I saw a wonderful movie this past week. I'll get to that in my film rant. But one aspect of the movie--and probably not the one that drove it to the top of the box office charts some weeks back--kind of grabbed me even more tightly than it usually does and hasn't loosened up yet. Truth be told, it grabbed me about 35 years ago and never really let go. Sometimes, like now, the grip tightens, sometimes it loosens, but it's always there. Consequently I'm going to pontificate and philosophize about it. I may even rhapsodize and some may think I'm bloviating. And I know I've talked about it in past "sermons," but it never hurts to come back to it.
I
think it's kind of sad that you don't see a lot of blues music topping
the charts these days. You don't hear it on the radio too much outside
of the occasional NPR program or on an independent station. I realize
this is true of most styles of music that don't fit neatly into the
"pop," "rock," or "country" genres. But blues music is special.
Without it, we wouldn't have soul music or R&B (what did you think
the "B" stands for, after all?), we wouldn't have rap or hip hop, and we
certainly wouldn't have rock and roll. And I'll be the first person to
acknowledge that public tastes change over time, music evolves, new
artists come along with their own styles, older artists retire or die
(sadly), but we often tend to forget our roots... musically and
otherwise.
I
discovered the blues in high school. After geeking out over The
Rolling Stones when I was twelve, I started doing geeky things like
reading liner notes and finding out what influenced them. This
introduced me to the likes of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. Throughout
high school and college I found myself falling in love with the music
of B.B. King, John Lee Hooker (especially John Lee), and anyone who
recorded an album for Chicago based Alligator Records.
Like
other genres of music, blues has different styles within it--mostly
regional. There's Mississippi Delta blues, which is much more rural and
acoustic. Many people consider that to be more authentic blues since
that's essentially where it all started. During the Great Migration, a
lot of artists traveled north and started playing in clubs and juke
joints in places like Chicago, St. Louis, and Detroit--even Memphis, although it was in the south--and the sound evolved. The musicians
even started using electric instruments. (I heard somewhere once
that much of what we consider "Chicago blues" is actually "St. Louis
blues." Apparently St. Louis blues musicians would travel to Chicago to
make their records because Chicago had better recording studios.
Again, I heard this once when I was in college on a radio program, but
I've never heard or read about this anywhere else, so take it with a
grain of salt.)
I
picked up this week's album shortly after it was released. I
think--and this memory is kind of hazy--I was browsing the music section
at Borders (remember Borders?) and I think I saw it on a featured
display. In hindsight, as a blues lover, I'm kind of surprised I wasn't
as familar with the artist as I should have been. In fact, I'm pretty
sure I bought it for his backing band more than anything else as I was a
huge fan of them. At any rate, when I played it, I was kind of blown
away by it. It's one of those "transportative" albums (once again, my
word, trademark pending). When I hear it, I find myself on the streets
of Bloomington, Indiana, and I feel 22 years old again. Recorded live
at his Chicago club, Buddy Guy's Legends, please enjoy the man himself,
Buddy Guy, with G.E. Smith & The Saturday Night Live Band with
his/their 1996 release, Live! The Real Deal.
Due
to family commitments, I'll be taking the next two weeks off from
writing these "sermons." Until I return, stay safe, be good to your
neighbours, and please remember that if at first you don't succeed, then
skydiving definitely isn't for you.
Yours in peace, love, and rock and roll!
The Reverend Will the Thrill
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