Delta Bluesman Brings Oldtime Style to 'Unique'

The Nashville Tennessean, April 22, 1984. 

By ROBERT K. OERMANN 

Cedell Davis and his slide

An old-style Delta bluesman, a jazz trumpeter and a Dixieland clarinetist make for a musically unique combination at the aptly named Cafe Unique on Batavia Street Thursday. 

That's not all: The bluesman is Arkansas' CeDell Davis, the trumpeter is Nashville's Gary Gazaway, and the clarinetist is New York Times pop music critic Robert Palmer. 

Actually, that combination is not as odd as it sounds. Gazaway is famed in Music City as a jazz and blues supporter. And Palmer is the author of Delta Blues, the single most important book on this soulful, simple style. 

"I wish I'd met CeDell earlier," says Palmer. "I'd already done the book when a bunch of the British blues scholars and me got together in Memphis, then Clarksdale, Miss., to give talks at the Delta Blues Museum. 

"Afterward, we all repaired to this joint, and CeDell was playing there that night. I sat in on clarinet and we had an impromptu session. He had this amazing style. Played like no one else. He's a great, great musician. 

"He came up to me on crutches and said, 'You're playing with me!' He really liked the way I played. That night, I was sounding like a blues harmonica player. By the time we finished, every-body was standing on the tables screaming. It was hot; it was wonderful. 

"Afterwards, I got his phone number, because he'd been there making no money in those Arkansas black juke joints." 

What Palmer had discovered was a living relic of a blues style that is as old as the South. Born in Helena, Ark., in 1927, Celle!' Davis taught himself to play guitar at age 7. But at age 10, he was stricken with polio and had to learn all over again. When he did so, he began playing left-handed, using a butter knife to fret the strings. 

His mastery over his disability resulted in a singularly sliding, rhythmic style that attracted the attention of blues legends Robert Nighthawk and Sonny Boy Williamson. In his youth, Davis performed with both. 

Broader acclaim has been harder to come by, however. Most of his career has been spent in obscure clubs around Pine Bluff, Ark., but now that situation is beginning to change. 

As one of the last musicians playing in the Delta blues style, the 50-year-old Davis has recently been in demand. His moaning, expressive voice, harmonica playing and unique guitar style have been heard on a few blues anthology albums, notably those from Chicago's Rooster Records label. 

Palmer has him on the road, too. In the past year or so Davis has appeared in Boston, New York, Providence and Memphis. He'll record his first solo LP this October, and a European tour beckons. 

"I like this life," Davis says. "I'd like to be a big-time musician, but the big time has al-ways passed me by. 

"This is the way I've always made my living. I hadn't ever really gotten any encouragement until now I just always wanted to be a musician; and I'm pretty good at it. I'm not at all shy, and I love the blues. 

Of his distinctive musical technique, he says. "I played that way at first because I had to resort to a knife. Then it just developed into my own style. 

"And finally I was doing it at the right place at the right time," he says of his "discovery." 

Davis has never been to Music City and is eager to see the town while he's here, he says. 

He'll have good companions to show him the sights. Cafe Unique's own Jimmy Otey will be playing piano with the traveling blues trio. He's a Nashville native who's played with everyone from Chubby Checker to Taj Mahal. 

Gazaway lives here when he's not touring South America with the likes of Airto or Flora Purim, so he too should be a good tour guide for Davis. 

Despite the friendship and the companionship of his fellow musicians, Palmer has kept his playing and his writing completely separate. He's one of the most famous music columnists in America, but he has never written about CeDell Davis. 

But maybe he doesn't have to. CeDell Davis' music speaks eloquently for itself.

Interview with Memphis producer Willie Mitchell

Willie Lawrence Mitchell (who owned and headed-up Memphis’ Royal Studio complex until his passing) sadly died on the morning of January 5, 2010, having suffered a cardiac arrest on December 19, 2009. Perhaps best known for “discovering,” mentoring, and producing Al Green throughout his multi-million-selling Seventies heyday, Mitchell held the key to unlocking the vast array of talent within Memphis’ city limits. Committed deeply to producing the real thing, Mitchell kept the faith in an area that some music heads saw as passé.

In the following interview with Pete Lewis, Mitchell reveals memories from the early Seventies heyday of Hi Records, when he oversaw and produced its now-legendary roster of soul artists like Al Green, Syl Johnson and O.V. Wright.

Willie Mitchell, right, works with his son Lawrence Mitchell

at his Royal Studio in 2009. Trumpeter Mitchell had several 

hits in the ‘60s, including “Soul Serenade.” 

(Mike Brown / Memphis Commercial Appeal)

PETE: As a producer, how do you adapt to different artists?

WILLIE: “The biggest problem is to give everybody a sound, though I do think the song is the most important thing. If I can hear the voice I want to hear and I’ve got the song, then I make it what I think it should be.”

PETE: How selective are you for your current roster of artists on your own Waylo label?

