Search Results: Language of the Blues (394)

In this installment of Language of the Blues, author and rocker Debra Devi delves into the Bakongo belief in the spiritual power of grave earth and how it survived in African American hoodoo traditions.

In this installment of Language of the Blues, author and rocker Debra Devi uncovers the history of goofer dust, a hoodoo tradition that left its mark on blues language and song.

In this installment of Language of the Blues, author and rocker Debra Devi turns to the art of the jam session, where improvisation, endurance, and musical dialogue push players beyond their limits.

In this installment of Language of the Blues, author and rocker Debra Devi examines Jamaica Ginger (“Jake”), a Prohibition-era patent medicine whose history appears in early blues song and Southern storytelling.

In this installment of Language of the Blues, author and rocker Debra Devi turns to Dr. John to uncover the surprising origins of the word “gig.”

In this installment of Language of the Blues, author and rocker Debra Devi traces the slang term “gatemouth” from early jazz and blues vernacular to the larger-than-life musicians who carried the name.

In this installment of Language of the Blues, author and rocker Debra Devi connects the gallinipper, a Southern mosquito, to its appearance in early Delta blues songs

In this installment of Language of the Blues, author and rocker Debra Devi considers foot track magic, where hoodoo belief and blues expression intersect in the Delta.

In this installment of Language of the Blues, author and rocker Debra Devi considers how “dig” traveled from Wolof speech into the language of blues understanding and appreciation.

In this installment of Language of the Blues, author and rocker Debra Devi explores the many faces of the devil in blues culture, from African trickster deities to the legends that inform its most enduring myths.