Skip to main content

The English Beat - Ranking Full Stop

In Cross Road Blues, Johnson sings an age old tale about a man’s choice between good and evil: I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees/Asked the Lord above ‘Have mercy, now save poor Bob, if you please.’

There is a longstanding Delta legend of a bluesman who waited by the side of a deserted crossroads one night for Satan to come and tune his guitar. It’s a story made more relevant when coupled with Johnson’s frequent references to the Devil, including in the song Me And The Devil Blues, in which he sings, Me and the Devil, was walkin’ side by side.

But Johnson certainly was not the only blues artist who sang about the Devil.

While Johnson’s incredible improvements on the guitar, as detailed by Son House, were certainly miraculous, a 2008 story in Living Blues Magazine offers a more viable explanation. In that two year period, when Johnson first travelled the Delta, he met guitarist Ike Zimmerman, who took the young artist under his tutelage. According to blues scholar Bruce Conforth, Johnson spent the better part of a year living with Zimmerman, and studying his craft.


The English Beat - Ranking Full Stop
  • Produced by: Bob Sargeant
  • Released in: 1981
  • Genre: Ska

"The Beat were all about inclusion, rather than exclusion, and this showed in their personnel and their music influences. The band crossed over fluidly between soul, reggae, pop and punk, and from these disparate pieces they created an infectious dance rhythm."

See Previous Song of the Day 

Labels:
Location: United States

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau - Long Before

Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau - Long Before Recorded in: December, 2005 Recorded in: New York, NY Genre: Jazz "Pat Metheny has participated in the academic arena as a music educator. At 18, he was the youngest teacher ever at the University of Miami. At 19, he became the youngest teacher ever at the Berklee College of Music, where he also received an honorary doctorate." See Previous Song of the Day  
Post a Comment
Read more

David Sylvian - The First Day

When the story of Blues is told to the world, the small town Holly Springs, Mississippi and the North Mississippi region as a whole, is often left out. But, those who know, know that this region is the Hill Country, and it is the home of a style of blues unlike others and continuing to shape popular music culture. Mississippi Hill Country Blues, like all forms of the blues, is deeply rooted in the cultural memories and experiences of those who first performed it. It builds upon the African and diasporic emphasis upon rhythm as not just beats and timing, but giving syncopation and polyrhythm both rhythmic elements, an elevated role in music much like that of the melody. The driving rhythm and aggressive groove, established primarily by sitting on one chord for long phrases, set Hill Country Blues apart from other forms like Delta Blues. Hill Country Blues is the soundscape of the region that includes several counties and towns around Holly Spring, Senatobia, and Como, Mississippi. The r...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dusty Springfield - Something In Your Eyes

Dusty Springfield - Something In Your Eyes Released in: September 1987 Genre:bPop Backing Vocals: Richard Carpenter "Dusty Springfield presented many episodes of the popular 1963 - 66 British TV series and between 1966 and 1969, hosted her own series on the BBC and ITV. She has been inducted into the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the UK Music Hall of Fame." See Previous Song of the Day 
Post a Comment
Read more