Sam Chatmon: a living connection to early Mississippi blues
If Burnside takes us deep into the Hill Country, Sam Chatmon provides another remarkable connection to Mississippi’s musical past.
His Sitting on Top of the World collection includes performances of songs such as “Make Me A Pallet on the Floor,” “That’s All Right,” “Bumble Bee Blues,” “Hollandale Blues” and “Trouble in Mind,” alongside conversation and other traditional material.
Chatmon’s importance reaches far back into the history of Mississippi string-band and blues music. As a member of the Mississippi Sheiks, he was connected to one of the most influential African American string bands of the pre-war era.
That makes these 1978 recordings more than performances of old songs. They provide a direct human connection between musical traditions that developed in the first decades of the twentieth century and the later blues world Lomax was documenting.
The title itself carries enormous history. “Sitting on Top of the World,” associated with the Mississippi Sheiks, became one of the enduring songs in American roots music, interpreted across blues, folk, country and rock.
No comments:
Post a Comment