Two from Clarksdale
It sounds like an informal rehearsal jam by friends sitting down at the bottom end of a blues lounge while the last customers hang around for a last drink before closing time and the barman is wiping the glasses moving to the minimalist band's groove. Three of the album's track were actually recorded at the Red's Lounge in 2007, the others in 2005 at Jimbo Mathus’ Delta Recording studio, both places being in Clarksdale.
Among the legendary "blues towns" of the Mississippi Delta, Clarksdale is certainly the most famous and mythical one. For over a century, since Charley Patton and Robert Johnson, the town has seen a multitude of blues legends haunting its streets and bars. Every big name of the blues passed through there, but some were born and stayed there all their life.
This is the case for Terry "Big T" Williams (1) and Wesley "Junebug" Jefferson. They are or were (Jefferson died in 2009 at only 65) pillars of the Clarkdale's blues circuit, much respected by the numerous blues peers with whom they played : Jelly Roll Kings' Sam Carr, Frank Frost and Big Jack Johnson, Little "Jeno" Tucker, Robert “Bilbo” Walker, Willie Foster, James “Super Chikan” Johnson... But for incomprehensible reasons, they stayed rather ignored out of the Delta. A proof ? Neither have any Wikipedia page yet ! 😉
After the short a-Capella "Meet Me In The Bottom", Jefferson's bass surges up front on "Pocketful Of Blues", soon joined by Williams' raw guitar. On drums Lee Williams ― we couldn't find any indication about any family link with "Big T" ― keeps very discreet in the back for a good reason : he plays on three songs only. The tone is set for the nine following tracks.
Though the duet are veterans of the Clarksdale Delta blues scene, one feels that the Hill Country is not far away : same kind of down-home rough blues with guitar saturated sound and heavy thumping bass style. Williams, who plays electric or slide ("Incarcerated Blues"), and is alone on guitar on five tracks, draws a really great reverb sound out of his instrument, particularly on "Pocketful Of Blues" and on the long version of "Catfish Blues", the highlight of the album along with the acoustic cover of Muddy Water's "Can't Be Satisfied".
Ground Zero ►
The ultra classic "CC Rider" sounds like new here, in its raw country blues dressing, while the other long track, the heavy slow blues "The Wreck", allows Jefferson to exhibit his vocal talent.
"Let's Go Down To Red's" refers of course to Red's Lounge, one of the competitors of actor Morgan Freeman's Ground Zero blues bar & restaurant. It's one of the few songs where the trio plays together. As for the title song, "Meet Me In The Cotton Field", written and sung by Jefferson over Williams' acoustic guitar work, it sounds rather autobiographical.
The album ends as it began, with a roots a-appellate by Jefferson on "Blues Is Like The River".
Both of them sing alternatively, with plain simplicity and soul, with almost the same vocal texture, reminding John Lee Hooker at some moments, particularly Williams.
This apparently "minor" album contains much more than it seems at first. It's a testimony of the blues as it is played in Clarksdale by two guys who fell in it when still kids and for whom blues is more than music, a way of life. ■
(1) "Big T", who was mentored when still young by Johnnie Billington, felt he should take his part in educating young people in return : for many years he taught blues to local kids in Clarksdale, convinced that this was one of the ways the kids could build a better future for themselves. More recently, he moved to Memphis, where he lives with his wive and children.
Wesley "Junebug" Jefferson
► Biography : https://www.arts.ms.gov/folklife/artist.php?dirname=jefferson_wesley
► "Wesley Jefferson, original Mississippi Bluesman", documentary shot for the Japanese TV NHK in 2005 (20mn ) : https://youtu.be/WGhMDxMgW7E
► With the Wesley Jefferson Southern Soul Band & Mississippi Adam Riggle : https://youtu.be/E0FpHo_ljrM
Terry "Big T" Williams
► Biography : https://arts.ms.gov/folklife/artist.php?dirname=williams_terry
► Talking about the blues at the Crossroads Cultural Arts Center : https://youtu.be/HpH_2cxP5M8
► At the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, talking of some of his mentors :
→ Sam Carr : https://youtu.be/Js-voZgvTlw
→ Frank Frost and the Jelly Roll Kings : https://youtu.be/JOOSWVP9s1k
→ Big Jack Johnson and the Jelly Roll Kings : https://youtu.be/8m-6InQ8-g8
► "CC Rider" : https://youtu.be/ROXw4xscTLQ
► "Catfish Blues" : https://youtu.be/BucoxsCGm38
► "I'll Play the Blues for You" at the Hayward/Russell City Blues Festival in 2008 : https://youtu.be/_LOJXk-duQM, and also : https://youtu.be/C0wNYwddK94
► At the Red's Blues Lounge in Clarksdale : https://youtu.be/SidoSoyryZs
► At the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale : https://youtu.be/vFDouhonlhU?list=PLzuBC-Cz3YT1WyBB-ayL90tcnn5EtvPed
► At the Po Monkey's juke joint in Merigold (Mississippi) in 2013 : https://youtu.be/kzs64nLbXG4
► In Memphis in 2019 : https://youtu.be/vMMHpOo-ulk
► "Big Boss Man" with Arthneice "Gas Man" Jones at the Sunflower River Blues Festival in Clarksdale in 2011 : https://youtu.be/5jSDOPFVnkY
Lee Williams
► The drummer taks about Johnnie Billington : https://youtu.be/GcxOMR6anUs
Among the legendary "blues towns" of the Mississippi Delta, Clarksdale is certainly the most famous and mythical one. For over a century, since Charley Patton and Robert Johnson, the town has seen a multitude of blues legends haunting its streets and bars. Every big name of the blues passed through there, but some were born and stayed there all their life.
