Leaving you with some Scraps! Cigar boxes, wire, wood, and all that hoo.

Pulp and Circumstance has been listening to quite a bit of Kentucky's own Scrapper Blackwell of late--and its no surprise, really, as Mr. Blackwell is considered to in fact be the first man ever to record up the blues to record.

What's more, he not only laid down the first blues bits to memory, but he is the greatest influence on many an important Delta artists, like the famed Robert Johnson.

Scrapper Blackwell, born Francis Hillman Blackwell as one of 16 children, was a black Indian, born of Cherokee blood at the turn of the 20th century, and widely influenced by his father, a prolific fiddle player. Self-taught on guitar, he mostly took to single finger pluck acoustic--his first guitars made from cigar boxes, wires, and random scraps of wood.

After traveling to and 'fro, away from Indiana and towards Chicago, he developed a blues style associated with Piedmont and the city's streets--eventually teaming up with LeRoy Carr, a pretty well-known pianist, and by the late 1920s Scrapper and Carr would form the duo that would eventually solidify their place in music--making them the most impressive blues artists of the time, recording up more than 100 sides including the famed "Kokomo Blues". The tune, redone by Kokomo Arnold as "Old Kokomo Blues", would eventually be refixed and reworked by the aforementioned Robert Johnson, who made it the ever known "Sweet Home Chicago", an absolute blues staple.

While Kentucky has had a rich history in country blues and bluegrass, the Delta artists of the deep South have always been known for creating and molding the course of blues music in America. But, really, it was Scrapper Blackwell who tipped the genre into its place. He's a true link between the early 1920s traditional, country blues, and what would later become the highly popularized urban blues flair.

But while it's intriguing to write about his many contributions, it's important to note that his career came to a staggering halt over contract disputes and money passed betwixt he and longtime partner, Carr, who was apparently receiving more royalty and writing credit to tunes that Scrapper considered to be created under equal partnership during their 1930s recordings with Vocalion. And by 1935, a string of sessions at the Bluebird Label, left Carr and Blackwell fighting amongst themselves, bitter battles ensuing, and eventually a refusal to ever work or speak again. It would not be until 2 years later, at the news of Carr's death due to heavy bouts of drinking coupled with poor health, that Scrapper would lay tribute to his once partner with "My Old Pal Blues", before a quiet removal from the business all together.

Eventually, by the mid-1950s, Scrapper inserted himself back into the scene. Just as his career was taking off again, he was shot and killed in an armed robbery gone bad in Indianapolis, about 1962. His murder has yet to be solved.

So, in honor of Pulp and Circumstance's deep affection for the blues, this here blog brings you a Scrapper Blackwell primer, because who better to listen to on these clear, summer days than the man who first recorded up the blues? Or the man who would go on to influence some of the genre's greatest innovators?

And for all you blues geeks like myself, there's this really brilliant illustrated discography of every Scrapper side, which you can check out here. Drool! What's more, if you're really intrigued, Scrapper gave an interesting interview to Jazz Monthly back in Summer, 1960, which you can read here. It would be one of his last. Uber drool.

[Scrapper Blackwell works "Deep South Blues".]
[Scrapper Blackwell does "Kokomo Blues", 1928.]
[One of P&C's favorites; "My Dream Blues".]
[Scrapper Blackwell and LeRoy Carr work "Good Woman Blues".]
[Robert Johnson adapts "Kokomo Blues" into the famed "Sweet Home Chicago". Brilliant!]