This past weekend the New York Times Magazine cover story flashed a long overdue spotlight on Paramount Records and its incredible phantom performers Geeshie Wiley and Elvie Thomas. If you missed the print edition, you can check out the article online here. It’s an incredibly intriguing and illuminating piece of investigative journalism, and to our eyes and ears they did a fantastic job with the multi-media aspect of the story as well. Please do set some time aside and give it a thorough read.
An expanded version of their story and all Geeshie and Elvie’s tracks will be included later this year in Third Man / Revenant Records' much-anticipated Rise & Fall of Paramount Records, Volume Two (1928-32). Rise & Fall Vol. 2 is the sequel and final chapter to our limited edition 2013 release, Vol. 1 (1917-27), the story of the label that would be king of early American blues, jazz and “wholly other” music. Volume 1 has been called “spectacular” (NY Times), “unprecedented” (Rolling Stone), “breathtaking” (Boing Boing) and a “treasure to pass on to the grandkids“ (Southern Living). Find out more about our Rise & Fall Volume One here and keep your eyes and ears peeled for more news regarding Volume Two coming your way soon!
Yep, truly great article. Anyone with an interest in early blues will be riveted. This article also demonstrates the need for someone to ‘liberate’ Mack McCormick’s archive. Now there’s a project for TMR…
Astonishing article. I knew there were more hidden treasures in that Paramount box than I could see or touch. I kept thinking and feeling the ancestors around me like in church or when coming out of dreamings. Thank you so much for this work you do.
Thank you for sharing, the reading and the music, pretty complete article and interesting. I was reading it in parts but finally got to the end. Please continue sharing things like this.
Great article! Love the clips they include on the interactive online version.
Will check this out, thank you for posting it.
Great article, thanks for posting. Thanks to Jack and Third Man for sharing these musical gems and for the great Paramount Talk this past fall. Looking forward to Volume 2.
hellosmith: Take the time to check out the online copy, too, if you can— There are a bunch of really beautiful audio and video clips. I love the one in which members of L.V. Thomas’ church congregation talk about hearing her sing.
wow, this sounds fantastic. think i’ll see if my library has a copy of it tomorrow!
Oh, thank you so much for sharing… Breathtaking article!
Revenant Records posted a link to that the other day. Took a lot of time to read it and listen to all the accompanying audio but it’s completely worth it. About the best piece of music journalism I’ve come across yet. Just like the writing in the big red book that comes with the Paramount Cabinet of Wonders, it brings these long-dead musicians to life better than any seance ever could. Yet at the same time, it makes it clear how much is still unknown and mysterious about them. For anyone who’s interested in more, I think this is the article that Sullivan mentions he wrote and that Greil Marcus published— http://ourblues.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/unknown_bards.pdf (opens a pdf download) It’s another terrific piece, about his quest to interpret the lyrics of Last Kind Word Blues (and if y’all don’t yet have Dex Romweber’s Blue Series with that as the b-side, then you need to go get it now).