Though the duet are veterans of the Clarksdale Delta blues scene, one feels that the Hill Country is not far away : same kind of down-home rough blues with guitar saturated sound and heavy thumping bass style. Williams, who plays electric or slide ("Incarcerated Blues"), and is alone on guitar on five tracks, draws a really great reverb sound out of his instrument, particularly on "Pocketful Of Blues" and on the long version of "Catfish Blues", the highlight of the album along with the acoustic cover of Muddy Water's "Can't Be Satisfied".
The ultra classic "CC Rider" sounds like new here, in its raw country blues dressing, while the other long track, the heavy slow blues "The Wreck", allows Jefferson to exhibit his vocal talent.
"Let's Go Down To Red's" refers of course to Red's Lounge, one of the competitors of actor Morgan Freeman's Ground Zero blues bar & restaurant. It's one of the few songs where the trio plays together. As for the title song, "Meet Me In The Cotton Field", written and sung by Jefferson over Williams' acoustic guitar work, it sounds rather autobiographical.
Both of them sing alternatively, with plain simplicity and soul, with almost the same vocal texture, reminding John Lee Hooker at some moments, particularly Williams.
This apparently "minor" album contains much more than it seems at first. It's a testimony of the blues as it is played in Clarksdale by two guys who fell in it when still kids and for whom blues is more than music, a way of life. ■
(1) "Big T", who was mentored when still young by Johnnie Billington, felt he should take his part in educating young people in return : for many years he taught blues to local kids in Clarksdale, convinced that this was one of the ways the kids could build a better future for themselves. More recently, he moved to Memphis, where he lives with his wive and children.
► Biography : https://www.arts.ms.gov/folklife/artist.php?dirname=jefferson_wesley
► "Wesley Jefferson, original Mississippi Bluesman", documentary shot for the Japanese TV NHK in 2005 (20mn ) : https://youtu.be/WGhMDxMgW7E
► With the Wesley Jefferson Southern Soul Band & Mississippi Adam Riggle : https://youtu.be/E0FpHo_ljrM
Terry "Big T" Williams
► Biography : https://arts.ms.gov/folklife/artist.php?dirname=williams_terry
► Talking about the blues at the Crossroads Cultural Arts Center : https://youtu.be/HpH_2cxP5M8
► At the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, talking of some of his mentors :
→ Sam Carr : https://youtu.be/Js-voZgvTlw
→ Frank Frost and the Jelly Roll Kings : https://youtu.be/JOOSWVP9s1k
→ Big Jack Johnson and the Jelly Roll Kings : https://youtu.be/8m-6InQ8-g8
► "CC Rider" : https://youtu.be/ROXw4xscTLQ
► "Catfish Blues" : https://youtu.be/BucoxsCGm38
► At the Red's Blues Lounge in Clarksdale : https://youtu.be/SidoSoyryZs
► At the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale : https://youtu.be/vFDouhonlhU?list=PLzuBC-Cz3YT1WyBB-ayL90tcnn5EtvPed
► At the Po Monkey's juke joint in Merigold (Mississippi) in 2013 : https://youtu.be/kzs64nLbXG4
► In Memphis in 2019 : https://youtu.be/vMMHpOo-ulk
► "Big Boss Man" with Arthneice "Gas Man" Jones at the Sunflower River Blues Festival in Clarksdale in 2011 : https://youtu.be/5jSDOPFVnkY
Lee Williams
► The drummer taks about Johnnie Billington : https://youtu.be/GcxOMR6anUs
________________________
6 comments:
First thanks for this illustration of an artist who didn't know him very well.Your posts are so complete that it takes me time to taste them.
A real shame that this area and those artists do not have the importance they deserve,luckily for us there are still blog and pages that fix that forgetfulness.Clarksdale's Hill Country Blues,the cradle of the most archaic blues,saludos desde Bs As
My dear Fancho, I'm glad and honored of your appreciation of my efforts on this blog. You're now my number one fan! 😉
Feel free to share my me anytime. One detail though: Clarksdale is the capital of "Delta blues", while the "Hill Country" style originated from the North East Mississippi hills. Even if both styles influenced each other, they're still different, the Hill Country Blues being more primary and syncopated, closer to its African rhythmical roots as illustrated by people like R.L. Boyce, R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough or Jessie Mae Hemphill...
Hasta luego amigo!
@Juancho: Delta Blues: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_blues, versus Hill Country blues: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_country_blues
This is Onurblues, very well explained, I expressed myself badly and in reality I meant that Clarksdale is the city with the most blues movement today.
Sorry but my English is very bad and I use the google translator to write to you.
I remember the first cd I bought of this genre which was Jelly Roll Kings and from there I fell under the spell, greetings
Gracias !
De nada amigo.😀
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