"Read Don’t Play '64"

By Douglas Strobel

PART I: Libraries, Letters and Liner Notes

 Before I could play music I could read.

And I did.

I found I enjoyed reading about music. So I did it.

I was hungry for information, insight into the inhabitants of a seemingly alien world; much of it originally focused around what was called the “British Invasion” (early to middle ‘60’s)

Album covers were generally a “tease” as the sensibility was more often “anti information” (Eric’s favorite colour is blue…).

Album art design got “hipper” and the “buy this record, you’ll love it” blurbs were dispensed with. In fact album art became a “scorched earth” kind of hip: nothing left but a picture & song titles.

 I was “forced” to read composer & production credits.

Can you spell serendipity?

Bob Dylan soon filled the breach by going “one better” in artiness by filling his album sleeves (even an additional printed inner sheet) w/prose.

These tongue in cheek ramblings (?) were “interesting” (as in the Chinese curse) but secondary to the offerings etched in vinyl. Still I thank him for a number of allusions to “important artists” “Ma Rainey & Beethoven once unwrapped a bedroll…”

There were “clues” everywhere if only one could follow the threads of this “beat” scavenger hunt. In the days before the information super highway printed matter (often in book form) was the way to pursue these bread crumbs. I am grateful to folklorists, biographers, music critics, et al for their care & attention to detail.

Local radio (A.M.!) published newsletter type “fanzines” to keep us up to date w/the antics of the “on air” personalities…(This is pre Rolling Stone magazine)

While reading the KYA or KFRC fanzine I got a couple of solid pieces of information. These nuggets spurred me to “acts of intention” that were life changing!

I read that the Rolling Stones named themselves after a Muddy Waters song & in the same article I read the name Leadbelly!!

I was drawn to these initially by the very “otherness” of the names of these performers. These artists had not placed songs on the Top 40 in N Ca so I had not heard them directly.

In a matter of a few days I returned from the local library w/The Best of Muddy Waters (no overstatement this) on Chess & a Leadbelly record. (Folkways)

During this period I also had read the names & the pedigree of The Hot 5’s (Louis Armstrong & Co) & JellyRoll Morton. No one in my acquaintance had a cool name like jellyroll & while I didn’t know what it meant I thought I could recognize cool…. I got the Hot Five disc with weirdly “posed” cover & New Orleans Memories (Jelly Roll Morton) from the library over the next few weeks/months. 

There was no turning back after hearing this music. I have never recovered. I didn’t always “get it” right away but it “got” me.

I was hanging out w/some older guys & was also being given some very direct input re: what was “good” music. I was offered a lifetime of names of performers, song titles by people who could play & who spoke w/certainty about what was what & who was “hip” & therefore worth listening to.

Samuel Charters had a pioneering book published in 1959:  The Country Blues. This guy had his fingers in a lot of cool musical stuff & along w/his wife Ann they discovered, documented, promoted, produced, recorded & photographed artists as diverse as The Jim Kweskin Jug Band & Joseph Spence (hint: those are your “clues”) There were few outlets & a fierce but small audience for a publication such as this so my hat goes off to DaCapo Paperbacks for publishing this seminal work & seeing fit to keep it in print.

The Country Blues offered an overview of the music via bios of 12+ key players in this genre. Many of these artists remained unknown to me, aurally, for some years as recordings were pricey & scarce in my immediate environment. The local libraries wealth of resources took some time to understand & appreciate. My friends, The Albright’s had some discs but they also could play so I was torn between listening & watching.

The music called “country blues” were primarily solo, acoustic performances by male performers from the early to late ‘20’s. The sobriquet “country blues” was developed to distinguish the music from the very popular “classic blues” of Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, et al. Charters wrote with affection, sincerity, & the passion of a true believer. He made the music seem important & vital. The performances discussed took on the air of “holy grail” & gave the music a kind of “stamp” of authenticity. There was art work from “sell sheets” & advertisements by the record companies included in the book. The artwork was fascinating & very politically un correct by today’s standards but intriguing nonetheless.

I also read a couple of rock & roll “trivia” books that offered a surprising amount of factual “glue” or “cultural velcro” & opened up other areas of interest….songwriters, studio musicians, producers, arrangers, recording studios, specific session anecdotes that are amusing & enlightening.

