*Another* previously unknown Blind Blake blues 78 is discovered!

Old Hat Records' website has a fabulously exciting announcement for fans of the early blues: a previously unknown recording by 1920s guitar wizard Blind Blake has been discovered.

"Miss Emma Liza" and "Dissatisfied Blues" on Paramount 13115 was found last month at a flea market in Virginia. There are sound samples posted on Old Hat's website, along with label pictures, and the slices of the recordings show this is Blind Blake at his most entertaining vocally and instrumentally.

http://www.oldhatrecords.com/

Now, someone *has* to find the two missing Willie Brown Paramount 78s.....

 

Great news! Hopefully it'll soon be issued on a well-mastered CD.

 

I'm betting that John Tefteller issues it first, just as he did with the 2007 Blind Blake 78 that was discovered and first announced by Old Hat.

Either way, we likely should get quality transfers out of it. Just don't let Document Records anywhere near it! LOL!

 

Maybe we'll see it on John Tefteller's 2014 CD-with-calendar, mastered by Richard Nevins. That'd be great.

 

How many total Blind Blake sides does that make so far? 114?

 

When it's said that "a previously unknown recording has been found", I assume it means that the record was thought to no longer exist, not that the record was not known to have existed at all, right? Like, I assume that the record would've been listed in a record label catalog, and there are several records listed in those that have never turned up...

 

This great news. There's a synchronicity going on here. This news and the return of Yazoo label is giving me hope that I've got more Rural Acoustic Blues material coming to my collection in the near future.

 

Synchonicity indeed. In the last couple of years they not only found four more Blind Blake sides, but the man himself, too! http://www.bluesandrhythm.co.uk/documents/BR263-Blind-Blake.pdf

 

Blind Blake is very underrated - he was really an amazing finger picker.

 

I love hearing stories of these long lost recordings being recovered in the darnedest of places. It gives us hope that someday a better copy of an ultra rare record (ie: Skip James' Paramount output) may be located. One can always wish. This Blind Blake story is great. Thanks for sharing.

 

It's wonderful how these discoveries continue to happen... Listening to the samples, that sounds like a lot of improvisation on "Miss Emma Liza," and unusual guitar work on "Dissatisfied Blues." The record seems somewhat worn, could be a tough one for a mastering engineer.

Yes: it was a release known to have existed at some point, but "unknown to collectors" because no surviving copy had been reported. With the discovery of Paramount 13123 a few years ago, we have a clearer view of this session:

Blind Blake - guitar and vocal
Grafton, Wisconsin; c. January 1932

L-1267 Dissatisfied Blues (Paramount 13115)
L-1268 Night And Day Blues (Paramount 13123)
L-1269 Sun To Sun (Paramount 13123)
L-1270 ?
L-1271 ?
L-1272 Miss Emma Liza (Paramount 13115)

L-1273 through L-1294 are untraced, according to a 78 Quarterly listing (I've not yet seen Guido Van Rijn's Paramount 'L-Matrix Series' book).

 

I have that book, it's wonderful, a companion to my early 70s Paramount discography by Max Vreede.

Van Rijn's new book shows that L-1277 through L-1288 are polkas and dance band music. The rest are untraced.

BTW, waiting for the next issue of 78 Quarterly to arrive is akin to waiting for Godot, wouldn't you say?

 

Thanks for this information--the book sounds excellent.

Yes (ha), 78 Quarterly apparently produced an even dozen and that's it.

 

About the reissue of Paramount 13115, on Blues Images Vol. 11... the record's very worn, with damaged grooves, some skips, and harsh distortion, a tough listen.

"Miss Emma Liza (Sweetness)" is a version of "Sweet Emmalina", recorded as a vocal and instrumental in 1928 by Clarence Williams, who also performed on a version by King Oliver. Blake's voice sounds deeper than usual on this song--I don't think it's the transfer--except when he affects a high falsetto for the title character.

"Dissatisfied Blues" has lots of outstanding guitar work, as he changes the tempo and mixes styles, including some percussive thumping, also used on Miss Emma Liza.

Blake fanatics and completists (obviously) will want this; the condition issues may present a problem for more casual fans. Along with other late Blake records, these sides reveal how he continued to evolve, in his style and delivery, and with unpredictable material.

 

I agree, this is a very tough listen. It's a miracle that Richard Nevins was able to salvage it at all for listening. It's the only copy in the world, so something is better than nothing in terms of (trying to) hear this recording.

 

For me, as a big fan of pre-war blues, it's a big event whenever a long-thought-lost record appears. Particularly, I must admit, when it's a Paramount record of an amazing artist like Blind Blake. This is indeed exciting news.

 

You really need to buy a copy of John Tefteller's amazing blues calendar and get the CD that comes with it. Not only will you hear this Blind Blake recording, but there's a newly-found MINT copy of Charlie Patton's "Magnolia Blues"/"Mean Black Cat Blues" on the CD.

http://bluesimages.com/