INDIANAPOLIS
COUNTRY BLUES
Volume 1
Après la guerre, plus personne ne
s'intéresse au blues d'Indianapolis qui semble avoir disparu avec la mort de
Leroy Carr. Mais à la fin des années 50, Art Rosenbaum (venu vivre dans cette
cité en 1947), commence à faire ses recherches sur le folk et le blues. Il ne
tarde pas à tomber sur une scène souterraine du blues avec un Scrapper
Blackwell toujours bien vivant et qui a agrégé autour de lui un groupe de
bluesmen venus du Sud et qui jouent régulièrement pour voisins et amis.
Rosenbaum enregistre tous ces musiciens aujourd'hui quelque peu oubliés et dont
les disques sont devenus des raretés.
 |
| Brooks Berry & Blackwell |
Le chanteur et guitariste John Tyler (J.T.). Adams est un autre
nom obscur de la scène d'Indianapolis. Né à Morganfield (Kentucky) le 17
février 1911, il a appris à jouer le blues avec son père qui était un musicien
local d'un certain renom. J.T. s'installe à Indianapolis en 1941, trouve un
travail chez Chrysler. Même s'il a connu Scrapper Blackwell dès son arrivée à
Indianapolis, étant déjà un guitariste accompli, il n'a été que peu influencé
par Blackwell. En 1960, il est lui aussi "découvert" grâce à
Blackwell et enregistre un disque en compagnie d'un autre nom important du
blues d'Indianapolis Shirley Griffith. Leurs deux guitares s'entremêlent de
belle façon sur ces titres eux aussi fort rares. Comme pour Brooks Berry, on ne
sait pas vraiment ce que J.T. Adams est devenu.
Shirley
Griffith (1908-74) a enregistré deux disques (introuvables eux aussi) que l'on
peut maintenant entendre grâce à l'excellent blog Don't ask me I don't know.
Merci de vos commentaires. Et
peut-être à un volume 2 à Indianapolis!
Gérard
HERZHAFT
Before the war, Indianapolis had a quite
strong blues scene but only two major figures, piano man Leroy Carr et ace
guitarist Francis "Scrapper"
Blackwell. When a local storeowner and producer, Mr Guernsey teamed the two
bluesmen, he not only created a powerful duo but invented a formula (piano and
guitar together) that in many ways launched what can be called "urban
prewar blues".
But in the 1940's, even
if the black sections were flooded with new migrants from nearby States like
Kentucky who played and sang their blues, Indianapolis, lacking any recording studio,
was no longer featured on the map of the blues.
It took the end of the
1950's and Art Rosenbaum, a young folk and blues fan who came to live in
Indianapolis in 1947, to "rediscover" Scrapper Blackwell who was
still playing his old blues style for house parties and friends. He had
aggregated around him quite a handful of Country bluesmen that very fortunately
Rosenbaum recorded between 1959 and 1962. But those blues records are very hard
to find, most having never been reissued in any form and having sold very
poorly.
 |
| Shirley Griffith |
In this volume 1, we
found the singer Brooks Berry (born
in Sturgis, Ky on march 1915). As she settled in Indianapolis with her mother,
she befriended with Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell and went to see and hear
them each time she could (very often cheating upon her real birthdate!). During
the 40's and 50's, she was quite often singing accompanied by her friend Blackwell,
whether on the guitar or the piano. But it was mainly a hobby for her for she
had to make a meagre living as a housekeeper. Although reluctant, she nevertheless
waxed two gripping sessions in 1959 and 1961, appeared in a few college
campuses and folk clubs but gave up the blues when her friend Scrapper was tragically
murdered on october 6th, 1962. We don't know what happened to her after that.
Singer and guitarist John Tyler (J.T.) Adams is another
quite obscure name. Born in Morganfield, Ky on February, 17th, 1911, he learned
the blues with his father who was a name in the local juke joints. J.T. came to
Indianapolis in 1941, working at Chrysler's and playing the blues in the local
clubs and parties. He also befriended with Blackwell but, being already an
accomplished blues guitarist, he wasn't as strongly influenced by the local
maestro than the others. But thanks again to Scrapper, he recorded some sides
accompanied by another excellent local guitarist Shirley Griffith (1908-1974). Their two guitars intertwine each
other brilliantly, giving an excellent but unfortunately only session. We don't
know what happened to J.T. Adams after these recordings.
Griffith recorded two more
superb LP's under his name that never resurfaced in the digital era. But you now
can hear them on the first rate blog Don't ask me...
All your comments and
feedbacks are most welcomed. If possible, I'll try to make a volume 2 of more
Indianapolis blues!
Gérard HERZHAFT
INDIANAPOLIS COUNTRY
BLUES
Volume 1
Brooks Berry, vcl/g on *; Scrapper Blackwell, g/pno.
Indianapolis, In. décembre 1959
01.
Cold blooded murder
02.
Blues and trouble
03.
I'm gonna move to Kansas City
04.
Sun burnt all my cotton*
Brooks Berry, vcl; Scrapper Blackwell, g/pno.
Indianapolis, In. juillet 1961
05.
My man is studyin' evil
06.
Bama bound
07.
Can't sleep for dreaming
08.
Life ain't worth living
09.
Blues is a feeling
10.
How long
J.T. Adams, vcl/g; Shirley Griffith, g. Indianapolis,
In. 1960
11.
A blues
12.
Blind Lemon's blues
13.
Bright street jump
14.
Indiana Avenue blues
15.
Kansas City
16.
Matchbox blues
17.
Naptown boogie
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