-Taj Mahal
America tells its stories through
song. Consolation to the lovelorn, courage to the oppressed, warning to the
naive or a ticket to the Promised Land; a great song can deliver the wisdom of
ages directly to our souls.
Deeply personal and implausibly
universal, the blues, jazz, gospel and old time music of the American South
form a deep aquifer that contemporary musicians all around the world drink from
daily. The music is constantly expanding and morphing into country, rock, rap
and soul, but trace the origins and you will find yourself standing squarely in
the South.
In this album, we present music and
portraits of these artists: fathers and mothers, uncles and aunts, daughters
and sons, grandparents and neighbors, who continue to lovingly stir the South's
musical stew and feed American culture. You probably won’t recognize
their names or faces, for few have found fame. Most of them weren't easy to
find.
Tim Duffy documented these artists
with his camera and recorder over the past twenty years and insists, "I
know who I am looking at through the lens." He knows them because of the
countless hours spent with each artist over months and years. Days spent
sharing songs, food, laughter and far too many miles in vans and airplanes have
built the bridges of trust that allow these artists to give their wisdom and
art so generously. These artists share their life lessons with us because we
are dedicated to presenting their music to the world with reverence and to be
partners in their struggle for a better life.
-Denise Duffy
We are the Music Makers!
Preserving the Soul of America’s Music
Pictures & Stories by Timothy
& Denise Duffy
Disc 1
Freight Train Boogie –
Captain Luke (L. Mayer)
Winston-Salem, NC 1991. Captain Luke; Jew’s
harp.
A Living Past – Guitar Gabriel (R.L. Jones)
Winston-Salem, NC 1991.
Railroad Bill – Etta Baker (trad. arr. by E. Baker)
Morganton, NC 1996. Etta Baker; guitar.
Going Away – John Lee Zeigler (J. Zeigler)
Kathleen, GA 1995. John Lee Zeigler; vocals, guitar.
High Yellow – Cootie Stark (Bull City Red, Julius Daniels)
Pinnacle, NC 1998. Cootie Stark; vocals, guitar Taj Mahal;
ham-bone.
Chapel Hill Boogie – John Dee Holeman (J.D. Holeman)
Recorded by Joe McGrath Pinnacle, NC 1997. John Dee Holeman;
vocals, guitar. Taj Mahal; guitar.
Shortnin’ Bread – Neal
Pattman (trad. arr. by N. Pattman)
Pinnacle, NC 1998.
Neal Pattman; harp, vocals. Taj Mahal; banjo.
Old Rugged Cross – Carl Rutherford (trad. arr. by C. Rutherford)
Hillsborough, NC 1995. Carl Rutherford; vocals, guitar. Cool
John Ferguson; guitar.
No Hidin’ Place – Cool John
Ferguson (J. Ferguson)
Hillsborough, NC 2006. Cool John Ferguson; guitar.
Feel Like My Time Ain’t Long –
Essie Mae Brooks (E. M. Brooks)
Pinnacle, NC 2000. Essie Mae Brooks; vocals. Cool John
Ferguson; piano.
Old Time Religion – Mother Pauline and Elder
James Goins (trad arr. by P. & J. Goins) Ridgeway, SC 1997. Mother Pauline
Goins; vocals. Elder James Goins; vocals, guitar.
My Lord and I – Elder Anderson Johnson (trad arr. by E.A. Johnson)
Newport News, VA 1998. Elder Anderson Johnson; vocals, slide
guitar.
Cocktail Boogie – Mr Q (C. Settle)
Winston-Salem, NC 1995. Mr. Q; vocals, piano.
Big Belly Momma – Albert Smith (A. Smith)
Rembert, SC 1997. Albert Smith; vocals, piano.
If You Don’t Love Me, Would You Fool Me
Good –
Precious Bryant (P. Bryant)
Stone Mountain, GA 1995. Precious Bryant; vocals, guitar.
Old Bill – Big Boy Henry (R. Henry)
Beaufort, NC 1994. Big Boy Henry; vocals. Michael Parrish;
guitar. Tim Duffy; guitar.
President Clinton Blues – Drink Small (D. Small)
Columbia, SC 1999. Drink Small; vocals, guitar.
Looking For My Woman – JW Warren (trad. arr. by J.W.
Warren)
Ariton, AL 1995. JW Warren; vocals, guitar.
What Can An Old Man Do (But Sing The Blues) –
Dr. Burt (G. Burt)
Hillsborough, NC 2008. Grover Burt; vocals, guitar.
Greasy Greens – George Higgs (trad. arr. by
G. Higgs)
Farmville, NC 1998. George Higgs; vocals, harp.
