Idle Minutes

Do you like the Blues? The music kind that is.

I like the Piedmont Blues. The name comes from the region in the South, called The Piedmont, where a particular style of Blues originated. They were typically performed by one guy, singing and playing the guitar or harmonica, sometimes a duo. It was almost always acoustic music, not electrified. There is a great website here where you can learn all about the Piedmont Blues. This sketch is actually done from a photo I found on the site.

If you want to actually hear some modern Piedmont Blues, you should have a listen to two fellows known as John Cephas and Phil Wiggins.

Cephas and Wiggins are a Piedmont Blues act that has been at it for around thirty years I think. They are the real deal…as close as you will get to the Piedmont Blues of the 20’s and 30’s. Cephas plays the guitar, Wiggins the harmonica. Both are excellent musicians and listening to them is a pleasant alternative to modern music. I’ve got a few of their cds. They’re all good.

I’m sure you can find them on iTunes or maybe a sample or two on Google. Search on “Cephas and Wiggins” or look for them at your favorite media store.

There is a sort of humor in the Blues that makes them appealing to me. For starters, the names of the artists, “Barbeque Bob”, “Peg-leg Howell”, “Cripple Clarence Lofton” to name a few. Then you have the lyrics in the songs, “I love her jelly roll”, “I heard the swish a big thighs and stockins”, and loads more.

I suppose when you consider the conditions under which the Blues were born, it speaks volumes that the artists could find any humor at all. I admire them for that. They took hardship and made a living with it. Not many folk can do that. It takes determination.

Sometimes singing about one’s troubles makes them easier to deal with. It’s sort of magic. The great thing about the Blues is that practically anyone can identify with them. And as music goes, the Blues are pretty easy to sing and even create.

Try singing the blues the next time you’re vacuuming the house…make up a Blues.

“I got them dirt suckin’ blues and them dirt suckin’ blues is bad.
I got them dirt suckin’ blues and them dirt suckin’ blues is bad.
Sometimes I don’t know what to do, This place reminds me of a zoo,
I got them dirty dog dirt suckin’ blue ooo ooooz. (go into falsetto on that “blue ooo oooz” part, it’ll impress your spouse)

See? Easy. You’ll be singin’ the Blues in no time.