Ahh shit, been getting back deep into the blues. Old pre-war shit and the delta blues revival stuff that Fat Possum was digging up for years. I think the first blues CD I ever owned may have been R.L. Burnside's Mr. Wizard. This track is still a fuckin' banger after all these years:
Fucking great Flex.
Somebody officially remixed a lot of Burnsides tracks into , at least 2 album, "A Bothered Mind" and "Come on In". Worth checking out if you're into that thing
I might have mentioned it before, but Milwaukee has an interesting connection to pre-war blues. There is a town called Grafton, which is at the top of Milwaukee County. Grafton was the home of the Wisconsin Chair Company. They made furniture, including phonograph cabinets, and decided cheaply produced 78 rpm discs would be a great giveaway to spur sales. They released a real collection of music in the teens and 20's, but it was their foray into "race records" that would leave a lasting mark. They originally licensed other record labels, but soon began bringing up African-American blues musicians to their primitive recording studio in Grafton. Putting their music out under the Paramount Records label, they created a treasure trove of pre-war country blues: Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Blake, and Ma Rainey. The discs were cut on poor quality shellac (usually mixed with clay brought up from the nearby Milwaukee River) so the sound quality was never great, but they've become some of the most collectable records in existence. The company itself fell victim to the Depression and local lore said that disgruntled workers through cases of unsold discs in the Milwaukee River. People have actually gone into the water trying to find the lost records, though I imagine the relatively fast flowing Milwaukee would have long flushed any records into Lake Michigan.
There is barely anything left of the old factory, just some crumbling foundations next to the river.
"They don't think it be like it is, but it do." - Oscar Gamble
Ahh shit, been getting back deep into the blues. Old pre-war shit and the delta blues revival stuff that Fat Possum was digging up for years. I think the first blues CD I ever owned may have been R.L. Burnside's Mr. Wizard. This track is still a fuckin' banger after all these years:
Fucking great Flex.
Somebody officially remixed a lot of Burnsides tracks into , at least 2 album, "A Bothered Mind" and "Come on In". Worth checking out if you're into that thing
Will do, thanks.
Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty
We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.
I might have mentioned it before, but Milwaukee has an interesting connection to pre-war blues. There is a town called Grafton, which is at the top of Milwaukee County. Grafton was the home of the Wisconsin Chair Company. They made furniture, including phonograph cabinets, and decided cheaply produced 78 rpm discs would be a great giveaway to spur sales. They released a real collection of music in the teens and 20's, but it was their foray into "race records" that would leave a lasting mark. They originally licensed other record labels, but soon began bringing up African-American blues musicians to their primitive recording studio in Grafton. Putting their music out under the Paramount Records label, they created a treasure trove of pre-war country blues: Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Blake, and Ma Rainey. The discs were cut on poor quality shellac (usually mixed with clay brought up from the nearby Milwaukee River) so the sound quality was never great, but they've become some of the most collectable records in existence. The company itself fell victim to the Depression and local lore said that disgruntled workers through cases of unsold discs in the Milwaukee River. People have actually gone into the water trying to find the lost records, though I imagine the relatively fast flowing Milwaukee would have long flushed any records into Lake Michigan.
There is barely anything left of the old factory, just some crumbling foundations next to the river.
Been reading up a bit on this and it's a very interesting story. No doubt Paramount made a lot of money for certain (mostly white) people off the back of poor sharecropping songwriters but on the other hand, they did give these musicians an outlet and paved the way for the Mississippi Delta blues to become a national phenomenon. I guess a lot of it would have never been laid down or lost otherwise.
