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Spasmatic "Kiwi" Johnson
and !Les
These are the only known photographs of "Kiwi" and
!Les. They are Fulton County, GA mugshots from a 1939 arrest for the "selling of beverages
of questionable origin with the claim that the beverages will 'cure what ails you.'"
The songs listed below represent the beginning of the
long overdue release of several dozen songs and various interview materials of Spasmatic "Kiwi" Johnson and !Les.
Alan Lomax and Douglas Morgan, recording technicians and historians working for the
Library of Congress, are believed to have made these landmark recordings during the late 1930's and early
1940's. Lomax and Morgan, working independently, relentlessly traversed the South with
portable recording equipment and made some of the only known recordings of many famous
blues men such as Son House, Robert Johnson (no relationship to "Kiwi"), Muddy Waters,
Lead Belly, Sonny Boy Williamson and our newly unearthed recordings of "Kiwi" and !Les.
These recordings are taken from various different sessions: one with Lomax, one with
Morgan and one radio show transcription. These recordings were amazingly recorded, as
they were at the time, live, in one take, with a single microphone.
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| This song, like all recorded by Kiwi and !Les, was recorded sometime around 1940 in a single take through a single microphone.
"Deal with the Devil" outlines the musical battle for !Les' soul. It ends in a fury of slide guitar work in which !Les banishes the Devil back to the fire. |
CD: Gut Bucket Blues
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| One of many Kiwi and !Les interviews with Alan Lomax around 1940. In this excerpt, Kiwi and !Les discuss some of their musical influences with Mr. Lomax. | |
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| This song, like all recorded by Kiwi and !Les, was recorded sometime around 1940 in a single take through a single microphone.
"40 Miles" uses car imagery to bemoan the loss of a woman's love. |
CD: Gut Bucket Blues
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