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Blind Willie Davis
Blind Willie Davis (–1930s) was an American blind gospel blues singer who recorded in the 1920s. Davis recorded six sides for Paramount Records in 1928 and 1929. He sang solo and played slide guitar in a blues influenced style similar to that of Blind Willie Johnson. His material was strictly religious in nature and relied on reworkings of traditional hymns such as "Rock of Ages". He is noted for his versions of "When the Saints Go Marching In" and " I've Got a Key to the Kingdom", a song previously recorded by Washington Phillips and Bessie Johnson. Davis' version is radically reworked and stripped down to a powerful but simple slide guitar riff repeated at a fast tempo with the lyrics reduced to a basic chorus and apparently improvised lyrics. He sang in an emotional and somewhat slurred voice. Davis' other songs are of a similar nature although at a somewhat slower tempo and less intense pace. Davis is a mysterious figure about whom little is known. Research done by Gayle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gospel Blues
Gospel blues (or holy blues) is a form of blues-based gospel music that has been around since the inception of blues music. It combines evangelistic lyrics with blues instrumentation, often blues guitar accompaniment. According to musician and historian Stefan Grossman, "holy blues" was coined to originally describe Reverend Gary Davis's style of traditional blues playing with lyrics conveying a religious message. Davis and Blind Willie Johnson are considered the genre's two dominant performers, according to Dick Weissman. Other notable gospel-blues performers include Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Washington Phillips. Blues musicians who became devout, or even practicing clergy, include Reverend Robert Wilkins and Ishman Bracey.Wardlow, G., and Komara, E. M. (1998). ''Chasin' That Devil Music: Searching for the Blues''. San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books. pp. 43, 45. . Bluesmen such as Boyd Rivers, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton, Sam Collins, Josh White, Blind Boy Fulle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paramount Records
Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramount Records was formed in 1918 by United Phonographs, a subsidiary of the Wisconsin Chair Company, which trademarked its record brand from Port Washington and began issuing records the following year on the Puritan and Paramount labels. Puritan lasted only until 1927, but Paramount, based in the factory of its parent company in Grafton, Wisconsin, published some of the nation's most important early blues recordings between 1929 and 1932. The label's offices were located in Port Washington, Wisconsin and the pressing plant was located at 1819 S. Green Bay Road in Grafton. The label was managed by Fred Dennett Key. The Wisconsin Chair Company made wooden phonograph cabinets for Edison Records. In 1915 it started making its own phonographs in the name of its subsidiary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slide Guitar
Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that reflect characteristics of the human singing voice. It typically involves playing the guitar in the traditional position (flat against the body) with the use of a slide fitted on one of the guitarist's fingers. The slide may be a metal or glass tube, such as the neck of a bottle. The term bottleneck was historically used to describe this type of playing. The strings are typically plucked (not strummed) while the slide is moved over the strings to change the pitch. The guitar may also be placed on the player's lap and played with a hand-held bar (lap steel guitar). Creating music with a slide of some type has been traced back to African stringed instruments and also to the origin of the steel guitar in Hawaii. Near the beginning of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blind Willie Johnson
Blind Willie Johnson (January 25, 1897 – September 18, 1945) was an American gospel blues singer, guitarist and evangelist. His landmark recordings completed between 1927 and 1930—thirty songs in total—display a combination of powerful "chest voice" singing, slide guitar skills, and originality that has influenced generations of musicians. Even though Johnson's records sold well, as a street performer and preacher, he had little wealth in his lifetime. His life was poorly documented, but over time, music historians such as Samuel Charters have uncovered more about Johnson and his five recording sessions. A revival of interest in Johnson's music began in the 1960s, following his inclusion on Harry Smith's '' Anthology of American Folk Music'', and by the efforts of the blues guitarist Reverend Gary Davis. Along with Davis, he has since been considered the dominant player of " holy blues" music, which conveyed religious themes in a blues idiom and often with the genre's sty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock Of Ages (Christian Hymn)
"Rock of Ages" is a popular Christian hymn written by the Reformed Anglican minister Augustus Toplady. History The first four lines for the 1st version of the 1st verse were published in ''The Gospel Magazine'' in October, 1775. The first publication in full was the following spring in the March, 1776 edition of ''The Gospel Magazine,'' with a revised first verse, plus three more verses. A slightly further revised version was published that summer in July 1776 in Toplady's hymnal ''Psalms & Hymns for Public and Private Worship.'' There is a popular story most hymnologists do not believe about the origin of this hymn text. That story was started 122 years after publication of the hymn text by a letter published in the ''Times'' [of London], June 3, 1898 from Dean Lefroy of Norwich, together with one from Sir W. H. Wills on the same matter. The burden of Lefroy’s correspondence is based on a claim made by Sir W. H. Wills regarding the origin of this hymn. Wills' claim assert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
When The Saints Go Marching In
