HEAR HERE:
“74 Years Young ” – Buddy Guy
“Young Man’s Blues” – Mose Allison
“Young Man, Young Woman Blues” – Eddie Kirkland
“Young And Evil” – Li’l Ronnie And The Grand Dukes
“Old And Grey” – Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup
“Older Woman” – Magic Slim & The Teardrops
“Too Old To Rock ‘n’ Roll” – Dave Hole
“Dark Was The Night (Cold Was The Ground)” (excerpt) – Kronos Quartet
“Dark Was The Night” – Blind Willie Johnson
“Dark Was The Night Cold As The Ground” – Little Axe
“Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens” – Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five
“Little Red Hen” – Taj Mahal
“Shoot That Rooster” – Fathead
“The Middle Aged Blues Boogie” – Saffire: The Uppity Blues Women
In this edition of Nothin’ But The Blues we’re considering the Blues of Age. Blues about being Young, Blues about being Old and Blues about that big grey area in-between. It’s hardly any consolation – much less, succour for the soul – but if you’ve got the Blues, at any age, it would come as no particular surprise. The Blues will afflict you, with equal opportunity, at any, and all stages of your delicate, corporeal existence.
Or, you could think of it this way: If the Blues don’t care how old you are – then, why the hell should you?
Speaking of maturation, we’ll also consider a classic Blues by Blind Willie Johnson, through the prism of 8 decades of history and hear how it has evolved and sonically, transmogrified for a new generation of Blues fans. You’ll hear of it’s significance in the story of human history and how far it’s journey has taken it. Suffice it to say, Blind Willie would be stunned, beyond belief.
And if you think that sounds deep, consider this: “Space Is Deep.”
Okay, I know. It’s a Blues show – and here I am being about as cryptic as The Times’ Crossword.
So you’ll be happy to hear that while we’d never say the Blues is paltry, we will have some Blues about Poultry.
Chooks.. hens.. chickens.. roosters.
Yep… it’s the Poultry Blues. We’re keepin’ it real, down on the farm.
And yes, you are excused for asking: How do we fit all these mind-bending concepts into one tidy little hour of strangely fascinating Blues radio?
Fortunately, you won’t need to pluck any feathers or scramble any eggs to find out. Simply click on the play button above.
As always, thanks for listening,
Gideon Rhyme – Cultural Detective
The show’s sixth episode premiered on the gist.net.au at midday (CST) on Saturday the 1st April 2017, receiving an ‘encore’ airing at 7pm (CST) on Wednesday 5th April 2017.
Trés Le Parque 