The Paramount material is possibly some of the finest in records music, it's a shame that all were left with are copies of horribly pressed and damaged 78s and the like. But there's been amazing restoration work done on it. Great story and local insight WWK.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
I might have mentioned it before, but Milwaukee has an interesting connection to pre-war blues. There is a town called Grafton, which is at the top of Milwaukee County. Grafton was the home of the Wisconsin Chair Company. They made furniture, including phonograph cabinets, and decided cheaply produced 78 rpm discs would be a great giveaway to spur sales. They released a real collection of music in the teens and 20's, but it was their foray into "race records" that would leave a lasting mark. They originally licensed other record labels, but soon began bringing up African-American blues musicians to their primitive recording studio in Grafton. Putting their music out under the Paramount Records label, they created a treasure trove of pre-war country blues: Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Blake, and Ma Rainey. The discs were cut on poor quality shellac (usually mixed with clay brought up from the nearby Milwaukee River) so the sound quality was never great, but they've become some of the most collectable records in existence. The company itself fell victim to the Depression and local lore said that disgruntled workers through cases of unsold discs in the Milwaukee River. People have actually gone into the water trying to find the lost records, though I imagine the relatively fast flowing Milwaukee would have long flushed any records into Lake Michigan.
There is barely anything left of the old factory, just some crumbling foundations next to the river.
Unrelated, but your account reminds me of the Henning nickel. A guy in like the 60s counterfeited $100,000 or so worth of Jefferson nickels. Many of them were supposedly dumped in the Schuylkill River in PA, but they are still found in circulation.
Shoot straight for once, you Army pukes. - Lt. Col. Andrew Tanner, USAF
I might have mentioned it before, but Milwaukee has an interesting connection to pre-war blues. There is a town called Grafton, which is at the top of Milwaukee County. Grafton was the home of the Wisconsin Chair Company. They made furniture, including phonograph cabinets, and decided cheaply produced 78 rpm discs would be a great giveaway to spur sales. They released a real collection of music in the teens and 20's, but it was their foray into "race records" that would leave a lasting mark. They originally licensed other record labels, but soon began bringing up African-American blues musicians to their primitive recording studio in Grafton. Putting their music out under the Paramount Records label, they created a treasure trove of pre-war country blues: Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Blake, and Ma Rainey. The discs were cut on poor quality shellac (usually mixed with clay brought up from the nearby Milwaukee River) so the sound quality was never great, but they've become some of the most collectable records in existence. The company itself fell victim to the Depression and local lore said that disgruntled workers through cases of unsold discs in the Milwaukee River. People have actually gone into the water trying to find the lost records, though I imagine the relatively fast flowing Milwaukee would have long flushed any records into Lake Michigan.
There is barely anything left of the old factory, just some crumbling foundations next to the river.
Unrelated, but your account reminds me of the Henning nickel. A guy in like the 60s counterfeited $100,000 or so worth of Jefferson nickels. Many of them were supposedly dumped in the Schuylkill River in PA, but they are still found in circulation.
There is a fascinating book called "Don't Sell at any Price" about the crazy collectors who collect rare 78s. The author actually tried diving in the river. It's not deep at Grafton - you could walk across, but it moves very quick. She dug around for an afternoon, but didn't find anything.
"They don't think it be like it is, but it do." - Oscar Gamble
I inititially read this as "I can't stand the Tubes" and I thought to myself that yeah, She's a Beauty was a stinker, but White Punks on Dope is pretty great.
Got a Rake? Sure!
IMCT: Inane Middle-Class Twats - Dr. M
" *sigh* it's right when they throw the penis pump out the window." -Hoy
I inititially read this as "I can't stand the Tubes" and I thought to myself that yeah, She's a Beauty was a stinker, but White Punks on Dope is pretty great.
Fee Waybill will always be Lou Corpse to me.
"Ain't no party like an S Club party!'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
I inititially read this as "I can't stand the Tubes" and I thought to myself that yeah, She's a Beauty was a stinker, but White Punks on Dope is pretty great.
Fee Waybill will always be Lou Corpse to me.
I forgot about that!
Got a Rake? Sure!
IMCT: Inane Middle-Class Twats - Dr. M
" *sigh* it's right when they throw the penis pump out the window." -Hoy
RE: blues remixes that coffeepotman and Marky discuss, Fat Possum actually did a whole remix album back in the day. New Beats From The Delta. If you like that sort of thing, it's the sort of thing you'll like:
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
