[Harp-L] Buterfield the entertainer

["RON SMITH" <ron@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I think he was an entertainer first, who found a niche where he could fit
in.  I don't think he could compete with the Chicago Blues folks of the day,
(maybe he knew his limitations, which is a good thing)and found a different
mix and different audience that would pay the bills. That would give him an
A for adapting to the music scene of the day, whether he created it to fell
into an unoccupied place at the time.  Personally, I like his vocals better
than his harp work, and find many of the older and current harp players much
better to listen to-for entertainment value as well as their technical
skills.  Wilson, Estrin, Primich, and others can be identified by their
style and tone in just a few measures at most.  Little Walter covered a lot
of ground, so it is a cheap shot to say the current top harp guys just copy
him.  Maybe you aren't listening close enough or trying to figure out how
they do what they do. If you would, you would find a lot of levels untouched
by Butterfield. Bet in the fifties some guys were yakking about Little
Walter just copying Sonny Boy.  It's all fun and great to have the
electronic resources to take a trip to any point in musical history and
create myths about how well and why. 
Walter played harp because it was a cheap investment and was his ticket.  As
he also played guitar, during the time of some really great guitar players,
he stuck with the harp and made it his niche.  Bet if he could have made $5
a night more playing guitar, that would have been what he would have played.