[Harp-L] "Race, Gender & the Blues"

[Mick Zaklan <mzaklan@xxxxxxxxx>]

   I'm not sure Sugar Blue or Billy Branch have a beef here, but I
certainly could be wrong.  I don't think there are enough African-American
blues acts out there nowadays to populate all these fests.  At least in
numbers.  I think if there were, they'd be hired.  When I started out in
the late 60's, you had several dozen hot blues bands working in Chicago
alone on the South and West Sides.  If you wanted great slide guitar, you
could go out and catch J.B. Hutto, Hound Dog Taylor, and Johnny Littlejohn
any night.  Harp?  James Cotton, Jr. Wells, Big Walter Horton, Billy Boy
Arnold, Little Mac Simmons, and a bunch of others were active around town.
Hot guitarists?  Otis Rush, Earl Hooker, Sammy Lawhorn, Buddy Guy, Fenton
Robinson, Brewer Phillips, Louis Myers, etc.  Most of the giants of the
music were around then and in good form:  Muddy, Wolf, Hooker, Ray Charles,
Jimmy Witherspoon, Big Joe Williams, Lightnin' Hopkins etc.  I don't think
we have people around today of that stature.  Robert Cray, Keb Mo'?  Nice
singers but not in the league of the people I named.  Here in Chicago, the
taverns in African-American neighborhoods that used to employ and
support these bands are mostly gone or on the ropes.  Hence, the number of
blues acts are down.  But if Billy Branch or Sugar Blue are having trouble
getting festival work, then something is definitely wrong.  And
unless you're in Finland, there should never be a blues fest without an
African-American act on the bill.  My opinion.