Bukka White - 'Parchman Farm'

Last week, I met Denise "The Grease" for lunch over in Chinatown.  After lunch, we visited a few produce markets on Canal Street.  Also on Canal Street are street peddlers, who sell counterfeit goods.  Nike sneakers, Rolex watches, Louis Vuitton bags, Gucci bucket hats etc. are all for sale.  In-between Nike and Rolex "showrooms", was a guy selling vinyl.  On his table were old milk crates, filled with records.  Thumbing through the records, I came across not one but two sealed copies of Bukka White's 'Parchman Farm', which were original pressings from 1970.  [Score! — Ed.]

My initial Instinct was to buy the two marked a $10 each, and haggle down to $16 or $17.  The vendor was an older guy, who was pleasant enough, and seem like a nice guy, so instead, I took one, giving him his asking price.  After our transaction, I told him that a sealed original pressing Bukka White's 'Parchman Farm' could go for around $100, or more to the right collector.  With that, the vendor's entire demeanor changed, he became loud, aggressive and demanded the album back.  At the same time, "The Grease" put her hand inside her shoulder bag, acted like she was looking for something, and said to the vendor, "Who you talkin' to like that, huh?".  I told the vendor, "I could have taken both off your hands, and you'd be none the wiser, right?".  The vendor reluctantly shook his head in agreement.  As we walked away, "The Grease" chuckled and said, "That mook doesn't know how lucky he was."  "Mook" is Italian-American slang (not actual Italian), for a fool, imbecile, or idiot (you get the idea).

As an aside, a few weeks ago, "The Grease" was at my place.  We opened some wine, and she said she had some "killer weed" in her shoulder bag.  While trying to find her weed, she took some things out of her bag and placed them on the table.  Among the items were a can of Mace brand pepper spray, a gravity knife and a .25 Colt Automatic, with cute little mother-of-pearl pistol grips.  I asked her, "Are you planing a bank robbery or something later?" to which she replied "You know the deal".  The "deal" is that "The Grease" grew up the daughter of a Brooklyn Cosa Nostra Caporegime.  In a future post, I'll tell you about "The Grease's" older brother, Vincenzo, a.k.a. Vinny "The One".

Bukka White

Booker T. Washington White, a.k.a. Bukka White was born in the Mississippi hill country in 1906, and was the cousin of B.B. King.

At a young age, Bukka learned fiddle from his father, who latter bought him his first guitar.  One story has it that his grandmother prohibited "the Devil’s Music" from the house, so at the age of fourteen, Bukka moved in with an uncle in Clarksdale, the heart of the Delta.

In his late teens into his twenties, Bukka spent several years wandering the South playing guitar and picking up casual work until 1930 when he was spotted by a scout from the Victor label who arranged some recording sessions in Memphis.   Bukka put down 14 tracks of Blues and Gospel material, but only four were ever issued, as The Great Depression hit record sales hard.  Unable to make a living from music, Bukka played professional baseball in the Negro League and later tried to make it as a pro boxer.

Somehow, word of Bukka’s music got around, and in 1937 he was invited by Big Bill Broonzy to record for legendary producer Lester Melrose in Chicago.   Unfortunately for Bukka he was out on bail for a shooting offense, so he was hauled back to Mississippi to serve three years in Parchman Farm having recorded only two tracks.

Musicologists John and Alan Lomax went to Parchman in 1939, where they recorded a couple of Bukka’s songs.  When he was released in 1940, and Bukka headed to Chicago with a dozen songs ready for Lester.  These sessions, released on Vocalion and Okeh labels.  Backed only by Washboard Sam, the recordings proved to be Bukka’s finest work and the backbone of his repertoire.

Bukka White’s 1940 session for producer Lester Melrose in Chicago is regarded as one of the pinnacles of blues recording history.  The 12 tracks from that two-day session, along with the aforementioned two songs from a 1937 session (including the influential ‘Shake ‘Em on Down’), were all originally released as 78rpm singles on OKeh, Vocalion, or other labels, and in 1970 on this remarkable album.

I bought the original pressing in 1970, wore it out and years later I replaced it with Sony Legacy issued CD, that due to over usage of noise reduction sounds dull and dead.

The freeload is a 24 bit/96 kHz vinyl rip of the album bought last week in Chinatown.

For the freeload, tell us what albums you've been listening to over the last few days