i’ve been sick, today, wallowing in viral exhaustion. all the juice has gone to my brain, i feel drenched. so in part because i’m totally bored, in part to get us past that nasty business about internet exploration, & in part because i’m tired of reading what feels like the same page over & over in ‘The Life & Times Of Michael K,’ i’d like to welcome you to Songs.

the blind reverend Gary Davis had the cleanest spirit in the land of the blues, a master songwriter & a king on the guitar –(bob weir, who i don’t really care about, purportedly took lessons from him). raised in the south carolina sticks, he was (practically) born blind… & get this, after breaking his wrist at one point, the bones settled awkwardly, allowing him to play “unusually.” he recorded blues, he recorded gospel (blues), he recorded w/ Blind Boy Fuller (!!) & Blind Willie Johnson among others. then he released an album w/ piano that i like okay, & proceeded to die. here’s two of my favorites of his Big Extensive Catalog, the first from Joe Bussard’s “Down In The Basement” compilation of 78s from ‘26 to ‘37. brought to you by Old Hat Records (posted some tracks from their “Good For What Ails You” on the last incarnation of this thing). apparently Fahey recorded some of his early records in Bussard’s basement — cool.
“You Got To Go Down,” “Give Me A Heart To Love”

another great song from the Bussard comp: “Get The ‘L’ On Down The Road”

Little Jerry Williams, better known as Swamp Dogg, recorded a bunch of great / not-great songs w/ his family from the mid-50’s to the late-60’s before writing hits for the famous & releasing one of the most devastatingly rad records ever, Total Destruction to Your Mind in (i think?) ‘71. you can buy the collection off his website. “I’ll Always Remember (Chapel On The Hill)”

& to cap it off w/ another song about remembering, there’s TNT’s “I Remember” from the 1980 7″ ‘Remember the TNT Fight (?).’ they are Swiss & they are destroyers. unfortunately don’t have the even-better b-side “Fight” on this data-box.