Old Hat Enterprises was founded in 1994 by collector Marshall Wyatt in order to promote awareness of American vernacular music and to research its history. Old Hat conducts field work and maintains archives of sound recordings in various formats, with an emphasis on 78 rpm records of the prewar era. Other holdings include oral history … Continue reading Old Hat Records : Vintage American Music
Tag: blues
Vernacular Music : 12th Century Troubadours to Singer-Songwriters
The tradition of a solo singer providing music for a community or gathering is very old. As far back as the 12th century with the troubadours and trouvères of France as well as the minnesinger from Germany, all the way up to today's buskers the singer of vernacular music has been a recognizable feature of … Continue reading Vernacular Music : 12th Century Troubadours to Singer-Songwriters
Let Us Now Praise Great Bluesmen : Blind Willie Johnson, who died today, 1947, in Beaumont, Texas
Allmusic.com Biography by Joslyn Layne Seminal gospel-blues artist Blind Willie Johnson is regarded as one of the greatest bottleneck slide guitarists. Yet the Texas street-corner evangelist is known as much for his powerful and fervent gruff voice as he is for his ability as a guitarist. He most often sang in a rough, bass voice … Continue reading Let Us Now Praise Great Bluesmen : Blind Willie Johnson, who died today, 1947, in Beaumont, Texas
American Original : John Fahey (1939-2001)
“I consider myself a classical guitar player, but I’m categorized as a folk musician,” John Fahey says ruefully in the new documentary In Search of Blind Joe Death—The Saga of John Fahey. In true Fahey fashion, he speaks humbly while taking Occam’s Razor to his own complicated place in music history. One thing that Fahey … Continue reading American Original : John Fahey (1939-2001)
Three Birthdays Today : Mississippi Fred McDowell; Jay McShann; Morton Feldman
When Mississippi Fred McDowell proclaimed on one of his last albums, "I do not play no rock & roll," it was less a boast by an aging musician swept aside by the big beat than a mere statement of fact. As a stylist and purveyor of the original Delta blues, he was superb, equal parts Charley … Continue reading Three Birthdays Today : Mississippi Fred McDowell; Jay McShann; Morton Feldman
God Don’t Never Change : The Songs of Blind Willie Johnson
Seminal gospel-blues artist Blind Willie Johnson is regarded as one of the greatest bottleneck slide guitarists. Yet the Texas street-corner evangelist is known as much for the his powerful and fervent gruff voice as he is for his ability as a guitarist. He most often sang in a rough, bass voice (only occasionally delivering in … Continue reading God Don’t Never Change : The Songs of Blind Willie Johnson
Musica Kaleidoskopea 