Savoy unissued
# Flyright CD 45 (1992)
notes by Bruce Bastin Flyright LP 500 (UK 1971)
= Flyright LP 500 (UK 197?)
Flyright Records discography
notes by Bruce Bastin Flyright LP 505 (UK 1973)
notes (16 page booklet) by Bruce Bastin Flyright FLY 528 (UK 1973)
notes by William Bentley Trix 3306 (US 1973)
notes by William Bentley = Trix CD 3306 (US 1993)
Trix Records discography
Flyright LP 4711
notes by Ray Templeton Flyright FLY CD 45 (UK 1992)
112-pp. booklet notes by Bill Dahl Bear Family BCD 17231 (Germany 2014)
thanks to Max Hoeffner and Bob Eagle for additional info
Guitar Shorty 1970/71source: Cohn: Nothing But The Blues (1993), p. 401photographer: Danny McLean
Guitar Shorty & his wife Lena (née Ellis), 1971photographer: Danny McLean
Guitar Shorty, Willie Johnson and friends near Elm City, North Carolina, 1972source: Guralnick 1978, p. 2/3; photographer: Valerie Wilmer
Guitar Shorty & his wife Lena at home, 1972source: Valerie Wilmer: Guitar Shorty - An Appreciation and MemoryBlues Unlimited 120 (1976), p. 20-21; photographer: Valerie Wilmer
Guitar Shorty & his wife Lena, 1972source: The Transatlantic Blues Book, compiled by Mike Leadbitter, photographs by Valerie Wilmer.-London (Transatlantic Group), no date [1973], no pagination(scanned and photoshopped [all illustrations in this booklet originally are reddish] by Stefan Wirz)photographer: Val Wilmer
Guitar Shorty & friendsource: The Transatlantic Blues Book, compiled by Mike Leadbitter, photographs by Valerie Wilmer.-London (Transatlantic Group), no date [1973], no pagination(scanned and photoshopped [all illustrations in this booklet originally are reddish] by Stefan Wirz)photographer: Val Wilmer
Guitar Shorty 1972/73source: Harris 1987, p. 180; photographer: Peter B. Lowry
Guitar Shorty 1972/73source: Back cover of Trix CD 3306; photographer: Pete Lowry
Guitar Shortysource: Bastin: Red River Blues (1986), between pp. 286 & 287 photographer: Kip Lornell
"In his introduction to Paul Oliver's 'Blues Fell this Morning / Meaning of the Blues', the Afro-American writer, Richard Wright, posed this question: 'Ought not the contraction or the enlargement of the environment in which the blues were cradled be the calendar by which the death of the blues can be predicted?' Those who bewail the fact that the country blues is dying should stop and consider Wright's words. That such a situation as that in which Guitar Shorty and others like him lived and continue to do so surprises those who never have seen it. Some blues fanciers even find this poverty romantic. But there is nothing romantic about living in a brokendown shack with a roof that leaks. There is nothing romantic about fetching your water from a well, especially in the winter. Likewise, there is nothing romantic about being forced to live in a situation not far removed from slavery. Make no mistake about it, unskilled rural workers only get paid when there is work to be done. Lena and Shorty did the best they could with what they had, but there is nothing romantic about the smell of poverty, nor is there anything to brag about in having sat with people desperately blotting out their day to day realities with cheap alcohol and in doing so, drinking themselves to death. The fact that Guitar Shorty was one of the many who contrived to produce beautiful music in the face of such deprivation is a tribute to his innate artistry. Nevertheless, those who would like to see the country blues continue as a living force in its original environment would do well to consider those words of Richard Wright's and to remember that this kind of wretchedness that produced a man like Guitar Shorty should not be allowed to endure." (Last sentences of Valerie Wilmer's obituary: Guitar Shorty - An Appreciation and Memory.- Blues Unlimited 120 (1976), p. 20 - 21)
Valerie Wilmer: Guitar Shorty - An Appreciation and MemoryBlues Unlimited 120 (1976), p. 20 - 21 Jürgen Henning: Guitar Shorty - North Carolina Slide GuitarBlues Power Magazin 4 (1993), p. 20 - 22 The articles above are 'published' here for private research only. While of historical interest, they may contain factual errors only revealed by later research. Be advised that more recent reference works should be consulted regarding factual points such as spelling of names, dates of birth, dates of recordings.
Jürgen Henning: Guitar Shorty - North Carolina Slide GuitarBlues Power Magazin 4 (1993), p. 20 - 22 The articles above are 'published' here for private research only. While of historical interest, they may contain factual errors only revealed by later research. Be advised that more recent reference works should be consulted regarding factual points such as spelling of names, dates of birth, dates of recordings.
The articles above are 'published' here for private research only. While of historical interest, they may contain factual errors only revealed by later research. Be advised that more recent reference works should be consulted regarding factual points such as spelling of names, dates of birth, dates of recordings.