Clarksdale Moan

"Clarksdale Moan" is a blues song recorded by the Delta blues musician Son House and first released as a 78-RPM single in 1930. The equally sought-after recording "Mississippi County Farm Blues" was the A-side. The song remained unheard until 2005, when an anonymous record collector discovered an original 78-RPM disc in decent condition. It was released in 2006 on the Yazoo Records album The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of, which contained many other rare blues recordings from that era.

"Clarksdale Moan"
Single by Son House
Released1930 (1930)
RecordedMay 28, 1930
StudioGrafton, Wisconsin, United States
GenreBlues, Delta blues
Length3:00
LabelParamount
Songwriter(s)Son House
Son House singles chronology
"My Black Mama Part 1" / "My Black Mama Part 2"
(1930)		 "Clarksdale Moan" / "Mississippi County Farm Blues"
(1930)		 "The Pony Blues" / "The Jinx Blues Part 1"
(1967)

Background

Son House recorded nine songs for Paramount Records in Grafton, Wisconsin, in 1930, released as 78-RPM records. These recordings were sought by blues historians of later generations, as House was a seminal influence on later blues greats, particularly Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. Seven of these recordings were rediscovered (see below), but the "Clarksdale Moan" 78 continued to elude collectors and was dubbed the "holy grail" of lost blues recordings.

Discovery

In September 2005, a collector announced he had obtained the lost "Clarksdale Moan" 78 in reasonably decent condition. On April 4, 2006, both "Clarksdale Moan" and "Mississippi County Farm Blues" were released on the collection The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of from Yazoo Records. While "Clarksdale Moan" was a previously unknown song, "Mississippi County Farm Blues" is an earlier (and faster) version of a song Son House later recorded at a session for the Library of Congress in 1942, entitled "County Farm Tune". Both "Clarksdale Moan" and "Mississippi County Farm Blues" are also included in the box set When the Levee Breaks: Mississippi Blues, Rare Cuts: 1926–1941, released by JSP Records in 2007.

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References
  • "Long Lost Son House 78rpm Record Found". Living Blues, vol. 36, no. 181, November/December 2005.
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