Let’s Explore The Blues – Mississippi Sheiks

Highway 61 Blues Mural
Highway 61 Blues Mural (Photo credit: joseph a)

 

The Mississippi Sheiks were a country blues group (who could play anything) that recorded in the 1930’s.  Their style was a combination of guitar and fiddle.  The group consisted mainly of the Chatmon family, namely Armenter (aka Bo Carter), Lonnie and Sam Chatmon.  The other key member was Walter Vinson.  Their first recording was cut in 1930.  In that year, they recorded what may be their most famous song, “Sitting On Top Of The World“.  The version here is the original.

“Sitting On Top Of The World”

Here is a version by Howlin’ Wolf.

And by Cream, a live version from 2005.

The group continued to record and tour until 1936.  Their legacy consisted of 70 odd recordings.   They broke up and headed back home to Mississippi to again be farmers.  Walter recorded 3 songs in 1961 and Sam did a few more records in the 1960’s during the blues revival and legacy projects.  Their music has been redone by many of the giants.  Enjoy the next few selections by a wide gamut of artists.  I especially liked the Rory Gallagher tune, man he could play.

Honey Babe Let the Deal Go Down – Bruce Cockburn

Kind Treatment – John Hammond

Tribute done by Rory Gallagher

7 responses to “Let’s Explore The Blues – Mississippi Sheiks”

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