Blues Plus Column - Introduction

By Ron Wynn

Author statement

Ron Wynn.  I’ve covered blues, jazz, and many other musical idioms since the late 70s for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites. I'm currently the entertainment and sports editor for the Tennessee Tribune, the state's most prominent Black-owned newspaper, and a contributor to jazz, blues, and roots music in the Nashville Scene. I also contribute to The Bluegrass Situation, Foundational Black American Classical Music, Tennessee Jazz and Blues, and Rock & Blues Muze websites. I was nominated for a Grammy for liner notes to the Black Experience in Country Music boxed set, and was a contributor to the Grammy-winning Night Train to Nashville, Vol. 1 boxed set. I was also privileged to be a contributor to Robert Gordon's film on Muddy Waters, and a 2024 recipient of a Keeping The Blues Alive Award.)

Introduction.

I’ve been fortunate to hear and interview many of the blues greats and to have covered blues, jazz, and many other musical idioms since the late 1970s for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites. I offer this short opening introduction to launch the inaugural Blues Plus column.  

The blues is a living, vibrant, and contemporary art form, even if you couldn't tell from the limited coverage blues artists usually get in mainstream newspapers and magazines. Yes, there's a solid specialty press devoted to the music. I'd never denigrate the efforts of the folks who run blues magazines and continue to provide exposure for tremendous artists while battling ever-rising production costs and distribution issues. But what is perhaps most disturbing, and the main reason I'm thrilled to write this monthly column, is that the blues doesn't get the kind of exposure it merits or deserves in a circle where you would think it would flourish: that's among contemporary Black radio and media.

Of course, the heyday of Black radio vanished with the corporate takeover of the airwaves. Today, one-size-fits-all urban contemporary radio stations rule the roost, with their ultra-restrictive playlists, nationally syndicated programs, and total non-coverage of blues, jazz, funk, anything other than a handful of hip-hop and current R&B artists. Fortunately, the Internet and satellite radio provide alternatives. While I have my difficulties with the Sirius XM blues station (which I will detail in a future column), I'm grateful it exists. However, assuming the survey sheets I see are accurate, the Black community's listening to satellite radio is low, and the stations most listened to in many Black communities remain local urban contemporary stations. It may be a lost cause trying to persuade these people that there are blues artists whose music would fit into their format if given the chance, but the effort should still be made.

Even the handful of Black general circulation magazines and websites that remain don’t tend to showcase Blues artists, whether contemporary or from past times. I can't tell you how often I've interviewed blues artists – such as Eric Gales, Semekia Copeland, or Christone Ingram – and inevitably had them express how surprised and happy they are to be speaking with a Black journalist (as well as it being unusual, which is another issue). The NAACP Image Awards finally expanded its coverage this past year to include jazz, but they haven't paid attention to blues in decades. The notion that the only music that matters is whatever's selling at the moment reinforces a politics of radio and records that keeps exceptional music from even getting into the hands of DJs, let alone being heard by the mass audience. And the blues face an even greater challenge attracting attention these days, with the advent of streaming.

The Blues face a great challenge these days: attracting attention. Hopefully, one of the things this column can highlight is blues excellence to at least raise issues and generate conversation. I generally hate bringing attention to themselves, but my track record is such that I've been fortunate to have heard and interviewed many of the greats. in this music. I hope to bring a perspective to blues coverage that's both historically accurate and journalistically sound. I'm calling this column Blues Plus because the Blues to me encapsulates the scope and breadth of contemporary American music. Most of my subjects will still be blues, and they'll be primarily what I consider the genuine article, though I'm not a hardcore purist who rejects either soul-blues or blues-rock. I enjoy artists from both genres, and on occasion, may discuss music from an artist or group in those fields. But those areas aren't my primary interest. Please feel free to share your impressions and opinions.

I want to see the giants of acoustic and electric blues recognized and honored, while also celebrating the current generation of performers. That's what we'll do in this column, while also offering commentary on issues and reviews on books, recordings, even concerts and related articles in other publications. Please feel free to share your impressions and opinions.

