Belly Full Of Blues

When you hear the word greatest musician of all time a lot of things has be be taken into consideration. One is songwriting, they can't just play a instrument well and be called the greatest musician. Another is controversy, there has gotta be mystery and suspense surrounding the musician. There's enough mystery surrounded Huddie Leadbetter to write a whole series of novels. Hes been called the king of the twelve string for his guitar playing and in regards of songwriting no one can be beat.

Leadbetter or better know as Leadbelly was not a giant man, maybe standing 6 feet tall, but he was a ox. Growing up working in the cotton feilds he didn't scare away from work. Leadbelly's first story of mystery was when he was sentence to prison in 1915 for concealing a pistol. He was sentence to a chain gang. It was bitter sweet because on the chain gangs was where Leadbelly learned most of his traditional songs. After seven years he won a pardon from Governor Pat Morris Neff by writing him a song. He got out of prison and started drifting around singing songs along with Woody Guthrie, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Josh White, Pete Seeger, etc. But in 1930 he was back in jail on counts of attempted homicide. 3 years later folklorist John Lomax discovered Leadbelly in Angola Prison. There Lomax was very impressed by Leadbelly and recorded hundreds of his songs. By request Lomax gave Governor Oscar Allen a recording of Leadbelly singing his signature song Goodnight Irene, impressed with the song another pardon was on its way for Leadbelly.

After prison Leadbelly was starting to write children songs and it didn't go over very well with the public after they discovered that a black man who is an ex con was singing to their children. But still he sung many children songs such as Skip To My Lou, Ha Ha This A Way, Sally Walker,  and Polly Wee.

Again in 1939 Leadbelly was back in prison for assault. Stabbing a man during a fight. John Lomax's son Alan came to his rescue and raised money for a lawyer to get him out of jail. He succeed and started a whole new relationship between the two. Alan recorded him many times and even had Leadbelly on his show Back Where I Came From.

In 1949 Leadbelly would die from a battle with Lou Gehrig's disease. He was buried at the Shilo Baptist Church in Mooringsport . A life size statue of him stands tall across from the Caddo Parish Courthouse in
Shreveport. The town where Leadbelly would have been found roaming the streets singing for dimes and nickles.

The music library of Leadbelly is enormous. Songs such as Midnight Special, Goodnight Irene, Cotton Feilds, Gallows Pole, Take This hammer, House Of The Rising Sun, Rock Island Line, John Henry, Matchbox Blues, Where Did You Sleep Last Night, and so many more were covered by such bands as   The Animals, Nirvana, CCR, Led Zepplin, Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Ram Jam, Van Morrison, Pete Seeger, ABBA and hundreds more. Huddie Ledbetter was considered till this day one of the most important figures in music history. He was idolized by bands that we idol today. He was feared, respected and loved. He had a hard life and that is what makes his music so great, he put every inch of his soul into what he sung and played.

Trancending Music And Beefheart

When you hear the word psychedelic in music one man rises above all, Don Van Vliet aka Captain Beefheart. With his Magic Band Beefheart blew minds and changed times. On December 17th 2010 Vliet passed away after a long battle with  multiple sclerosis. This blog is my tribute to Vliet, writing how i feel about his debut and in my mind his greatest album Safe As Milk. He was a composer, musician, painter, innovator and a music luminary. His music blended jazz, rock, blues, folk, psychedelia,  and whatever else crossed his mind that day. He had no boundaries, nothing was impossible. He was a dear friend of Frank Zappa, who he met at an early age as an artist. So without a due here is my critique of the late great Captain Beefhearts Safe As Milk.
The album starts off with the great slide guitar of a young Ry Cooder on Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do. It has a blues style to it, especially with Cooders slick slide guitar. Sure 'Nuff' is based on Rollin and Tumblin, a well known Muddy waters song and you can tell from the opening lick. It sure enough takes you back to the days of the delta and you can tell how influential the delta blues singers were on Beefhearts musical style.
Zig Zag Wanderer slides in next, it has a different sound to that of Sure 'Nuff. Sounding more like a Animals or a Kinks song on drugs. With backing vocals coming from behind him this song sounds is great to just pop on and get taken away to another place. Surreal I do think so.
Call On Me comes in next with tambourine clanging on Beefhearts knee. You can tell how great of a songwriter this man can be on this song.  This song is up there with any Buffalo Springfeild song with great licks and a gravely but yet soft voice that only Beefheart can pull off. This song is great and Beefheart called it.
Dropout boogie sounds way ahead of its time. A surrealists dream song. Beefhearts voice sounds more like a monster or creature than a actual singer/songwriter. You can see the influence on Tom Waits  on  this song. Building his career from the growl of his voice and nonsense lyrics, but its sounds good to the ears. Away from the over dubbed and over worked songs of today. Beefheart did it straight from the heart and never looked back.
I'm Glad flows in now. It really don't sound like it belongs on this album. But its why I love Safe As Milk so much, you can hear so many different types of music from one album and one band. This song is Beefheart rendition of a motown RnB song, and he pulls it off nicely. His voice goes from gravely with a growl to a sweet heartbroken swoon-er. Very sweet song from a broken heart.
One of Beefhearts strangest songs closes out side one. Electricity, it is strange to say the least but still great. Beefhearts voice sounds electric at points and normal at others. Sounds like two different people singing but its all Beefheart all the time. The song was later covered by Sonic Youth on their album Daydream Nation. Take a listen and be blown away by Electricity!!!
Yellow Brick Road starts off side two. Sounding like a mash up of Zappa and a Beatles tune. Its strange yet sweet. Beautiful sound mixed with strange lyrics are a great mix for a fine song and Yellow Brick Road dont hold back.
Next chimes in Abba Zabba. With lyrics that dont make sense and a african inspired beat in the background how can you not love this song.
Plastic Factory horns in with Beefheart on harmonica. Again with his signature sharp voice that cuts like a razor. Beefheart shows how great at lyrics and the rhyming scheme he really is on this song. And this guy can really wail on the harmonica, his talent really shows on Plastic Factory.
His song Where There's Women comes in next with a very relaxing beat. Its his tribute to the women around the world. This song also shows off the great range in Beefhearts voice.
Next is the only song on the album that Beefheart did write or help write. Grown So Ugly was written originally by blues legend Robert Pete Williams. Its a rambunctious song, with Beefhearts voice muffled in the background and Cooders guitar laying down the blues licks just like they were back in the delta on the back porch. Just like Beefheart wanted it.
Last on the album is the song Autumn's Child. Very strange with a very sweet melody but then all of a sudden Beefhearts voice blasts in with reckless abandon. It has a very playful sound to it, they really had fun on this song with strange lyrics and an even stranger arrangment.
Don Van Vliet will be sorely missed. Even John Lennon loved Safe As Milk, showing his love he placed two promotional stickers for the album on a cabinet in his homes sunroom. Vliet was an amazing artist along with being a great musician. He painted and even sculpted. He leaves behind a huge legacy from recordings, videos and art. After his retirement from music Vliet escapted to Trinidad California, wheelchair bound from his disease close friends thought that he still seemed to be in good health. Unfortunately that wasn't true and today the world lost a great artist, in all accounts of the word. RIP Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart, may you enjoy creating great music in a better place.