Tag: Piedmont

Piedmont – Gail Caesar

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Gail Caesar with her original composition “Guitar Woman Blues” (2023)

Gail was born (1984), raised and still lives in Pittsville Virginia. In fact her album recorded by the Music Maker Foundation was done in her home. While she transitions with ease from Bluegrass or Delta Blues she is the living embodiment of the Traditional Piedmont style.

Her Blues are well earned, apart from being legally blind she has had a hard life. Not too long ago her house burned down and she lost everything, including her beloved Fender Stratocaster. While she asked for nothing the Music Maker Foundation did convince her to accept a replacement guitar, a Martin Acoustic and an amp.

Like I mentioned in another post there are many more names, I have a dozen more in my notes, including as I have referred to Blind Willie McTell, that story I will save for another day. I thought it apt to end with a contemporary artist that is keeping the home fires burning.

Gail with “Freight Train” written by the Piedmont Folk legend, Elizabeth Cotten. And Like Cotten, Gail Caesar is entirely self taught.

Elizabeth recalled that she wrote the song when she was in her early teen years. First released by Peggy Seeger in 1957. Cotten’s was in 1958 at age 65. Such a simple but evocative song that has over 100 recorded versions. Most recently this year by Van Morrison and over 100 years since the song was written. Quite remarkable how the music from this region continues to live on.

Just in case you are interested in more, I will once again provide this link to my original post from 2020. Thanks for reading.

Piedmont – Curley and Cora

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Curley Weaver with his original composition “Oh Lawdy Mama” recorded in 1935

Curley Weaver (1906-1962) along with two friends were taught by his mother, Savannah “Dip” Shepard Weaver, who was not recorded as far as I can find. Oh the two friends? One was Barbecue Bob that I featured yesterday and the other was a name I had on my list as well Charley Lincoln (Hicks). Curley Weaver, Barbecue Bob with Buddy Moss would go on to form The Georgia Cotton Pickers.

Cora Mae Bryant (1926-2008) was Curley Weavers daughter. She spent long hours playing guitar with her father and was exposed to other greats like Buddy Moss as well as Blind Willie McTell who I hinted at in that first Piedmont post. She played in many venues, mostly after raising a family. She finally released her first album at the age of 74. You really need to listen to the clip below. Cora Mae sings a take on a song from the Chicago Blues pioneer Tampa Red (1929) that her father had recorded as well. The song was written by the prolific Gospel composer Thomas A. Dorsey.

Cora Mae Bryant “Cold and Rainy Day” (2002)

Piedmont – Barbecue Bob

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Robert Hicks, aka Barbecue Bob with an original composition “Motherless Chile Blues” from 1927
Eric Clapton, with the updated title of “Motherless Child“

Robert Hicks was born Sept. 11, 1902 in Walnut Grove, Georgia and died at age 29 in 1931. He had a combination of tuberculosis and pneumonia, too much for anyone’s lungs to handle. In his short career he did manage to record 68 songs. He was discovered while he was working at Tidwells’ Barbecue in Atlanta and posing in his cooks regalia was a great promotional stunt. I have about two dozen new names I could cover for this series, but with a name like this, well it’s just too well done.

His style was different than what would be come the prominent finger picking method in the Piedmont region. He had a frailing style which is more reminiscent of the banjo clawhammer playing. Nevertheless, his talent was notable.

Piedmont – Rev. Gary Davis

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Reverend Gary Davis – Glory Halleloo

Davis (April 30, 1896 – May 5, 1972) was part of a collection of Blues Guitar players in the music scene centered in Durham, North Carolina in the late 1920’s through to the early 1940’s. I mentioned in my original Piedmont post that Blind Blake is the first person known to use the thumb picking guitar style, which was adapted by Davis, also blind since early childhood. There were many notable artists that took up this style and in turn Davis would serve as an influence to Blind Boy Fuller who had learned it from Blake records.

Davis did actually become an ordained minister and after things in Durham slowed down he moved to New York and began recording. He came to the attention of Music Folklorist Alan Lomax and his wife Elizabeth Lyttleton Harold would transcribe some of Davis’s songs in 1961. He would later perform at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, an album was released with some of his live songs. His music was listened to by many and most significantly budding professional musicians in the US and the UK.

According to Wikipedia: his students included Stefan Grossman, David Bromberg, Steve Katz, Roy Book Binder, Larry Johnson, Alex Shoumatoff, Nick Katzman, Dave Van Ronk, Rory Block, Ernie Hawkins, Larry Campbell, Bob Weir, Woody Mann, and Tom Winslow.He also influenced Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Wizz Jones, Jorma Kaukonen, Keb’ Mo’, Ollabelle, Resurrection Band, and John Sebastian (of the Lovin’ Spoonful).

Bob Weir sang this song with The Grateful Dead, he learned it from the above version by Rev. Gary Davis, on the 1956 album American Street Songs. Davis recorded his song based on “If I Had My Way I’d Tear the Building Down” (1927) by Texas Blues great Blind Willie Johnson.

As you no doubt have noticed that many of the early Blues Musicians I mentioned were “Blind”. While sometimes a singer would take on the moniker for various reasons, most (as were the ones I mentioned) were either blind by birth or became so at an early age. For a young Black Man in the South there were few enough prospects, for a blind one it was often that of a beggar. Strong motivation for one to learn a craft and many were encouraged to take up an instrument. Often at a young age it was a cigar box guitar.

Piedmont, the Stove Pipe Academy of Blues

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Etta Baker started playing guitar at age 3

You have hear of The School of Rock, but today it’s the School of the Piedmont Blues. From the title, Stove Pipe Academy was the name given to the old school houses in Loudoun County, Virginia. I did a post on the Piedmont in August of 2020, and for some reason in the past year it has become one of my most popular. At the end of that post I said, “there are many other important and influential artists such as Buddy Moss, Blind Willie McTell, Barbecue Bob, Etta Baker and Curly Weaver”. We can add even more names to fill out the roster of talented Blues artists from this region. Over the next few posts I will feature some of these names.

Etta Baker

Etta was a remarkable 6 and 12 string guitar player and a five string banjo player as well.

Etta Baker (1913-2006) was born Etta Lucille Reid in Caldwell County and her family moved to Keysville, Virginia when she was three. Her father taught her the guitar, she had no other training. She and her seven siblings all worked on a Tobacco Farm. She left school in tenth grade to work fulltime on the Farm. But she palyed whenever she could.

Etta was first recorded in 1956 at age 43. She and her father were discovered by Paul Clayton who was a key figure in the Folk Revival of the 50’s and early 60’s. He was also a recording artist with the important Folkways Records. Five of her guitar pieces appeared on the album Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians (1956). She was pretty much forgotten after this and her life of raising a family went on, one of her sons was killed in Vietnam in 1967 and that same year her husband died. She then stopped playing the guitar for several years.

Etta with her take on “One Dime Blues” originally by Blind Lemon Jefferson (1927)

She was found once again by the Music Maker Relief Foundation that was dedicated to revitalizing these forgotten artists and help bring them some income. Most had not ever been paid for their recordings, including Baker. Beginning in 1991 she would release five albums and another three came out after her death up to 2015.

Etta Baker with a North Carolina guitar and banjo player, Cora Phillips (1907-2000)

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