The musical appeal of the Blues, as they began to be heard in the early twentieth century, was so infectious that musicians with open minds and ears were drawn to it as soon as they heard it. And that appeal crossed the racial and ethnic divides that characterized American society. So it was, that even before African American guitarists were recorded playing fingerstyle blues guitar, their white neighbors had already begun learning the music-listening to, watching and imitating the musicians whose music they so admired. And what these white musicians ended up expressing in their own playing and singing was not simply imitation, but their own reconfiguration of what their models did, played in accordance with their own senses of rhythm, phrasing and how to sing the music.

The musicians in Hillbilly Blues Fingerstyle Guitar gravitated towards the Blues because the music spoke to them so strongly that they felt compelled to make it part of their own musical language. And they did just that. These performances are strong and worthwhile in their own right, but they'll also show you how you can honor those who have inspired you by singing and playing in your own voice. And that's an important lesson to learn.

Titles and Artists included: SAM McGEE Knoxville Blues, Easy Rider, Railroad Blues, Sally Long RILEY PUCKETT Fuzzy Rag FRANK HUTCHISON Worried Blues, Train That Carried The Girl From Town, The Miner's Blues LESTER McFARLAND K. C. Whistle THE CARTER FAMILY John Hardy Was A Desperate Little Ma CLARENCE GREENE Johnson City Blues DICK JUSTICE Brown Skin Blues, Cocaine EMRY ARTHUR She Lied To Me DAVID McCARN Everyday Dirt, Take Them For A Ride DAVID MILLER Jailhouse Rag LARRY HENSLEY Match Box Blues LAKE HOWARD New Chattanooga Mama DEBS MAY Soap Box Blues, Rabbit Blues HOBART SMITH Graveyard Blues, Railroad Bill, K. C. Moan ROSCOE HOLCOMB Mississippi Heavy Water Blues FIELDS WARD Riley And Spencer E.C. BALL Raggin' The Wires, Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down

Level 2/3 • 184 pages • Direct download link to audio files.