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  • Today, we proudly present something a little different on American Songcatcher. Instead of the usual documentary podcast-style piece, this is a compilation of field recordings I did in Buncombe and Madison Counties just outside of Asheville, NC. Considered the mecca of the long held traditions in ballad singing and old-time mountain music, this area is also home to the “Minstrel of the Appalachians”, one of the most important yet lesser-known figures in folk and old time music, Bascom Lamar Lunsford - who was born on this day 142 years ago.

    Over the last year, I was fortunate enough to visit North Carolina several times, to visit with Bascom’s old home and talk with head of the non-profit that now owns it, perform at the annual Lunsford Festival at Mars Hill University, and witness the return of filmmaker David Hoffman, who first filmed Bascom in the 1964, and was coming back to visit the area for the first time in the nearly 60 years since. This is a window into a living tradition.

    GoFundMe for Bascom's Home Restoration (for the Pondering Bascom non-profit)

    Documentaries mentioned:

    Music Makers of the Blue Ridge - David Hoffman (1965)

    Madison County, North Carolina - Where Music History is Alive (2023)⁠

    Special thanks to:

    Rare Bird Farm

    Golden Shoals

    Madison County

    Mars Hill University

    Tim Duggan

    David Hoffman

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    Credits:

    Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, editing, recording and distribution

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  • Today on the program, we present the story of the father of North Mississippi Hill Country Blues, Mississippi Fred McDowell. From humble beginnings, Fred was inspired from the likes of Charley Patton, his neighbor Eli “Booster” Green and the sounds he gathered from guitarists in Memphis, Mississippi and the Delta, and defined the often overlooked nuances of the blues. Like many of the great Southern pre-war blues guitarists born around the turn of the century, Fred was “discovered” by Alan Lomax in 1959, and continues to inspire slide guitarists to this day, despite not being a household name in the blues realm.

    Watch the full documentary “Shake Em On Down”

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    Credits: Ryan Eastridge - Research, Writing

    Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, editing, recording and distribution

    References:


    Shirley Collins Book | Alan Lomax Book | Laurence Cohn Book | UdiscoveredMusic |Allmusic| MS Blues Trail | KUNC | Mt. Zion Memorial Fund | John Szwed Book | Musicians Guide | Commercial Appeal | “Shake Em On Down”

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  • Today on our program, we present the story of one of the most iconic American Folk songs, born from the lineage of 16th century ballads brought by immigrants from the British Isles, “Shady Grove”. Often used in both dance and courtship, the timeless melody was the backbone for countless ballads and folk songs that made their way into North America and took root in the Appalachian and Ozark Mountain ranges. To date, “Shady Grove” has been estimated to have amassed over 300 stanzas since it was first sung in the Cumberland Plateau region of Eastern Kentucky in the mid-nineteenth century. Story by Ryan Eastridge.

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    Credits:

    Ryan Eastridge - Research, Writing

    Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, editing, recording and distribution

    References:

    Discography of American Historical Recordings | LOC | “Songs and Rhymes from the South.” Journal of American Folklore | Tunearch.org |Wayfaring Strangers: The Musical Voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia | Ship History | English Broadside Ballad Archive

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  • Happy release day! Today on our program, we’re delighted to release the first episode of Season 3, diving into the life of renowned songwriter, riverboat pilot, folklorist, song collector, music historian, accomplished fiddler and banjoist, clog & shuffle dancer, storyteller and consummate entertainer, John Hartford. One of the most brilliant yet lesser-known musicians of the last century, John was the key figure in redefining Bluegrass and American roots music for future generations, the unofficial father of “newgrass”, who had a life that was anything but ordinary.

    Support Educational Programming:

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    Credits: Ryan Eastridge - Research, Writing

    Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, editing, recording and distribution

    References:

    Rolling Stone | Art Menius | Fretboard Journal | JohnCowan.com | Mike Bub Interview | AllMusic.com | No Depression | The Bluegrass Situation | Official Website



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  • Today, we proudly present the sixth installment of the LOCAL FOCAL series, where we’re collaborating with artists around the country to share unique and lesser-known musical history. Our narrator today is Joe Makoviecki (mackavecky) who brings to the surface a near century-old lineage, the story of New Jersey's own first family of folk music, The Ridgeways, who settled in a territory deep in South Jersey known as The Pine Barrens, and whose music faded into obscurity for several decades until recently.

