Shake Sugaree is a song I´ve always loved, especially in the original version as performed by the amazing Elizabeth Cotten. "I've a little secret, I ain't gonna tell... I'm goin' to heaven in a ground pea shell... Oh, Lordy me, didn't I shake sugaree, everything I got is down in pawn..." It´s Elizabeth ´Libba´ Cotten (1895-1987) on guitar here only by the way, as her great grandchild Brenda Evans is singing it. And what a voice she´s got... Brenda was only twelve (!) at the time, and contributed to the lyrics together with her brother Johnny and her two [...]
North Carolina is rich in history and broad in geography, stretching from warm beachfront majesty to the base of Appalachia. That it holds a dominant place in the history of folk music is due in part to its cultural diversity, and in part to its situation midway up the coast, along the route that folk strands might have once traveled from North to South and back again. This combination of factors has made it an influential locus and crossroads for several southern folk movements of the last century, including branches of the blues, appalachian music, and strains [...]
Three songs that have been on permanent rotation on my MP3 player this week. Taj Mahal - Ain't that a Lot of Love mp3 The Go Team! - Doing It Right mp3 The Fall - New Face in Hell mp3 Clouds for the stormy weather they've been seeing me through. Sunshine follows. Always.
So a few months ago my good friend who shall remain nameless (excepting his nickname, which is "Big'un") traveled on business to the city of Chicago. And I spent a few hours before that compiling music to make his trip more pleasant. It's certainly not a complete collection of songs about the city (as he points out, "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" is missing, and that one's just the tip of the iceberg). However, it is a nice collection of blues and indie songs that help to capture, in some small way, the soul of the city. In fact, [...]
the vatican is a city in the middle of rome responsible for popes, small football teams, oddly-dressed soldiers, pretty ceilings and raekwon mixtapes . it's 2008, and the vatican has stepped its game up. it last published a list of seven deadly sins in the sixth century. since then, biggie and 2pac have passed away, australia has had an olympics, and akon has taken over the airwaves. hence versace-sporting classy-freddie-blassie-lookali ke pope cardinal ratzinger has issued seven new sins to get all worked up about. some funny, some tragic. i'm not sure whether this was [...]
Much of the subject material of kids music is lyrical fluff, and that's not a bad thing: kids need all the playful silliness and sweet sleepytime nothings that hip moms and dads with heart can bring them. On the other hand, play and sleep alone aren't enough, and kids ain't gonna grow up by themselves. The bigger they get, the more we have to show and tell them the right ways to move through the world. Thankfully, song is an especially effective way to pass along [...]
School's been out for days, and I'm already exhausted. But after a whirlwind tour of relatives and sled runs, Sturbridge Village sleigh rides and Santa stocking mornings, the kids are sugared up, full of pep and peppermint. What to do with a case of the sillies? What better time for another round of Covered in Kidfolk? Last time on Covered in Kidfolk we brought you a sweet set of lullabies and softsongs ; songs in that post are still live, just in case today's songs tire [...]
"For me, jug band music is the mud that my toes are planted in" Grateful Dead's Bob Weir. I wrote about jug band music in the past and am excited that there is a new documentary about jug band innovator Gus Cannon called Chasin' Gus' Ghost and features Bob Weir, David Grisman, Jug Band Revivalist Jim Kweskin , Taj Mahal, and Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian. The movie will premiere at the Woodstock Film Festival on October 13th. I hope it has a wider release and would like to [...]
in terms of cool, no one, not even mr dulli, comes close to taj mahal, in my opinion. everything he does sounds absolutely effortless. he cant be just pinned down as a "blues" artist cause he combines so many styles into one cohesive art form and again, all effortlessly. just listen "why did you have to desert me" and try to deny its coolness. here is taj playing at ultrasonic studios in hemstead, ny on 10.15.74. 1. intro 2. going up to the country and paint my mailbox blue [...]
