On today’s show I interview blues/jazz/country/everything musician Baby Gramps. Gramps was in NYC on tour from the West coast. I ran into him at the Jalopy Theater and we arranged to meet for an interview the next day at Zebulon, another Brooklyn club where he was playing a show. This interview takes place out on the street. We talk about his early days back in the 60’s hanging out with Furry Lewis, Jesse Fuller and Elizabeth Cotton, hunting for old 78’s at the “Starvation Army,” hear some old records he was influenced by and play a bunch of tracks from his excellent new CD, “Baptized on Swamp Water.”
See below for links associated with today’s program:
Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival -Huge festival where Baby Gramps always plays
Baby Gramps appears on the David Letterman show:
Bill Ackerbauer
Baby Gramps is a genius! This is a great interview, and one of my favorite DHR podcasts so far. Can’t wait for the next one!
Bill Ackerbauer
Another thought: I think it’s interesting that Baby Gramps’ version of “Satisfied and Tickled, Too” sounds more like Taj Mahal’s version (from “An Evening of Acoustic Music”)than Mississipi John Hurt’s recorings of the song. Taj’s take on the tune is unique to the point that he appears to credit John Hurt purely out of respect for the man and because of the minor detail that the songs have the same title. Have you heard John Hiatt’s cover of “Satisfied” on the Juhn Hurt tribute CD that Peter Case produced? It’s damned fine, too.