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Erwin Bosman

Blues and Black folk music shine on the American Titanic

Blues and Black folk music shine on the American Titanic

Acknowledgments: I thank Robert Sacré and Alan Balfour for putting at my disposal earlier publications. Ray Templeton, Paul Petraitis and John Clarke kindly pointed me to interesting song recordings. —————————————————————- When I told my 12 year young daughter, Blijke, after having watched the Cameron block buster on the Titanic, that

Toasting to the Blues and Rap

Toasting to the Blues and Rap

I admit straight away that, while the blues touch my deepest emotions, rap music does not strike a chord in me. Having reached the age where retirement is no longer an abstract notion, I can hide behind the (cheap, and probably invalid) excuse of a generational argument to justify my

The preacher they called the “Blues King”

The preacher they called the “Blues King”

The preacher they called the “Blues King” by: Erwin Bosman (www.myblues.eu) The bulk of the information comes from Dr. David Evans (°) who traced Ruben Lacy in 1966. I sincerely thank Dr. Evans for reading a draft of this essay and formulating very useful comments to it. The final

“Ragtime Texas”: a hobo songster goin’ up the country… A tribute to Henry Thomas

“Ragtime Texas”: a hobo songster goin’ up the country… A tribute to Henry Thomas

In 1993, the Scottish pop band Deacon Blue issued their CD “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing” that contained as its sixth track : “Last night I dreamed of Henry Thomas”. None of us will probably ever have dreamed of Henry Thomas. How could we? We hardly have an idea how Henry

The Rabbit and the Wolf Blues: some notes on the echoes of the "ring shout"

The Rabbit and the Wolf Blues: some notes on the echoes of the "ring shout"

[To read the article in magazine-format, click here] Speaking of his grandfather Omar, who died a slave as a young man, the Jazz player and composer Sidney Bechet once mused: "Inside him he'd got the memory of all the wrong that's been done to my

From lash to cash: one step on the path to the blues

From lash to cash: one step on the path to the blues

From : www.myblues.eu The lineage of the blues to the African-American slave field hollers, work songs and spirituals has been endlessly repeated. Plenty of historical overviews highlight how these vocal articulations echoed African cultural elements, and how their characteristics have had a defining impact on the development of the

If the blues overtake you, jump overboard and drown

If the blues overtake you, jump overboard and drown

This essay’s title is inspired by the lyrics of Peg Leg Howell’s “Rock and Gravel Blues” when he sings: “Let’s go to the river and sit down Honey, let’s go to the river and sit down If the blues overtake us, jump overboard and drown”. The