When you go to the Deep South of the United States to cover the places of the blues, you can’t be an “accidental tourist,” because there is a great risk of losing pieces of history. You must entrust yourself to a meticulous and extremely detailed “travel companion,” like the optimal guidebook Blues Traveling: the Holy Sites of Delta Blues by the scholar Steve Cheseborough, who has not limited himself to the single activity of author, directing his passion also as a musician.
Therefore from paper and pen, to the harmonica, guitar, percussion and voice, with which, from three CDs including this one (the first two have been reviewed in issue 87 and the two editions of the book in issues 80 and 89), Steve seems to continue the deepening of reclaiming material from the passage of the African-American tradition. Compared with the two preceding CDs, where the versions of Son House, Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, Tommy Johnson, Bo Carter etc. lacked emotional involvement because of an academic presentation and a nasal and shrill vocal tone, in this his third chapter, we recognize Steve’s effort to give more expressiveness to the singing, rendering it slower, so that also his clean accent turned out a little richer in shadings. With the guitar and the harmonica then he does not go beyond pure accompaniment, but that is not a defect, because in some cases he also makes it his own. The tracks that turn out notable in our opinion are “Hear Me Talking To You” (by Ma Rainey), “Who Broke The Latch” (by Bo Carter), the straight-ahead boogie which is helped also by the harmonica “Shake Your Hips” (by Slim Harpo), the delicate version of “Vicksburg Blues” (by Little Brother Montgomery), the ballad, again with the harmonica and a hint of yodel “Little Ole Wine Drinker Me” (by Jennings/Mills), the traditional “Shortnin’ Bread” with the use of slide, and “Last Kind Words” (by Geechie Wiley).
Since we like Steve Cheseborough and he is a sincere and passionate person, we invite to you to contact him through his site, www.stevecheseborough.com
By Silvano Brambilla
Translated from the Italian by Steve Cheseborough

If a trip to the Delta is in your future, consider going next June to catch Mother’s Best!

“Blues Traveling–The Holy Sites of Delta Blues”–Steve Cheseborough, University Press of Mississippi

Author Steve Cheseborough must be very happy at the reception his Delta Blues guidebook, “Blues Traveling”, has received, for it is now in its updated and expanded third edition.  The book deserves the acclaim it has received, too, for it is hard to imagine how it could be improved upon in the way that it fulfills its primary function: to guide travellers interested in the Delta Blues to the major points of interest from Memphis in the north, to Helena, Arkansas in the west, to Natchez, in the south and to Meridian in the east, in a circular route of the blues country there that can be traversed in whole or in part in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction.  “Blues Traveling” goes much farther than simply reciting the names of places of interest and telling how to get to them, though.  It also provides guidance for negotiating the culture that travelers will encounter in the course of such a trip, what can be expected in the way of food and accomodations, and how to comport yourself while on the trip so that Mississipians will be glad to see you again should you ever decided to re-visit the area.

In some respects, “Blues Traveling” bears more than a passing resemblance to guidebooks to the areas of Classic Antiquity, Egypt, Greece, Turkey and Italy, in that a large number of the most interesting sites commemorate buildings that were once important landmarks, but which are no longer there.  So it is that travelers hoping to see where the Colossus of Rhodes or Library at Alexandria were may find an analogous experience seeing where Junior Kimbrough’s juke was, prior to its burning down.  The ephemeral nature of the physical relics of Blues musicians’ lives is not surprising, though, for the blues musicians came from an underclass population,  and didn’t leave much in the way of estates upon their passing; author Cheseborough makes this point, as well.

A high percentage of the places to be seen noted in the book are graves and museums.  Even very small towns often have a musem and “Blues Traveling” is really good about letting you know what you can expect to see at any one of the many museums discussed in the book.  The directions supplied in the book merit special praise, and should be particularly helpful in locating some of the graves mentioned in the book, which are often in very rural, out-of-the-way locations.  Author Cheseborough offers not only directions to the cemeteries, but also directions on foot once you get there.

“Blues Traveling” does a really fine job, as well, of noting the dates and locations of the various blues festivals in the area throughout the year (many of which are free to attend) and clubs and jukes that host live performances of blues.  Steve Chesborough is well qualified to speak to the types of blues one is likely to encounter in Mississippi today, for his tastes in blues embrace present-day electric blues as well as the acoustic masters of the past.  Historical context around the various locations and the musicians who frequent them (or frequented them in the past) is delivered in an easy-going informal fashion.

Some of my favorite portions of “Blues Traveling” relate more peripherally to the blues, and more explicitly to the culture in the larger sense, how to get along with people, and what are realistic expectations with regard to food and accomodations.  The book is protective of the year-long residents of the area and makes a special point of mentioning when a point of interest is currently private property.  To the extent that “Blues Traveling” both encourages tourism in the area by blues aficionados and works to avert cross-cultural mix-ups or tensions between the aficionados and the local populace, it is much to be commended.  That’s a fine line to walk.

“Blues Traveling” concludes with a list of recommended reading and another of recommended listening.  The listening list could use some updating:  the Gus Cannon reliease it cites has been out of print for many years, and there are currently other re-issues of Gus’s recordings that are easier to find.  Taken in sum, though, “Blues Traveling” does an admirable job at what it sets out to do, and is a fascinating read both for blues fans planning to make a trip to the Delta and to those who probably will never make the trip.  The best travel literature works equally well for travelers and homebodies, and by that standard, “Blues Traveling” succeeds in spades.

John M. Miller

Willie “Big Eyes” Smith (L) and Steve Cheseborough at Mississippi Studios, Portland, April 30, 2009. Photo by Greg Johnson.

I was the opening act for Willie “Big Eyes” Smith and his band April 30 at Mississippi Studios in Portland. Unfortunately it was also the night of the Portland Trail Blazers’ final playoff game, so many Portlanders stayed home to watch the game and that hurt our attendance at the show.

That’s a shame! Smith, born in Helena, Ark., in 1936, is a terrific Chicago-style singer-harmonica player who travels with a crack band including Bob Stroger on bass and Little Frank Krakowski on guitar.  This band regularly backs pianist Pinetop Perkins, but they sound just fine without him too. Stroger, the senior member of the group at 78, sings and fronts the group for much of the show. An interesting thing about Smith is that he first became famous as a drummer, playing for Muddy Waters among other acts, and only switched to vocals and harmonica in the past few years. He had played harp as a kid, but gave it up for decades before his recent switchback. And the change is working well!  This year Smith is nominated for Blues Music Awards both for his drumming and his harp playing.

My 1920s-30s-style blues followed by their electric sound made for a full and fine evening. Blues party beats basketball party! Sorry if you missed it.

Fetch It! front cover, art by Christopher Livingstone

The new Steve Cheseborough CD, Fetch It!, is now in production and should be available right around Dec. 30. A CD -release party is scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 23 at Holman’s Bar and Grill (which as of January, like all bars and restaurants in Oregon, will be non-smoking), 15 SE 28th Ave (just south of Burnside Ave), Portland. Holman’s is the site of Brad Lee Brenner’s live River City Juke Joint program on KMHD radio,  89.1 FM, and the CD release party will go on during the radio broadcast, in the Barenaked Lounge.

The CD’s contents, with notes:

Hear Me Talking to You (Ma Rainey) — the CD title is part of the lyric from this song by the Mother of the Blues
Who Broke the Latch? (Bo Carter)  — An early, vaudeville-ish number by my favorite artist
Love with a Feeling (Tampa Red) — I dug out the slide for this one, which offers good advice to the men
One Dime (Blind Lemon Jefferson) — From the masterful Texas guitarslinger who popularized the whole concept of a solo male singer-guitarist as the model of a blues singer. Before him, all the blues stars were women.
Shake Your Hips (Slim Harpo) — Let’s go down to Louisiana for this one, featuring harp of course
Vicksburg Blues (Little Brother Montgomery) — Montgomery was a pianist but I managed to get this slow-slow blues happening on the six-string. A tribute to a lovely riverside city where Montgomery ruled.
Polly Wolly Doodle (Trad.) — That Trad. sure can write a song, can’t he? A harp-and-hambone workout
Arrangement for Me (Bo Carter)
Little Ole Wine Drinker Me (Jennings/Mills) — Originally recorded by Dean Martin. Yes, that Dean Martin. A couple years ago at Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Steve Baughmann got me and everyone else singing this one at 3 a.m. I kept working with it and here it is. Suitable for country radio play!
Shortnin’ Bread (Trad.) — Everybody loves this number.
Who’s Been Here? (Bo Carter) — Bo wants to know.
Last Kind Words (Geechie Wiley) — One of the most haunting songs ever recorded, I tried recording this song for my previous CD and wasn’t quite happy with the results. Here’s another go at it. Geechie Wiley is a mysterious wonder.
Been Mistreated (Georgia Tom) — Tom wrote this before he became Thomas A.Dorsey, Father of Gospel Music. Another one I transcribed from piano to guitar. The words are just perfect.

Voice, guitar, harp, percussion and arrangements by Steve Cheseborough
Copyright 2009 Steve Cheseborough
Chezz-Tone Records #004
Recorded and mastered by Nick Moon, Tone Proper, Troutdale, Ore.
Art and design by Christopher Livingstone

To order: Check back on this site or at cdbaby.com, preorder now by paypal, $15 + $3 S&H, or come see and hear me at the CD-release party or any of my gigs!

Fetch It! back cover, art by Christopher Livingstone

Blind Boy Fuller was really blind too. And so were Blind Blake, Blind Willie McTell, Blind Mamie Forehand and all the other blues and gospel artists with “blind” in front of their names.

It’s funny how often people ask me that question.

I don’t know of any early blues artists who feigned blindness. I have heard that John Hammond Jr. did that for awhile, probably in the 1960s. And there was a routine on the first Cheech and Chong album, from the 1970s, about a bluesman named Blind Melon Chitterling (comedy, made-up — I don’t think that counts as pretending to be blind). The most famous and successful case of feigned blindness, in a way, is the Blues Brothers. Their big Ray-Ban sunglasses can be read as suggesting both blindness and blackness (a la minstrel blackface, in slightly subtler and up-to-date version).

But all those 1920s and ’30s artists with the “blind” in front of their names really were sightless. I’m not sure why so many people wonder about that.

Why were there so many blind blues artists? That is a question worth pondering a little more. An answer that seems pat to some people is “blind people really have the blues.” But like many pat answers, this one is clearly untrue. Studies show that blind people are about as happy as sighted people. Even sighted people who lose their sight, after an initial depression over that, recover and become as happy as anyone else. Human beings are resilient.

And blues is a musical skill, not just an expression of inner sadness. There are plenty of sad people who can’t sing very well at all. They don’t immediately start singing and playing the blues at the level of Blind Lemon Jefferson as soon as their woman leaves them, sorry! And as the great barrelhouse pianist-singer Roosevelt Sykes once explained, a blues singer doesn’t have to be blue any more than a doctor has to be sick.
Blind people became musicians (if they had musical aptitude) because it was difficult for them to do other types of work. In music, blindness is not much of a handicap (as I often try to explain to my students while telling them they don’t have to stare at their left hand to play the guitar).