Mississippi John Hurt, recording from Pete Seeger’s “Rainbow Quest” series (1965/1966) a television show devoted to folk music.
The great John Hiatt, backed by The Jerry Douglas Band, gets all sweet and swampy and stuff.
Grammy nominee and Swayzees frontman Les Greene teams up with The Televisionaries, a surf punk band from Rochester New York, and the result is.. that.
Have a great weekend, see you on the back porch tomorrow.
Stack O’ Lee Blues, Mississippi John Hurt (1928)The song was published in 1911 and first recorded in 1923 by Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians, but the origin predates both, as a song called Stack-A-Lee was mentioned in in the Kansas City Leavenworth Herald, in 1897 as being performed by “Prof. Charlie Lee, the piano thumper.”
Lloyd Price covered it in 1958 as Stagger Lee. The true story had nothing to do with a crap game, but it did involve a stetson hat.
The St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 28 December 1895
Shot in Curtis’s Place
William Lyons, 25, a levee hand, was shot in the abdomen yesterday evening at 10 o’clock in the saloon of Bill Curtis, at Eleventh and Morgan Streets, by Lee Sheldon, a carriage driver. Lyons and Sheldon were friends and were talking together. Both parties, it seems, had been drinking and were feeling in exuberant spirits. The discussion drifted to politics, and an argument was started, the conclusion of which was that Lyons snatched Sheldon’s hat from his head. The latter indignantly demanded its return. Lyons refused, and Sheldon withdrew his revolver and shot Lyons in the abdomen. When his victim fell to the floor Sheldon took his hat from the hand of the wounded man and coolly walked away. He was subsequently arrested and locked up at the Chestnut Street Station. Lyons was taken to the Dispensary, where his wounds were pronounced serious. Lee Sheldon is also known as ‘Stag’ Lee.
The Pop-Up Book of Memes.
[h/t Mme. Jujujive]
Disturbing medieval babies.
[h/t Amy O.]
Vaccine passports and digital IDs.
For the past few days, this has been my earworm. I like it.
Weather Anywhere. Facebook factcheckers flagged it for sexual content.
[Top image: La Charge, Félix Edouard Vallotton, 1893.]
From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago.
Mississippi John Hurt sings a classic spiritual.
[That one’s for you, Calo.]
Jimi Hendrix – no slouch on a reversed and restrung 12-string.
Stevie Ray Vaughan burns it. The clip is apparently from a television show in France, date unknown. Some think that may be an impostor because his face is hidden, but I seriously doubt that any impostor who plays like that would need to pretend.
Have a great weekend folks.
Tacky Raccoons 