re:MG/Who vs Zep/Page

[mleaman@sccoast.net (Mark Leaman)]

>Mark-I don't think we disagree that MG has blues roots.  Having said that, I
>think some of your points listed above are incorrect.  It's true, Blues and
>Gospel both descended from spirituals (one being secular and the other
>non-secular), but the blues far predates the advent of C&W.  Robert Johnson
>certainly did not start it, but his influence was heavy on other bluesmen of
>his age and locale, and on British groups of the 60's.  The term "Country
>Blues" did not refer to the fact that the blues sounded like Country music.
> It was a term coined commercially in the 50's and 60's to designate the
>difference between electric (Chicago or Urban) blues and acoustic (Country or
>Folk) blues.  

Scott:

Everything I've ever heard about the Blues has them coming out of Country
music, as it existed at the time (a lot closer to Folk than it is now),
which doesn't mean Patsy Cline or anything like that. I'm not saying that it
SOUNDED like Country, but that it came from Country.

>Again, I am not agreeing/disagreeing with your contention that MG was the
>first rock song, but it seems to me that many of your criteria could also
>apply to the Beatles' "Hold Me Tight" or "I Wanna Be Your Man", i.e.
>blues-based riffs, non-standard blues chord progressions, vocal harmonies,
>etc.

Hold Me Tight and IWBYM sound like R&B to me. Much like Please Mr. Postman,
which WAS R&B.

>If you have any printed materials that suggests my information is incorrect,
>I honestly would very much like to know.  I am an avid blues fan, and have
>studied blues history.  But I certainly may have some facts wrong, and would
>like know more.  I would recommend to you, "Deep Blues" by Robert Palmer.

(sigh) Why did I know it would come to this? OK, I'll have to scour my
bookshelves and find the specific references. You'll have to give me some
time on that one, though. If I had them here at the store...but I don't.

>I don't have it with me on the road, but I don't recall hearing sitar. In any
>case the answer is Page.  It was only intended as minor trivia.

Oh yeah, there's sitar in it. I doubt it's Page, so I guess you mean the
electric guitar. Not too impressive, I must say. I like what Beck did on
Donovan's BARABAJAGAL better.




                   Cheers                   ML

"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity."  L. Long