People often love it when a singer or songwriter conveys a story, when they express specific feelings in such a manner that they can be understood in a unique and fresh way. Once these voices are heard and the feelings expressed are contextualized, the connection between artist and listener becomes so profound that the voices converge, becoming one in the same. It is at this moment that the listener can speak through the voice of the artist. The voices and songs of two specific blues artists, Mississippi Fred McDowell and Howlin' Wolf, connected with me at a specific period in my life when I was studying the Black American historical experience, when an uplifting voice was necessary for me to overcome feelings of tremendous loss and anguish, and when the voices of so many artists I love were growing stale. So much has already been written and said about the blues that it makes it extremely difficult to articulate the passion and appreciation I have for this genre on any musical, personal, or historical level. This is the root of nearly every style of music that exists, a voice of the oppressed during turbulent times, and probably the most genuine form of musical expression to ever exist. I hope you enjoy the clips that I have provided and make a similar connection with this music.
- Joe
"The guitar say everything that I say, you see, it's like we got the same voice." (Mississippi Fred McDowell)
"I wasn't interested in nothin' else but the blues, you know? Course now I ain't gon' pour no water on somebody else 'cause he like jazz, how-high-is-the-moon and whoo-bop-a-dop, that's his business." (Howlin' Wolf)