    Jackson Pines

    Merce Ridgeway - Library of Congress

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    Credits:

    Nicholas Edward Williams - Editing, Recording and Distribution

    Joe Makoviecki - Narration, Research

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  • Today, we proudly present the fifth installment of the LOCAL FOCAL series, where we’re collaborating with artists around the country to share unique and lesser-known musical history. Our narrator today is Dustin Dale Gaspard, a 9th generation cajun who comes from the deep, deep South, the Acadian region of Louisiana. Dustin shares the very unique history of the genre Swamp Pop, with detailed context of the cajun heritage it was born out of. Let’s head to the swamp.

    Dustin Dale Gaspard

    Swamp Pop Playlist

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    Credits:

    Nicholas Edward Williams - Editing, Recording and Distribution

    Dustin Dale Gaspard - Narration, Research

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  • Today, we proudly present the fourth installment of the LOCAL FOCAL series, where we’re collaborating with artists around the country to share unique and lesser-known musical history. Our storyteller is cowboy & poet Andy Hedges, who hails from Lubbock, TX and is doing his part to keep the old cowboy song traditions alive. Andy takes us back to the late 1800’s, in the vast Western plains to the first collector of cowboy songs, a roving Easterner by the name of Jack Thorp, who printed the first book of Folk Songs, titled Songs of the Cowboys in 1908, forever changing the scope and trajectory of western and cowboy music.

    In March 1889, Jack Thorp, a born-to-privilege Easterner who had grown into a leather-tough, saddle-wise trail hand, decided to track down the words to songs about cowboy life from cowboys singing in cow camps, at chuck wagons and line camps, in saloons—anywhere he could find them, mostly in New Mexico and Texas. His course proved crucial to the evolution of cowboy culture and the publication of his Songs of the Cowboys, the first collection of folk songs in America in 1908.

    Andy Hedges Website

    Andy’s Podcast “Cowboy Crossroads”

    Roll On, Cowboys

    Jack Thorpe

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    Credits:

    Nicholas Edward Williams - Editing, Recording and Distribution

    Andy Hedges - Narration

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  • For our third installment of the LOCAL FOCAL series, we present the following audio-rich piece - described as "sound painting" - brought to you by Muddy Boots Radio, a podcast that I only recently came into contact with by way of its creator, Tenali Hrenak. This particular episode honored a legend of radio from Grass Valley, CA - Mikail Graham. A composer, performer, producer, music promoter, advocate, consultant and beta tester for numerous pro-audio and MIDI companies. He was with the community radio station KVMR since its inception in the 1970s. For decades, he produced a radio show called The Other Side, and for many years he put on a yearly event called Night of Giving, which helped raise money for the Hospitality House, a shelter for the un-housed. He also produced the album Loafer's Glory for folk legend Utah Phillips. To say that he was influential to that region of California is an understatement.

    As Tenali put it:

    "With Mikail’s passing on July 12th, 2022, several of us regular contributors to The Other Side were tasked with producing a series of final shows, a send-off episode, to our dear friend. Mikail and I both loved the 1960s anthology series The Twilight Zone. So with that in mind, I whipped up an episode - aptly titled See U On The Other Side - that cut-up some dialogue from the episode Kick the Can, which I felt captured Mikail’s carpe diem and playful spirit. And, of course, I decorated the playlist with an assortment of Tweeners and songs that I’m sure he’d love and that hopefully honor the legacy he leaves behind."

    Enjoy this experience of sound, titled “See U On The Other Side (Side A)” from the Muddy Boots Radio podcast.

    Muddy Boots Website

    Gathering Sounds - Tenali's New Book

    Mikail Graham - The Other Side

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    Credits:

    Nicholas Edward Williams - Editing, Recording and Distribution

    Tenali Hrenak - Production

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  • In honor of the 35th annual MerleFest coming up this week, American Songcatcher presents a very special LOCAL FOCAL - a relatively unknown live recording from May of 1989 of North Carolina’s own Doc Watson, telling stories and singing songs passed through his family - only this show he was asked to perform without his guitar, until the very end.

    This concert was part of a historical series called Over Home, which aired on the well-known WNCW radio in Spindale, NC between 1988 and 1990. The show featured Western North Carolina traditional musicians and storytellers, and variety of musical styles, such as ballad singing, old-time fiddle tunes, Cherokee oral traditions and dances, and Irish jigs and reels, ghost stories, fox hunting tales, Civil War stories, and moonshine tales.