(For those interested, I've covered blues, jazz and many other musical idioms since the late 70s for a variety of newspapers, magazines and websites. I'm currently entertainment and sports editor for the Tennessee Tribune, the state's largest Black owned newspaper, and a contributor on jazz, blues and roots music to the Nashville Scene. I also contribute to The Bluegrass Situation, Foundational Black American Classical Music, Tennessee Jazz and Blues, and Rock & Blues Muze websites. I was nominated for a Grammy for liner notes to the Black Experience in Country Music boxed set, and was a contributor to the Grammy-winning Night Train to Nashville, Vol. 1 boxed set. I was also privileged to be a contributor to Robert Gordon's film on Muddy Waters, and a 2024 recipient of a Keeping The Blues Alive Award).

Commentary

There's a difference between the winners of the Blues Awards chosen by the Blues Foundation in Memphis and the winners of the Blues Grammys. It's a reflection of the difference between folks who are advocates and lovers of the art form vs. a general population of voters across multiple idioms, many of whom may not have even heard all the recordings of the nominees listed in a particular category. As a former Grammy voter, I’m aware that voters wrangle a host of recordings in so many genres that they either barely hear or just scan prior to voting. Then you've got to factor in the influence of labels that lobby for artists. This isn't to devalue the winners of a Grammy, just to provide a perspective that what the recording academy values as a whole is often not the same as what performers in a particular idiom and their fans think deserves recognition.

As the biggest example of this pattern, consider that Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter" won Album of the Year, but didn't get even a nomination, let alone any awards, from the Country Music Association. Whether that was due to racism, which many of her fans and quite a few critics believed, or due to it not fitting the stylistic definition of country held by those in the Association responsible for nominating albums and artists (the CMA's contention) is one of those issues that neither side will ever feel is satisfactorily resolved. 

Jock Webb

But the point remains there's quite a difference between who wins a Blues Award vs. who wins a Blues Grammy. The Blues Award winners among Blues Foundation selections were such artists as Nick Charles, Jock Webb Sr. Dylan Salfer and Piper & the Hard Times, as well as Hall of Fame inductee Jessie Mae Hemphill. All these acts have loyal constituencies within the blues world, but aren't or weren't exactly big names on the national scene. The Blues Grammy winners, by contrast, were Ruthie Foster (Best Contemporary Blues Album - "Mileage") and The Taj Mahal Sextet (Best Traditional Blues Album - "Live At The Church In Tulsa").,  Both are longtime stars with at least decent (in Mahal's case, widespread) crossover recognition. Now, all these acts deserve to be recognized. The hope is that the Blues Foundation winners eventually get some of the national exposure that the Grammy winners enjoy, and maybe even land label deals.

More importantly, it would be nice to see a national awards ceremony dedicated to the blues, as well as one for jazz. Neither of these forms will ever get the appreciation they deserve or be appropriately encapsulated within a standard commercial TV Grammy format designed to generate ratings, and focus on what producers consider to be the year’s biggest names and best-selling recordings. That's fine, but let's see something done for the blues on a similar scale. Given current technical advances and the growth of streaming, that shouldn't be an impossible task.

Review

Amy Blizzard’s new book "The Best Hits On The Blues Highway: Nashville to New Orleans on Route 61" (Globe Pequot, 2024)   is a nicely assembled, informative look at some top spots for blues (and to some extent jazz and country) fans to visit along Route 61 between Nashville and New Orleans. The sections on Memphis, the Delta, and New Orleans are comprehensive. Having visited a lot of the locales cited, Blizzard's done a thorough job of describing their environment, assessing menus and food choices, and describing the general feel and sound of these sites. She also includes historic communities, key landmarks, and significant personalities. The book offers some good insights and perspective on what makes these areas so important, both in terms of their historic value and their tourist appeal. 

My lone complaint concerns the Nashville section. This portion of the book is heavy-duty with country suggestions. Still, it doesn't include Bourbon Street Blues & Boogie Bar, Acme Feed and Seed Restaurant (where the great soul singer Johnny "Wigg" Walker has been spotlighted this month doing a soul brunch on Saturdays), The Nashville Jazz Workshop's "Jazz Cave" on Buchanan Street, or Lorenzo Washington's extremely valuable Jefferson Street Sound Museum on Jefferson Street. Those omissions are odd because Blizzard does include both the National Museum of Black Music and a general nod to the Jefferson Street area. A second edition may correct those oversights.

Overall, "The Best Hits On The Blues Highway" provides a good overview of sites and sounds that are not to be missed if you make the journey from Music City to Crescent City. A few additions in a subsequent publication will elevate it from being a good read to an essential one.