Sam Myers in Piney Woods, Mississippi - the 1940's
from Sam Myers: The Blues is My Story, pages 26-27:
Anna Mae [Williams] brought the horn the next day and do you know, instead of just learning, I found that it was a gift that I had, to be in music. She showed me how to focus my lips on the mouthpiece; she showed me how to make the different keys and notes and how to shape my fingers. They [the school band] started playing a song called "White Heat." I messed up that one. The next one was called "Symphony C." It had a big-band sound and I almost got that one. Mr. McGilvery [the band director] said, "Well, what are we going to do next?" I hollered out, "‘The Stars and Stripes … more >>
Jeff Horton and Sam Myers, Sam Myers: The Blues is My Story (City of Jackson, 2006), p. 26-27. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1430827538687 accessed: 18 January, 2025
Listeners
Listening to
hide composers'Symphony C' | performed by Piney Woods School Band |
'The Stars and Stripes Forever' | performed by The Piney Woods School Band |
'White Heat' | performed by Piney Woods School Band |
Experience Information
Date/Time | the 1940's |
Medium | live |
Listening Environment | in the company of others, in private, indoors, in public |
Notes
Bluesman Sam Myers, who was partially sighted, recalling how a fellow pupil at Piney Woods School taught him how to play the trumpet when he was around 10 years old.