Ladies of The Blues - Etta Baker - Railroad Bill

 Etta Baker

Railroad Bill

we had our Elisabeth ‘Libba' Cotton (who penned Freight Freight Train) and we have featured Sister Rosetta Tharpe when the rains came down in Manchester now for some Etta Baker who standardised Railroad Bill and made it her own

 Photos of the Week

Largely musicians and classic modern art photographers I have admired . . . . . . 

Joel Meyerowitz - New York 1971

Fiona Apple  Lionel Deluy, 2012

Peter Gabriel 1972, by Clive Arrowsmith

Eric Clapton and late sixties French girlfriend Charlotte Martin

Brownie McGhee and Sister Rosetta Tharpe in Manchester UK

Bridget Fonda and Samuel L Jackson in publicity shot for Jackie Brown

BBC RADIO 2 'The Blues Show'

Rhiannon Giddens was the guest host on BBC Radio 2's 'The Blues Show.' She shared an hour of favorite blues songs by women artists like Geeshie Wiley, Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters, Big Mama Thornton, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Nina Simone, Odetta, Aretha Franklin, Leyla McCalla, Amythyst Kiah, and others. Listen again at

BBC.CO.UK

BBC Radio 2 - The Blues Show with Cerys Matthews, Rhiannon Giddens sits in

The Grammy-winning musician shares an hour of her favourite blues.

Just because it has rained here all day and I may have posted this before and of course Sister does not share my views nor I hers but have always enjoyed the influence of religion upon popular music from the Blues to Gospel and back again . . . . this is one of favourites and with TV like this is it any wonder one of the first EP's I bought was Big Bill Broonzy, Leadbelly and Josh White at 13

 a still from the above programme in Manchester 1964

Didn't it rain? You know it did . . . . . . .