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Editions Le mot et le reste offer, under the signature of Amaury Cornut, the first reference work in French devoted to Lead Belly, legendary bluesman without whom the Beatles, Bob Dylan or Nirvana would not have had the same itinerary.
This is the reproduction of the column “The first blues/folk musician to tour Europe” which appeared in the modern pop weekly n°65.
Excerpt from the chapter “1949: Been so long (Bellevue Hospital Blues)”
During the winter of 1948-49, the singer began to complain of a feeling of weakness in his right foot. In a few weeks, this one wins her right arm then her right hand is affected. A medical appointment in New York with Dr. Conason establishes the disastrous diagnosis: Lead Belly is suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease that we do not yet know very well at that time. It is, nowadays, better known in France under the name of “Charcot’s disease”, and in the United States “Lou Gehrig’s disease” from the name of a famous baseball player, who died of this condition in 1941. Pills are immediately prescribed to him to increase his blood circulation and alleviate the symptoms which, given his job, constitute for Lead Belly a real handicap and a great source of anguish.
However, 1949 also had its share of celebrations. At the beginning of January, Lead Belly was offered a role on Broadway, the singer was delighted even if, alas, this project would never see the light of day. In February, Lead Belly gives several concerts linked to the New York jazz scene, notably at the WNYC Jazz Festival organized by the eponymous radio station, at the Jazz Band Ball or as part of the program The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street broadcast on NBC. But that’s not all, it was also in February that Marjorie Fairbanks got Lead Belly to become a member of the Associated Musicians of Greater New York, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. It is an official recognition of his status as a professional musician of which he is very proud, however late it may be. Then, in May 1949, Lead Belly became the first American blues/folk musician to tour Europe. Driven by Austin Wilder, it was to start in Paris and its organization was finalized by Austen Fairbanks and her mother, who knew the French capital very well as she stayed there regularly and had offices at 52 avenue des Champs-Élysées.
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2023-09-07 19:26:01
#Good #leaves #Lead #Belly #Paris
