by Elliott Hurwitt | Nov 11, 2018 | Program Notes
In 1912, when Handy published the “Memphis Blues,” the word blues was used primarily to describe an emotional state—depression, melancholy. Songs specifically about these issues did not come into being until something like 400 years after the first mentions of the...
by Steven Blier | Nov 11, 2018 | Program Notes
For many years, Michael Barrett and I discussed doing a program devoted to the blues, that quintessential American genre. But we were never sure how to tackle such a broad topic. Then our friend, the musicologist and early blues scholar Elliott Hurwitt proposed that...
by Elliott Hurwitt | Nov 9, 2018 | Song of the Day
As we prepare for W. C. Handy & the Birth of the Blues with program consultant Elliott Hurwitt, we revisit his first week hosting Song of the Day. This song was originally posted on October 30, 2015. Mose Allison was born on a farm outside Tippo, Mississippi, in...
by Elliott Hurwitt | Nov 8, 2018 | Song of the Day
As we prepare for W. C. Handy & the Birth of the Blues with program consultant Elliott Hurwitt, we revisit his first week hosting Song of the Day. This song was originally posted on October 29, 2015. Champion Jack Dupree was born in New Orleans around 1910 and...
by Elliott Hurwitt | Nov 7, 2018 | Song of the Day
As we prepare for W. C. Handy & the Birth of the Blues with program consultant Elliott Hurwitt, we revisit his first week hosting Song of the Day. This song was originally posted on October 28, 2015. They called the Count Basie Orchestra “The Band That Plays the...
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