TEXAS BLUES Volume 12

TEXAS BLUES Vol. 12

This new opus of our "Texas Blues" series is entirely dedicated to the rich Country blues tradition of this State.

Despite he was rediscovered by Chris Strachwitz in 1967, Manny Nichols (Manuel Nichols) is largely ill documented. He was born on 15^th March 1906 at Cuero (Tx) and recorded a handful of tracks at ACA Studios early in 1950, some of them being issued on Imperial but going nowhere. A quite primitive guitar player, Manny's blues music has nevertheless a strong deep feeling that makes his music very rewarding. He died on 25^th November 1970 at Victoria (Tx)

James Tisdom (sometimes nicknamed Smokestack) was born at Goliad (Tx) 17^th March 1912 and lived almost all his life around Corpus Christi. He apparently learned guitar at an early age and played the blues while making a living outside music. He anyway managed to record ten tracks for very obscure labels. He would also record during the late 1960's for researcher Mack McCormick. A citizen of Goliad, he became a local character and while playing the blues in a nursing home James was featured on the Victoria Advocate a few years before his passing away at Fort Worth on 5^th November 1992.

Nathaniel "Pops" Overstreet has had the honours of a small article on a Special Houston Living Blues issue by Alan Ainsworth. Born in De Kalb (Tx) 27 July 1928, "Pops" worked most of his life on several steel mills in Illinois and Michigan, learning guitar and the blues from B.B. King's records.

Back to Houston after 1963, Overstreet met Lightnin' Hopkins who taught him some guitar licks and some blues lyrics. To my knowledge, Pops recorded only four tracks and died in Houston on 27^th January 2000.

The cousin of the famous "Smokey" Hogg, John Hogg (born 5 August 1912 at Glenfawn, Tx) was also a deep bluesman and Texas-styled guitar picking who recorded a handful of excellent tracks in 1951. Although he never made a living from his music, John Hogg never stopped playing and he recorded again on 1974. He died at Inglewood, Ca. on 11^th November 1997.

Outside two James Tisdom's tracks all the recordings of those four down home Texas bluesmen have been gathered here.

Gérard HERZHAFT

MANNY NICHOLS, vcl/g. Houston, Tx. may 1950

01. Walkin' blues

02. Forgive me baby

03. Forgive me

04. Throw a little boogie

05. Worried life

06. No one to love me

07. Walking talking blues

08. Tall skinny mama blues

JAMES TISDOM, vcl/g; g. Los Angeles, Ca. july 1949