Strachwitz was the founder of Arhoolie Records and in 1960 first recorded Texas songster Mance Lipscomb playing on his guitar a repertoire of lyrics and roots music that Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin and Taj Mahal later emulated as counterculture.

In July of 2021 I interviewed Strachwitz (from El Cerrito, CA) over the phone about his experiences recording vernacular rural music, such as Mance Lipscomb's guitar repertoire of downhome blues and Big Mama Thornton’s powerful original rendition of Hound Dog. In our two-hour conversation he talked about his experiences starting Arhoolie Records, which was acquired in 2016 by The Smithsonian Institution.

In this 18-minute episode, Chris Strachwtiz talks about how he drove from California to Houston and was looking for Lightnin' Hopkins, but found Lipscomb instead. Strachwitz said, "And Mack (McCormick) said, this is probably the most important person you will ever meet."

Host and producer Kate Irwin.

This is the story of Finding Mance Lipscomb as told by Chris Strachwitz, who first recorded Mance back in 1960 in Navasota, Texas for his first Arhoolie album.

This interview took place over the phone a couple of weeks before Mr. Strachwitz' 90th birthday.

"He (Mance) was quite a success, especially with guitar players. He was such a charming man." According to the Arhoolie website Mance Lipscomb's inspired many musicians, such as Taj Mahal, Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt and other modern recording artists of today.

Mr. Strachwitz' story is incredible how he recorded, produced, collected and documented numerous regional roots music, including blues, Cajun, zydeco, gospel, jazz, Tejano/Norteño and other down-home msuic indigenous to the United States. For more information visit The Arhoolie Foundation.

In 2011, the city of Navasota, Texas dedicated a life-size bronze statue in memory of the incredibly talented Mance Lipscomb, and every August they hold a Navasota Blues Festival in his honor.

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm