Ed Bell's name is hardly known today, but there was a time when the Alabama bluesman shook up the music world with tunes like Mamlish Blues and Hambone Blues. His style was unconvential - even controversial. Reporter Tanya Ott (TAWN-yuh AWT) talks with Ansel Strickland -- who created the Sweet Gum Bottom Blues Festival to honor Ed Bell -- and musician Sam Pointer, who brought his guitar into the studio to introduce us to the music of Ed Bell.
Broadcast History
locally on WBHM-FM
Birmingham, AL
Transcript
Ed Bell's name is hardly known today, but there was a time when the Alabama bluesman shook up the music world with tunes like Mamlish Blues and Hambone Blues. His style was unconvential - even controversial. Reporter Tanya Ott (TAWN-yuh AWT) talks with Ansel Strickland -- who created the Sweet Gum Bottom Blues Festival to honor Ed Bell -- and musician Sam Pointer, who brought his guitar into the studio to introduce us to the music of Ed Bell.
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Timing and Cues
begins & ends with in-studio music performance
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Additional Information
- Produced: Oct 13, 2005
- Added to PRX: Nov 14, 2006
- This piece is in English
John Hingsbergen
Posted on February 02, 2007 at 05:50 PM | Permalink
Review of Ed Bell's Sweetgum Bottom Blues
This is a music-rich studio piece offering something a little different for Black History Month. Tanya Ott is a good interviewer who keeps the piece moving between conversation and performance.
Tanya and her guests, Ansel Strickland and musician Sam Pointer, have a friendly and informative conversation as the listeners get a chance to sample the music of Alabama bluesman Ed Bell.
Well recorded and nicely edited. There were apparently some risque lyrics in one of the musical pieces (can you imagine that in a blues piece?) but they seem to have been edited out.
This would work nicely in a locally-produced magazine show or even as a drop-in during a AAA or eclectic music show. It's a good alternative to the historical profiles and informational pieces that crop up at this time of the year.