Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee and Mississippi John Hurt; Hedy West & Paul Cadwell / Shanachie DVD-607

Description

Shanachie DVD 607 / Black and White, Approx 2 hours / 41 total songs / From Pete Seeger’s 1960s television show Rainbow Quest. Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee were among the most enduring blues acts of the post-war era, forming an association that was to last three decades. Terry’s distinctive harmonica style combining whoops and hollers blended well with McGhee’s warm voice and tasteful guitar picking. Along with Pete Seeger, Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie, Brownie and Sonny were part of the burgeoning New York folk scene around 1940, and in their musical reunion here with Pete they perform a captivating mix of traditional blues and folk music.

Mississippi John Hurt’s superb guitar playing and gentle, expressive voice made him one of the most acclaimed figures in blues history, and his appearance here shows his skills had not diminished since his classic 1928 recordings. Hedy West brought the musical heritage of her Georgia roots to the folk revival of the 1960s and performs several songs accompanying herself on the 5-string banjo. Paul Cadwell drew his material from turn of the century ragtime and plays a number of rags, cakewalks and traditional banjo pieces.