Show 14: The Blues Canon
This is the core sample: the records a listener ought to know before wandering too far into side roads. The show makes an argument for a working canon, not to close the music off, but to give the whole hundred-show run a strong foundation.
I'm Ol' Mr. Read. Throughout these last fourteen episodes, I've tried to guide my track listings through some overarching thematic pathways. I do this to dive deeply into the sounds of a number of unique-sounding musicians by giving each movement its fair shot for air time. On this episode, I intend to break from this format to show you the incredible artistry that resists the easy categorizations I apply. The following two hours will consist of music that shaped my perception of the blues so thoroughly that I figure its influential power alone is enough for an episode to be devoted to it. Up first is the jazz and blues pioneer Jelly Roll Morton singin' "Hesitation Blues." Here it is.
This is the core sample: the records a listener ought to know before wandering too far into side roads. The show makes an argument for a working canon, not to close the music off, but to give the whole hundred-show run a strong foundation.
| Order | Track | Artist | Segment | Bridge | Story |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hesitation Blues | Jelly Roll Morton | 1 | - | |
| 2 | Backwater Blues | Bessie Smith | 1 | - | |
| 3 | See See Rider | Ma Rainey | 1 | Story | |
| 4 | Call It Stormy Monday But Tuesday Is Just As Bad | T-Bone Walker | 1 | - | |
| 5 | Rusty Dusty Blues (Mama Mama Blues) | Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five | 1 | - | |
| 6 | Waiting for a Train | Jimmie Rodgers | 1 | Story | |
| 7 | Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me | Mississippi John Hurt | 1 | Yes | - |
| 8 | Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dying Bed | Josh White | 2 | Yes | - |
| 9 | Mean Old World (Tk. 1) | Big Bill Broonzy | 2 | - | |
| 10 | Black Snake Moan | Blind Lemon Jefferson | 2 | Story | |
| 11 | Down the Dirt Road Blues | Charley Patton | 2 | - | |
| 12 | Dark was the night, cold was the ground | Blind Willie Johnson | 2 | Story | |
| 13 | Parchman Farm Blues | Bukka White | 2 | Story | |
| 14 | Come On In My Kitchen | Robert Johnson | 2 | - | |
| 15 | Saint James Infirmary | Snooks Eaglin | 2 | Yes | - |
| 16 | Red River | Sonny Terry | 3 | Yes | - |
| 17 | We Shall Be Free (with Woody Guthrie and Cisco Houston) | Lead Belly,Woody Guthrie,Cisco Houston | 3 | - | |
| 19 | He's in the Jail House Now | Blind Blake | 3 | - | |
| 20 | Canned Heat Blues | Tommy Johnson | 3 | - | |
| 21 | K.C. Moan | Memphis Jug Band | 3 | - | |
| 22 | Kill It Kid | Blind Willie McTell | 3 | - | |
| 23 | Walk Right In | Cannon's Jug Stompers | 3 | - | |
| 24 | The Twelves (The Dirty Dozens) | Casey Bill Weldon,Kokomo Arnold | 3 | - | |
| 25 | Barbecue Blues | Barbecue Bob | 3 | Yes | - |
| 26 | Worried About My Baby | Sunnyland Slim | 4 | Yes | - |
| 27 | That's All Right | Arthur Big Boy" Crudup" | 4 | - | |
| 28 | Poor Black Mattie | R.L. Burnside | 4 | - | |
| 29 | I'm In The Mood | John Lee Hooker | 4 | - | |
| 31 | Moanin' At Midnight | Howlin' Wolf | 4 | Story | |
| 32 | My Babe | Little Walter | 4 | Story | |
| 33 | Don't Start Me To Talkin' | Sonny Boy Williamson II | 4 | - | |
| 34 | Baby Please Don't Go | Big Joe Williams | 4 | Story | |
| Going Down The Road (I Ain't Gonna Be Treated This Way) | Woody Guthrie | - | |||
| Honey Bee | Muddy Waters | - | |||
| I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town | Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five | - | |||
| If You See My Rooster (Please Run Him Home) | Memphis Minnie | - |