The swamp blues minister
Born in New Orleans in 1952, Terry R. Singleton had settled very early in Baton Rouge, where he died in 2005. A bluesman and a part-time minister, he was deeply influenced in his youth by gospel, but also by South Louisiana blues veterans like Silas Hogan, Tabby Thomas or Arthur 'Guitar' Kelley that he heard playing at street corners and in local blues bar-joints, and by other regional performers like Slim Harpo or Lightnin' Slim that he could listen to on local radios.In the mid-1970s he joined Buddy Powell's Condors as guitarist of the band. A few years later, Powell left to take the musical direction of the Gloryland Baptist Church. Singleton followed his steps, stopped playing and chose to devote to his religious faith instead, until being ordained a minister.
During this ministry, Singleton faced a moral dilemma that kept him away from the blues : according to the old obscurantist sanctimonious bias that decreed that blues was evil and "baptized" it "devil's music", it was not tolerated by religious congregations, unlike gospel, of course, and even jazz. Singleton had to choose between the blues or his evangelical duties. "On a personal point of view, I don't see any reason not to play blues, but as a minister I can't do it. My congregation judges the blues as a sinful music though it's the closest musical genre to gospel you can find !", he explained to Alison Pringle who wrote the CD's liner notes.
The first thing that struck me is that Singleton is not only a good singer but a really excellent guitar master putting out a seducing cool, aerial and clean sound. The second one is the large use of a church-sounding organ certainly inherited from his active church period. And the third is the opening track of the album, the surprising very jazzy "Sunset Blues". In fact not so surprising considering what he says above.
"Walkin' The Floor" (the song) is a fast rocker with up-front piano and a guitar solo inspired by Chuck Berry and the likes.
On the eight and a half-minute "Reconcile", a slow pulse blues with Oscar Davis' nice intervention on harmonica, Singleton's lyrics may well be double-entendre. The "reconciliation" he's singing about apparently concerns his relation with a woman but may as well refer to the holy man returning to the blues, after years of abstinence.
In the excellent "Boogie Train", the guitar line reminds me of a familiar sound… Oh yes, the swampy sound of Creedence Clearwater Revival in their early records !
After the very gospel "Light In A Dark Place", Singleton delivers a six-minute long blues, "Gonna Make Me Cry", punctuated with nice guitar lightnings in the manner of B.B. King. The following "Let Me Be Your Man", another rocking track, again features the same exciting guitar sound. Same feeling on the final two tracks, "Tryna Get Along" and "Power Up", where Singleton shouts his love of the blues.
This album is a real good surprise. Singleton's guitar mastery and personal sound, his songwriting, his vocal signature are exciting, and I bet not many people would guess about his religious side ! The late T-Bone Singleton will certainly be remembered as a bluesman not as a pastor !
Video
> T-Bone Singleton at the St. Louis Blues Festival in 1990 : https://youtu.be/BAmsJ9UvpFQ
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