His story shrouded in mystery, Texas’ J.T. “Funny Papa” Smith was an accomplished and idiosyncratic blues artist whose nickname was usurped by another famous bluesman
florida until he had to give in and speak against it? i think he was trying to avoid it. the problem is that disney is much more of a moral guardian company than most, it s a very special position that bob chapek is in and his two immediate and prominent predecessors bob eagle and michael ice ner had been at the forefront of protecting their employees and being moral clarions. in this case it s sort of compounded by the fact that, one, he didn t react quickly enough and secondly now, you know walt disney company is the largest employer in florida, so they have more employees than publix supermarkets. wow. it s not surprising that he had to walk this all back. i just wondered how he got this got this wrong in the first place. yeah, by trying to avoid it in the first place. i think there is this much broader picture story here.
To the casual music listener, blues music may seem like a lot of the same stuff. Those iconic opening notes from Bo Diddley’s “I’m a Man” (by way of Muddy Waters “Hoochie Coochie Man”), the lyrics of devilish women/lost love/being broke, the alternately mournful and boastful vocal styles.
But deeper-diving fans know that around the Umited States, different geographical areas definitely had unique sounds and performers. Mississippi blues doesn’t sound like Chicago blues which differs from Texas blues.
Wienerworld Record Cover
To that end, UK-based reissue label Wienerworld has put out a series of box sets in the Down Home Blues series highlighting lesser-known regional records and performers. The latest is