WILLIE: “I’m real selective. I look for talent, Number One. Number Two, I like for the artist to give ME what I gave THEM. I don’t like any lazy artist. I work, they work, and that’s the kind of artist I like - people who are dedicated to becoming a star. We both work hard together and see what we can accomplish.”

PETE: How far are you prepared to adapt to modern music trends away from the traditional R&B feel? For example, (current Waylo signing) Billy Always’ recent 45 ‘Let Your Body Rock’ was rather Minneapolis(Jam & Lewis/Prince)-influenced…

WILLIE: “You have to search to get the chemistry right with each artist; it doesn’t happen overnight. You take Billy Always. He has the right feel, a good voice, writes good - but it still takes a lotta time to make everything work. So, taking that into account, we do spend a lot of time getting each artist a sound, and trying out different formulas... For example, with another of my current artists - Lynn White - I don’t want to make her leave her soul/blues base because she’s been very successful with that in America. You know, because she’s sold a lot of records, I didn’t want to completely change her overnight. So right now, with the ‘Love & Happiness’ album, I’m testing the water to see how she’ll do in that particular vein without losing her base - and so far it seems to have worked.”

PETE: Is there anyone you’d particularly like to produce?

WILLIE: “I’d like to produce Al Green again, if he’d come back from gospel into soul. I’d like to do Tina Turner again too, because she’s just a magnificent lady, she sings well and we FEEL alike.”

PETE: Were you disappointed with the relative lack of success of Al Green’s first album for A&M Records (1985’s ‘He Is The Light’), which found you producing him for the first time since 1976?

WILLIE: “Three or four years ago gospel music came on the scene really big, with artists like The Clark Sisters and James Cleveland. Then, all of a sudden, the music didn’t sell as well. So I knew, when I was producing that album with Al, that it wasn’t gonna be as successful as some of the things we did back in the Seventies - because that style of gospel music had begun to fade just a bit. I mean, Al still sings well. But, when you’re in the studio with Al doing gospel and the band is swinging, you have a tendency to feel ‘Let’s forget this and let the band SWING! If only I could make him do it like I WANT him to do it… If only I could make him sing like he USED to!’... But, you know, Al and I are very good friends, and I understand he wanted just simple gospel-style arrangements - and so I tried to GIVE that to him.”

PETE: Going through the various artists you’ve worked with, how do your rate them?

WILLIE: “Al Green? He was fun to produce, but he didn’t happen overnight! When I found Al in Midland, Texas, I told him to go to Memphis and he could be a star in 18 months... And it really WAS 18 months before ‘Tired Of Being Alone’ happened big! But, you know, Al was a real craftsman - he worked 24 hours a day! Whatever he had to do to get a track perfect he’d do - if it meant working all night long or - if necessary - a whole month!”

Denise LaSalle (veteran Southern soul diva who belatedly hit the international mainstream with her 1985 novelty smash ‘My Toot Toot’)? She was very nice to work with and had a lot of talent. Her lyrics and melodies I loved.

Tina Turner? Most of the things I cut on Tina for Blue Thumb Records (in the late Sixties/early Seventies) were cover tunes. But even then you could really FEEL her in the studio! You always knew exactly what she wanted to do!”

Syl Johnson (Chicago soul man who topped the US R&B charts in 1970 with his controversial protest anthem ‘Is It Because I’m Black?’)? He really just wanted to sing like Al Green! Plus he of course had had success BEFORE coming to me.”

Willie Clayton (teenage singer who later morphed into a cult hero on the late-Eighties indie-soul scene)? We cut a couple of records on Willie when he was just 16. But then there were so many things happening at Hi Records that we had to cut down the roster - and I thought maybe he’d get better when he got to around 21. So sadly he ended up not on the label any more, but was a real nice kid to work with.

Ann Peebles (legendary Memphis soulstress on whom Willie produced the original 1974 hit version of the now-all-time classic ‘I Can’t Stand the Rain’)? I’m gonna TELL you about Ann Peebles! She was the girl with the big voice who could have really gone further. But - and I have to be real honest - I don’t think Ann spent enough time thinking about what she needed to DO! I don’t think she put as much energy into her career as a singer as some of the REST of these people! You know, if you’re a fighter you’ve got to get into shape - and I don’t think she stayed in shape ENOUGH!

O.V. Wright (late Tennessee deep soul legend)? When you gave O.V. Wright a song, the song belonged to HIM! Nobody’d ever do it that way again! In fact, I think O.V. Wright was the greatest blues artist I’ve ever produced.

Otis Clay (Grammy-nominated Mississippi-born soulster)? Another one who had lots of talent, and a good singer... But, in comparison, O.V. was the one who just had something no-one else had.

You know, I enjoyed doing records with ALL those artists. But, in terms of highlights, when you hear how people like Al Green and O.V. Wright perform in the studio it’s like being born again - a real thrill!”

