Music about or inspired by the Mississippi River
In 2006 four highly regarded bluegrass musicians (Tommy Drake, Chris Stockwell, Tim Corbett, and Kelly Davis) and a whole bunch of their friends got together to record a few new and traditional tunes. They called themselves Step Into the Blue and gave the CD the same name. One of the songs on this CD, Big
Flood month continues at the Song of the Day Department with another song from the 1927 flood: Cairo Blues by Melvin 'Lil Son' Jackson. Recorded in 1949, Jackson references parts of an earlier song, High Water Blues by Blue Belle, a much darker take on the 1927 flood than Jackson's. Listen to more Songs here.
It's May, which means the Mississippi is rising and it's time for a month's worth of flood songs. We're going to kick it off with a classic from Bessie Smith: Backwater Blues. A lot of people associate this song with the 1927 flood, but it was actually recorded in February of 1927, several weeks before
We're continuing our April tour of songs about rivers that aren't specifically about the Mississippi. Moody River was a big hit for Pat Boone in 1961, which is something of a surprise given that the song is about a woman who drowned herself in a river after cheating on her boyfriend. Happy stuff. I prefer
This month we're highlighting great songs about rivers that aren't necessarily about the Mississippi. The River Hymn by The Band is one of my favorites in this category. Thanks to Robbie Robertson's evocative lyrics, I can easily picture myself sitting next to the Mississippi or any other great river. You can find the song on
We're switching things up for a month at the Song of the Day Department. There are a lot of good songs out there about rivers, even if many of them aren't specifically about the Mississippi. We normally file those songs away for our personal enjoyment, but this month we're going to share a few of
