“Blind Arthur’s Breakdown” - Blind Blake (ca. 1927)
This will be my last update for a couple of days as my wife is giving birth to our daughter Clare Alexandria Archer tomorrow morning.
Blind Blake is considered to be “The King of Ragtime Guitar”. He was one of the most accomplished guitarists of his genre with a surprisingly diverse range of material. His complex and intricate fingerpicking has inspired Reverend Gary Davis, Jorma Kaukonen, Ry Cooder, Ralph McTell and many others. He is best known for his distinct guitar sound that was comparable in sound and style to a ragtime piano.
Not much is known about Blind Blake. He was born Arthur Blake around 1893. It is thought that he was born in either Jacksonville, Florida or the Georgia Sea Islands.
His first recordings were made in 1926 and his records sold well. His first solo record was “Early Morning Blues” with “West Coast Blues” on the B-side. Both are considered excellent examples of his style. Blake made his last recordings in 1932, the end of his career aided by Paramount’s bankruptcy. It is often said that the later recordings have much less sparkle and, allegedly, Blind Blake was drinking heavily in his later years.
Just as the details of Blake’s birth are shrouded in mystery so are the details of his death. It is believed that he died around 1933 but no one knows for sure. Several blues artists speculated his death and some outrageous rumors surfaced due to this. Bob Groom reported Blake wandered the South in the years between the wars spending time recording in Chicago. He was thought to be dead, but it seems that he actually returned to Atlanta when the Depression ended his career and was killed in a streetcar accident in 1941. Bill Williams reported Blake as a heavy drinker and recalled their Monday night “rehearsals” at Blake’s apartment were helped along by moonshine. Williams assumed Blake died of alcohol related causes. Josh White saw him no more after 1930 and believed he was murdered in the streets of Chicago. Big Bill Broonzy thought he died about 1932 in Joliet within sight of the prison that featured his blues. Pianist Blind John Davis believed he died in St. Louis in the 1930s, as he had been told by Tampa Red of this. Gary Davis heard that he had been run over by a streetcar in New York City in 1934, but the city records do not show he died in New York City or Atlanta at that time. Blake was an extremely mysterious person. Little is really known about his life except for his music. Not even his birthplace or place of death is certain. The only thing certain is his recording career.
“Blind Arthur’s Breakdown” was issued on the “Paramount” label and was probably recorded around 1927. This song is a great example of why Blake is considered to be “The King of Ragtime Guitar”.
