Walter Taylor

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SUNDAY, APRIL 4, 2010 John Byrd & Walter Taylor (1929-1931) (Story of Blues, 1991) This is an interesting CD that collects the recordings of two notable performers from 1920s-era Louisville, Kentucky, John Byrd and "Washboard" Walter Taylor. Although the city is best known for jug bands among its notable early 20th-century black musicians, its location made it a logical stopping place for many African Americans migrating from the Deep South. Indeed, what little information we have about John Byrd suggests that he was a transplant from Mississippi. Judging by his estimated birth date (likely during the 1890s, if not earlier), eclectic repertory, and preference for the 12-string guitar, it is probably most accurate to classify him as a songster. Even less is known about Walter Taylor (almost definitely the same person as Washboard Walter), a singer, washboard player, and leader of a string band in which Byrd often played. The opening tracks find Byrd operating under the guise of Rev. George Jones and Congregation with the vocal assistance of Sister Jones, a probable pseudonym for singer Mae Glover, with whom he also recorded a few double entendre blues sides that are unfortunately not included here. At least one of the two sermons seems somewhat farcical at times. "That White Mule of Sin" could be construed as an attack on moonshine or commentary on mistreatment by whites, depending on how one looks at it, while "The Heavenly Airplane" references aviator Charles Lindbergh at

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