Category Archives: The Blues

The Year of Ben (2019-2020); and a decade of “Retired But Not Shy” (2010-2020)

Posted on June 1, 2020 by

[Note:  Americans tend to focus on anniversaries that end in “0.”  For example, married couples usually regard their tenth, twentieth, thirtieth, etc., anniversaries as more important than the others.  And I guess that’s true of the few bloggers who managed … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, Education, family history, genealogy, Historical Reflection, History, History Teaching, memoir, Popular Culture, Prep School, prep school teaching with a PhD, Research, Retirement, Southern History, Teaching, The Blues, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

The Age of Jim Crow (Teaching Civil Rights, 11)

Posted on October 27, 2018 by

[NOTE:  In previous posts (here and here), we’ve seen how southern whites, helped by the growing weariness of the rest of the nation with what they called the post-Civil War “Negro Problem,” regained control of their state governments by 1877 … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, Civil Rights Movement, Education, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, History Teaching, Prep School, prep school teaching with a PhD, Research, Southern History, Teaching, The "Great Migration", The Blues, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Confessions of a Historical Pack Rat: “Retired But Not Shy” at Eight

Posted on June 15, 2018 by

[ Note:  One question any new blogger should—but probably doesn’t—ask is, “Will I be able to find sufficient material to keep this blog alive?”  I know that I didn’t think about this question in May 2010, when I contemplated establishing … Continue reading →

Posted in "Education Courses", "In The Temple of Wolves", 4th of July, Age of Jim Crow, American "republicanism", American History, American Revolution, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Books, Cherokee Indians, Cherokee Removal, Creek Indians, Denying the Holocaust, Dr. Martin Luther King, Education, Elias Boudinot, family history, George R. Gilmer, Georgia History, Historical Problem, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, History graduate school, History Teaching, Interdisciplinary Work, Martin Luther King, memoir, Muddy Waters, Popular Culture, Prep School, prep school teaching with a PhD, Research, Retirement, Rick Lamplugh, Scopes Trial, Skip James, Son House, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Teaching, The Blues, Theology, Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia", Uncategorized, Urban Blues, Vietnam War, Wilson Lumpkin, Wolves, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Howlin’ Wolf,1910-1976: His Life, His Times, His Blues (Blues Stories, 28)

Posted on April 1, 2018 by

A Review of James Segrest and Mark Hoffman, Moanin’  at Midnight:  The Life and Times of Howlin’ Wolf. New York:  Pantheon Books, 2004. Howlin’ Wolf was born Chester Arthur Burnett, June 10, 1910, near West Point, Mississippi.  (His grandfather nicknamed … Continue reading →

Posted in "Charley Patton", Age of Jim Crow, American History, Chicago Blues, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Popular Culture, Robert Johnson, Skip James, Son House, Southern History, The "Great Migration", The Blues, Uncategorized, Urban Blues, WP Long Form | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

They don’t call me “Dr. Excitement” for nothin’, you know! (Be True to Your School, 5)

Posted on November 15, 2017 by

[Note:  In a previous post in this series, I discussed how certain personal eccentricities helped me construct a “classroom persona,” one “Dr.,” beard, polyester suit, and awful pun at a time.  In this entry, I’d like to offer a few … Continue reading →

Posted in "The Race Beat", Age of Jim Crow, American History, Civil Rights Movement, Civil War, Cold War, Dr. Martin Luther King, Elias Boudinot, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Interdisciplinary Work, Prep School, prep school teaching with a PhD, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Teaching, The Blues, Uncategorized, Vietnam War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

“Who was that Masked Man?”: Building a Classroom Persona (Be True to Your School, 4)

Posted on October 15, 2017 by

[NOTE:  In a previous post in this series, I saluted the two best teachers I’ve ever had, Miss Gertrude Weaver (high school) and Professor James Rabun (graduate school).  In addition to deep knowledge of history and loads of energy and … Continue reading →

Posted in "big bucks", American History, building a classroom persona, classroom eccentricities, Delaware, Education, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, History Teaching, jogging, memoir, New Jersey, Prep School, prep school teaching with a PhD, Retirement, Southern (Georgia) History, Teaching, The Blues, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Skip James, “Emotional Hermit” of the Blues (Blues Stories, 27)

Posted on September 1, 2017 by

A Review of Stephen Calt, I’d Rather Be the Devil: Skip James + the Blues. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2008. His music was the defiant product of an emotional hermit: “I wanted it different all the way—I always have had … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Jim Crow, American History, Books, Delta Blues, History, History of Rock and Roll, Popular Culture, Skip James, Son House, Southern History, Stephen Calt, The Blues, Theology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Chasing the Delta Blues: The Mississippi Blues Trail, Part 2 (Blues Stories, 25)

Posted on June 1, 2017 by

[This is the second and concluding post about the trip the Willowy Bride (AKA, the WB) and I took along the Delta portion of the Mississippi Blues Trail in May 2013.  For Part 1, go here.] * * * * … Continue reading →

Posted in "Charley Patton", Age of Jim Crow, Alan Lomax, B.B. King, Big Bill Broonzy, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Delta Blues, History, History of Rock and Roll, Howlin' Wolf, Interdisciplinary Work, John Lee Hooker, Leadbelly, Mississippi John Hurt, Muddy Waters, Popular Culture, Research, Retirement, Robert Johnson, Son House, Southern History, The Blues, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Chasing the Delta Blues: The Mississippi Blues Trail, Part 1 (Blues Stories, 25)

Posted on May 1, 2017 by

[NOTE:  Anyone who has perused the “Blues Stories” page of this blog will know that, of all the stopping places available to  fans interested in “Blues Geography,” my favorite location is the Mississippi Delta, generally regarded as the “birthplace of the … Continue reading →

Posted in "Charley Patton", Age of Jim Crow, B.B. King, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Delta Blues, History, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Leadbelly, Mississippi John Hurt, Muddy Waters, Popular Culture, Research, Retirement, Robert Johnson, Son House, Southern History, The Blues, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

On the Trail of Blind Willie McTell (Blues Stories, 24)

Posted on March 1, 2017 by

A Review of:                      Michael Gray, Hand Me My Travelin’ Shoes:  In Search of Blind Willie McTell.  Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2009.   [NOTE:  For a  new project, I’ve decided to revisit a number of works on the Blues and the men and … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Jim Crow, American History, Blind Willie McTell, Georgia History, Historical Reflection, History, History of Rock and Roll, Piedmont Blues, Popular Culture, Research, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, The Blues, Uncategorized, Urban Blues, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments