Chasing the Ghosts of Texas Music
Before I devoted myself to history, I was prone to hysteria, as a rock critic in love with the notion that opinion can’t be proven incorrect. There was no right or wrong, only interesting or boring.
Blind Willie Johnson
Jefferson Hotel likely site of historic 1927 recordings in Dallas
I’ve been trying to confirm, for twenty years, where the historic Dallas sessions of 1927-1929 took place. These annual December recordings, by Columbia producer Frank B. Walker, include “Dark Was the Night,” “If I Had My Way,” “Motherless Children” and “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” by Blind Willie Johnson, as well as every track Washington Phillips […]
Blind Willie Johnson chapter from “Ghost Notes”
When Jack White of the White Stripes announced at Stubb’s Austin in June 2003, “It’s good to be in Texas, the home of Blind Willie Johnson,” you can be sure that few on hand had ever heard of the gospel blues singer/guitarist from Marlin, who pioneered a ferocity that still lives in modern rock. The […]