blind steet singerOriginally published 5/24/2004 “A blind beggar wearing dark glasses, with a cottony gray beard, plucked chords on a mandolin as he sang a heartrending song about the sinking of the Titanic. On his shoulder stood a parrot picking at its feathers with its beak. The beggar’s wife, young and as agile as a [...]
Archive > April 2008
Goose Pond 2004
Goose PondOriginally published 5/24/2004 Spoonman and I have a gig at a place called Goose Pond, a hunting lodge in Money, Mississippi. It’s an engagement party on a Saturday night. Like Greenwood isn’t a small enough town – I have to find gigs 20 miles out. And this isn’t even in Money proper, it’s way [...]
piano as decoy 2004
piano as decoyOriginally published 5/24/2004 My system was to use the piano as a decoy. I’d get a job at one of those honky-tonks along the Gulf Coast, playing piano, then some local boys who called themselves good would ask me to play a game of pool. My system was different from most of the [...]
Jellybean man 2004
Jellybean manOriginally published 5/22/2004 “Baby when you marry, you oughtn’t to marry a jellybean man.Said, baby, when you marry, you oughtn’t to marry a jellybean man.The women’ll all be telling you, you can’t have that whole man.”So sang Bo Carter in “Baby When You Marry.” Or maybe he’s singing “you ought to marry,” not “oughtn’t.” [...]
Road tales from Steve and Spoonman 2004
Road tales from Steve and SpoonmanOriginally published 5/19/2004 The Cafe 61 gig had some excitement. It’s a hip downtown-Memphis restaurant, good food, upscale blues-themed atmosphere, well-heeled young crowd. Except for one rough-looking couple who came in. They looked like trouble right away. But very interested in our music, sitting up close, making requests etc, so [...]
