Blues

Peg Leg Sam - Medicine Show Man (1995)

2013-09-01T18:30:40Z

Peg Leg Sam - Medicine Show Man (1995)


01. Who's That Left Here 'While Ago 
02. Greasy Greens 
03. Reuben 
04. Irene, Tell Me, Who Do You Love
05. Skinny Woman Blues 
06. Lost John 
07. Ode To Bad Bill 
08. Ain't But One Thing Give A Man The Blues 
09. Easy Ridin' Buggy 
10. Peg's Fox Chase 
11. Before You Give It All Away 
12. Fast Freight Train  
13. Nasty Old Trail 
14. Born In Hard Luck 

Peg Leg Sam – harmonica, vocals

Peg Leg Sam (December 18, 1911 – October 27, 1977) was an American country blues harmonicist, singer and comedian. He recorded "Fox Chase" and "John Henry", and worked in medicine shows. He gained his nickname following an accident whilst hoboing in 1930.

Born Arthur Jackson in Jonesville, South Carolina, United States, to David Jackson, a farmer and native of Virginia, and Emma Jackson, Arthur was the fourth of six children. His fraternal great-grandmother, Racheal Williams, was born 1810 in Colonial Virginia, and was commonly referred to as a mulatto. She may have had a Caucasian mother or father, most likely, a cacausian father, as this would have been typical for the time period. Arthur went on to marry Theo S. Jackson, who was 18 years older than him, and the mother of Herbert Miller and Katherine Miller, both natives of Tennessee. In South Carolina, Peg Leg Sam made his living busking on the street and performing in patent-medicine shows. Peg Leg Sam gave his last medicine-show performance in 1972 in North Carolina, but continued to appear at music festivals in his final years.

He died in Jonesville in October 1977, at the age of 65. --- en.goldenmap.com

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Peg Leg Sam featuring Louisiana Red - Early In The Morning (1996)

2013-08-29T16:05:55Z

Peg Leg Sam featuring Louisiana Red - Early In The Morning (1996)


01. Joshua Fit The Battle of Jericho
02. Navaho Trail
03. John Henry
04. Going Train Blues
05. Mr. Ditty Wa Ditty
06. Strollin'
07. I Got A Home
08. Dog Chase
09. Early In The Morning
10. Poor Boy

Peg Leg Sam (vocals, harmonica)
Louisiana Red (guitar)

An enigmatic wisp of an entertainer, Arthur "Sam" Jackson, a.k.a. Peg Leg Sam, was an old time medicine show performer and harmonica virtuoso who worked and traveled across the US, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, and the Bahamas before finally being recorded in the early seventies. Born December 18, 1911 in Jonesville, S.C., he taught himself how to play the harmonica and ventured out on the road at the age of twelve. Over the years he learned to play a wide range of music and became a versatile entertainer who danced, told bawdy stories, and performed tricks by playing several harmonicas at once. While traveling in the multitude of medicine shows that employed him for much of his life, Peg played with the likes of Pink Anderson and Elmon "Shorty." During later tours of the festivals and blues clubs circuit, he played with Rufe Johnson, Sugar Blue and Louisiana Red when he wasn't performing solo. He returned to Jonesville near the end of his life and passed away on October 27, 1977.

"Early In The Morning," is Labor Records re-release of Peg Leg Sam's last recording. Consisting mainly of traditional blues and gospel, this is the classic, laid back, "front porch blues."

Louisiana Red, (Iverson Minter) provides guitar accompaniment on seven of the ten songs and lends his powerful voice to "Going Train Blues." His restrained guitar playing gives Peg Leg Sam the space to proceed with his old-fashioned, country brand of delivery wherein his harmonica and voice answer and play off each other. "Dog Chase," (recorded elsewhere as "Peg's Fox Chase") is a prime example of this interplay. A highlight of the CD is "Strollin," where Sam's vocal inflection is reminiscent of Joe Callicott. Other traditional blues songs in this set list are "John Henry," "Mr. Ditty Wa Ditty," "Poor Boy," and the title track, "Early In the Morning."

The variety of his influences is evident by the inclusion to his set of a "western" song titled, "Navaho Trail." A regular part of his repertoire, his personality assumes ownership of this and all the songs he plays. Also included are the gospel songs, "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho," and "I Got a Home," his mother, a church organist, would've no doubt been happy about that.

The coda of a long lifetime of travel, "Early In The Morning" is a prime example of the type of music one might have encountered at a traveling medicine show. Containing a variety of music from piedmont blues to gospel, delta blues to western, the versatile Peg plays it all. The sound quality is great and the mix is good. Red plays the consummate sideman and allows Peg to take the reins and entertain us the old fashioned way. His performance may not be quite as energetic as earlier recordings but his individual personality still shines brightly and this CD is very enjoyable. --- Stephen T Davidson, folkstreams.net

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Peg Leg Sam - Kickin' It (2000)

2013-08-28T15:55:32Z

Peg Leg Sam - Kickin' It (2000)


01. Who's That Left Here 'While Ago 
02. Greasy Greens 
03. Reuben 
04. Irene, Tell Me, Who Do You Love 
05. Skinny Woman Blues 
06. Lost John 
07. Ode to Bad Bill 
08. Ain't But One Thing Give A Man The Blues 
09. Easy Ridin' Buggy 
10. Peg's Fox Chase 
11. Before You Give It All Away 
12. Fast Frieght Train 
13. Nasty Old Trail 
14. Born in Hard Luck 

Peg Leg Sam – harmonica, vocals
Rufe Johnson – guitar, vocals

Peg Leg Sam was not your typical country-blues performer -- he was in a class all his own. Born in 1911, he naturally embraced the country-blues of his generation, while also maintaining the early medicine show roots he learned as a child. Sam's sometimes humorous and always impassioned monologues, combined with harp virtuosity (he sometimes played two of them at once), came from a life of dedicated showmanship built up after years of passing the hat for crowds of spectators. Since Sam was definitely under-recorded, he has gained status as one of those irreplaceable characters who fell through the cracks, making these sessions fortunate to have available. These tracks were originally released on the Trix label as Medicine Show Man, and are now available as Kickin' It on 32 Blues. Sam is accompanied separately on the disc by guitarists Baby Tate and Rufe Johnson, from two South Carolina sessions recorded in Spartanburg during 1970 and Jonesville two years later. ---Al Campbell, Rovi

Accompanied only by an acoustic guitar and by the thumping sound of his own wooden leg, Peg Leg Sam blends down-home humor and harmonica virtuosity on Kickin' It. A one-time traveling medicine show entertainer from the '30s, Sam recorded these Piedmont and Delta blues classics in 1970 and 1972 for the Trix label. Among the many highlights here are unaccompanied harmonica showcases like "Lost John," "Reuben" and the show-stopping "Peg's Fox Chase." Sam also delivers one rhyming story, "Ode to Bad Bill," in folksy fashion. A favorite of folklorist Alan Lomax, Peg Leg Sam (born Arthur Jackson in Jonesville, S.C.) was an irrepressible showman from the old school. We may never see the likes of him again. ---Bill Milkowski, jazztimes.com

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