From: ajw@cbnews.cb.att.com (andrew.j.whitman)
Subject: Re: Gospel Blues
Organization: AT&T
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 15:12:13 GMT

In article <1993Jan6.160252.13416@bsu-ucs> 00sanaylor@leo.bsuvc.bsu.edu writes:

(first few paragraphs deleted)

Thanks for your comments, Scott.

>So, my next question is, why aren't there more (or any?) Christian
>Blues groups??  I would buy every one of their albums.  I would go see 
>them at every possible occaision. 

It is puzzling.  I can only guess that it has something to do with
some of the objections/arguments that I discussed yesterday.  There 
*are* a few Christian bands that lean in a blues direction, even if
they don't always perform straight-ahead blues.  Resurrection Band/
Rez Band/Rez have a few songs that fit the bill, with "Broken
Promises," from their first album "Awaiting Your Reply," probably
coming the closest.  Mary Ries has already mentioned Mansfield
and Kaiser, and they're certainly a good bet.  Larry Norman's
"Something New Under the Sun" album is fairly bluesy, and contains
one of the best blues song titles I've ever seen - "I Feel Like
Dyin'" :-).  Chris Whitley's debut album, "Living with the Law,"
is a *great* blues album.  I don't know if Chris is a Christian,
but he certainly uses a lot of biblical imagery.  Stevie Ray
Vaughn's last album sure has a lot of Christian *sounding* songs,
and, as always, his guitar work is amazingly good.  

>Footnote on blues appreciation. I picked up the Robert Johnson box set
>the other day.  Does ANYONE ELSE'S wife leave the room every time you 
>put the CD in?  (Poor soul. She thought I was kidding when I said someone
>went by the name 'Muddy Waters'...)

Heh.  Fortunately I'm married to someone who loves the stuff.  So does
my pastor.  It's kind of an idyllic existence to traipse off to Chicago
during the first week of June for the Blues Festival, wife in the front 
seat, pastor wedged between the kids in the back seat, and alternate 
between Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Sesame Street tapes ("Born to Add" is 
probably the most palatable), and great theological discussions.  We
did it last year and we'll probably do it again this year too.
You should check it out if you've never been there - three days of
great music, great food, and lots of hot, sweaty people - and it's
free. 

Robert Johnson is an interesting case.  The music is undeniably great,
but there are a few songs on that box set that make *me* get up and
leave the room, too - specifically "Hellhound on My Trail," "Me and
the Devil," and "Crossroads."  Very spooky stuff, and very spiritually
dark.  Are you familiar with the story of his life?  It's a pretty
strange and bizarre tale that includes living hand-to-mouth for
many years, scuffling for change by playing music, a trail of
illegitimate children, a (possible) pact with the devil, and a
poisoned whiskey that finally killed him.  If you haven't already
done so, I'd recommend that you pick up a copy of Peter Guralnick's
"In Search of Robert Johnson," which does a pretty good job of
sifting through the myth and the legend in trying to determine the
truth.  

This is actually a pretty great time to be a blues fan.  Delmark,
Yazoo, and Chess, three of the classic blues labels, are in the process 
of re-issuing almost all of their back catalogues on CD.  The success
of the Robert Johnson box set has led to a glut of new box
sets from Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, 
B.B. King (brand new - and great!), Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, 
T-Bone Walker, and Albert King.  I don't have time to keep up with
it all, and I certainly don't have the $$ to keep up with it all,
but it's all being dutifully recorded on the "wish" list.  

I saw a lot of this music at the Tracks on the north-east side of
Indy a few months ago, so if you're having trouble finding it in 
Muncie you might want to check there.  I also checked out the
Borders Book Shop across from Tracks, and noticed that they had 
a decent selection of blues books as well.  Some of my favorites:
"Deep Blues," by Robert Palmer, a history of Delta Blues and its
migration to Chicago, "Feels Like Going Home," "Lost Highways,"
and "In Search of Robert Johnson," all by Peter Guralnick, and 
all wonderful histories of the music, complete with lots of 
interviews with the people who made it, and "The Meaning of the
Blues," by Paul Oliver, a fascinating analysis of some of the
lyrical themes found in blues, and how those themes were transmitted
from performer to performer.  

I hope some of this is helpful, at any rate.  Hope your wife repents
of her misguided ways :-).  

>Scott Naylor 
>Ball State University
>Muncie, Indiana

Andy Whitman
AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio
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