Here we are at the end of the first decade of this millenium and I find myself a bit under the weather. I was going to write about resolutions and new beginnings, all the typical New Year’s folderol, but don’t really feel up to it this morning. Maybe tomorrow. The New Year will no doubt bring everything into clear focus.
Or not.
So, iinstead I’ll show a neat clip from a BBC broadcast from 1964 that showed a concert from the Blues and Gospel Train, a tour that stormed through Britain featuring American blues and gospel greats such as Muddy Waters, Sonny Terry and Rev. Gary Davis. The special had a huge broadcast audience and was a big influence on the young there.
The clip I’m showing is from Sister Rosetta Tharpe who was a giant in the gospel world but also kept a foot in the world of secular blues. She was big woman with a big voice and personality who is quite a sight wielding her white electric guitar. Very powerful. I thought this song, Didn’t It Rain? , was appropriate for the day as it’s about making it through the storm and heading into the new day, something I think we can equate to the past decade going into the next.
The venue here is a disused railway station in Chorlton that they dressed up a bit to resemble an old rail station from the American deep south. It makes a pretty good backdrop for the Sister’s wailing and playing. Anyway, enjoy and have a wonderful New Year’s Eve…
Redtree Times 