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"If you kill a chicken, save me the head."-Algia Mae Hinton
"Algia Mae is a great example of what is called in and throughout the African diaspora, 'Original Joe.' This is an innovative character who survives and creates anew under all circumstances. Algia Mae Hinton is someone not to be missed!" -Taj Mahal
Although North Carolina native Algia Mae Hinton began playing guitar in the late '30s at the age of ten, Honey Babe, her first full- length album (an EP appeared in the mid-'80s on Audio Arts) wasn't released until 1999 when Hinton was 68. A casual collection of Piedmont blues, folk pieces, and gospel tunes, "Honey Babe" is full of warmth and joy, and even features a little of Hinton's trademark buck dancing.
She sounds like a cross between Etta Baker and Elizabeth Cotten, also both from North Carolina, although she isn't quite as precise a guitarist as the former (Hinton's title tune, "Honey Babe," is a variation on Baker's signature "Railroad Bill" progression) or as timeless a writer as the latter (whose "Freight Train" and "Shake Sugaree" compositions have become folk-blues standards). She shares Cotten's fragile, delicate singing style as well, although Hinton's wry humor is all her own, and her sheer delight in music and motion is everywhere evident on this album. Among the highlights are "Honey Babe," "Snap Your Fingers," and an impressive turn at the banjo for "Out of Jail." -Itunes Album Reviews
Track Listing: 1/Honey Babe 2/Snap Your Fingers 3/Out of Jail 4/When You Kill the Chicken Save Me the Head 5/Whatcha Gonna Do When Your Good Girl Turns You Down? 6/You Don't Have To Go 7/I Ain't the One You Love 8/Cook Cornbread for Your Husband 9/My Baby's Gone 10/If You Want To Go To Heaven 11/Going Down This Road 12/Buck Dance 13/Shine On 14/Careless Love 15/I Want Jesus to Walk With Me 16/Lima Beans