Clickin’ – Whistlin’
Britches (H. Thompson)
Hillsborough, NC 2005. Whistlin’
Britches; clickin’.
Tim Duffy Is A Good Ol’
Guy – Captain Luke and Cool John Ferguson (L. Mayer)
Hillsborough, NC 2014. Captain Luke; vocals. Cool John
Ferguson; guitar.
Disc 2
Railroadin’ and Gamblin’
–
Samuel Turner Stevens (Uncle Dave Macon)
Asheville, NC 1994. Samuel Turner Stevens; vocals, fretless
banjo.
Pigeon Dance – Pura Fé
(P.F. Crescioni, Tuscarican Music, ASCAP)
Hillsborough, NC
2004. Pura Fé; vocals. Deer Clan Singers; vocals.
High Steppin’ Momma – Clyde
Langford (C. Langford)
Midway, TX 2003. Clyde Langford; vocals, guitar.
Fred, You Ought To Be Dead – James Davis (J. Davis)
Perry, GA 1995. James Davis; guitar. Gilbert Henderson;
drums.
Back In Business – Beverly “Guitar”
Watkins (B. Watkins, Brand New
Music, Ltd., Bug Music) Produced by Mike Vernon, Atlanta, GA 1998. Beverly
Watkins; vocals, guitar. Carly Sonny Layland; piano. Danny Dudeck; guitar. Joe Schwenke; bass.
Chris Uhler; percussion. Jason Reichert; drums.
Sourwood Mountain – Carolina Chocolate Drops (trad. arr. by D. Flemons, J. Robinson, R.
Giddens, Bring It Forward Music, ASCAP) Recorded by Jerry Brown, Chapel Hill,
NC 2006. Dom Flemons; vocals, guitar.
Rhiannon Giddens; vocals, banjo. Justin Robinson; vocals, fiddle.
Let No Woman – Guitar Gabriel (R. L. Jones)
Pittsburgh, PA 1970. Guitar Gabriel; vocals, guitar.
Snatch That Thing – Macavine Hayes (M. Hayes)
Winston-Salem, NC 1994. Macavine Hayes; vocals, guitar.
Michael Parrish; piano. Ardie Dean; drums. Tim Duffy; guitar.
Cook Corn Bread For You Husband, Biscuits For Your Outside
Man
– Algia Mae Hinton (A.M. Hinton)
Middlesex, NC 1998. Algia Mae Hinton; vocals, guitar.
Peter Rumpkin – Willa Mae Buckner (trad arr. by W. M. Buckner)
Winston-Salem, NC 1994. Willa Mae Buckner; vocals. Timothy
Duffy; guitar. Michael Parrish; piano.
Child Support Blues – Adolphus Bell (A. Bell)
Hillsborough, NC 2005. Adolphus Bell; vocals, guitar, hi
hat, bass drum, harp.
Nothing But Your Butt – Ironing Board Sam (S. Moore)
Huntsville, AL 2012. Produced by Ardie Dean. Ironing Board
Sam; vocals, piano. Nashid Abdul; bass. Albert White; guitar. Ardie Dean; drums.
Charlie Rose; trombone. Jim Horn; baritone sax. Chris West; tenor & alto sax.
Steve Herman; trumpet.
Benton’s Dream –
Benton Flippen (B. Flippen)
Hillsborough, NC 2003. Benton Flippen; fiddle. Roger Wilson;
banjo. Andy Edmonds; guitar. Gene Hall; guitar.
Route 66 – Eddie Tigner (Bobby Troup, ©
Control)
Recorded by Paul Linden, Atlanta, GA 2000. Eddie Tigner;
vocals, piano, organ. Felix Reyes; guitar. Paul Linden; harmonica. Matt
Sickles; acoustic bass. Ron Logsdon; drum.
My New Next Door Neighbor – Jerry “Boogie”
McCain (J. McCain) Recorded by
Ardie Dean, Vinemont, AL 2002. Jerry McCain; vocals, harp. Ardie Dean; drums.
Greg Rowell; bass, acoustic guitar. Ralph Lusian; electric guitar, organ. Clay
Swafford; piano.
Flossie – Carl Hodges (C. Hodges)
Saluda, VA 1996. Carl Hodges; vocals, guitar.
Home on the Range – W. C. Minger IV (W.C. Minger IV)
Pinnacle, NC 1995. William C. Minger IV; vocals, guitar. Sam
Duffy; mandolin, fiddle, vocals. Tim Duffy; guitar, slide guitar, bass, vocals.
Keep On Truckin’ – Boo Hanks & Dom Flemons
(trad. arr. by B. Hanks & D. Flemons) Buffalo Junction, VA Boo Hanks;
guitar, vocals. Dom Flemons; guitar, vocals.
