Date recorded: September 2, 1978
Contributor(s): Recordist: Bishop, John; Recordist: Long, Worth; Recordist: Lomax, Alan; Performer: Savage, Joe
Description: Dangerous Blues, sung by Joe Savage, former muleskinner and Parchman Farm inmate, on the levee in Greenville, Mississippi. Shot by Alan Lomax, Worth Long, and John Bishop, on September 2, 1978. Alan Lomax recorded another version of this holler in 1959 from a Parchman prisoner named Floyd Batts. It was also popular in the women's camp: Alan's father John A. Lomax recorded it sung by a group of female prisoners in 1933, and in 1937 Herbert Halpert recorded a solo version at the camp performed by Mattie May Thomas.
Subject(s):
Location: Greenville, Washington County, Mississippi, United States
Track Number: 64
Archive ID: STPRpFM3SBY
Transcript:
Belongs to: Mississippi Delta and Hill Country (1978)
About the session: Bluesmen; fife-and-drum ensembles; former muleskinners and railroad tie-tampers; and tall-tale reciters. Performers include Skip James collaborator Jack Owens, diddley-bow player Lonnie Pitchford, fife legend Otha Turner, and R. L. Burnside in his first film appearance.
Rights: The rights to the audio, photographic, and video materials contained within the Lomax Digital Archive are administered by various publishers, record labels, collectors, estates, and other rights holders. Any uses, commercial or not, must be cleared by the specific rights holders. For questions regarding the use of any material on the LDA, please contact Permissions.
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