Search - Mississippi Fred Mcdowell :: Mississippi Fred McDowell

His raw, driving, highly rhythmicesmen as R.L. Burnside, a young neighbor of McDowell's who learned directly at the senior bluesman's feet. These recordings (McDowell's first after Lomax's 1959 field trip) were made by Dick Spottswood at McDowell's home in 1962. At the time Spottswood had no notion the recordings would ever be issued. They became part of the collection of the Library of Congress and remained unreleased until Britain's Heritage label brought them out on LP in the early '80s. Out-of-print for some time, and never before issued in the US, this album focuses on the blues songs McDowell recorded that day in 1962. Included among these 20 tracks are some of McDowell's best known songs: "Write Me a Few Lines," "Red Cross Store," "Shake 'Em on Down," "Highway 61" and others. Two years later McDowell electrified audiences at the Newport Folk Festival and, subsequently, around the world. One of his signature tunes, "You Got to Move," was covered by the Rolling Stones, bringing McDowell wide recognition and a significant royalty check. Here is a glimpse of Mississippi Fred McDowell before the world discovered him, playing some of the delta's most distinctive country blues in his Como, Mississippi living room for an audience of family and friends.