This is the latest from The Bluesmobile’s C.C. Rider, who spends her life venerating the founding fathers of the blues. She’s walked the crooked highways of this singing country to resurrect the voices of the past. With the dirt of the Delta on her hands, she sleeps in the shadow of the giants on whose shoulders popular music now stands.
Eric Bibb
(b. August 16, 1951)
Eric Bibb grew up in music. His dad was a major player in the New York folk scene of the ‘60s. His godfather was Paul Robeson, famous singer and activist. The likes of Pete Seeger and Odetta hung out at his house. Eric got his first guitar lesson at age 7. And when he was 11 years old, he picked up some guitar tips from a then unknown songwriter. “Keep it simple, forget all that fancy stuff.” That’s what Bob Dylan told him. And he did keep it simple—though he’s certainly got the guitar chops to get real fancy. Bibb’s been called a “progressive preservationist.” A man who’s got a solid foundation in the roots of the music, but who takes all he’s learned and made the music his own. He once wrote a whole album of songs using the actual guitar played by blues legend Bukka White. Called the record—Booker’s Guitar. Here’s a track from that album. Eric Bibb, on Bukka White’s guitar, “Sunrise Blues.”
