‘Honeyboy’ Edwards: life of blues ‘paid ofF
By Paul Ertelt
Of the Emerald
David “Honeyboy” Edwards has been
singing the blues for more than half a
century, and the list of musicians that he
has known and worked with reads like a
“Who’s Who” of the blues.
“I knew them all,” claims the 68-year
old singer and guitarist, whose career
has taken him from the Mississippi Delta
of the 1930s to Chicago’s South Side of
the 1950s.
Now, Edwards is on the road again as
the featured performer of a blues revue
touring the Northwest. The revue was in
Eugene Saturday night for a performance
at the Community Center for the Perfor
ming Arts, otherwise known as the
W.O.W. Hall.
Born and raised in Mississippi, Ed
wards was first exposed to the blues as a
teenager and was influenced by local
singers such as Charley Patton and Tom
my Johnson.
At 16, Edwards began playing with
Tommy McClennan, whose “Deep Sea
Blues” has become a standard of the
genre. In the daytime they played on the
streets for nickles and dimes, and at
night they played in “bootleg houses,”
Edwards says.
Playing the blues meant escaping the
harsh plantation life, where laborers
picked cotton and baled hay for 70 cents
to a dollar a day, he says.
“I wasn’t going to work in the hot sun
all day,” Edwards says. ‘‘I learned to
play the guitar and I lit out.”
In the winter of 1932, he took to the
road with Big Joe Williams, riding
freight trains throughout Mississippi
and Louisiana. Williams, who was about
twice as old as Edwards, played a nine
string guitar that “sounded like a man
dolin,” he says.
But Williams had an “awfully quick
temper,” and when their partnership
broke up, Edwards went to Memphis
where he played for a time with the
Memphis Jug Band.
“Memphis was the roughest place in
the South,” he says. “If you stayed in
Memphis and you came out, you were all
right.”
In 1942 folklorist Alan Lomax record
ed Edwards for the Library of Congress,
and in 1952 Edwards traveled to Chicago
to record for Chess Records. But his ex
perience with record companies has not
always been a happy one, he says.
In one instance, a Memphis studio
owner released one of Edward s recor
dings under the name of another artist.
"It was my voice, it was my guitar, but it
had someone else’s name on it,” he says.
Edwards settled in Chicago in 1957,
where he often played for $10 a night.
Though he never belonged to a regular
band, Edwards worked in pickup bands
with friends such as harmonica player
Big Walter Horton.
During the mid 1960s, the original
Fleetwood Mac came to Chicago to
record with Otis Spann, saxophonist J.T.
Brown and other musicians who had in
fluenced them. The young British musi
cians also invited Edwards to the
session.
‘‘They heard of me somehow,” he
says. “I don’t know where.”
Edwards says he has heard few whites
who can do justice to the blues. “A
white man can play all right, but he can’t
never sing like us,” he says.
During the 1970s, Edwards made his
first of several trips to Europe, where he
says the blues is very popular. After
decades of struggling, his music is
beginning to bring him recognition and
financial rewards.
“We had a hard life, but it paid off.”
Photo by Michael Clapp
David “Honayboy” Edwards, blues
performer for more than half a century,
is currently touring the Northwest.
Play jabs the ‘Big Four ’ with wit, sensitivity
There are four conversation topics that always
manage to ignite a heated conversation between my
grandfather, Tony, and me: sex, politics, religion and
money. We can easily chat about Italian food and fami
ly intrigues, but when the talk turns toward any of the
“Big Four,” sparks fly and we argue relentlessly. It’s
nothing serious. He is simply a moderately conser
vative Republican, and I’m not. Enough said.
Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) my grand
father isn’t around to see and debate the merits of the
Mainstage Theatre production of “Life is a Four-Letter
Word” with me. I’m certain we both would agree,
musically speaking, that some of the numbers in the
original musical revue by Melina Neal, of Eugene, are
great while others are disappointing. But the tone of the
production is more in line with my thinking than
Tony’s. I’d spend my part of the discussion defending;
he’d recipiocate with blasts.
One thing is for certain: “Life” effectively ad
dresses those four topics, as well as other more minor
themes, and most often does it with variety, sensitivity
and intelligence. Strict attention is paid to balance; the
songs are hilarious and witty when appropriate and
somber when necessary.
Neal has blended the problems of eternity into a
neat package for the ’80s. And while inside “Eugene”
jokes probably would make the production less effec
tive outside this city, the messages delivered in and bet
ween the lines are universal.
The first is the strongest of the two acts; the
numbers in Act I mainly deal with sex, love, politics,
women's rights and personal identity, T. K.
McDonald’s touching rendering of “Doatsie Mae” is
chillingly truthful. It’s the story of an ineffectual
dreamer who’s always wanted excitement and adven
ture “like the women on TV” but, for some reason, is
unable to get it.
Two consecutive songs, “Politics and Poker”
(“Shuffle up the cards and find the joker”) and “Side
Step,” are both crowd pleasers. Dan Bruno, of “On The
Edge” fame, does a terrific job as the sneaky politician
in the latter; his dancing is hilarious but polished, and
his facial expressions can’t be topped by anyone in the
cast.
“Why Am 1 Me?” asks the eternal question
marvelously. Andrew Sherman and Katherine Kersey,
the youngest cast members, are highlighted perfectly
here; after all, youth ask that particular question most
often. The two exude honest puzzlement and sincerity
and at the same time give the audience a few chuckles.
There are weak spots. “Love Sing,” for example, is
full of sloppy sentimentalism. And while songs such as
“Freedom” (“Freedom is a state of mind”),
“Motherhood March” and “Watching the Big Parade”
all highlight female cast members singing for the
women’s equal rights movement, the absence of men in
those numbers is a blatant oversight.
Act II deals with money, sexual freedom, religion
and civic duty. “Rhythm of Life,” featuring Ken
Brownell and including almost the entire cast, is the
highlight. Offbeat, alternative religions are surveyed in
the light, upbeat number. Riducule is not lost but is not
stressed.
Another Act II tunei “Married Couple Seeks Mar
ried Couple,” is a slow-paced, rather enigmatic song
dealing with partner switches. While I appreciate and
understand that a melancholic tone may have been us
ed to project confusion and uneasiness, a livelier, I
thought a more snappy tune could have added an
adventurous touch. But maybe adventure isn’t what
those folks need; I’ve never been married.
Sherie L. Blankenship and Joe Zingo should be
commended for the choreography, which fits well with
the songs' lyrics. The sound system’s effectiveness
could be more uniform, and the cast needs some
polishing so the members aren’t looking to each other
for stage directions. But, all in all, the production runs
smoothly.
“Life is a Four-letter Word" plays Thursday and
Friday and August 3, 9, 11 and 17 on the downtown
mall near the fountain. Call the Mainstage Theatre Co.
for reservations. Watching the performance is a nice
way to spend a summer evening — with or without
Grandfather.
By Kim Carlson
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