Mississippi Fred McDowell-Going Down The River

Listening to old school Blues takes you back to a different era, to an era where music was recorded on front porches outside, with nothing between the artists and the recording device but sun-baked Mississippi air. Mississippi Fred McDowell (no relation to another favorite, Mississippi John Hurt) was discovered by Alan Lomax, a folklorist on a tour of the South, who was trying to find some of the old timey legends whose unadulterated music sounds ancient yet resonates clearly in this troubled and murky time. McDowell, a poor share cropper who had up to that point had a tough life bouncing around picking cotton and working in various mills, was immediately recorded on his front porch, with his wife and a friend sometimes joining in on the jam session. After the recordings were published they became a hit, and McDowell rode an up-swell of popularity for the Blues, touring around the country and even having the Rolling Stones cover a song of his covered ("You Gotta Move"). The original recordings were recently remastered and are as close as possible as most of us will ever get to hearing a master of Blues just doing his thing.

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Fred McDowell Going Down The River

Click here to download "Worried Mind Blues"