British writer and musician John Phillpott digs deep in the Mississippi mud and unearths the legacy of W. C. Handy, the legendary Father of the…
W. C. Handy… Father of the Blues
Author: John Philpott
Author and journalist John Phillpott has written for many newspapers and magazines during a career that spans more than 50 years. His latest book Go and Make the Tea, Boy! is a memoir of his days as a young reporter.
Sam Bennett… Legendary English fiddler
(headline image: Sam Bennet – Photo from The James Madison Carpenter Collection, Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, AFC 1972/001 Photo…
How Rembetika music unites the people of troubled Cyprus
(headline photo: Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay) Writer and musician John Phillpott travels to Cyprus and discovers a music that has played a crucial…
The legend of John Barleycorn
Writer and musician John Phillpott delves into the darkness of pre-history and unearths a mysterious character known on both sides of the Atlantic by the…
Battle Cries and Ballads: The Music That Marched With Soldiers
British writer and musician John Phillpott picks up his metaphorical pack and musket and marches along the musical trail of British and American soldiers who…
Gypsy Songs and Legends
Folk music has always followed people on the move, and this was particularly the case with the Scots Irish, many of whom left the British…
Victorian Vice: Unmasking the Raucous Roots of Music Hall Culture
Writer and musician John Phillpott explores the drinking dens of Victorian England and uncovers the musical underbelly of that so-called prudish age… A POPULAR show…
The Life and Legacy of Legendary Bluesman Elmore James
It’s now more than 60 years since the groundbreaking slide guitarist Elmore James died from a heart attack at the tragically early age of 45.…
The music of the pirates and freed African slaves
Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones will always be the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll outlaw. This musical prince of thieves who stole a sound…
Album Changed the World
Nearly 60 years ago, in the spring of 1964, an emerging British rhythm and blues band released their first album. It was an event that…