Old Black Buck – Captain Luke & Cool John
Ferguson (L. Mayer) Pinnacle, NC 1999.
Luther Mayer; vocals. Cool John Ferguson; guitar.
Manman Mwen – Leyla McCalla (trad. arr. by
L. McCalla)
Floyd, VA 2013. Recorded by Joe DeJarnette. Leyla McCalla;
tenor banjo, vocals. Rhiannon Giddens; shaker, vocals.
Amazing Grace – Cora Fluker (trad. arr. by R.L. Jones) Recorded by Raphaël
Evrard, Hillsborough, NC 2013. Lakota John Locklear; vocals, guitar. Big Papa
John Locklear; harmonica.
Sing It Louder – Cary Morin (C. Morin, Cary
Morin Music, BMI) Hillsborough, NC 2010. Cary Morin; vocals, guitar. Peter
Knudson; percussion.
All songs recorded by Timothy Duffy and published by (Lucky
Guitar Music, ASCAP) except where noted.
www.musicmaker.org Music Maker Relief Foundation is a tax
exempt, public charity under IRS code 501(c)3. All donations are tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Guitar
Gabriel was a blues philosopher and the inspiration for the
creation of the Music Maker Relief Foundation. This is a rare recording of his
1970 hit.
Big Boy
Henry
from Beaufort, NC shares his keen observation of senseless sacrifice.
Etta
Baker of
Morganton, NC was among the finest Piedmont blues guitarists who ever lived.
Neal
Pattman from Athens, GA lost one arm after it got stuck in a wagon
wheel when he was a child. Neal
came up hard, working, fighting, and playing the blues.
Essie
Mae Brooks’ voice
is pure and her lyrics are precise. She lives in a small house surrounded by hundreds of acres
of cotton in rural GA.
Captain
Luke has a
voice like honey dripping on hot chocolate. His vocal style flows deep from the
great black river of music. He was best friends with Guitar Gabriel.
John Dee
Holeman of Durham, NC is a direct link to the musicians
surrounding the legendary Blind Boy Fuller.
Macavine
Hayes
was born in Marathon, FL and moved to Winston-Salem, NC in the 1960s where he
performed in local drink houses.
Cootie
Stark,
Piedmont blues guitarist/singer, learned from his uncle Johnny Stark and Baby
Tate. He spent decades traveling throughout the country playing on street
corners.
Precious
Bryant
had a sparkle of light that shined deep into the heavens when she sang and
played her guitar. She was a talented, haunted blues woman who wrote from real
life.
Algia Mae Hinton plays
guitar and banjo in the old Carolina style that she learned from her mother.
Carl
Rutherford grew up working in the mines of War, WV, immersed in
mountain music. As a young man he migrated to Bakersfield, CA, where he worked
in the sawmills and for years performed in honky-tonks. He retired back home
and devoted the rest of his life fighting to make a better life for his coal
mining community.
John Lee
Zeigler played the guitar left handed, picking the bass strings
with his index finger and the treble strings with his thumb. His music has
direct links to the music of West Africa.
Willa
Mae Buckner was a blues singer, performer, snake handler and carnival
mainstay. She achieved her life-long dream and performed at Carnegie Hall in 1994.
Drink
Small, The Blues Doctor, of Columbia, SC has been performing
and recording since the 1950s. He is a prolific song-writer and a guitarist
extraordinaire.
Albert
Smith taught
piano and was a musical director in his small church deep in rural SC during
his 80 plus years.
Eddie
Tigner
of Atlanta, GA toured with the Ink Spots for 35 years and is still performing
today at 86 years old.
JW
Warren
of Enterprise, AL dated Big Momma Thornton in his youth and was a country blues
giant.
Carl
Hodges
of Saluda, VA dug wells by hand for a living and played the blues every Friday
and Saturday night.
Cora
Fluker
of Marion, MS was a preacher and an itinerant musician.
Mr. Q of
Winston-Salem, NC moved to Harlem in the early 1930s; he made his living in
piano bars and was an original “hep cat”.
Pura Fé is a
Tuscarora Indian who has dedicated her life to bringing light to issues facing
indigenous peoples.
Benton
Flippen of Mt. Airy, NC lived to the age of 91, performing at
square dances up to a few weeks before his passing.
Elder
James & Mother Pauline Goins of Ridgeway, SC performed a very
early style of gospel music.
Adolphus
Bell
of Birmingham, AL proclaimed himself the “World’s Greatest
One Man Band.”
Elder
Anderson Johnson first recorded this song in the 1950s. He was a well-known
folk artist and preacher.
Whistlin’ Britches had an
amazing spirit and exuded utter joy every waking moment.
Taj
Mahal will tell you, "Cool John Ferguson is among the five
greatest guitarists he has ever heard.”
