Give My Poor Heart Ease: Voices of the Mississippi Blues (H. Eugene and Lillian Youngs Lehman Series)

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, folklorist William Ferris toured his home state of Mississippi, documenting the voices of African Americans as they spoke about and performed the diverse musical traditions that form the authentic roots of the blues. Now, Give My Poor Heart Ease puts front and center a searing selection of the artistically and emotionally rich voices from this invaluable documentary record. Illustrated with Ferris's photographs of the speakers and their communities and including a dual CD/DVD that presents his original field recordings and films, the book features more than twenty musicians who relate frank, dramatic, and engaging narratives about black life and blues music in the heart of the American South.Here are the stories of artists who have long memories and speak eloquently about their lives, blues musicians who represent a wide range of musical traditions--from one-strand instruments, bottle-blowing, and banjo to spirituals, hymns, and prison work chants. From celebrities such as B. B. King and Willie Dixon to artists known best in their neighborhoods, they express the full range of human experience--joyful and gritty, raw and painful. In an autobiographical introduction, Ferris reflects on how he fell in love with the vibrant musical culture that was all around him but was considered off limits to a white Mississippian during a troubled era. This magnificent volume illuminates blues music, the broader African American experience, and indeed the history and culture of America itself. Blues Roots. Rose Hill : Mary Gordon ; Reverend Isaac Thomas -- Lake Mary : Martha Dunbar ; Scott Dunbar -- Lorman : Louis Dotson -- Centreville : Fannie Bell Chapman -- Gravel Springs : Otha Turner -- Parchman Penitentiary : Johnny Lee Have Mercy Thomas ; Camp B Work Chant ; James Blood Shelby ; Ben Gooch ; Sergeant Webb ; Roosevelt Stewart, Jr. -- Tutwiler : Tom Dumas ; Lee Kizart -- A Delta Road In Coahoma County : C.l. Redwine ; Corine Gardner -- Blues Towns And Cities. Leland : James Son Ford Thomas ; Gussie Tobe ; Shelby Poppa Jazz Brown -- Clarksdale : Jasper Love ; Wade Walton -- Wokj, Jackson : Joe Poppa Rock Louis : The Big Daddy Show ; Bruce Payne, News ; Reverend Marcus Butler : Gospel Music ; Gary's Meat House Ad ; Bruce Payne -- Beale Street : Robert Shaw -- Looking Back : Willie Dixon ; B.b. King -- Sacred And Secular Worlds. Rose Hill Church : Rose Hill Church Service ; Clarksdale : House Party. Contents Of Accompanying Cd: Why B.b. King Sings The Blues / Joe Poppa Rock Louis (:35) -- Going Down To The Station / Sonny Boy Williams (3:09) -- Going Away Blues / Lovey Williams (2:38) -- So Glad To Be Here (3:58) ; He's My Rock, My Sword, My Shield (3:46) / The Chapman Family -- Lazarus / Inmates At Camp B, Parchman Penitentiary (2:46) -- Hidden Violence / Anonymous (1:02) -- Oh Rosie / Inmates At Camp B, Parchman Penitentiary (2:58) -- There Are Days / Southland Hummingbirds (2:57) -- You Shall Be Free / Mary Gordon (1:26) -- You Can't Carry Blues And Go To Church / James Son Ford Thomas (:53) -- I Got The World In A Jug And The Stopper In My Hand / Lee Kizart (2:35) -- It Gives Me Ease / Jasper Love (1:05) -- Highway 61 Blues / James Son Ford Thomas (2:51) -- It's So Cold Up North / Scott Dunbar (3:41) -- Blues Is Round You Every Day / Arthur Lee Williams (:34) -- Mystery Train (train I Ride) / Lovey Williams (2:21) -- Somebody Knocking On My Door / Napoleon Strickland (2:16) -- Jaybird / Scott Dunbar (8:51) -- Boogie Chillun / Lovey Williams (1:49) -- One Drop / Isaac Thomas (2:20) -- Cairo Blues / James Son Ford Thomas (4:28). Contents Of Accompanying Dvd: Black Delta, Pt. 1-2 -- Parchman Penitentiary -- Give My Poor Heart Ease : Mississippi Delta Bluesmen -- I Ain't Lyin' : Folktales From Mississippi -- Made In Mississippi : Black Folk Art And Crafts -- Two Black Churches. [interviews By] William Ferris. This Book Was Published With The Assistance Of The H. Eugene And Lillian Youngs Lehman Fund Of The University Of North Carolina Press--t.p. Verso. Accompanying Compact Disc And Dvd Contain Original Material By Artists Discussed In The Book. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [259]-269), Discography (p. 269-284), Filmography (p. 284-289) And Index. Cd Contents Recorded 1963-1974. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, folklorist William Ferris toured his home state of Mississippi, documenting the voices of African Americans as they spoke about and performed the diverse musical traditions that form the authentic roots of the blues. Now, Give My Poor Heart Ease puts front and center a searing selection of the artistically and emotionally rich voices from this invaluable documentary record. Illustrated with Ferris's photographs of the musicians and their communities and including a CD of original music, the book features more than twenty interviews relating frank, dramatic, and engaging narratives about black life and blues music in the heart of the American South.Here are the stories of artists who have long memories and speak eloquently about their lives, blues musicians who represent a wide range of musical traditions--from one-strand instruments, bottle-blowing, and banjo to spirituals, hymns, and prison work chants. Celebrities such as B. B. King and Willie Dixon, along with performers known best in their neighborhoods, express the full range of human and artistic experience--joyful and gritty, raw and painful.In an autobiographical introduction, Ferris reflects on how he fell in love with the vibrant musical culture that was all around him but was considered off limits to a white Mississippian during a troubled era. This magnificent volume illuminates blues music, the broader African American experience, and indeed the history and culture of America itself. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, folklorist William Ferris toured his home state of Mississippi, documenting the voices of African Americans as they spoke about and performed the diverse musical traditions that form the authentic roots of the blues. Now, Give My Poor Heart Ease puts a searing selection of the artistically and emotionally rich voices from this invaluable documentary record. Illustrated with Ferris's photographs of the speakers and their communities and including a dual CD/DVD that presents his original field recordings and films, the book features more than twenty musicians who relate frank, dramatic, and engaging narratives about black life and blues music in the heart of the American South. Here are the stories of artists who have long memories and speak eloquently about their lives, blues musicians who represent a wide range of musical traditions--from one-strand instruments, bottle-blowing, and banjo to spirituals, hymns, and prison work chants Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, folklorist William Ferris toured his home state of Mississippi, documenting the voices of African Americans as they spoke about and performed the diverse musical traditions that form the authentic roots of the blues. Illustrated with Ferris's photographs of the musicians and their communities and including a dual CD/DVD that presents his original field recordings and films, this book features more than 20 interviews relating frank, dramatic, and engaging narratives about black life and blues music in the heart of the American South. Oversize, with 45 halftones a