Norman Blake

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Norman Blake (born March 10, 1938 in Chattanooga , Tennessee ) is an American musician , singer and songwriter . In a career spanning more than 50 years, he played in several folk and country bands. He is one of the main players in the bluegrass comeback of the 1970s. He still records albums and gives concerts with his wife Nancy Blake .

Life

When Blake was a year old, his family moved with him to Sulfur Springs, Georgia , where he grew up.

He became known as an acoustic guitar player. But he also plays many other instruments and sings. For example, he plays the mandolin , the 6-string banjo , fiddle and dobro .

Blake was best known for his work with John Hartford , Tony Rice and his wife Nancy Blake. He played in the background for Johnny Cash , June Carter , Bob Dylan , Steve Earle , Kris Kristofferson , Ralph Stanley and Joan Baez . Blake also played on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album Will The Circle Be Unbroken . From 1969 to 1971 he was a member of The Johnny Cash Show on ABC television as a guest of the Johnny Cash band The Tennessee Three .

Blake is featured in the credits of the Bob Dylan album Nashville Skyline and the Johnny Cash album Orange Blossom Special . He was on the Steve Earle comeback album Train A 'Comin' and the multi-platinum O-Brother-Where-Art-Thou? Soundtrack which rekindled interest in bluegrass music and won a Grammy Award for album of the year 2002 . He was also involved in the down-from-the-mountain tour that resulted from the success. In addition, Blake was part of the line-up of the 5-time Grammy winner Raising Sand by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss in 2007.

The music that Norman Blake plays can be described as neo-traditionalist American folk (folk, bluegrass, country, blues). Many of his songs are traditional, but he plays the acoustic parts with a style, speed and quality that has evolved to become modern. However, he is best known for his performance of transferring the classical violin to the guitar. He also wrote songs that are now considered typical bluegrass, such as Ginseng Sullivan from the album Back Home in Sulfur Springs or Slow Train through Georgia and Church Street Blues .

Blake has produced a total of 32 albums with various labels ( Rounder , Flying Fish , Country, Takoma , Shanachie , Western Jubilee, Red House , and Plectrafone).

Discography

  • Back Home in Sulfur Springs (Rounder, 1972)
  • Going Places (Flying Fish, 1974)
  • The Fields of November (Flying Fish, 1974)
  • Norman Blake / Tut Taylor / Sam Bush / Butch Robins / Vassar Clements / David Holland ... (Flying Fish, 1975)
  • Old and New (Flying Fish, 1975)
  • Live at McCabe's (Takoma, 1976)
  • Norman Blake and Red Rector (Country, 1976)
  • Whiskey Before Breakfast (Rounder, 1976)
  • Blackberry Blossom (Flying Fish, 1977)
  • Directions (Takoma, 1978)
  • Rising Fawn String Ensemble (Rounder, 1979)
  • Full Moon on the Farm (Rounder, 1981)
  • Original Underground Music (Rounder, 1982)
  • Nashville Blues (Rounder, 1984)
  • Lighthouse on the Shore (Rounder, 1985)
  • The Norman & Nancy Blake Compact Disc (Rounder, 1986)
  • Natasha's Waltz (Rounder, 1987)
  • Slow Train through Georgia (Rounder, 1987)
  • Blake & Rice (Rounder, 1987)
  • Blind Dog (Rounder, 1988)
  • Norman Blake and Tony Rice 2 (Rounder, 1990)
  • The Fields of November / Old and New (Flying Fish, 1992)
  • Just Gimme Somethin 'I'm Used To (Shanachie, 1992)
  • While Passing Along This Way (Shanachie, 1994)
  • The Hobo's Last Ride (Shanachie, 1996)
  • Chattanooga Sugar Babe (Shanachie, 1998)
  • Be Ready Boys: Appalachia to Abilene (Shanachie, 1999)
  • Far Away, Down on a Georgia Farm (Shanachie, 1999)
  • Flower From the Fields of Alabama (Shanachie, 2001)
  • Old Ties (Rounder, 2002)
  • Meeting on Southern Soil (Red House, 2002)
  • The Morning Glory Ramblers (Dualtone, 2004)
  • Back Home in Sulfur Springs [Norman & Nancy Blake] (Dualtone, 2006)
  • Shacktown Road (Dualtone Music Group, 2007)
  • Raising Sand (Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, 2007)

Videos

  • Norman Blake's Guitar Techniques # 1 (Homespun, 1990 VHS, 2003 DVD)
  • Mandolin of Norman Blake (Homespun, 1992 VHS, 2005 DVD)
  • My Dear Old Southern Home (Shanachie, 1994 VHS, 2003 DVD)
  • Legends of Flatpicking Guitar (Vestapol, 1995 VHS, 2001 DVD)
  • The Video Collection 1980–1995 (Vestapol, 1996 VHS, 2004 DVD)
  • Great Guitar Lessons - Bluegrass Flatpicking (Homespun, 2000 VHS, 2006 DVD)
  • Norman Blake's Guitar Techniques # 2 (Homespun, 2001, 2003 DVD)

literature

  • Erlewine, Michael u. a. (Ed.): All Music Guide to Country Music. The experts guide to the best recordings in country music . San Francisco, Cal .: Miller Freeman Books, 1997, pp. 39f

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Profile at eFolkMusic.org ( Memento from October 31, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ Stambler, Irwin The Encyclopedia of Folk, Country & Western Music, second edition (St. Martins Press New York, 1983) p 50.
personal data
SURNAME Blake, Norman
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American musician, singer and songwriter
DATE OF BIRTH March 10, 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Chattanooga , Tennessee