In this hour of The Blues & Beyond, I'll talk with Bob Riesman about his new book "I Feel So Good: The Life & Times Of Big Bill Broonzy." Riesman's book is the definitive biography of this highly important blues artist. Broonzy enjoyed major success with black audiences in the 1920s and 30s, and performed at the "From Spirituals To Swing Concert" at Carnegie Hall in 1938, the first interracial concert there. Later he became one of the first blues musicians to tour in Europe, and one of the first blues artists to take part in the folk revival in the US. Broonzy could tell a tall tale, and Riesman works through to the truth behind some of them, including uncovering his real name. Broonzy's concerts in Scotland in the 1950s inspired a youngster named Bert Jansch to play guitar. Jansch, one of the most influential guitarists to emerge from the folk revival, died October 5th, 2011, from lung cancer. Jansch was more influential to musicians than he was known to the public, though he was a major figure of the folk-revival in the UK. Jansch put a blues tinge on English folk music in a way that made it seem that it had always been there. He was a major inspiration to artists from Donovan to Neil Young, and his distinctive arrangement of an Irish folk song "Black Waterside" was taken by Led Zeppelin, who claimed authorship and retitled it "Black Mountainside." Jansch was a member of the folk-baroque-jazz-and-then-some band Pentangle, a truly unique ensemble in folk and pop music. We'll hear from them and from Bert Jansch by himself on this program.

promo included: promo285

In this hour of The Blues & Beyond, I'll talk with Bob Riesman about his new book "I Feel So Good: The Life & Times Of Big Bill Broonzy." Riesman's book is the definitive biography of this highly important blues artist. Broonzy enjoyed major success with black audiences in the 1920s and 30s, and performed at the "From Spirituals To Swing Concert" at Carnegie Hall in 1938, the first interracial concert there. Later he became one of the first blues musicians to tour in Europe, and one of the first blues artists to take part in the folk revival in the US. Broonzy could tell a tall tale, and Riesman works through to the truth behind some of them, including uncovering his real name. Broonzy's concerts in Scotland in the 1950s inspired a youngster named Bert Jansch to play guitar. Jansch, one of the most influential guitarists to emerge from the folk revival, died October 5th, 2011, from lung cancer. Jansch was more influential to musicians than he was known to the public, though he was a major figure of the folk-revival in the UK. Jansch put a blues tinge on English folk music in a way that made it seem that it had always been there. He was a major inspiration to artists from Donovan to Neil Young, and his distinctive arrangement of an Irish folk song "Black Waterside" was taken by Led Zeppelin, who claimed authorship and retitled it "Black Mountainside." Jansch was a member of the folk-baroque-jazz-and-then-some band Pentangle, a truly unique ensemble in folk and pop music. We'll hear from them and from Bert Jansch by himself on this program.

promo included: promo285