A small tribute to the works of valuable composers, musicians, players and poets. From Al Green and Alberta Hunter to Zoot Sims and Shemekia Copeland, among many others. Covering songs from styles as different as bluegrass, blues, classical, country, heavy metal, jazz, progressive, rock and soul music.

Sunday, 27 November 2011

Skillet Lickers

Proof that in-fighting and power plays among band members was not a practice invented by rock & roll groups, the Skillet Lickers were a prolifically talented 1920s string band that had "creative differences" through much of their career span. Originally formed as a backup band for fiddler and folksy-styled humorist Gid Tanner, the addition of fiddler Clayton McMichen took the band in another direction entirely. McMichen looked down upon Tanner's backwoods humor and musical style, preferring to take a more modern approach to the music by including jazz and pop influences, and he often downplayed the role of the banjo, as well as Tanner's high-pitched, comical vocals. Still, despite the creative differences, the Skillet Lickers operated on all cylinders throughout the '20s, recording for Columbia and gaining a reputation as one of the sharpest live bands of the time. After McMichen left in the early '30s to form other bands, Tanner kept the name and hired a revolving cast of supporting musicians to keep the ball rolling for another few years.