"When the Saints Go Marching In", often referred to as simply "The Saints", is a traditional black spiritual. It originated as a Christian hymn and is often played by jazz bands. This song was famously recorded on May 13, 1938, by Louis Armstrong and his orchestra. The song is sometimes confused with a similarly titled composition "When the Saints Are Marching In" from 1896 by Katharine Purvis (lyrics) and James Milton Black (music). Origins and usage The origins of this song are unclear. It apparently evolved in the early 1900s from a number of similarly titled gospel songs, including "When the Saints Are Marching In" (1896) and "When the Saints March In for Crowning" (1908). The first known recorded version was in 1923 by the Paramount Jubilee Singers on Paramount 12073. Although the title given on the label is "When All the Saints Come Marching In", the group sings the modern lyrics beginning with "When the saints go marching in". No author is shown on the label. Several ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I've Got The Key To The Kingdom
"I've Got the Key to the Kingdom" is a gospel blues song recorded in 1929 by Washington Phillips (18801954, vocals and zither). The song consists of several verses and a refrain: The verses relate to the Biblical story of Daniel in the lions' den, and his deliverance from it; found in the Book of Daniel at Chapter 6. Phillips' song may be a variant of a traditional gospel song. "Key to the Kingdom" by Bessie Johnson and the Sanctified Singers (1929, 10" 78rpm single Okeh 8725) consists almost entirely of a similar refrain. "Got a Key to the Kingdom" by Josh White (1935, 10" 78rpm single Melotone 5-11-60 and simultaneous releases) has the same tune and a similar refrain, but very different verses. Recordings * 1929Washington Phillips * 1929Blind Willie Davis (song titled as "I've Got a Key to the Kingdom") on Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such arti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Washington Phillips
George Washington "Wash" Phillips (January 11, 1880 – September 20, 1954) was an American gospel music, gospel and gospel blues singer and instrumentalist. The exact nature of the instrument or instruments he played is uncertain, being identified only as "novelty accompaniment" on the labels of the 78 rpm records released during his lifetime. Biography He was born in Texas, on January 11, 1880, the son of Tim Phillips (from Mississippi) and Nancy Phillips (, from Texas). People who knew him as an adult recalled him as standing about or tall, and being "stocky" or about ; and that he was a Dipping tobacco, snuff-dipper. He farmed of land by the settlement of Simsboro near Teague, Texas. He was described as a "jack-leg preacher"i.e. someone not necessarily an Ordination, ordained Minister (Christianity), minister, who would attend regular services at churches hoping for an opportunity to Sermon, preach, but who would more often address spontaneous gatherings in the street, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mississippi's western boundary is largely defined by the Mississippi River. Mississippi is the 32nd largest and 35th-most populous of the 50 U.S. states and has the lowest per-capita income in the United States. Jackson is both the state's capital and largest city. Greater Jackson is the state's most populous metropolitan area, with a population of 591,978 in 2020. On December 10, 1817, Mississippi became the 20th state admitted to the Union. By 1860, Mississippi was the nation's top cotton-producing state and slaves accounted for 55% of the state population. Mississippi declared its secession from the Union on January 9, 1861, and was one of the seven original Confederate States, which constituted the largest slaveholding states in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Document Records
Document Records is an independent record label, founded in Austria and now based in Scotland, that specializes in reissuing vintage blues and jazz. The company has been recognised by The Blues Foundation, being honoured with a Keeping the Blues Alive Award. Document Records is the only UK-based recipient of the award in 2018. History Document was established in 1986 by Johnny Parth, the former owner of Roots Records, in Austria to make previously unreleased blues and gospel records from before the 1942–44 musicians' strike available on a number of European labels. In 1990, Parth felt obliged to switch production from LP to CD. With this change, he consolidated the catalogue into complete reissues in chronological order, increasingly on the Document label as other label names were dropped. The new policy was to reissue as many as possible of the recordings listed in the book, ''Blues and Gospel Records: 1890–1943''. The scope was expanded to include bluegrass, spiritu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gospel Blues Musicians
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words and deeds of Jesus, culminating in Trial of Jesus, his trial and Crucifixion of Jesus, death and concluding with various reports of Post-resurrection appearances of Jesus, his post-resurrection appearances. Modern scholars are cautious of relying on the gospels uncritically, but nevertheless, they provide a good idea of the public career of Jesus, and critical study can attempt to distinguish the original ideas of Jesus from those of the later authors. The four canonical gospels were probably written between AD 66 and 110. All four were anonymous (with the modern names added in the 2nd century), almost certainly none were by eyewitnesses, and all are the end-products of long Oral tradition, oral and written transmission. Gospel of Mark, Mark ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blind Musicians
Blind musicians are singers or instrumentalists, or in some cases singer-accompanists, who are legally blind. Resources Historically, many blind musicians, including some of the most famous, have performed without the benefit of formal instruction, since such instruction relies extensively on written musical notation. However, today there are many resources available for blind musicians who wish to learn Western music theory and classical notation. Louis Braille, the man who created the braille alphabet for the blind, also created a system of classical notation for the blind called Braille music. This system allows the blind to read and write music much as the sighted do. The largest collection of Braille musical scores is located at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Outside the U.S., the largest collection of braille music scores is stored at the National Library for the Blind in England. Computer technology and the Internet make it possible in theory for blind m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
