Last night I dropped by the annual fife and drum picnic at Otha Turner’s home in Senatobia for some goat BBQ and blues. Otha passed away in 2003 at age 93, but the tradition is in good hands, as his granddaughter Sharde Thomas now leads the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band. I arrived during one of the group’s several performances of the evening during which they travel through the crowd of revelers.

There’s no schedule for the event, but there’s never a shortage of musicians to perform (getting them up on stage can be another issue!). In the recent past guests have included T-Model Ford and Bobby Rush, and on Friday night the band of Duwayne Burnside performed. Last night guests included Luther and Cody Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars, who grew up in nearby Coldwater, and R.L. Boyce, who played drums for Otha Turner for many years. Recently R.L. has been singing and playing guitar more, and recently recorded an album that should be released on Dave Katznelson’s Birdman label next year. Birdman released the two albums that Othar Turner recorded as a leader, Everybody Hollerin’ Goat and Senegal to Senatobia.

R.L. Boyce, by Scott Barretta

One of the highlights of last night was a jam with Luther, Cody, R.L., Rising Star drummers Rodney and Bill Thomas, harmonica player/vocalist Dan Coburn from Cody’s group Hill Country Revue, and vocalist Maryann Moss. A native of Senatobia, Moss now lives in Memphis, but comes back every year for the picnic. She led the band in a spirited version of My Babe, a favorite of Otha’s, that sampled songs including Big Boss Man, Wang Dang Doodle, Hi Heel Sneakers, and, appropriately, Charles Wilson’s recent chitlin circuit hit Mississippi Woman.

From left: Rodney Thomas, Maryann Moss, Luther Dickinson, R.L. Boyce, Cody Dickinson

Here’s a video from circa the late ’90s, when Otha was still presiding over the picnic and Sharde was probably eight or nine. She recently began her first year of college, and is still as enthusiastic as ever about keeping the tradition going.

Here’s the text of an interview I did with Sharde last year for a special North Mississippi Hill Country Blues issue of Living Blues:

“I seen my grandfather doing it [playing the fife] and it was something that I wanted to do, so I just picked it up one day and started practicing on it and got better and better.

“He liked it, he enjoyed it. He was kind of excited, because of all his grandkids I was like the only one, and the littlest one, trying to play a fife. He would push me out there in the crowd and let me do what I had to do.

“He would show me things about the fife and tell how he started. He was young when he started too. I don’t know how old he was. They did things totally different from what we do now. He said they was good kids, They didn’t do nothing wrong, or they’d get a whooping.

“He wouldn’t tell me [when I played correctly] he would just make a smile and I knew then I was doing something right. And sometimes I’d be wanting to do my moves too soon and he’d be like, “No, I didn’t tell you to do that.”

“Right now I’m just trying to have my own creative style of it. I don’t play that many of his songs, because I can’t play them like him.So I just have to do my own. I’m working on it, but I’ve got to get back to practicing.

“I like the fact that I’m the only one doing it, but I feel like someone else needs to kind pick it up, because what if I just stop playing the fife? Then there’ll be no one else to pick it up. So, maybe one day someone will learn how to play fife. Hopefully.

“A lot of people don’t know about [the tradition], but when they see me playing at a young age it makes them think and realize, ‘Well, I want to do that. I want to learn more about it.‘ It’s kind of shocking for them to see a 17 year old girl playing music like this, but once they hear it and realize where it came from they enjoy it.”

For more wonderful photos of Otha, Sharde and other North Mississippi artists, visit this site of photos by Bill Steber

At 9am on August 29 the 47th Mississippi Blues Trail marker will be unveiled at the Piney Woods School, which is located about 22 miles southeast of Jackson just off of Highway 49. Music education has been central to the school’s curriculum since its founding in 1909, and in the early ’20s the school began sending out groups of students under the name of the “Cotton Blossom Singers” on fundraising tours.

One of these groups was a quartet of students  who attended the Mississippi School for the Blind for African Americans at Piney Woods led by Archie Brownlee. After graduation, the group renamed themselves the Jackson Harmoneers, and took as a second vocalist the sighted Melvin Henderson (Hendrex), who was the father of soul/blues diva Dorothy Moore and keyboardist Melvin “Housecat” Hendrex, Jr. As the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi the group became one of the leading gospel groups in the country. Brownlee’s vocal style–characterized by moans, screams and grunts–helped define the “hard gospel” quartet style, and was a major influence on soul artists including Wilson Pickett, James Brown, and Ray Charles. Here’s a youtube version of one of their songs from the early ’50s–just audio and pictures unfortunately, but listen to those voices!!

In 1937 the school established the all-female jazz orchestra the “International Sweethearts of Rhythm.” Most of the members were African American, but the group earned the tag “international” due to the Mexican, Hawaiian and Chinese heritage of some of its members. The group became popular nationally, and in 1941 members decided to break ties with the school in order to get a bigger share of the money they were bringing in. The school replaced them on the road with the Sweethearts’ understudies, the Swinging Rays of Rhythm. The group broke attendance records at major theaters, and toured Europe with the USO in 1945. In 1947 they made an extended “music video” that captured their unique and exciting stage show.

International Sweethearts of Rhythm, medley of songs, 1947

click for more information

Bluesman Sam Myers (1936 - 2006), who was legally blind, attended Piney Woods beginning at age ten. While there he played the trumpet and drums in the school orchestra, toured with the glee club, and learned to play the harmonica by accompanying blues records he bought during visits to Jackson. Myers attended the Chicago Conservatory of Music after graduating from Piney Woods, and began playing blues professionally with artists including Elmore James, with whom he played both drums and harmonica. For many years Myers was based in Jackson, MS, and in the ’80s he joined Dallas-based Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets. They subsequently became favorites on the blues circuit. Here’s a clip of Myers with the band with “I’m Your Professor.”

