I like my music "old" just like me....

I'm a big fan of what's commonly referred to as "Mississippi Delta Blues". There's something about hearing the simple lyrics combined with the complex guitar picking that captures my attention and draws me to drop what I'm doing and listen closely to the masters of this music genre.

I have no musical training and absolutely no musical talent, so perhaps it's my inability to create music that drives my fascination with anyone who is able to get so much feeling from a six string guitar.  When I was young we had a big old acoustic guitar around the house and my dad would sometimes do a little "finger pick'n" on it. I can still hear the strains of Wildwood Flower and other old standards that were his favorites. Sitting in the front room of our little house, cigarette hanging from his lips, and the occasional grimace when his fingers would pluck the wrong string are strong memories for me.

My dad was not a patient man, and that could easily be classified as an understatement.  He was quick to find fault, quick to anger, and quick to forgive.  It was just his nature, and the times he tried to teach me a few chords quickly brought about frustration for both of us.  He couldn't understand what was so difficult about it, and why none of it made any sense to me.  My grandpa played the fiddle, my uncle played the banjo, and my dad and another uncle played the guitar.....how could his son be such a musical klutz? Oh well, that's the way it was and I soon accepted that fact, although I'm not sure my dad ever did.

Regardless, I still appreciate those people who can write, play, and sing music. It's been quite awhile since any of the "new" music has stirred any of my emotions, so I often find myself searching for music that can truly stir one's soul.  Delta Blues does it for me, although there are a few other artists that elicit great memories from my younger days, Bob Seger, John Prine, and a few others.  Of course, the soul music of Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, and The Supremes will never die.

But, if you're in the mood for the smoothest, most gentlemanly presentation of the blues , you can do no better than Mississippi John Hurt. He was a classic gentleman that emanated warmth and a genteel nature that has long passed from many musical artists.  Sadly, what sometimes passes for music today would cause people like John Hurt and others to turn their heads in shame.

Artists like Mr. Hurt had it much tougher than almost anyone in the business today, but somehow their music expressed it without the anger boiling to the top.  I call it having a lot of class....but what do I know.