Category Archives: Posts with Audio
Merry Christmas
This is my favorite recording/performance of Christmas music. Period. Hands down. No doubt. Head and shoulders above all the rest. Better than “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” by the Dexter Gordon Quartet. Better than John Fahey’s “Medley: Hark, The Herald … Continue reading
This Historic Day In Music: “Guitar Blues”/”Guitar Rag” – Take 1
On November 2, 1923, African-American Blues guitarist Sylvester Weaver sat in front of the large horn/”microphone” of the acoustic recording machine in the New York City studios of OKeh Records. He played and recorded two original instrumental guitar pieces that day: “Guitar Blues” and “Guitar Rag.” The … Continue reading
On This Day In Music History: “Rising Sun Blues”
On September 6, 1933, singer/guitarist Clarence Ashley and harmonica player Gwen (or Gwin) Foster recorded “Rising Sun Blues” for Vocalion Records in New York, NY. This would be the first recording of the song that we now know as “The House of the Rising Sun.” … Continue reading
On This Day In Music History: “Crazy Blues”
From the opening notes of trombone, piano, trumpet and clarinet, this sounds like a Jazz record. But when the vocalist comes in, the music takes a turn. “I can’t sleep at night, I can’t eat a bite because the man … Continue reading
On This Day In Music History: “Arkansaw Traveler”
In the summer of 1922, 34-year-old Texas fiddler A.C. “Eck” Robertson and 74-year-old Oklahoma fiddler Henry C. Gilliland performed together at the Old Confederate Soldiers’ Reunion in Richmond, VA. When the festivities ended, they took the train to New York City to … Continue reading
Blues, Women & The Guitar
When the first blues record – “Crazy Blues” featuring vocalist Mamie Smith, recorded on Aug. 10, 1920 – sold 75,000 copies in the first month after its release, American record companies knew that they were on to something. This success … Continue reading
Recent Discoveries
Once upon a time, if I’d been asked, I’d have probably said that the master Jazz musician Charlie Christian was the first electric guitarist on record. But since I’ve gotten into researching the history, including the “first recordings” of the musical genres … Continue reading
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