here’s a top rock & roll track written in 1917

Here’s a top rock & roll track written in 1917

And here’s a video where you can watch it take shape from ragtime to rock over 60 years.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RhrMdXCwVw   ‘The Darktown Strutters’ Ball’ is a song from the year ragtime-jazz split from ragtime-blues: 1917. It has been recorded by many great artists over the years, from Hoagy Carmichael to Fats Waller. One of my favourite…