We just got word last night of the death of Chicago-based harmonica player and vocalist Little Arthur Duncan. He suffered a stroke several months ago, and had been in a nursing home. Duncan, born in Indianola, MS in 1934, spent most of his years in the blues in the capacity of a tavern owner, often sitting in with groups he hired. In more recent years he’s been active on the blues circuit, and last year recorded his third CD, Live At Rosa’s Blues Lounge on the Delmark label, which was also issued as a DVD. 

I had the privilege of visiting and interviewing Little Arthur–a wonderfully friendly and humble man–at his South Side apartment earlier this year while he was preparing a soul food feast for his own birthday bash at Rosa’s, which was a wonderful event. Below is a preview clip of Little Arthur at Rosa’s from the Delmark DVD. The band here features guitarist Rick Kreher, who was in Muddy Waters’ last band, guitarist Illinois Slim (on the big Gibson), bassist Michael Azzi, and drummer Twist Turner, who runs a studio in Chicago.

PHIL GUY

Phil Guy. Photo by James Fraher (from Guy's website)

We also received reports of the death yesterday of Phil Guy, Buddy’s younger brother and a strong artist in his own right, after a battle with cancer. Like Buddy, he was born and raised in Lettsworth, Louisiana (in 1940). Phil began playing blues in Baton Rouge with artists including Raful Neal, and in the late ’50s accompanied Buddy on his first recordings. He also recorded with Slim Harpo and Raful Neal. He joined Buddy’s band in the late ’60s, and worked with many of the city’s other leading artists. His own career took off in the ’80s, and he recorded for a variety of European labels.

 
For more information as well as video clips visit Guy’s website

Despite scorching heat over 200 people showed up on Tuesday morning at 11am for the unveiling of the Mississippi Blues Trail marker in Macon. The topic of the marker is “Black Prairie Blues,” which acknowledges the often overlooked traditions of this geographic region to the east of the hill regions. Eddy Clearwater arrived from Chicago the evening prior, Carey Bell’s son Steve travelled from his home in Kosciusko, Miss., and Willie King drove over from his home just over the Alabama line in Old Memphis. 

Eddy Clearwater, Steve Bell and Willie King with the marker. Photo by Scott Barretta

At the unveiling Clearwater reunited with his childhood friend O.C. Gilkey, who inspired him to take up guitar. They hadn't seen each other since Clearwater was 13. Photo by Scott Barretta

Steve Bell, Eddy Clearwater and Willie King performing after the marker unveiling. Photo by Scott Barretta

Tomorrow morning (August 19) at 11am the Mississippi Blues Commission will dedicate the latest Mississippi Blues Trail Marker in Macon, Mississippi. The marker honors bluesmen Eddy Clearwater, Carey Bell and Willie King, who were all from the Macon area, and will be unveiled at the Macon Welcome Center (Corner of Green Street and Jefferson Street).

Highway 61 Radio will be there to videotape the unveiling, which will be attended by Clearwater, King, and Carey Bell’s son Steve, a harmonica player who lives in Kosciusko, MS (he’ll be performing at the ceremony together with Jackson-based blues guitarist Jesse Robinson).

We hope to see you there too. If you can’t make it to Macon, don’t worry. We’ll post the video here before too long. In the mean time, here’s a video of Carey Bell, who unfortunately died last year:

For more information about the marker dedication and the Mississippi Blues Trail in general check out www.msbluestrail.org

This week we’re taking Highway 61 all the way down to the Crescent City. Tune in to the stations of Mississippi Public Broadcasting Saturday night at 10pm for a full hour of Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Jelly Roll Morton, Tuts Washington, Roosevelt Sykes, James Booker, Eddie Bo, Champion Jack Dupree, Dr. John, and other New Orleans Aces of the 88s. If you can’t catch it on the air, subscribe to our free podcast and listen whenever you like.

As promised, below are a few videos from our friends over at YouTube. This one features Professor Longhair with She Ain’t Got No Hair…

And this one features Fats Domino with his classic Ain’t That a Shame…

Roll your mouse over the icon in the bottom right of the video for more related videos.

Thanks for visiting the new Highway61Radio.org (NOTE: highway61radio.com will also bring you right here every week)

We’re excited about the new site and we’ll be adding new content every week. So check back often and thanks for listening.

Robert Nighthawk performing on Maxwell Street.

(roll over the symbol in the lower right corner and click on the symbol that appears above for more Maxwell Street-related videos.)

In the 1940s and 50s, Chicago’s Maxwell Street Market teemed with musicians and hucksters alike. The music that rose up from Maxwell Street was the seed of the Chicago sound, but its roots were in Mississippi. Transplanted musicians such as Carey Bell (originally from Macon, MS), Big Mojo Elem (Itta Bena, MS), Robert Nighthawk (originally from Helena, Ark., but a frequent performer in Mississippi),to name a few, brought the Mississippi blues to Maxwell Street and it was there amidst the murmur of the crowds and the cries of the merchants that they plugged in for the first time and electric blues was born.

This week on Highway 61 we’ll listen to live recordings from Maxwell Street by Bell, Elem, Nighthawk and others. If you can’t catch the show on Mississippi Public Broadcasting Saturday night at 10pm, you can subscribe to our podcast (linked at the top of the page) and listen to it at your pleasure.