Son House
Birth : 1902-03-21, Lyon, Mississippi, USA
Death : 1988-10-19
History
Edward James "Son" House Jr. was an American delta blues singer and guitarist, noted for his highly emotional style of singing and slide guitar playing. After years of hostility to secular music, as a preacher and for a few years also working as a church pastor, he turned to blues performance at the age of 25.
Self
Collection of performances by British and American blues artists on BBC programmes such as The Beat Room, A Whole Scene Going, The Old Grey Whistle Test and The Late Show. Includes the seminal slide guitar of Son House, the British R&B of The Kinks, the unmistakable electric sound of B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and John Lee Hooker, as well as less-familiar material from the likes of Delaney and Bonnie, Freddie King and Long John Baldry.
Self
Taken from the European tours organised for American blues musicians between 1962 and 1969, this release features performances by several popular blues artists, including: Big Mama Thornton, Roosevelt Sykes, Buddy Guy, Dr. Isaiah Ross, Big Joe Turner, Skip James, Bukka White, Son House, Hound Dog Taylor and Little Walter, Koko Taylor and Little Walter, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Helen Humes, Earl Hooker, and Muddy Waters.
In 1966, CBC Television invited some of North America's greatest blues performers to gather in a studio in Toronto, recording together and individually in sessions that lasted three days. The result was originally televised as part of the CBC "Festival" series, and now the session video tapes have been found, restored and re-edited. The great Muddy Waters and his band perform "You Can't Lose What You Never Had" and "Got My Mojo Workin'," the latter with James Cotton on harmonica. Willie Dixon goes solo on "Bassology" and (helped by a little '90s technology) performs "Crazy for My Baby" with host Colin James. Plus rare appearances by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Mable Hillery singing "How Long This Train Been Gone," and delta blues piano player Sunnyland Slim, introducing a whole new generation to this inspiring, soulful music.
Musician
Includes "Devil Got My Woman," "I'm So Glad," "Worried Blues," "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning" and more. Features Bukka White, Son House, Howlin' Wolf and more! The Newport Folk Festival has long been known for its contribution to spreading the gospel of traditional American song. This 1966 performance from the festival was manufactured by celebrated archivist Alan Lomax. He created a juke joint atmosphere complete with flowing liquor and this film documents all the action. The juke joint setting may add considerable flavor, but even without the theatrics the footage of the blues legends stands on its own. Prime performances are delivered by Son House, Bukka White, Howlin' Wolf, Reverend Pearly Brown, and Skip James. Between songs the Wolf taunts Bukka and as the music plays the audience dances at a fever pitch.
Blues as a genre shaped the sound of jazz in the early 20th century and directly led to the creation of rock 'n' roll in the '50s. The scales, chords, and progressions of blues as a musical form can be found in styles from jazz to rock to contemporary R&B.
Self
Rhine Record's 2-DVD documentary accompaniment to their Blues Masters CD series. Includes the only know footage of Leadbelly and rare footage others including Son House and Bessie Smith
Self
Black and white footage of performances, interviews, and conversations at the Newport Folk Festival, from 1963 to 1966. The headliners are Peter, Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan, who's acoustic and electric. Son House and Mike Bloomfield talk about the blues; John Hurt, Howlin' Wolf, and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee show its range. The Osborne Brothers perform bluegrass. Donovan, Johnny Cash, Judy Collins, Mimi and Dick Farina, and others less well known also perform. Several talk musical philosophy, and there's a running commentary about the nature and appeal of folk music. The crowd looks clean cut.