    This is unlike any of the episodes we’ve put out on American Songcatcher. There are no overdubs, no editing, just the seamless experience of Doc Watson, live, without his guitar.

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    Over Home Archive - Berea College

    WNCW

    Southern Songs and Stories Podcast

    Over Home Credits:

    Hosted by Sheila Kay Adams and Taylor Barnhill

    Recorded by Sheila Kay Adams

    Engineered by WNCW and Burr Beard - Manager


    American Songcatcher Credits:Hosted and produced by Nicholas Edward Williams

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  • Today, we proudly present the first installment of the LOCAL FOCAL series, where we’re collaborating with artists to share musical stories from different locations throughout America - in celebration of the parts that make up the whole fabric of American music history.

    First up, we’re bringing you the works of Derek Piotr, a folklorist and musician who’s been deep in research about a particular family of tradition-bearers from Avery County, North Carolina that have a lineage to Frank Proffitt, a key figure in Appalachian old time preservation. I was taken with Derek's story not only because by comparison, he's rather young in the immersive world of musicology, but also because of his unique interest in what's called Auto-Ethnography, which goes beyond detailed field notes and recordings, by linking the fieldwork to your own emotional life.

    A few years ago, Derek curated a compilation concerning this family, Last Wisps of the Old Ways, which intertwined field recordings he made with archival recordings of the family’s lineage from The Library of Congress. Before that, he was merely preserving the legacy of his grandmother with a flip phone. His winding path to field recordings and eventually creating the Fieldwork Archive is a humbling journey.

    Last Wisps of the Old Ways

    Fieldwork Archive

    Official


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    Credits:

    Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, Editing, Recording and Distribution

    Derek Piotr - Writing, Recording, Research

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  • ANNOUNCEMENTS!

    1. Season 3 NEEDS your financial support! Can you commit to $1 a month via Patreon? - OR - Send a one-time donation through Venmo or PayPal

    2. We're changing the format next season to SINGLE STORIES released every few weeks, so we can give each story full attention, and put out content more frequently.

    3. CALLING ALL WRITERS! Do you love human stories? Love music history? Do you have any writing experience? If you'd like to be a volunteer writer on American Songcatcher, email us at [email protected]

    4. The first installment of our off-season series, LOCAL FOCAL will air MARCH 26! These special episodes pay homage to the parts that make up the whole fabric of American music history, featuring different presenters from around the world sharing a hyper-localized story. 

    5. Season 3 release date coming soon. 

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    Credits:
    Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, Editing, Recording and Distribution

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  • This is our season finale, part two of a special audio-documentary series on Folkways Records founder Moses Asch, in collaboration with Smithsonian Folkways. Part one walked us through Moe’s childhood, teenage years, early career, the first two labels he created, bankruptcy, as well as the early years of Folkways Records. In part two, we traverse 40 years of iconic recordings with pioneering and lesser known artists, business hardships, milestones, the fledgling years of Folkways, and Moe’s death. We’ll also examine the acquisition of the massive Folkways catalog by Smithsonian, illustrate how Moe’s legacy has intertwined with the identity of American music, and highlight some of the incredible work that Smithsonian has done to preserve and expand on what Moe accomplished.

    Support Independent Programming | Join the Patreon OR send a one-time donation through Venmo or PayPal

    Collaboration Credits:

    Smithsonian Folkways

    Full Moses Asch interview with Arhoolie Records’ founder Chris Strachwitz

    Interviewees:

    Richard Carlin - Worlds of Sound: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways

    Michael Asch

    Jeff Place (Smithsonian Folkways)

    John Smith (Smithsonian Folkways)

    Dom Flemons

    Charlie Parr

    Follow American Songcatcher

    Media Credits:

    Making people's music : Moe Asch and Folkways records - Peter D Goldsmith

    Smithsonian | SF2 | NY Times | Redalyc | Arhoolie | Jstor.com | NPR | Routledge

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  • Today, American Songcatcher is proud to present a special two-part collaboration with Smithsonian Folkways, going behind the curtain of Folkways Records founder Moses Asch, who was born 117 years ago on this date. This is the story of a ceaselessly stubborn Jewish immigrant with unstoppable ambition. A pioneer who had a great respect for creative artists, whether they were commercially viable or not. A provider whose work was selfless, though he was often quite difficult to work with. A visionary that would turn the record industry on its head without producing any major hits, which was just the way he wanted it. Folkways Records, “The little label that could,” changed the course of American roots music by preserving folk songs from all over the world and having a major hand influencing the folk and blues revival of the 50’s and 60’s. Moe's mission was to create an encyclopedia of sound from around the world, quite literally. Folkways released records of frog noises, poetry, train whistles, cat noises and many others in addition to covering nearly every genre of world music, spanning over 2,100 records. Learn how his collection was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution and how his legacy lives on today.


