I don't think there are any threads here that are dedicated to pre-war blues and country music and related styles. Feel free to post stuff like that here. I'll start with the CD I'm listening to now: Uncle Dave Macon - Travelin' Down the Road - County (1935-1938 recordings)
P.S. There is a general blues thread here, but that one emphasizes post-war stuff, so I thought it'd be nice to have a dedicated thread for pre-war music
Great thread idea! I had something completely different lined up to play, but now... Dock Boggs - "Country Blues: Complete Early Recordings" (1927-29) (Revenant CD 1997)
Revisiting a great Compilation CD, recorded 1920s & '30s including a 1929 recording of the title track. Various Artists - "Man of Constant Sorrow" (Yazoo CD 2002)
Just thought I'd post this here as well - a must for lovers of pre-war blues: http://bluesimages.com/ I have no connections whatsoever with Blues Images.
Put on a 78 needle on my Audio Technica table last night, poured a martini (extra dry, up, olive juice) and played Bukka White's "Good Gin Blues" (Okeh 0565)
Great thread idea. Question for y'all: Would you put Satchmo or Earl Hines in the pre-war "Blues" camp? They always come up under "Jazz" but they played the blues. Same thing with some of the pre-war big bands: jazz or blues to y'all? Is it blues when it's played with majority strings and jazz when it's brass/woodwinds? Either way, I'm really starting to enjoy some of these pre-war sounds. What amazes me is the creativity without the help of advanced tech. They are bending notes and making some interesting soundscapes to accompany a pretty deep emotional resonance, and it's almost all acoustic (except for the recording machinery itself). Also, anyone have any releases on the Old Hat label? What do you think?
I'd qualify the music of Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines and the pre-war big bands as jazz, even though it was influenced by blues.
I have a few (somewhere...) Nice label, with quite a bit of string band music; that said, I can't listen to string bands too long. http://www.oldhatrecords.com/
There's a lot of crossover among the artists, one of the great things about that era of music... Armstrong recorded with blues legends Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith (1924-25), and also with "the Father of Country Music," Jimmie Rodgers (1930).
I like this label. As a sampler at least, this one has a great selection of tracks with decent sound. You are aware of Joe Bussard? If not you should read this interview http://www.dustandgrooves.com/joe-bussard-frederick-ma/. A passionate collector of 78s and music lover. There's also a Movie/DVD "Desperate Man Blues" basically a documentary about him and collecting 78s. I swear his passion for music is infectious, so much so you might even overlook comments from him like "Jazz music ended in 1933"!
Elements of blues, country, jazz, and string band music combine on the excellent CD Earl McDonald and The Great Louisville Jug Bands (Frog): http://frog-records.co.uk/collections/vintage-jazz/products/dgf72
A great companion set to this box is Milton Brown and the Musical Brownies: The Complete Recordings of the Father of Western Swing 1932-1937.
Devil With The Devil: Hot Western Swing From The 1930s Smokin' vinyl only Western Swing collection. Just try to sit still...
He also recorded with Lonnie Johnson. And Johnny Dodds from Armstrong's Hot Fives recorded with Blind Blake.
Even though Uncle Dave was born in 1870, some of those sides he did with the Fruit Jar Drinkers in 1927 forecast rock-and-roll! I have his box set on Bear Family (which collects all his sides plus rarities), but the mastering on those County cds is still the best. What a great label.