American Songcatcher

S2:E2 // Oh Little Liza


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Season 2, Episode 2 // Oh Little Liza

Featured in this Episode:

Traditional - "Lil' Liza Jane" (:28)

Dock Boggs (11:22)

Snooks Eaglin (25:54)

Nina Simone (43:36)

Billy Strings (1:04:18)

Teaser:

Today, this song is a standard in New Orleans brass bands as well as old-time music, but its earliest iterations started as a sea shanty. His three finger-style banjo picking was directly inspired by early African American string bands, and his early recordings helped standardize nearly a dozen old-time songs from the Cumberland mountain range. Blind at age one, he's one of the most versatile and inspirational guitarists in blues music, and one of the least known, unless you're from New Orleans. A renowned civil rights activist, arranger, singer, songwriter and pianist who covered a broad range of genres including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel and pop. At just 29 years old, this multi-instrumentalist has taken the traditional and progressive bluegrass world in the palm of his hand, and he's only getting started.

Listen to my new traditional record: FOLK SONGS FOR OLD TIMES' SAKE

Performances:

"Little Liza Jane" - Traditional (9:25)

"Wild Bill Jones" - Traditional (23:04)

"Saint James Infirmary" - Traditional (39:42)

"Sinnerman" - Traditional (1:02:01)

"Walk on Boy" - Doc Watson (1:13:07)

---

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Source Credits:

Traditional: Cultural Equity | Jazz Fandom

Dock Boggs: Dock Boggs - "Life in Music" | Encyclopedia.com

Snooks Eaglin': Nola.com | Blues access | All About Blues

Nina Simone: Official Site | History Collection | Black past

Billy Strings: Rolling Stone | Acoustic Guitar | Official

...more
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American SongcatcherBy Nicholas Edward Williams

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