Black southern blues in Blues Music

"Old Time Black Southern String Band Music" (02/07/2006) Blues Cage, Butch, ArhoolieButch Cage: James "Butch" Cage (vocals, fiddle); Rosalie Wilkerson, Willie B. Thomas, Robert Jenkins. Personnel: Butch Cage (vocals, fiddle); Willie B. Thomas, Robert Jenkins (vocals, guitar); Rosalie Wilkerson (vocals). Liner Note Authors: Chris Strachwitz; Harry Oster. Recording information: Zachary, Louisana (1960). Photographer: Harry Oster. Louisiana fiddle and guitar duo Butch Cage and Willie B. Thomas were recorded in 1959 by folklorist Harry Oster, who sought to capture a record of the fast-vanishing tradition of string bands who played dance and worship music for parties and church services. Primitive-sounding yet compelling, Cage and Thomas's versions of rarely heard ancient country blues songs like "I Had a Dream Last Night" and "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More" are a window into a bygone age, while their performance of "The Dirty Dozen" brings to light a song that, like the blues itself, has been constantly evolving for generations.