Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Blue. Stomps, & Rags 25

  1. #1
    Registered User Ranald's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Ottawa, Canada
    Posts
    1,715

    Default Blue. Stomps, & Rags 25

    Phebel Wright (no birth and death dates, but he recorded in the 1940's and was still around in the 70's) was a mandolin player from Elkhorn City, Kentucky. His first instrument was a mandolin that he bought from a friend for twenty-five cents. Wright accompanied his father, an old-time banjo player, at square dances and local gatherings. He later took up guitar, and played both instruments throughout his life. He was an early bluegrass musician who played on Radio WISI in Kentucky, and made records with various sidemen for different labels in the 1950's.

    Like others, I have commented on the Forum that distinctions between "black" and "white" music were somewhat artificial, and mainly due to the fact that earlier in the 20th century, American record companies, located mainly in the north, chose to market "hillbilly music" and "blues" along colour lines, often refusing to record particular tunes that didn't fit these artificial divisions. A good example of music crossing the colour line, Wright's "Lint Head Stomp" fits well with the rags and stomps of southern African-American sting bands.

    Here's Phebel Wright playing his exciting "Lint Head Stomp" in 1946. He called the tune, "Wright's Stomp", but a record company renamed it, apparently referring to conditions in the cotton mills. If the links don't work, search YouTube for "Lint Head Stomp - Phebel Wright".

    (The information about Phebel Wright comes from both Dr. Richard Cherry's notes to Rags, Breakdowns, Stomps & Blues and Eugene Chadbourne's short online bio of Wright at AllMusic.)


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ulbb4S3ANM

    Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
    "I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
    Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.

  2. The following members say thank you to Ranald for this post:


  3. #2
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Ashland, OR
    Posts
    141

    Default Re: Blue. Stomps, & Rags 25

    Wonder if Mr. Monroe heard this before he wrote “Bluegrass Stomp”? or vice versa. Recorded around the same time...

  4. #3
    Registered User Ranald's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Ottawa, Canada
    Posts
    1,715

    Default Re: Blue. Stomps, & Rags 25

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Findley View Post
    Wonder if Mr. Monroe heard this before he wrote “Bluegrass Stomp”? or vice versa. Recorded around the same time...
    I suspect that, at very least, Wright and Monroe were both listening to the same music. I'd note though, from the first note "Bluegrass Stomp" sounds bluegrass, whereas I'm not sure that I would have noted the bluegrass influence in "Lint Head Stomp" if I hadn't read that Phebel Wright was a bluegrass musician. Monroe, of course, was influenced and introduced to blues by the African-American fiddler and guitar player, Arnold Schultz.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Shultz
    Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
    "I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
    Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.

  5. #4
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Ashland, OR
    Posts
    141

    Default Re: Blue. Stomps, & Rags 25

    Yes, it’s after the beginning bit that the similarities start to happen. Or don’t you find similarities? Wish we had the history; cross-fertilization is so interesting.

  6. #5
    Registered User Ranald's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Ottawa, Canada
    Posts
    1,715

    Default Re: Blue. Stomps, & Rags 25

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Findley View Post
    Yes, it’s after the beginning bit that the similarities start to happen. Or don’t you find similarities? Wish we had the history; cross-fertilization is so interesting.
    You're right, Bill. When I listen to the two pieces back to back, they do sound like interpretations of the same tune. Wonder who was first? Or did both musicians get the tune from a third party? Many tunes are credited to and copyrighted by different "composers." Someone had to make up a tune originally, but others may either have forgotten that they didn't compose the tune or are trying to get extra royalties for being the writer. Some are just rip-off artists, getting money at another person's expense.
    Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
    "I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
    Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.

  7. #6
    Registered User Freddyfingers's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    470

    Default Re: Blue. Stomps, & Rags 25

    That was great! I don’t think I could get that tremolo down like he has. It starts and stops on a dime. Mine takes a few swings to get up to speed, then I can’t stop. He just controls it from beginning to end of the run.
    Its not a backwards guitar.

  8. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Freddyfingers For This Useful Post:


  9. #7
    wannabe mandolin wizzard bluesmandolinman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Berlin, Germany
    Posts
    712

    Default Re: Blue. Stomps, & Rags 25

    this is an older video of mine doing the Lint Head Stomp
    learned it from the Steve Parker Ragtime Book

    Lint Head Stomp
    Carl Martin - Everyday I have the Blues

    My gear : 1927 A0/Ajr , JM-11 , Fender 346 white XH

  10. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to bluesmandolinman For This Useful Post:


Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •