River

Joe Joe can we go one more time. Ever stay close to the window. Yes how do you know when you go. Out which you know. You know something about the cell phone and now about what brings you back to the river.

And this trip is pretty phenomenal. What do you like best about when you know me know you like just me. Oh you're even getting a little bit you get look close you stay. If you want to say something about the way the way they sing accents so I speak because I lived in Alabama and you tell me that it sounded like something ability and passion filled with political thanks. And I said No I sound like an ass. Well it's beautiful. Where does your come from tell me something. It's slow. People from other parts of the

country say we need to come out about it. Down to things to go. Out of Bounds. Well it's a lovely it's a lot of music to me. I like you know the people. Nice. And how long have you been living legend. Forty. Two years. I went to college that I ran out my good moments and now. Children move on. So. They have I'M AN HOUR band. Or you write a postcard. Yes. Oh yeah I'm writing about grandchildren. Great grandchildren. What are they going to know. They know they have a genius out there. Do you think the Southern accents going to banish as we all you know much about television.

You know I wonder if. I hear some of it on television. What do you hope that you know I think it's nice to have a different accent. I love Boston. I could have it clipped. That will be nice. To know French in. Alabama. That would be the difference for me. Clipped and sanest.

Better language you. Know. Oh.

A.

You know we just get so much.

It's fascinating seeing both come in my life. Maybe I will get used to just hysteria not talking this is a shot of my cousin somewhere before you know. So our guys get it now OK. OK low level low slow roll all count let's just plain drive your camera talk me all kind of places claim a blue Chicago blues blue.

I'm a little bit about where the blues really. I personally I think it started from the Mississippi Delta. That's why I start it that way I think it started that center of sorrow. The audience will not hear me. So I need you I need you can I stay. OK all right OK. Why I think the blue started actually was the Mississippi Delta and I've been told that even down below starting from the edge of Louisiana has camp coming on through Mississippi but I personally think that the blue started in the Mississippi Delta and most of the people that I know that I think have a lot to do with the blues like Muddy Waters and people before him like Charlie Patton and I could go on with Bobby slam and Robert Johnson Ilana JOHNSON So all of these people came from the Mississippi Delta and later on some of migrated to Memphis and Chicago and so on so

my answer is I think the blues started in the Mississippi Delta. That's where I think the blues started from. Talk about Oh stop your ritual last words. Yes I think that. It's a very thin line between gospel and blues music. When I was growing up my family was very religious and my mother and some of her close friends they did not allow blues being played in the house but we could sneak in and play em as long as nobody was singing it because the music was pretty close to the same thing. My dad it didn't matter too much for him as most and he would take my mother to church in most of the men would sit out in the front of the church and tell jokes to each other a lot of times while the women usually would be in church with the kids

and I like that I enjoyed going to the church and I learned a lot about singing and believe it or not that the the feeling that I got in church I still get that somewhat when I'm playing today. So I think that of the beat even on the day the only difference I find like because I'm crazy about the sanctified Church is I was baptized in the church of gun crisis as well as Baptists. And it seemed to me that the people when they sing they sing strictly from the heart it comes from here no put on no nothing but here it is. And that's to kind of sing and that's what I like. And not too much of the finance just go ahead and do it. Well when artists do that when I hear people doing it when I say do it and I'm talking my singing gospel all blues or any other that's the got that big heart feeling in it

that to me is says that it's a feeling both ways so they're the one difference is the lyrics the lines in a song that distinguishes blues from gospel in my opinion because I can feel them both right. That's why I used to go get you. Having watched you life. I have a little something I'd like to add to that for some time making jokes when people talk to me about blues and gospel and I tell them that when I can hear somebody singing or when I'm singing and playing the difference is when we sing in gospel we sing in about heavenly bodies. When I'm singing the blues a sing about it what's right.

Maybe we can read a story about your first taste of the guitar. Your first guitar left left me with my first guitar lesson. It started I guess when I was about seven eight maybe nine in the delta. It was something of a tradition that on Sunday afternoon the preacher would go to various houses France didn't like this house he's Deacon A's and next Sunday is Deacon B and so one. Well this preacher happened to be my uncle's brother in law. Another can of the tradition was that the adults would always have been a first. Kids would eat later. Well usually we idle still playing around usually but every time this particular preacher

would come over to my uncle's house for dinner and he was the pastor of our church he played guitar in church. With no work on the preacher I started to write. Just watch the life you feel for the people you love you mark up with I'll start again if that's OK. My friends get taught a lesson that I've ever had that started me to I think really want to play guitar. Was it was because of my my uncle's brother in law which was the pastor of our church and he played guitar in church but it was kind of a traditional thing that they're adults would always have done a first on Sunday afternoon and

then the kids would be late on. Also it was kind of a traditional thing that the preacher would visit from house to house on a Sunday afternoon. This family and family one just signed in family to maybe next Sunday. However this particular day while the family was having dinner in the kitchen the preacher would always ladies get to own a bit. Well I'm crazy about looking at the guitar so every time he put the guitar on a bad Usually I would always get it fool around with it but never get caught. This particular day the Preach it when the family came out they caught me on the bed with the guitar so I thought I would really get it but the preacher was very nice and he asked my uncle not to bother me and he could see that I was really interested in the guitar and he showed me three chords 1 4 1 5 and here I am today.

Many many years later I still use 1 full and 5 so that was my first and I guess one of the best lessons I've ever had with the guitar. OK yeah OK I think that you have a lot of stuff I must say I think it sums up your flap in the breeze BBQ Mitchell tradition. Usually we come there's enough in my own country. All of them not just blacks or not just whites and blacks. It wasn't it's not divided along racial lines that we're losing you know traditions that America has become so fast paced and urban. We're not here and now here it was you know part of storytelling. You talk about that. When I was a youngster thinking in terms of how

family passes things on down through generation to generation. When I was very small when I was with my parents or with other people usually I found quite often that dad would sit down especially the men would sit down and tell the boys or men we used to go out camping like I see very few kids today go out like they got the Boy Scouts or what have you but at the time we didn't know about Boy Scouts what they would do a bunch of men would take us out at some nights in the spring or in the summer when it was warm. They used to go hunting but we didn't do a lot of hunting the dogs would be doing the hunt and they build a big one far big fire and the men would sit down and they would tell us stories stories about family life and some of the fiction I know but then they would tell us another thing that was true and we used to love to sit around and listen to a man.

I don't find a lot of that today I find that fathers. There are a lot of good fathers. Don't get me wrong and there are a lot of good mothers but it seemed to me that the family itself doesn't set around like we should do. I know this is a country of course that you would raise potatoes in the city but we sit around and bake potatoes and peanuts and stuff like that and then the family would talk with saying and then they would play and talk about things that was things that they thought was not good for the family or whatever. And then they would talk about things that happened with the grandparents and the great grandparents and the reason for this being like it is of the reason for that being like it is. And a lot of that's so Dan and I don't think we do that today enough. I think maybe there is a little bit of it and I'm guilty of it. I've never. I remember once my oldest son was asking me about we was we want to see a movie about a lady called Billie Holiday

and they were sure and about the many things that she had gone through in mice. My son says Dad did that really happen and I almost cried. I almost cried you know I am an entertainer and my son didn't know about Billie Holiday. The reason I had not told him. And I think a lot of us look at the guilty of some of the things like that so I believe that's one of the things that make a lot of the kids feel that they have nobody to talk to. And I think that's sad. I I hope to do better about it myself. What about you. Yeah but I like to think that. Blues Music is a type of music that we are proud of and we should be proud to talk about it.

I noticed as I travel around the day I notice that quite often. Especially black kids will come up and say with respect of course I Mr. King I sure would like to have an autograph from my mother. Oh Mr. King I sure would like to have an autograph for my dad but rarely do they want one for themselves and it to me makes me feel that they are a little bit ashamed of it maybe ashamed to be associated with a guy that he is a part of and I feel a little sad about that sometimes. And quite often I would say to them Don't be ashamed to be who you are. If you're born in a country. Hey I was born in the country but born in the city don't be ashamed of it. You don't have to brag but you have born in the city. How's things with you well OK you know. If it wasn't okay well not so good. But don't be ashamed of it because I believe as long as the president breathe long as you've got your health and strength you can

do better. So that's what I always think about you can always do better and you don't have. I don't feel that the world over say anything with air in it. I think when you're born in the world that's it when you get there then you're supposed to I think earn what you get. Not only that I believe in always saying that we are our brother's keeper so huge you try to do the best you can and help the other guy care ever since you know just well you'll be coming back in this one rounds every summer. For free or practically free play those small books small things that you can pass. You talk about one of the things I. Think about coming back to my roots as we sometimes say but back to my home state of Mississippi I think of myself when I was a small boy growing up I didn't have too many role models and I can touch. So when I go back to

in you know in the delta or any place in Mississippi where I spent a lot of time or any kind of a specially I mean in a state but especially to Mississippi in my home state and I see all the little kids I don't think in terms of color of the sizes but all the ages I should say but the kids and when they can come up and some of them do shake hands with me if they're as if they grew up knowing me from the you know from a community where they may be I feel good because if I could have done that I only had a few people that. I knew about that I could kind of have and I'm talking about known people or celebrities if you will. But there were people in my neighborhood in my community that my life was Patton and I for one guy was as cold aloof a chance and was my teacher. Now I didn't know until a few years ago that Mr. Henson Henson didn't finish college I understand that he only went maybe

a year or so. But to me he was the greatest man. And today's theory is he's about 90 something. He still has one of the greatest people I've known and to practice my life kind of like him. I still do. But when I just come back to my home town then you know and I see the little kids and I go out in the park and play for them and be able to talk to them they ask me questions and some of them look like Little Men and Little Women they come up and talk to me and some of the questions they ask me. It's hard for me to answer. I think a strong question but it makes me happy to try. That's the reason why I do it because I feel that all a lot of them will do much better than some of us have done. Even if they don't become celebrities but they'll be out of the loop the Hinson's people like that in the community. And that to me is exciting.

I love that. Q Tell me about dockery. I don't know that much about the Dockery plantation but mostly I've been by it and what I've read I was told that every blues singer every musician practically that come from Mississippi was born within 100 miles of it and every one of them at one time or another was there. Well I'm one I was there. I never lived on it but I've been there but I know that some of that leading seeing is losing especially like Muddy Waters Robert Johnson or Charlie Patton and bomb would be slam and I could go on and name so many of the names that I've heard always associated with.