Label: Global Village Music.
Release Date: October 1, 1993.
Recording Time: 46 minutes.
Release Info: Studio Recording (CD-1006).
Recording Date: January, 1928 - March 26, 1979.
Styles: East Coast Blues, Regional Blues, Contemporary Blues, Piedmont Blues, Pre-War Country Blues, Acoustic Blues, Country Blues, Field Recordings, Folk-Blues.
Another in the Virginia Traditions series assembled by the Blue Ridge Institute for Appalachian Studies at Ferrum College in Ferrum, Virginia, Tidewater Blues combines commercially released 78s from the 1920s with field recordings done in the 1940s, '50s and '70s to provide a historical sketch of blues in the region. Often called Piedmont or East Coast blues (there are those who would split hairs and make each a distinct school), tidewater blues is generally more intricate and delicate than the Delta or Texas strains of the genre, and draws more heavily on piano rags as well as the black string band tradition and features a gentle, melodic and easy rolling feel. Among the highlights here are two gentle and perfectly nuanced blues songs by guitarist Carl Hodges, "Leaving You Mama" and "Poor Boy Blues," recorded by folklorist Kip Lornell in 1979, and Pernell Charity's accomplished guitar instrumental, "Barbershop Rag," recorded in 1928. The Virginia Four's unaccompanied "I'd Feel Much Better," from 1939, isn't so much blues as secular black gospel, as is "Pleading Blues," sung by the Monarch Jazz Quartet and drawn from a 1929 recording. Tidewater Blues ends up being a gentle, soothing portrait of blues (and blues-based forms) from the coastal region of Virginia, and makes a fine complement to another volume in the Virginia Traditions series, Western Piedmont Blues, which places its focus further inland. ~ Steve Leggett
Credits: The Back Porch Boys - primary artist; Big Boy - guitar, performer, primary artist, vocals; John Cephas - guitar, performer, primary artist, vocals; Pernell Charity - composer, guitar, performer, primary artist, vocals; Julius Daniels - composer; Crip Harris - performer, tenor (vocals); Henry Harris - guitar, performer, primary artist; Louis Hayes - guitar, performer; Carl Hodges - guitar, performer, primary artist, vocals; Delrose Hollins - baritone (vocals), performer; Kip Lornell - liner notes; William Moore - composer, guitar, performer, primary artist, vocals; Mopnarch Jazz Quartet Of Norfolk - primary artist; Coner Morris - guitar, performer, primary artist; Alec Seward - guitar, performer, vocals; Michael Schlesinger - cover photo; Traditional - composer; Otto Tutson - lead (vocals), performer; The Virginia Four - primary artist; Virginia Traditions - primary artist; Unknown Unaccompanied Vocal Quartet - performer; Len Williams - bass (vocals), performer; John Woolfork - guitar, performer, primary artist, vocals.
Tracks: 1. Leaving You, Mama - Carl Hodges; 2. Albemarle County Rag - Henry Harris; 3. I'd Feel Much Better - The Virginia Four; 4. Blind Love - Pernell Charity; 5. Barbershop Rag - William Moore; 6. King Kong Blues - The Back Porch Boys; 7. Black Rat Swing - John Cephas; 8. Going Down The Road Feeling Good - Corner Morris; 9. War Blues - Pernell Charity; 10. Blues - Big Boy; 11. Sweet Woman Blues - The Back Porch Boys; 12. Motorcycle Blues - Henry Harris; 13. Pleading Blues - Monarch Jazz Quartet Of Norfolk; 14. Poor Boy Blues - Carl Hodges; 15. Richmand Blues - John Cephas and John Woolfork; 16. One Way Gal - William Moore.
Recording details: 1. Saluda, Virginia, March 3, 1979; 2. Newport News, Virginia, March 8, 1979; 3. New York City, August 23, 1939 (Decca 7808); 4. Waverly, Virginia, October 31, 1972; 5. Chicago, Illinois, January, 1928 (Paramount 12649); 6. New York City, 1950 (Apollo 392); 7. Bowling Green, Virginia, September 17, 1977; 8. Suffolk, Virginia, March 26, 1979; 9. Waverly, Virginia, October 25, 1972; 10. Hampton, Virginia, 1941; 11. New York City, 1950 (Apollo 406); 12. Newport News, March 8, 1979; 13. Richmond, Virginia, October 15, 1929 (Okeh 8931); 14. Saluda, Virginia, March 3, 1979; 15. Bowling Green, Virginia, September 17, 1977; 16. Chicago, Illinois, January, 1928 (Paramount 12648).
Notes:
Sixteen selections by African-American bluesmen from the coastal region of Virginia.
Produced by The Blue Ridge Institute, Ferrum College, Ferrum, Virginia, under National Endowment of the Arts/Folk Arts Grant No. R80-54-242.
Photography [Cover Photot Courtesy] - Valentine Museum, Richmond, Virginia.
Remastered at Casey Sound Studio.