[Rambuchan] Some of these clips are wonderful social documents. That first Wolf one is especially interesting: I have the full thing on DVD, and before that clip, Wolf is busy haranguing Son House, his former mentor, who was rambling drunkenly from the audience. Apparently Wolf was in a foul mood that day, partly because the sax player was out of tune (watch carefully and you can see Wolf throw him a dirty look when he comes in).
Note how virtually everyone in the audiences from the blues clips is white - these artists were only filmed during the blues boom of the 1960s, when white audiences discovered their music. Virtually none were filmed before this time.
This is why it's so amazing that we have footage of Leadbelly, one of the first black artists to become popular among white people before it was fashionable. His real name was Huddie Ledbetter (1885-1949) and he was a true legend: in and out of prison for murder, working on the chain gangs, getting out of prison early by singing a song for the governor (twice!), becoming a fashionable figure in New York cafe society, you name it. Leadbelly was also an astonishing talent, and one of only two musicians to become famed for their ability on the twelve-string guitar (the other was Blind Willie McTell). He apparently won that guitar in some seedy bet from a Mexican. He was the first blues singer to tour Europe - to small audiences - shortly before his death from a wasting disease in 1949. They say that the only time anyone saw Leadbelly cry was the day he realised he couldn't play his guitar any more.
Ah, the stories!
This is a traditional work song. The recording is from 1945, miraculously in colour. In some of the close-ups you can see the scar from when someone tried to cut his throat. Check out the accelerating guitar work - on a twelve-string. The man had fingers like sausages.
Pick A Bale Of Cotton - Leadbelly
Now here's a different kettle of fish - a news video of Leadbelly and John Lomax. They are "recreating" the scene when Lomax, the folklorist, discovered Leadbelly in prison and persuaded him to record a song asking Governor O.K. Allen to release him. As the dialogue explains, this was the second time that Leadbelly had done this. After being released, Leadbelly really did track Lomax down and ask for work; Lomax employed him as his chaffeur.
This footage is worth watching for Leadbelly's performances, but it's practically unbearable from every other point of view - cringe as Leadbelly is portrayed as a thick but loveable "boy" in prison clothes who is pitifully grateful to Lomax for helping him. This is how black artists were portrayed in mainstream media in the 1940s. Lomax himself is something of a bogeyman among many music lovers today. He always told artists what he wanted to hear, and he had very philistine views about modern music. He would often look for musicians in prisons, on the basis that their music would have been less "contaminated" by recent developments, and he hated electric blues of the Muddy Waters/Howlin' Wolf variety. He thought the musicians were selling out - obviously they should instead have been relying on good old Mr Lomax to look after them. I have, on DVD, a notorious track where Lomax talks to Blind Willie McTell, whom he recorded in 1940 (and paid a dollar for it). Lomax asks McTell to sing a song with a title so racist I can't mention it here; McTell, embarrassed, deftly changes the subject.
But, on the other hand, without John Lomax and his like, we wouldn't have a great deal of the music from this period that we do have. In an age when black music was considered suitable only for black listeners, and when record companies marketed it simply as "race records" with no artistic value, Lomax saw something more worthwhile in these singers and did his best to preserve their work. We must simply see him very much as a product of his day, for that that entails, good and bad.
March Of Time - Leadbelly and John Lomax
Finally, Nirvana's cover of a song that Leadbelly made famous. It was an old folk song even when he covered it, usually known as In The Pines. Nirvana's version follows Leadbelly's very closely. I can't decide which version is better. Cobain screams the lyrics with a pain that Leadbelly never put into it - but Leadbelly's soft-spoken rendering, with a simple guitar accompaniment, is actually even scarier in its subtlety. If you get a chance, make sure you listen to the original. It's on YouTube too, but in audio only (of course), so I haven't linked to it.
Where Did You Sleep Last Night? - Nirvana
Note how virtually everyone in the audiences from the blues clips is white - these artists were only filmed during the blues boom of the 1960s, when white audiences discovered their music. Virtually none were filmed before this time.
This is why it's so amazing that we have footage of Leadbelly, one of the first black artists to become popular among white people before it was fashionable. His real name was Huddie Ledbetter (1885-1949) and he was a true legend: in and out of prison for murder, working on the chain gangs, getting out of prison early by singing a song for the governor (twice!), becoming a fashionable figure in New York cafe society, you name it. Leadbelly was also an astonishing talent, and one of only two musicians to become famed for their ability on the twelve-string guitar (the other was Blind Willie McTell). He apparently won that guitar in some seedy bet from a Mexican. He was the first blues singer to tour Europe - to small audiences - shortly before his death from a wasting disease in 1949. They say that the only time anyone saw Leadbelly cry was the day he realised he couldn't play his guitar any more.
Ah, the stories!
This is a traditional work song. The recording is from 1945, miraculously in colour. In some of the close-ups you can see the scar from when someone tried to cut his throat. Check out the accelerating guitar work - on a twelve-string. The man had fingers like sausages.
Pick A Bale Of Cotton - Leadbelly
Now here's a different kettle of fish - a news video of Leadbelly and John Lomax. They are "recreating" the scene when Lomax, the folklorist, discovered Leadbelly in prison and persuaded him to record a song asking Governor O.K. Allen to release him. As the dialogue explains, this was the second time that Leadbelly had done this. After being released, Leadbelly really did track Lomax down and ask for work; Lomax employed him as his chaffeur.
This footage is worth watching for Leadbelly's performances, but it's practically unbearable from every other point of view - cringe as Leadbelly is portrayed as a thick but loveable "boy" in prison clothes who is pitifully grateful to Lomax for helping him. This is how black artists were portrayed in mainstream media in the 1940s. Lomax himself is something of a bogeyman among many music lovers today. He always told artists what he wanted to hear, and he had very philistine views about modern music. He would often look for musicians in prisons, on the basis that their music would have been less "contaminated" by recent developments, and he hated electric blues of the Muddy Waters/Howlin' Wolf variety. He thought the musicians were selling out - obviously they should instead have been relying on good old Mr Lomax to look after them. I have, on DVD, a notorious track where Lomax talks to Blind Willie McTell, whom he recorded in 1940 (and paid a dollar for it). Lomax asks McTell to sing a song with a title so racist I can't mention it here; McTell, embarrassed, deftly changes the subject.
But, on the other hand, without John Lomax and his like, we wouldn't have a great deal of the music from this period that we do have. In an age when black music was considered suitable only for black listeners, and when record companies marketed it simply as "race records" with no artistic value, Lomax saw something more worthwhile in these singers and did his best to preserve their work. We must simply see him very much as a product of his day, for that that entails, good and bad.
March Of Time - Leadbelly and John Lomax
Finally, Nirvana's cover of a song that Leadbelly made famous. It was an old folk song even when he covered it, usually known as In The Pines. Nirvana's version follows Leadbelly's very closely. I can't decide which version is better. Cobain screams the lyrics with a pain that Leadbelly never put into it - but Leadbelly's soft-spoken rendering, with a simple guitar accompaniment, is actually even scarier in its subtlety. If you get a chance, make sure you listen to the original. It's on YouTube too, but in audio only (of course), so I haven't linked to it.
Where Did You Sleep Last Night? - Nirvana
I bought this (VHS) while I was in high school and I swear I watched it for days. 
) you can give us some more?
The sound quality isn't too great either, but I think you'll get the idea 
