Luther 'Captain Luke' Meyer: In his own words

Summary:

A rich-voiced bluesman rediscovered by the Music Maker Relief Foundation remembers what it was like performing during the '50s and '60s in the informal 'drink houses' of Winston-Salem, NC.

Website:

http://www.musicmaker.org/artistroster/captluke.htm

Additional Credits and Funding:

Supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Tones:

Personal, Real, Sound Rich

Language:

English

Description:

<b> Luther "Captain Luke" Meyer</b> used to sing bass in a gospel quartet, but he really found his voice in the 1950s, performing in the unlicensed drink houses of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In this feature, Meyer remembers those Jim Crow-era clubs, and demonstrates how his act used to mix blues, jazzy ballads -- and even impersonations of Jimmy Durante.

'"Captain Luke" Meyer is one of several forgotten artists rediscovered by the Music Maker Relief Foundation. His story and his music are featured in the book/CD set, "Music Makers: Portraits and Songs from the Roots of America," edited by Tim Duffy and introduced by B.B. King. Meyer and guitarist "Cool John" Ferguson also have released a CD, "Outsider Lounge Music."

For flexibility, two mixes are provided, The short mix (tape time 4:09) omits Meyer's demonstration of two very different ways of singing "Careless Love."

As in all the pieces in David Schulman's CPB-supported <a href="http://www.prx.org/series/475">Musicians in their own words</a>
 series, the story is told through a mix of the performer's voice and music. There is no reporter's voice heard, allowing the feature to be seamlessly incorporated into station news, talk, or music programming.

Scripts for intro and outro are attached, and may be edited at will.

First aired on WUNC.

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