Blues

Johnie Lewis Alabama Slide Guitar(1997)[FLAC][Colombo bt org]

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According to the notes accompanying this CD, Johnnie Lewis was born near Eufala, Alabama in 1908, moved around a bit in Alabama and Georgia, supporting himself as a painter and day laborer, until the mid-30s, at which time he relocated to Chicago. Once in Chicago, he worked as a painter exclusively, maintaining a notebook listing over 100 satisfied customers. He was still living there as of 1991, which is the last time Chris Strachwitz, president of Arhoolie Records was in contact with him. Strachwitz concludes the CD notes by requesting that anyone knowing Lewis's whereabouts contact him.

The recordings included on this CD were made at two sessions in 1971, at which time Lewis was, by the sound of it, a very vigorous 63-years old. Despite the CD's title there does not appear to have been anything distinctly Alabaman about Lewis's approach to slide guitar, so perhaps his playing can be construed "Alabama slide guitar" simply by virtue of his having been born in Alabama. Of the 18 tunes on the CD, 12 are played in open E tuning, three are played in open G tuning, one is played in C, standard tuning, with kazoo accompaniment, one is played in G, standard tuning, and one is a harmonica solo.

Many of Johnnie Lewis' songs begin with, or are interspersed with, spoken interjections. It is a nice informal touch, and also leaves you with a very strong sense of him as a person. "Hobo Blues" is a train blues, somewhat like Bukka White's "Panama Limited." "He Met Me on a Thursday Morning" tells of Mr. Lewis's conversion experience. On "My Little Gal," which is played in the style of Tommy McClennan, Lewis is joined by the great blues harp player, Charlie Musselwhite. "You Gonna Miss Me" and "I Got to Climb a High Mountain" are dedicated to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Mr. Lewis shows a flair for solo harmonica playing on "Lewis' Little Girl Done Stole a Black Cat Bone." "Jumpin' Jive" is a funny version of "Bugle Call Rag" with kazoo and raggy guitar. The standard "Poor Boy" is done with a very strong rhythm, in open G, and "Comb My Baby's Hair" is another great open G cut with some of the sound of Little Son Jackson. My one complaint with the sequencing is that the open E tunes are all pretty much bunched toward the beginning of the program, with the less numerous open G tunes clumped at the end of the program. With a sequence which distributed the tunes not played in open E more evenly throughout the program, a feeling of sameness or restricted musical range which creeps in around the middle of the program could probably have been avoided.

“... a well rounded performance built around singing, well-integrated guitar lines, solid, original tunes and a forceful vocal delivery.

(Nick Crews — Dirty Linen)



1.: Hobo Blues
2.: He Met Me On A Thursday Morning
3.: Uncle Sam Ain't No Woman
4.: Can't Hardly Get Along
5.: My Little Gal
6.: North Carolina Blues
7.: I'm Gonna Quit My Baby
8.: Baby Listen To Me Howl
9.: You Gonna Miss Me
10.: Mistake In Life
11.: I Got To Climb A High Mountain
12.: My Mother Often Told Me
13.: Lewis Little Girl Done Stole A Black Cat Bone
14.: Jumping Jive
15.: Poor Boy
16.: Guitar Blues
17.: Comb My Baby's Hair
18.: Oh Lord, Tell Me Right From Wrong



Many thx to the S.H.B. and to my friend W.W.

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