    Support Independent Programming | Join the Patreon OR send a one-time donation through Venmo or PayPal

    In Collaboration with:

    Smithsonian Folkways

    Full Moses Asch interview with Arhoolie Records’ founder Chris Strachwitz

    Interviewees:

    Richard Carlin | Worlds of Sound: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways 

    Michael Asch

    American Songcatcher

    Source Credits:

    Smithsonian | Redalyc | Jstor.com | NPR | Routledge | AllPurposeGuru | Haaretz | Folkworks

    Worlds of Sound: Ballad of Folkways | Documentary

    Making People's Music | Book

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  • “The boy with the hundred year old voice” Dr. Ralph Stanley grew up in the hills of Southwest Virginia during the Great Depression. He and his brother Carter were heavily inspired by The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers and Bill Monroe, who The Stanley Brothers would feud with decades later. Radio was king, and The Stanley Brothers became a household name throughout Appalachia by merciless appearances. Hear the story of how this farmhand persisted through waves of personal and career hardships, always staying true and believing in the old-time country music he played until becoming the international patriarch of traditional mountain music.

    Support THIS Independent Program:

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    Credits:
    Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, Editing, Recording and Distribution

    Ryan Eastridge - Writing

    Source Credits:

    Musical Holdouts

    CMT.com

    The Stanley Brothers’ Story 1969

    Man of Constant Sorrow: My Life and Times

    Appalshop 

    Clinch Mountain Echo

    Ralph Stanley Museum

    Arts.Gov

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  • Featured in this Episode:

    Traditional - Whiskey in the Jar

    Billie Holiday

    Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee

    Charlie Parr

    Support American Songcatcher:

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    Teaser:

    Arguably the most popular Irish drinking song has a more unique origin than being sung at the pub, celebrating the spirit of Whiskey. She’s one of the greatest jazz vocalists of all time, yet her personal life was ripe with adversity from family, abusive relationships, and a war with the United States Government over a song. They blurred the lines for white and black audiences alike through the 60’s revival as a duo, yet both men’s legacies stand on their own footing. A man redefining the definitions of independent success, overcoming each obstacle thrown at him while reviving fingerpicking styles of Piedmont and Delta blues.

    Follow American Songcatcher

    Credits:

    Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, writing, editing, recording

    Jack Browning - Writing

    Source Credits:

    Whiskey in the Jar | Irish Central | Accordeon World | Keston Primary | AV Club

    Billie Holiday | Ronnie Deschepper | Downbeat | Woman Around Town | Flood Mag | Legacy | Learning English | ASU | EOnline | PBS

    Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee | All About Blues | Early Blues | Keeping the Blues Alive | Arts.Gov | Blues & Country | Black History Now

    Charlie Parr | Country Blues | Official | Minnesota Monthly | Erica Rivera | First Avenue | Kennedy Center | Issue Magazine

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  • Today I’m sharing a conversation I had with American roots singer and guitarist Seth Walker, who has spent the last 20 years putting out incredibly diverse records, inspired by early blues to jazz, folk, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, early country and anything else he’s been able to gobble up.

    Recently mentored by the likes of Oliver Wood and the Wood Brothers, Seth just released his 11th studio record, titled I Hope I Know, a tasty, seasoned array of roots songs that navigate a host of emotions and comforts, a record I highly suggest listening to, courtesy of Royal Potato Family Records.

    We talked about his unique childhood, raised among a community of Quakers, the constant evolution of self and artistry, his love for writing not just music but a recent book titled Your Van is on Fire, his newest record and the deep changes that surfaced before, during and after, and as usual, we geeked out on some music history. Enjoy!

    More on Seth Walker:

    Listen

    Book

    Socials : Instagram | Facebook

    Watch

    ______

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  • Featured in this Episode:

    Johnny Cash

    Teaser:

    The finale of this three part series on "The Man in Black" starts in the 70’s, when Johnny’s turnaround gets traction through learning to be a father, his activism and overtly religious period, several relapses of his addiction, the fall from Columbia Records, and his rise with Rick Rubin before passing away, as well as his legacy.

