Sam Myers: The Blues is My Story

urn:iso:std:iso:639:ed-3:eng

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text excerpt

There were a lot of blues musicians, if they were around today, you would be proud of them. Around the Memphis area, they still don't get a lot of what was due them. Guys like Joe Hill Louis. He used to have a radio show that came on WDIA there in Memphis. It was called "Wheelin' on Beale" and it was done by a man named Ford Nelson. He played the piano there, and he's still part-time at WDIA, doing a lot of gospel stuff on Sundays. He's retired, but he's sort of like Rufus Thomas was. Rufus would do this gospel show in the mornings from around six o'clock 'til around ten, when they started broadcasting their remotes from the different church services. Joe Hill Louis had the name "The One-Man Band," because he had a drum he would play, a bass drum, and he played guitar and a harmonica. He would sing, and he had a rack that went around his neck for his harp. And he would do that, like Jimmy Reed used to do on some of his shows, just sit down and play his guitar. That's when blues was the big thing. Then along came B.B., and after that, a lot of guys just took the blues and swung it with a big band sound. That is called pioneering stuff.

excerpt from 'Sam Myers: The Blues is My Story' pp. 106 (226 words)

excerpt from 'Sam Myers: The Blues is My Story' pp. 97 (226 words)

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1432716415440