It's Friday so here are a few tunes to move your feet to - have a good weekend! A Phreek tune from '77, big electro from Plus Move and an awesome track from Taj Mahal. Bluesy, but danceable. Taj Mahal - Chevrolet Plus Move - Boss Phreek - Weekend (12" Extended Version) Tags: Phreek Tags: Taj Mahal Tags: Plus Move
taj mahal , one of the more prominent country blues artists of the past 40 years is also one of the most experimental, having combined different elements of jazz, bluegrass, soul, gospel, folk, caribbean , african , hawaiian , & cajun music to his laid back arrangements over the years...he was also the only american artist invited to perform on the rolling stones rock and roll circus , where along with guitarist jesse ed davis , he practically stole the [...]
What? You want something patriotic? Cable & Tweed has you covered . 01. Michael Stipe - The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance (Sinead O'Connor) 02. The New Amsterdams - Thirty-three (Smashing Pumpkins) 03. Tom Jones - I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor (Panic! At the Disco) 04. Taj Mahal - Honky Tonk Women (the Rolling Stones) 05. Lambchop - Beyond Belief (Elvis Costello)
![Homer Banks: A Lot Of Love [1966]
Taj Mahal: Ain'...](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/586837_lg.jpg)
Homer Banks: A Lot Of Love [1966] Taj Mahal: Ain't That A Lot Of Love [1968] Taj's version was recorded "live" at the Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus , and features the great Chuck Blackwell on drums. A native of Tulsa, OK, Chuck played with Taj Mahal (obv.), Leon Russell, Joe Cocker, and Freddie King, among others. Chuck is "the drummer" in the song Shootout At The Plantation who "never hit a bad lick in his life." To hear Chuck ruling a different varietal of [...]
taj mahal - why did you have to desert me? (mp3) i'm back on it people! second blog in as many days and the second in some kind of apology which actually is just an excuse to bang on about records i like! today's installment comes from taj mahal . yes, you did hear me right. some call him a blues legend, which is justified to a certain extent. however, he made so much music that it is inevitable that a lot of it was, well, not particular great. taj [...]
I have mentioned here before that I married a hard-core folkie. I was a Beatlemaniac in my teens who stuck steadfastly to rock through the disco years, graduated to punk and alternative in the 90's, and who now digs with enthusiasm through MySpace for independent rock. Our tastes don't converge very often. I'm always after what's new except on Time Travel Tuesdays. Think of the Venn diagrams Husband's daughters are so fond of: one circle is labelled Music HE Likes, the other Music SHE Likes, and the overlapping sliver consists of Music He Likes That [...]
"I detected faint axilla scent/That put me off my appetite, But mouflon warring where I went/Renewed in me a need to fight" On the train this morning I was thinking about what a great addition the "shuffle songs" feature was to the iPod. Then I realized that some of our readers might not be up on the latest technology or might not have a big enough library to fully take advantage of it. I knew it was my duty to create [...]
Today is a different kind of summer than last week. Today's summer is the kind where every time you move, you sweat, so you end up sitting still for hours at a time. It's the kind where your brain melts and putting together sentences becomes next to impossible. It's the kind where your friends are somehow having fun outside playing frisbee and are about to go see Peyton Manning speak, but if you leave your fan for a second you think you'll die, or worse. It's the kind of day way too miserable for lyrics, so [...]
Greetings future friends, I recently read in the Southwest Airlines magazine, "Spirit", that the angle between any tree's branch and its trunk is equal to the angle that delineates the veins of that tree's leaf. Such precision had yet to be matched in nature until the immaculate conception of a trio of tenacious young students from across the Americas : Panama and the Canals. United by a common groove and eager to quench the universal desire for a little more soul, Danny, Benjy, and [...]
For The Sake Of The Song
Cover Lay Down
Southcoasting
She'll Grow Back
galactic mystery solvers
Keep the Coffee Coming
Spinning in Air
Lost Melodies.com
Captain's Dead
UGLY TALENTED
the leather canary
Bon Ton
Art Decade
Best Foot Forward
speed of dark
The Canals
Bobby Womack & Lana Del Rey
Video: Chromatics – “These Streets Will Never Look The Same”
Video: 2:54 - "Creeping"
