[FA Worldmusic] knowledge transfer and marketing acrossgenerations

[Steve Hochman]

I was not trying to cast aspersions on Dixon, who was very much an  
innovator and creator of original art. Was just looking at the  
evolution of modern blues and folk traditions and the fact that at  
some point along the way people started claiming authorship of things  
that were really, at best, "trad. arr. by" cases. Maybe I was too  
rash to put the spotlight on Dixon. But I'd be pretty surprised if  
Dixon hadn't scavenged some lines from other songs to create some of  
his compositions. Just as it's pretty clear that much of Robert  
Johnson's work came from pre-existing songs. That's not a judgment,  
as Johnson brought a distinct artistry to his performances (well, as  
far as we can tell from the precious few recordings).


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On Aug 13, 2007, at 4:56 PM, Mitchell Greenhill wrote:

> Unless you can prove otherwise, be careful casting doubts on Willie  
> Dixon's authorship.  My own feeling is that "I'm Ready,"  
> "Spoonful," "Built For Comfort" etc etc are Willie Dixon's original  
> compositions, no less than "White Christmas" was written by Irving  
> Berlin.  Just because they sound like they've been around for ever  
> doesn't mean that they have.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Steve Hochman
> To: The Silver Nightingale
> Cc: Fa-Worldmusic (E-mail)
> Sent: Monday, August 13, 2007 4:38 PM
> Subject: Re: [FA Worldmusic] knowledge transfer and marketing  
> acrossgenerations
>
> yes, exactly! not everyone is going to explore further or ever care.
> which is fine. we in this discussion are all extraordinarily
> passionate and curious about musical lineage matters. but I think we
> all also can simply appreciate merely LIKING something we here and
> not having to know how the sausage was made, so to speak, or the
> parentage of the pig, for that matter....
>
> and as hinted at by Laura with the Weavers/Sloop John B reference,
> assigning "creator" credit can get sloppy. I have this discussion
> routinely whenever anyone mentions Led Zeppelin "ripping off" Willie
> Dixon et al. Well, yeah, they did. But who did Willie Dixon rip off?
> A lot of his songs are drawn from things that already existed, in the
> fine blues/folk tradition of mixing and matching lines and verses,
> melodies and rhythms scavenged from other songs. Does the first
> person to claim authorship GET authorship? well, it's seemed that way
> a lot. (For more on this, I HIGHLY recommend Elijah Wald's terrific
> "Escaping the Delta" book from a few years ago.)
>
>
> -----------------------------------
> Check out my column:
> http://www.spinner.com/category/around-the-world/
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>
> On Aug 13, 2007, at 8:59 AM, The Silver Nightingale wrote:
>
> > On Aug 10, 2007, at 6:05 PM, Steve Hochman wrote:
> >
> >> how
> >> many people discovered folk and blues due to Dylan and the Stones?
> >> How many learned about reggae from Eric Clapton's version of "I  
> Shot
> >> the Sheriff"? And how many just enjoy what they heard and never
> >> explored the roots, which I suppose is fine, since enjoyment is the
> >> real point of music from a listener's standpoint. I mean, we all  
> want
> >> people to learn about the sources of music, the creators (if anyone
> >> can really be called a creator, since most of the traditions we  
> love
> >> go back well beyond traceability), but does it really matter if  
> they
> >> don't? I guess it matters a lot if someone's work is being used/
> >> copied without compensation and recognition. but is there a larger
> >> necessity for a Lily Allen fan, for example, to know where that  
> piano
> >> lick came from?
> >
> > I don't know if the average fan (whoever that is) looks into their
> > fave
> > musician's influences to the point of actually hearing the original
> > work. How many people still think Eric Clapton wrote and was  
> first to
> > record "I Shot the Sheriff"? I bet that would be a big number. Those
> > who are not educated or curious enough about music in the first  
> place
> > to even think about their idol's sources won't be looking for them.
> >
> > Heck, even a musically educated and music-adoring person such as
> > myself, who grew up to be a professional musician - as a young  
> sprout
> > listening to PP&M, Dylan, Beatles and Stones, I had little idea  
> about
> > their inspirations till decades later (who's this Carl Perkins guy?)
> >
> > And when I first saw Work O' The Weavers just a few years ago, I
> > learned even more about who a lot of musicians I listened to were
> > inspired by (Sloop John B didn't originate with the Beach Boys?!)  
> (or
> > for that matter, with the Weavers!!)
> >
> > Even though I thought I was already pretty familiar with the Weavers
> > through learning folk and political history, I really didn't know  
> the
> > truly enormous scope of their work and influence. Of course that's a
> > group that drew heavily on roots sources, but how many of even their
> > legion of fans know the music of those sources?
> >
> > You don't know what you don't know....
> >
> > One of the best ways for musicians to make sure their fans have a  
> clue
> > about the ones who came before is by recording and performing with
> > their influences, as artists like Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton and
> > others
> > have done - as well as by talking about those influences and
> > inspirations during their shows. During interviews too, of  
> course, but
> > especially during their shows.
> >
> > Best from the nest,
> > Laura Sue
> >
> > * Flute Fusion * from The Silver Nightingale
> > (--<*>---(-o-o-o-`---o-o-o-(0-ooo-()
> > http://www.SilverNightingale.com
> >
> > "I planted some bird seed. A bird came up. Now I don't know what to
> > feed it." - Steven Wright
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