Railroad Bill

Download from Itunes




"Because of her stunning beauty, Etta's husband refused to let her travel and perform away from home; nevertheless, she never stopped playing her music. This gracious grandmother was the source of a great deal of joy and surprise when I found that she still played guitar after I had heard her early recordings from the 60s. One of the signature chords of my guitar vocabulary comes from her version of "Railroad Bill". This was the first guitar picking style that I ever learned."–Taj Mahal

---

Etta Baker of Morganton, NC, was born in 1913 and has played the guitar since the age of three. She was the premier female Piedmont blues guitar instrumentalist, played the guitar everyday and was constantly working on new arrangements. Etta maintained a beautiful yard and garden, and was matriarch of 108 members in her immediate family. Etta constantly worked on new arrangements, one of the results of her work was this album. These recordings were made in her home and yes, a finch really did fly in her living room, sat atop the door and performed a wonderful duet.

Track Listing: 1/Carolina Breakdown 2/Railroad Bill 3/I Get the Blues When it Rains 4/Careless Love 5/Don't Let Your Deal Go Down 6/Sunny Tennessee 7/Mint Julep 8/Browns Boogie 9/Lonesome Road Blues 10/Goodbye Booze 11/One-Dime Blues 12/Going Down the Road Feeling Bad 13/Candyman 14/Miss a Little Miss 15/Baby Let Me Lay it On You 16/Chilly Winds 17/John Henry 18/Cripple Creek