(June 2024) Episode 581 is STEFAN GROSSMAN. He is an amazing figure. A Jewish kid from Brooklyn who sought out and took lessons from some of the aging masters of guitar fingerpicking blues, including Rev. Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt and Son House. He studied and collected recordings of others, connecting him with Marylanders John Fahey and the legendary 78s collector Joe Bussard. He pioneered guitar instructional records, later videos – a ton of them are available on YouTube. You can learn fingerstyle from him too! He recorded a bunch of his own albums, mostly blues in fickerpicking and slide, but some other styles too. This is my favorite kind of blues music so I eat this stuff up.
Favorite album: Yazoo Basin Boogie
Favorite song: Memphis Travelling Blues Show
Favorite song (with slide): Bottleneck Serenade
Recommendation: Highly recommend. Albums to seek out are Yazoo Basin Boogie, Bottleneck Serenade, Hot Dogs, and Love, Devils and Blues. But check out the guitar tutorial videos, especially if you are a player.
Opus Project 