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All American Collection
This programme is part of BBC Four’s All American - a collection of BBC programmes from the archives about US culture. Available online to watch in full.
Go to the BBC Four All American Collection -
More about this programme
More raw performances from great Blues performers. Big Joe Williams perform a song he used to sing to people standing in line outside soup kitchens set up for the unemployed in St Louis during the depression of the 1930s. There's also Henry Townsend, whose Blues reflected the poverty and racism he experienced. His Blues were a relief from pressure - he moved between speakeasies and private parties picking up dimes where he could. Here he performs his own brand of Blues at an open top piano.
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About BBC Four Collection programmes
Programmes are selected, in part, for their historical context and reflect the broadcast standards and attitudes of their time, which may not accord to some current BBC editorial guidelines. We aim to select programmes which can be shown in their entirety but in some cases edits are required. In these cases, edits are kept to a minimum and are made only for technical reasons.
Credits
- Presenter
- Alexis Korner
- Performer
- James Deshay
- Performer
- Victoria Spivey
- Performer
- Henry Townsend
- Performer
- Big Joe Williams
- Producer
- Giles Oakley
- Producer
- Maddalena Fagandini
Featured in...
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All American
A collection of classic BBC programmes about US culture. Available to watch online.
