“Black Snake Moan”

It’s the Monday Morning Blues!  & yes, if you have any knowledge of US roots music, you’re saying, “What gives?  This is supposed to be Jimmie Rodgers month, & he sure didn’t sing 'Black Snake Moan.'"

& you’d be right, of course.  But I claim the bloggers’ prerogative to change horses in midstream, as it were.  Fact is, while being a bit on the housebound side due to the weather conditions here in Idaho, I’ve tried to put the time to good use by concentrating on that recording project I’ve been putting off for ages.  In a way, the Monday Morning Blues songs for November & December really jump-started the project, even tho I’ll probably be using only a few of those tunes at most on the finished CD.  But the fact is, even in a full-on Idaho January, I have only so much time to record, & the Jimmie Rodgers’ songs I’d been thinking of really didn’t fit with the overall plan—I probably will use “T.B. Blues,” however.  So far, I have at least a dozen songs that I’m satisfied with in terms of performance.  I’m still working on mastering the tracks.

Today’s selection, “Black Snake Moan” is a tune by Blind Lemon Jefferson, one of the biggest blues stars of the 1920s.  He came up as a street singer, but became quite popular on the strength of 79 singles recorded between 1925 & 1929 (the year he died, aged only 35 or 36).  It’s recorded using my Goldtone resonator tuned in open D (of course) & capoed up to the key of E; no slide—just fingerstyle.

Hope you enjoy it!