PETE: Why do you feel Memphis is no longer a major music capital in the Eighties?

WILLIE: “The big record companies are very selective now who they put on their label. So they leave people with real talent in towns like Memphis - that are not big international media centres - out on the street. And those artists then have gotta wait in line, and the line is long… So, because these people feel they can’t WAIT a year, they instead end up pressing-up a record themselves, and then do the best they can with it on the LITTLE (independent) labels.”

PETE: “Do you feel the South in general has been neglected by the major-labels in recent times?

WILLIE: “Yes, I do - especially Memphis! The big companies have got so SELECTIVE nowadays - I mean, people would rather sell 50,000 in New York than 50,000 in Atlanta! You know, a lot of labels today will say ‘It’s gotta be played in California and New York - it’s too Southern!’… But then you must remember that you can still sell a million records in the South ALONE! So yeah, I think that is one point that the major labels are now looking at. (Mississippi-based independent) Malaco Records, for example, is a blues label with mostly blues artists - but yet they still sell a lot of records!”

Gleaning Memories Uncovers Culture - 1980

By Connie Holman, The Jackson (TN) Sun, June 10, 1980. 

MEMPHIS — For years, the Center for Southern Folklore has been making films, records and books about the people and culture of Mississippi and its rich Delta. 

Now, the center staff is working in its own backyard with a Mid-South Folklife Survey of Shelby, Fayette, Lauderdale and Tipton counties in West Tennessee as well as DeSoto County, Mississippi, and Crittenden County, Arkansas. 

"We see our survey as a year-long search for people," project director Debbie Gibson says. "We're trying to find them and document the culture of an area through its people.

"We're going out in all directions with this survey. We're interested in urban and rural relationships, how they affected the past and now. We're looking for things passed from one person to another." 

The staff hopes to work in Golden Circle counties eventually, but for now, local residents are urged to help supply the center with names of people to interview in the four target counties. 

Skills and knowledge passed from generation to generation need to be preserved and shared with the public, Ms. Gibson says. For example, she's interested in finding people who have been taught by another person to sing or perform the blues, make baskets, gather herbs, tell stories or prepare food. 

"If things are documented, there's an incredible chance for their survival," she explains. "It increases the chances that a younger person can take up what you're documenting."

The survey project is two-faceted — educating the public and documenting traditional culture through interviews and photographs. 

Ms. Gibson and her staff introduce themselves to numerous communities through presentations about the Center for Southern Folklore. Slideshows and films help explain how the center preserves traditional culture. 

"Our outreach is tangible," Ms. Gibson says. "We give them something concrete that doesn't cost them. In return, they name people for us to interview, which we follow up on in our survey." 

"For years, folklorists have been digging up bones in one place and burying them in another," Ray Allen, a music specialist for the project, says. "And the public hasn't been getting to it. With our grant, its emphasis is getting it back to the public." 

Explaining that folklore exists in the city as well as the country is another emphasis of the survey. "Everyone thinks of folklore as old, rural, antiquarian," Allen says. "But, now people are realizing there's lore in the city. Anything that's passed on orally or visually from one generation to another generation is folklore." 

"All of the different cultures do contribute to what we call Southern, rural culture," Miss Gibson says. "The South has not been thought of as having a large, ethnic population, but it does." 

And folklife isn't just basket-making or blues, Ms. Gibson says. "It's all aspects of life passed on. It's barn construction, agricultural techniques and foodways. 

"And, during our interviews, we look at the total culture of a person," she continues. "Our questions are geared to complete biographical information on a person as well as his craft, art, whatever he's proficient at. We tie together his religion, sense of place (what he calls home) and his family. 

"We're dealing with the artist, not just his art, but a picture of his whole life," Allen says. "We don't just record songs or take pictures of a quilter, but how they learn, the social context of the songs in their life. We get inside of their lives." 

One final result of the survey will be a four-day July Fourth weekend festival at Shelby County Penal Farm in 1981. Craftsmen will demonstrate their craft and musicians will perform. 

Photo courtesy of the Center for Southern Folklore 

Lucy Long, an ethnic specialist at the Center for Southern Folklore, interviews Duoang Keo, right, a 1 7-year-old refugee from Cambodia. This was one of many interviews conducted among the ethnic groups in urban Memphis as part of the Mid-South Folklife Survey. This summer, the staff will focus on rural communities in West Tennessee. 

The Grave of Asie Reed Payton

Holly Ridge, Mississippi

We believe the grave marker for Asie Payton was provided by Fat Possum Records.

Asie Payton died of a heart attack on May 19, 1997, in Holly Ridge, Mississippi. It occurred in the early afternoon, while he was driving a tractor in the same fields he’d worked most of his sixty years. For all of 1995 and most 1996, Fat Possum tried unsuccessfully to convince Asie that the world outside Mississippi needed to hear him. But despite living below the poverty level and desperately needing the easy money of a gig, he could not be lured away from Washington County for more than a couple of hours.