james cotton sources the suffering . . . .i’ve been listening to blues music for as long as i can remember. the mid-to-late sixties was a great time for the blues as they were “rediscovered” by such bands as led zeppelin, the rolling stones, the beatles, jimi hendrix, and many many other groups, all of whom enjoyed significant commercial success. that this resulted in bringing the blues to a more front-and-centre place in the music spectrum was one of the many happy accidents that accompanied the sixties and seventies period.
john lee hooker telling a story . . . in that time, and probably as a direct result of being immersed in the pop culture of the aformentioned bands, i remember signing out albums from the local library with recordings of music by mississippi fred mcdowell, robert johnson, james cotton, john lee hooker, muddy waters and several others who i later knew as performers of what is unfairly and generically termed delta blues. whatever its roots, its ethnicity, its heritage, i loved the sound, the grittiness, and i think i really liked the simplicity that was also so complex and so rich sounding and feeling.
muddy waters reaching out . . .many of the songs i listened to then are resurfacing in collections that have been digitally improved. also, through the miracle of our times, many many songs have surfaced from the murk of collections to expand our knowledge and understanding of the world of music and of the incredible people who channel the music.
here are some blues that caught my fancy . . .
john lee hooker singing “rain”
muddy waters “train fare home blues,” 1968
james cotton “slow blues”
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