    "Shine A Light" | Johnny Cash: The Life

    Follow American Songcatcher 

    Support Independent Programming!

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    Credits:
    Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, writing, editing, recording and distribution

    Source Credits:

    Johnny Cash: The Life | The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash | Official | Grunge | Biography | Live About | Achievement.org | Cheat Sheet | Britannica | Slate | Far Out Magazine | LA Times | Daily Mail UK | The Jamboree That Never Was | Outsider | Rolling Stone | The Boot | Taste of Country

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  • Featured in this Episode:

    Johnny Cash

    Teaser:

    The story of the enigmatic “Man in Black” is a vast ocean that is impossible to cover every detail. But this three part series will attempt to further explain what listeners know about Johnny Cash, debunk a few myths, and uncover fascinating moments in his life that are lesser known. In essence, we’ll be looking further behind the curtain of the legend known as JR Cash, more than exceptional movies such as “Walk the Line” have portrayed.  

    Part 2 presents Johnny’s rise with Sun Records, the tumultuous years of his personal life and addiction, his turnaround, and when he first cleans up his act as a star.

    Collaboration | Basic Folk Podcast 

    "Shine A Light" | Johnny Cash: The Life

    Follow American Songcatcher

    Support Independent Programming!

    Join the Patreon Send a one-time donation through Venmo or PayPal

    Credits:
    Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, writing, editing, recording and distribution

    Source Credits:

    Johnny Cash: Johnny Cash: The Life | The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash | Official | Washington Post |  Live About | Britannica | Town and Country | History.com | KHQA | Biography | VC Star | El Paso Times | Classic Country | Culture Trip

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  • Featured in this Episode:

    Johnny Cash

    Teaser:

    The story of the enigmatic “Man in Black” is a vast ocean that is impossible to cover and give every detail. But this three part series will attempt to further explain what listeners may think they know about Johnny Cash, broaden the understanding of his personal life, and uncover fascinating moments in his career that are lesser known, misunderstood, or flat out wild. In essence, we’ll be looking WAY behind the curtain of the legend known as JR Cash, far more than even exceptional movies such as “Walk the Line” have portrayed.  

    In Part 1, we'll navigate Johnny’s childhood, teenage years, and his initial rise with Sun Records.

    Support Independent Programming

    Join the Patreon Send a one-time donation through Venmo or PayPal

    Collaboration | Basic Folk Podcast 

    "Shine A Light" | Johnny Cash: The Life

    Follow American Songcatcher 

    Credits:
    Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, writing, editing, recording and distribution

    Source Credits:

    Johnny Cash: Johnny Cash: The Life | The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash | Official | Grunge | Biography | Live About | Achievement.org | Cheat Sheet | Britannica | Action 5 News

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  • Celebrating Black History Month! 

    Featured in this Episode:

    Traditional - “Stagger Lee” (:42)

    Memphis Minnie (15:45)

    Lightnin’ Hopkins (29:21)

    Taj Mahal (48:55)

    Teaser:

    This notorious murder story has been covered in more genres, by more artists and across more multi-media platforms than any other in history, while somehow remaining relatively obscure. She’s known as the queen of the country blues, and queen of the Chicago blues, though she got her start while homeless and playing on the streets full time in Memphis. One of the last links that remained of the original country blues past the folk and blues revival, this Texas bluesman’s personal life was shrouded in mystery during both pinnacles in his near 60-year career. Born of Caribbean descent, he would go on to be a liaison between cultures and sounds from all over the world, wrapping it all into a tight package that makes the blues feel like an altogether human experience.

    Collaboration | Basic Folk Podcast 

    "Shine A Light" | Blues Foundation

    Follow American Songcatcher | Instagram

    Support Independent Programming | Join the Patreon or send a one-time donation through Venmo or PayPal

    Credits:

    Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, writing, editing, recording and distribution

    Jack Browning - Writer

    Ryan Eastridge - Writer

    Source Credits:

    Stagger Lee: Missouri Life | StaggerLee.com | American Blues Scene | StLouis-mo.gov

    Memphis Minnie: Black Past | Musicians Guide | 64 Parishes

    Lightnin’ Hopkins: Black Past | | Texas Monthly | Udiscovermusic | THSA.org

    Taj Mahal: Berklee Interview | Harlem World Magazine | Hawaii Public Radio | New York Times

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