American Folk Blues Festival, 1962-1965

Product description

The American Folk Blues Festival was an annual tour of Europe between 1962 and 1971 that featured America’s greatest blues artists. This 5-CD set contains 76 classic performances, chronologically arranged, by 30 artists and their all-star bands during the 1962-1965 festivals. These tracks were recorded live at the festival, as well as in the studio in Hamburg, Germany. Included are 30 tracks previously unreleased in the US. Artists include: Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, T-Bone Walker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Memphis Slim, Big Mam Thornton; Sunnyland Slim; Otis Spann, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Big Walter Horton, Big Joe Williams, Lonnie Johnson, J.B. Lenoir, Roosevelt Sykes, Eddie Boyd, Victoria Spivey, Sleepy John Estes, Hubert Sumlin, Sugar Pie DeSanto, Shakey Jake, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, Doctor Ross, John Henry Barbee, Jimmie Lee Robinson.

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The celebrated performers featured on this five-disc box–John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Big Mama Thornton, Howlin’ Wolf, and Sonny Boy (Rice Miller) Williamson among them–were seasoned veterans when these recordings were made between 1962 and 1965. They were, however, far from over the hill. Brought to Europe as part of an annual barnstorming tour designed to introduce the blues to the old country, the forefathers (and a few mothers) of various strains of the genre basked in their chance to show their skills to appreciative foreign audiences. They also clearly enjoyed each other’s company. The nature of the American Folk Blues road shows made for some fascination collaborations: The 1962 set, for example, finds Hooker, then in his brooding prime, backed by guitar legend T-Bone Walker–on piano! Willie Dixon (the MVP here), Otis Spann, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and Mississippi Fred McDowell are just a few of the other legends who turn up in this expansive document of the blues revival that topped all blues revivals. –Steven Stolder