Biographies, by definition, tell the story of a life. LIFE is not simple or as straightforward as one might hope & reading some biographical offerings was frustrating as the author had his/her own axe to grind & neglected what I wanted to know about in their book.

I have read hundreds of books about every aspect of music: field recording, autobiographies, critical works on songwriters, singers. Biographies on record producers & record companies. The history of WLS radio, Nashville’s Music Row &  The Louisiana Hayride, The Grand Ole’Opry, recording studios & my most recent “Louisiana Music” by Rick Koster. (DaCapo Press)

Louisiana has a rich and diverse musical culture & Mr Koster has done justice to it…a quibble here & there hardly worth mentioning & nothing that will hurt the story or distort the message.

Early Jazz, Blues, Rock & Roll , Rhythm & Blues, Cajun, Zydeco even Hip Hop & Classical musicians who hail from Louisiana are given (sometimes brief) bio’s, discographies & personal input from a fan who is knowledgeable & passionate in equal parts.

PART II: Louisiana

The State of Louisiana is Home to more styles/genres of music than most of the lower 48 put together.

Early Jazz, Brass Band/Funeral Parade Bands: including the current reinvigorated tradition, Cajun, Zydeco, Country, seminal Rock & Roll & R&B from a couple of recording studios, Swamp Pop, Funk, Mardi Gras Indians.

The Piano Tradition alone is staggering: JellyRoll Morton, Professor Longhair, Dr John, Henry Butler, Allen Toussaint, James Booker
New Orleans’ own Louis Armstrong influenced every musician & singer of the 20th century regardless of their own “style”.

These styles are rife with tradition(s) bound in culture(s) of the people who live there and the traceable traditions of the places they came from.
The geography plays an important role: most of New Orleans is below sea level & caused a burial tradition unique to the area.

New Orleans was a “mustering out” point for Civil War veterans & many band instruments were abandoned as ex-soldiers “beat feet” to get home.

The French, Spanish & Caribbean influences combined with the Catholic Church & the institution of Slavery all contributed to the rich, diverse cultural traditions that are ultimately expressed in the Music.

“Louisiana Music” by Rick Koster is an astonishingly cogent peek into the many styles as well as practitioners of said styles.

This guy knows his stuff & loves the music & wants to share the joy & wonder of “it” with us.

He even references the worlds of Classical & Hip Hop as it pertains to the state. Once again DaCapo Press steps up & supports a writer whose mission is slightly left of main stream.

I have read lots of books, articles, album notes about the various styles Mr. Koster covers. He manages to find new “stuff” to talk about & tells the old reliable stories well. Both the novice & the seasoned reader will be enlightened after enjoying this missive.

I was familiar with much of the music, if not all of the players.

He speaks with insight about the traditions & offers a number of “travelogues” throughout the region.

The technology of c.d.’s spawned a huge re-issue market & over the years I have bought lots of discs. I can generally read about an artist & go to my collection & hear the cut being discussed.

I decided to use Mr. Koster’s performers references in a “new school” way. When he mentioned Amede Ardoin or Joe Falcon (both
early recording artists in the Cajun tradition) I went to my web browser & typed the names into YouTube! Thanks to obsessive cyber oriented fans I got to hear a lot of music I did not have in my collection. The section to the right of the primary video is called “related videos” & by perusing these it is possible to get a fairly good “aural” representation of a style & a pretty complete cast of practitioners.

The cast of characters of Cajun/Zydeco Tradition alone is immense & so far I haven’t been able to “stump” YouTube. I am impressed!

There are several video features on this music that are “snippets” of longer documentaries & contain a lot “in situ” footage showing small Louisiana towns where the traditions are still in place & “prospering” as well as hearing some eccentric performers talk about their life & times in a world that has almost passed us by.

You can reference any of these styles via specific performers & access the music on YouTube.

JellyRoll Morton, Dr John, Kermit Ruffin, Louis Armstrong, Moon Mulican, The Hackberry Ramblers, Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint, Professor Longhair…I am excited that you might be finding this wonderful music for the first time….

Pax

Douglas Strobel