Dr. Burt studied
nonviolence with Coretta Scott King and marched for equal rights on the streets
of his hometown, Birmingham, AL and Detroit, MI.
George
Higgs
of Speed, NC was a remarkable singer and harp blower.
Samuel
Turner Stevens was a musician who sang old folk songs and played fiddle,
guitar, mandolin and piano. He made beautiful fretless banjos, fiddles,
guitars, and mandolins.
Beverly “Guitar” Watkins started
playing guitar behind her uncle, Piano Red, when she was a senior in high school.
At age 74, she continues to blow away crowds with her screaming guitar and
stage acrobatics.
Ironing
Board Sam is the Ninth of Wonder of the World of Music. In the 1970’s he performed from a hot
air balloon 100 feet above Jackson Square in New Orleans.
James
Davis
was a sawmill worker and played “DRUMBEAT” every Saturday night since
a child.
Boo
Hanks
learned guitar from his father. He worked as a tobacco farmer for most of his
life, and made his first recording at the age of 79.
Jerry “Boogie” McCain earned
his nickname “Boogie” from
playing on street corners in his hometown of Gadsden, AL.
Taj
Mahal
is a Grammy Award-winning blues musician. He is a long time supporter of Music Maker’s mission and has
befriended and played with many Music Maker artists.
W.C.
Minger IV worked as a fruit tramp and migrant worker. He played
guitar, wrote songs and sang at hobo camps throughout the Great Northwest.
Clyde
Langford, from Centerville, TX, learned to play guitar from Joel “Thunder” Hopkins,
Lightnin’ Hopkins’ older
brother, when he was 13 years old. He remained close with the two brothers, to
whom Clyde is related.
The Carolina
Chocolate Drops revitalized and reintroduced the black string-band
tradition to a new generation of American youth.
Leyla
McCalla, who lives in New Orleans, is a cellist, singer and
songwriter born to Haitian emigrant parents.
Cary
Morin
brings together the great musical traditions of America and beyond.
Disc 1
1/ Captain Luke/ Freight Train Boogie
2/ Guitar Gabriel/ A Living Past
3/ Etta Baker/ Railroad Bill
4/ John Lee Zeigler/ Going Away
5/ Cootie Stark/ High Yellow
6/ John Dee Holeman/ Chapel Hill Boogie
7/ Neal Pattman/ Shortnin’
Bread
8/ Carl Rutherford/ Old Rugged Cross
9/ Cool John Ferguson/ No Hidin’
Place
10/ Essie Mae Brooks/ Feel Like My Time Ain’t
Long
11/ Mother Pauline and Elder James Goins/ Old Time
Religion
12/ Elder Anderson Johnson/ My Lord and I
13/ Mr Q/ Cocktail Boogie
14/ Albert Smith/ Big Belly Mamma
15/ Precious Bryant/ If You Don’t
Love Me, Would You Fool Me Good
16/ Big Boy Henry/ Old Bill
17/ Drink Small/ President Clinton Blues
18/ JW Warren/ Looking For My Woman
19/ Dr. Burt/ What Can An Old Man Do (But Sing the
Blues)
20/ George Higgs/ Greasy Greens
21/ Whistlin’ Britches/ Clickin’
22/ Captain Luke and Cool John Ferguson/Tim
Duffy Is A Good Ol’ Guy
Disc 2
1/ Samuel Turner Stevens/ Railroadin’
& Gamblin’
2/ Pura Fé/ Pigeon Dance
3/ Clyde Langford/ High Steppin’
Mamma
4/ James Davis/ Fred, You Ought To Be Dead
5/ Beverly “Guitar”
Watkins/ Back In Business
6/ Carolina Chocolate Drops/ Sourwood Mountain
7/ Guitar Gabriel/ Let No Woman
8/ Macavine Hayes/ Snatch That Thing
9/ Algia Mae Hinton/ Cook Corn Bread For You Husband,
Biscuits For Your Outside Man
10/ Willa Mae Buckner/ Peter Rumpkin
11/ Adolphus Bell/ Child Support Blues
12/ Ironing Board Sam/ Nothing But Your Butt
13) Benton Flippen/ Benton’s Dream
14/ Eddie Tigner/ Route 66
15/ Jerry “Boogie”
McCain/ My New Next Door Neighbor
16/ Carl Hodges/ Flossie
17/ W.C. Minger IV/ Home On The Range
18/ Boo Hanks and Dom Flemons/ Keep On Truckin’
19/ Captain Luke and Cool John Ferguson/ Old Black
Buck
20/ Leyla McCalla/ Manman Mwen
21/ Cora Fluker/ Amazing Grace
22/ Cary Morin/ Sing It Louder
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