I'm in the middle of reading In Search of the Blues, a great book by an old friend of mine from high school. It's about the song collectors of the 1920s and 30s and their journeys trying to run down the undiluted, unadulterated, pure sound of the real blues. Blues as bona fide folk music passed down organically through live intimate performances, without the influence of recorded music or other modern influences. It's a great book. You should buy it. The friend that wrote it used to let me sleep at her apartment in Brooklyn when she was out of town. Yeah, buy two copies.
If you know anything about these song collectors, you know that John Lomax was one of the first to attempt recordings for listening rather than just to transcribe lyrics. (Most of the song collectors before him used wax cylinders for recording which are only good for a couple dozen plays.) Lomax "discovered" Leadbelly and brought him north to New York City, where his fear that Leadbelly would would be influenced by modern music and habits would be borne out. When I heard the difference between Leadbelly's "The Gallis Pole" and Led Zeppelin's "Gallows Pole" I could only think of two things. One was that Lomax was probably rolling in his grave. The other was that Blues Hammer, the fictitious band in the film Ghost World was one of the best examples of music related dark humor ever committed to celluloid.
If you know anything about these song collectors, you know that John Lomax was one of the first to attempt recordings for listening rather than just to transcribe lyrics. (Most of the song collectors before him used wax cylinders for recording which are only good for a couple dozen plays.) Lomax "discovered" Leadbelly and brought him north to New York City, where his fear that Leadbelly would would be influenced by modern music and habits would be borne out. When I heard the difference between Leadbelly's "The Gallis Pole" and Led Zeppelin's "Gallows Pole" I could only think of two things. One was that Lomax was probably rolling in his grave. The other was that Blues Hammer, the fictitious band in the film Ghost World was one of the best examples of music related dark humor ever committed to celluloid.
~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:Leadbelly - Gallis Pole mp3 at Self Starter Foundation
Led Zeppelin - Gallows Pole mp3 at Tumblr
Watch:
Blues Hammer - Clip from Ghost World at YouTube
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