Mississippi Fred McDowell: Down Home Blues 1959 – also featuring Lonnie Young, Forest City Joe, John Dudley, Miles & Bob Pratcher

LET SHIRLEY COLLINS set the scene. In her fascinating autobiography, America Over the Water, she tells of her first meeting with Fred McDowell at the end of a hot September day in 1959 in Como, Mississippi. "Towards dusk, a slight figure in dungarees and carrying a guitar appeared out of the trees and walked into the clearing. Lonnie introduced him. His name was Fred McDowell, he was a 50-year-old farmer and he'd been picking cotton all day…. Fred started to play bottleneck guitar, a shimmering and metallic sound. His singing was quiet but strong and with a heart-stopping intensity. By the time he'd finished his first blues, we knew we were in the presence of a great and extraordinary musician."