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Thread: Blues, Stomps, & Rags #20

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    Registered User Ranald's Avatar
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    Default Blues, Stomps, & Rags #20

    it's time to get back to important mandolin players of an earlier era, Vol Stevens (circa 1890 -?) being an important example. According to Dr. Richard Cherry, Weldon was a string-band musician born in Fayette County before joining the influential Memphis Jug Band, which made the first commercial recordings in Memphis. He "was equally proficient on half a dozen instruments" but was known primarily as a mandolin player (liner notes for CD, Rags, Breakdowns, Stomps, and Blues). However, eleven states in the US have Fayette Counties, Tennessee not being one. Stevens often played with Casey Bill Weldon, "The Hawiian Guitar Wizard," who as "Will Weldon" sometimes recorded as a mandolin player. Stevens played as well as with the Noah Lewis Jug Band. According to DelGrosso, "he recorded with both banjolins and steel-bodied reso-phonic mandolins" so that his sound could be heard clearly above other instruments (Mandolin Blues, p.30). Del Grosso teaches Vol Stevens' Blues in his book with CD, Mandolin Blues.

    Here, Stevens plays the lively and enjoyable Vol Stevens Blues on banjo-mandolin, recorded under his own name -- in fact, his name appears three times on the record. Note how he is able to keep up the fancy finger work while singing. Terry Zwigoff points out the similarity of this tune to to I Can Deal Worry by King David's Jug Band (liner notes for CD, Mandolin Classics; for King David, see "Blues, Stomps, & Rags #12"). If the links don't work, search YouTube for "Vol Stevens - Vol Stevens Blues".

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mwR4T8Wf_E



    In 1930, Stevens recorded with the Memphis Jug Band under the alternate name, the Carolina Peanut Boys. Cherry (liner notes, as above) compares "the extended instrumental last third" of this song to Gladiolus Rag by Scott Joplin. If the links don't work, search YouTube for "You May Leave But This Will Bring you Back, Carolina Peanut Boys."

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sND13xcZfp0



    For anyone interested in the comparisons, here are,

    I Can Deal Worry by King David's Jug Band (with more fine mandolin playing by "Dude"):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohIjh4UyGCI"

    and Gladiolus Rag by Scott Joplin:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQPSRsbV7Yc
    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.

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    Registered User Ranald's Avatar
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    Default Re: Blues, Stomps, & Rags #20

    Correction: The "Edit" button isn't appearing. The CD in paragraph 2 above is Early Mandolin Classics, Volume 1 (I don't think there was a Volume 2) and not Mandolin Classics. By the way, it's a good collection, put together by Terry Zwigoff.
    Last edited by Ranald; Sep-16-2018 at 3:33pm. Reason: typo
    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.

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    Registered User Ranald's Avatar
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    Default Re: Blues, Stomps, & Rags #20

    Quote Originally Posted by Ranald View Post
    According to Dr. Richard Cherry, Weldon was a string-band musician born in Fayette County before joining the influential Memphis Jug Band, which made the first commercial recordings in Memphis.
    I just came across a typo in the OP. This sentence should read: "According to Dr. Richard Cherry, Stevens was a string-band musician born in Fayette County before joining the influential Memphis Jug Band, which made the first commercial recordings in Memphis." Funny, I never nooticed that -- nor apparently did anyone else.
    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.

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