A couple of weekends ago, while I was visiting my friend in Houston, I met a fellow native of New Orleans. We started right off talking about what parts of the city we had lived in and comparing notes on schools attended. She was not my contemporary, being a decade or so younger than I am, and we did not land in the same neighborhoods at the same time. Still, we had much to talk about.
Her father had moved to New Orleans to play music. Not because he had a job playing music, but because he wanted to be on the music scene in New Orleans. He had a day job which supported his family, but he played the music he loved on the side. How many folks moved to New Orleans to play the music?
Little Freddie King was another non-native musician, who headed into New Orleans from McComb, Mississippi at the age of 14. Here's King's story from the Times-Picayune by Chris Bynum:
Stress, says Little Freddie King, is what beckons his fingers to the guitar strings and unleashes the best of the blues.
The 66-year-old bluesman, among the last of the gritty country blues originals, has known stress in many forms: rocky relationships with women, overdue bills "or when your car is broke and you need to get somewhere, and you can't. Or a family member don't treat you right," said King....
Hurricane Katrina is his most recent muse, flooding his home and forcing him to live in another state.
The storm brought King loss and gain, that ebb and flow of life that adds a deeper raspiness to the throats of those who sing from personal experience.
On the Wednesday after the storm, as water flowed into the Central Business District, he and Alabama Slim (fellow bluesman Milton Frazier) left the Hotel Monteleone and headed to Texas.
....
"The blues has been stronger since Katrina," said King, whose soulful songs ironically express much gratitude. "Most of it is about homesickness. Before Katrina, my biggest blues was about the different women I had."
...
King hopes to bless some hearts with his gift of music. In August, he will move back to New Orleans, into a rental house designated for master musicians in residence at the Musicians Village in the Upper 9th Ward. The rental units, sponsored by New Orleans Habitat for Humanity and Shell, are provided for musicians to work in the planned Ellis Marsalis Center for Music.
The Musicians Village of rental property reserved for New Orleans musicians is an absolute genius of a concept. Affordable rental property is becoming more and more of a problem, harder to find, and this project will enable a number of musicians to remain in or return to the city.
Handing down blues to a younger generation can be difficult, King said. The title of his latest CD for Fat Possum Records, "You Don't Know What I Know," pretty much says why. But King is patient when it comes to his music. Blues, he reveals in his own life, is all about waiting.
Along with many other musicians, King could not make a living playing music.
King worked long hours for 37 years rebuilding carburetors and electrical equipment, and stayed with the wife who inspired the song "Mean Little Woman" until she died in a nursing home several years ago.
What a way to go down to posterity - as the "Mean Little Woman".
But life goes on for a bluesman. Today there's a new girlfriend, and she, too, has inspired a song: "My Little Baby-Face Baby" is about love's frustrations when two people try to share a life.
"She's my little baby-face baby, and every time I ask her to do something right, she turn around and do something wrong," he spoke the lyrics, the consonants rolling seamlessly from one to the next. King has no teeth to bite spaces between the words, so the easy momentum in his voice flows like uninterrupted thoughts.
I encourage you to read the whole beautifully written article. Bynum's piece gives a true feel for the kind of folks who were not native-born New Orleanians, but who were drawn to the city by the magic of the music, the food, the laissez-faire ambiance, and the soul of the city.
Before Katrina, New Orleans had many problems, the worst of which was a public school system which was close to totally dysfunctional, that no one seemed to be able to provide the will or the wisdom or the money to fix. And then there was the seemingly intractable problem of violent crime. I won't believe that the two problems are not connected one to the other. New Orleans was in decline before Katrina. I'm not blind to that. Nevertheless, I'm still in love with what's left of the city I grew up in, the city of the blues.
Yes, I know what it means to miss New Orleans.
I've only been to New Orleans twice in my life --- once on a high school "senior trip" during which a bunch of us dumb Iowa kids somehow meandered into (is/was it called Preservation Hall?) and sat enthralled. Another time, on leave from beautiful Fort Polk. I still think of it as heaven. So why in the world haven't I been back? But I can surely understand your love for the city. Frank D. (as opposed to just plain Frank)
ReplyDeleteThe ongoing neglect of New Orleans in the wake of the hurricane (we're now coasting towards the second anniversary, aren't we?) continues to leave one speechless. Can you imagine any other major city in the US where dereliction of responsibility on this scale, in the lead-up to Katrina and in its aftermath, would have been countenanced?
ReplyDeleteGuess the Bush administration is of one mind with Calvin Trillin's father-in-law, who is reported to have remarked to him, regarding one antic or another of the Louisiana state legislature during the civil rights era, "You've got to remember, son, this isn't the Southern United States, it's Northern Costa Rica".
Frank, yes! Preservation Hall! Y'all were lucky to have meandered there. Wasn't it great?
ReplyDeleteLapin, yes, the Banana Republic of the country, unlike all the pristine red states. But the folks in New Orleans truly are citizens of the US, whether the Bush maladministration wants to think so or not, although some of us would not mind at all if France bought us back.
Talking of Red States, I learned an hour ago that this evening's white-boys' presidential debate will take place one block from where my car is parked. I gather that the surrounding streets are now closed in all directions. Does not promise to be an enjoyable trip home - if, indeed, I can get out in the first place. If not, there's a brew-pub on site.
ReplyDeleteHa! The white boys got you trapped. Well, at least there's a brew-pub in the area. They are a white boys rogues gallery if I ever saw one.
ReplyDeleteMr. PJ and I are very fond of New Orleans. We're both stressy New Yorkers, and N.O. chilled us out very nicely both times we were there. We are still devastated by what happened there and pissed off beyond belief.
ReplyDeleteI always say that big chunks of two major cities were lost on Bush's watch -- two cities which have been responsible historically for MUCH of America's culture.
PJ, it's a good place for chillin' out, ain't it? I'm pleased y'all like it.
ReplyDeleteBuildings can be replaced, even old buildings, but when a culture is lost, there's no bringing it back.
That's why I am so pleased about the Musicians Village. The older musicians will be there to pass the music on to a younger generation, who will change the music some, but they will still be part of a long and honorable tradition.
Judging by its slight impact on traffic yesterday evening (I didn't get to spend the evening in the Brew Pub after all - like an excuse is needed), the Ten White Boys Tour may not be grabbing massive national attention. Guess Fred Thompson is banking on their boring one another to death before he throws his hat into the ring.
ReplyDeleteDid you catch the link to "Old Foodie" and Jane Austen that I posted on the Austen thread yesterday? If not, check it. This lady is VERY good. Today's post is on Dorothy Wordsworth and Hasty Pudding - specialized, but, to some, interesting. http://theoldfoodie.blogspot.com/
Bishop Henderson of Upper South Carolina has just posted at some length on the March meeting of the bishops and their response to Dar es Salaam. It's a thoughtful piece, from the diocese to the immediate north of Bishop Salmon and Dr Harmon.
http://upperscvii.wordpress.com/
good article.... I couldn't find a video of Little Freddie King so I did the next best thing - put up one of B B King on the vacation site.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll try to find that CD, "You Don't Know What I Know," for my own collection.
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and think about this: we are getting theology AND music recommendations from you now. Add some pictures of dogs and you'll give MadPriest a good run for his money!
Grandmère, thanks for dropping by from one of your heretofore secret admirers. I loved this story, especially, as you might suppose, the part about the Musicians Village. How many cities can boast a cultural pride that would lead to such a thing? Not many, I bet.
ReplyDelete