American Street Songs

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American Street Songs
Studio album by
Pink Anderson / Reverend Gary Davis
ReleasedAugust 1956[1][2]
RecordedMay 29, 1950, and January 28, 1956
StudioCharlottesville, VA and New York City, NY
GenreBlues
Length48:48
LabelRiverside Folklore Series
RLP 12-611
Pink Anderson chronology
American Street Songs
(1956) 		Carolina Blues Man
(1961)
Reverend Gary Davis chronology
The Singing Reverend
(1954) 		American Street Songs
(1956) 		Harlem Street Singer
(1961)

American Street Songs, reissued as Gospel, Blues and Street Songs, is a shared album by blues musicians Pink Anderson and Reverend Gary Davis recorded in 1950 and 1956 and released on the Riverside Folklore Series label in August 1956.[1][2]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings[4]

AllMusic reviewer Lindsay Planer stated: "these sides loom large in the available works of seminal blues icons Pink Anderson and Rev. Gary Davis. Both performers hail from the largely underappreciated Piedmont blues scene – which first began to flourish in the late 19th and early 20th centuries – near the North/South Carolina state border. Anderson's seven tracks were recorded in Charlottesville, VA, on May 29, 1950 – while he was literally on the road. His highly sophisticated and self-accompanied style of simultaneously picking and sliding – accomplished using a half-opened jackknife – could pass for an electronic effect. ... The Rev. Gary Davis side – which appropriately contains all spirituals – was recorded in N.Y.C. on January 28, 1956. However, Davis' delivery is steeped in the minstrel and street blues of his native Carolinas. Here is where the worlds of Davis and Anderson sonically intersect. As a performer, his clean and intricate acoustic picking and guttural vocalization stand as his trademark. Included here are several of the Reverend's most revered works".[3]

Track listing[edit]

All compositions are uncredited traditional blues/gospel except where noted

Pink Anderson Side: Carolina Street Ballads[edit]

  1. "John Henry" – 5:25
  2. "Every Day in The Week" – 3:30
  3. "The Ship Titanic" – 3:14
  4. "Greasy Greens" – 2:56
  5. "Wreck of the Old '97" – 3:26
  6. "I've Got Mine" – 3:05
  7. "He's in The Jailhouse Now" (Jimmie Rodgers) – 3:42
  • Recorded in Charlottesville, Virginia on May 29, 1950

Reverend Gary Davis Side: Harlem Street Spirituals[edit]

  1. "Blow, Gabriel" – 2:14
  2. "Twelve Gates to the City" – 3:23
  3. "Samson and Delilah" – 3:52
  4. "Oh Lord, Search My Heart" (Reverend Gary Davis) – 3:04
  5. "Get Right Church" (Davis) – 3:05
  6. "You Got to Go Down" (Davis) – 2:42
  7. "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning" (Davis) – 2:36
  8. "There Was a Time That I Was Blind" (Davis) – 2:38
  • Recorded in New York City on January 28, 1956

Personnel[edit]

Performance[edit]

Production[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Editorial Staff, Billboard (August 4, 1956). "American Street Songs". The Billboard. The Billboard Publishing Co. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Edwards, David. "Discography of the Riverside Label" (PDF). BSNpubs. Both Sides Now Publications. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Planer, Lindsay. Pink Anderson / Rev. Gary Davis: Gospel, Blues and Street Songs – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  4. ^ Russell, Tony; Smith, Chris (2006). The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-140-51384-4.
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