Piedmont Blues
by Rick Franklin
Research by Rick Franklin (pictured at right) as part of the Hearabouts Program. The musicians he has profiled performed at the Lubber Run Amphitheatre on July 8, 2007.
 

Influenced by ragtime, country string bands, traveling medicine shows, and popular song of the early 20th century, East Coast Piedmont Blues blended both black and white, rural and urban song elements in the diverse urban centers of the Southeast and mid-Atlantic region. In contrast, the Delta blues style of rural Mississippi is believed to have less of a white influence, as it was produced in a region with a higher concentration of African Americans.

Although it drew from diverse elements of the region, East Coast Piedmont Blues is decidedly an African American art form. The Piedmont blues style may even reflect an earlier musical tradition than the blues that emerged from the Mississippi Delta. According to Samuel Charters, the alternating-thumb bass pattern and "finger-picking style" of Piedmont blues guitar is reminiscent of West African kora playing and earlier banjo styles, also of African origin (Sweet as the Showers of Rain, Oak Publications, 1977, p. 137).

The Piedmont Blues is a type of blues music characterized by a unique finger picking method on the guitar in which a regular, alternating-thumb bass pattern supports a melody using treble strings. The Piedmont blues typically refers to a greater area than Piedmont, which refers to the East Coast of the United States from about Richmond, Virginia to Atlanta, Georgia. Piedmont blues musicians come from this area, as well as Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Florida.

In a world of chaotic musical fads, where true expressions of the heart and soul often fall by the wayside in the endless pursuit of "innovation," it is always refreshing to discover music which is pure, direct, and soulful. The Piedmont blues style of Warner Williams and Jay Summerour is instantly recognizable as classic country blues, the root source of many familiar forms of popular music. On this recording you'll hear the real thing, played with great warmth and a sense of fun. Warner Williams and Jay Summerour perform at folk festivals, blues festivals, and Smithsonian concerts under the name "Little Bit of Blues."

A Washington D.C. favorite, Little Bit a Blues combines Warner Williams' warm vocals and Piedmont guitar picking with Jay Summerour's harmonica. Warner is a native of Takoma Park and has been part of Washington's blues scene since the '50s. Jay is a veteran of the Starland Vocal Band and the Cambridge Harmonica Orchestra. Williams and Summerour began playing together during the early 1990s, sometimes calling themselves "Little Bit of Blues." They have been featured in concerts, on television and radio, and at festivals across the country, including appearances on the National Public Radio series Folk Masters, at the National and Lowell Folk Festivals, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and the American Roots Fourth of July celebration.

Warner Williams

Guitarist and songster Warner Williams is one of the greatest unsung heroes of the Piedmont blues--an Eastern seaboard style that incorporates fiddle tunes, ballads, country and popular songs, ragtime, and gospel. With a jaunty rhythmic finger-picked guitar-style and an eclectic repertoire that ranges from blues to honky-tonk, jazz crooning to children’s songs, Warner Williams is an old-style community entertainer of national significance. He is joined by Maryland native Jay Summerour on harmonica and backing vocals. Together they conjure up an historic Piedmont duo like Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee as they make their own way on the blues highway.

"I've been playing all my life" is how Warner Williams describes his involvement with the guitar.

Born in Takoma Park, Maryland in 1930, Warner grew up in a musical family. His mother played the accordion, and his father played guitar, piano, and fiddle. His seven brothers and three sisters all sang and played string instruments; his siblings performed as the "Williams Family," playing blues and country music in the Washington, D.C. area when the six-year-old Warner first picked up the guitar. Warner "learned by watching" his family members play, and cut his musical teeth on such diverse influences as blues great Lightnin' Hopkins and cowboy star Gene Autry.

As he expanded his horizons, Warner became adept at playing and singing a wide-ranging repertoire including hillbilly, country, blues, and jazz styles, playing both acoustic and hollow-body electric guitar. Over the years, Warner performed in churches, nightclubs, and street corners, becoming a fixture in the Washington, D.C. blues scene. In more recent years, he has taken his music to a national audience via Smithsonian Institution tours and public radio broadcasts, playing alongside his musical partner of the past seven years, Jay Summerour.

Jay was born in 1950 and was raised in Rockville, Maryland and Oakland, California. He started playing the trumpet at age seven, but picked up the harmonica as a ten-year-old, inspired by his grandfather, an accomplished blues harmonica player.

"From when I was a child," Jay recalls, "I wanted to be one of those old blues players who could just sit down and entertain people." His idols, Sonny Terry and James Cotton, were sufficiently impressed by the youngster that they were willing to take the time to help Jay learn his craft. Jay's musical development took some twists and turns along the way, as Jay took the opportunity to dive into the wide world of mainstream music, traveling with such acts as the Starland Vocal Band and the Cambridge Harmonica Orchestra. The lessons which Jay learned about the music business, promotion, booking, and management, have in time proved quite valuable. Jay has returned to performing traditional blues, his first love, via his association with Warner Williams, and, as is obvious to anyone within earshot, this partnership was meant to be. Jay declares that "we just play because we love playing".

Jay deftly weaves his expressive harmonica phrasing around Warner's masterful guitar runs and relaxed vocals, with the two musicians blending as if they have played music together forever.

Mike Baytop

A Washington DC native plays acoustic blues guitar, harmonica and percussive bones. His father gave him his first harmonica; years later, he became fascinated by the blues he heard growing up. Mike performed with Archie Edwards, his mentor on harmonica and guitar, at Smithsonian Institute’s 150th anniversary; and the 90th anniversary of the Niagara meeting at Harpers Ferry in 1997. They played the 1997 Rocky Gap festival in Cumberland MD along with Mike’s bones mentor, Richard "Mr. Bones" Thomas. Mike performed at the 2002 DC Blues Society festival, spoke and performed at the U. of MD in 2002.  He regularly presents blues in the schools, and often visits Avalon, MS to perform at the MS. John Hurt family memorial museum. Mike is also the executive director of the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation.  2007 Bunker Hill Rd NE, DC 20018. http://acousticblues.com/mike_bio.htm

Michael Baytop was born in Washington, DC in 1948, where he lived most of his life. His introduction to playing music came from his father, who gave him his first harmonica. Later in life, he became truly interested in playing the blues he heard as he was growing up. Mike's harmonica sound is influenced by Charlie Sayles, Phil Wiggins and James Cotton. His guitar playing is influenced by Mississippi John Hurt, Larry Johnson, Jerry Ricks and by Archie Edwards, under whom he studied for many years.

As a performer, Mike has recorded on Michael Roach's CDs "Ain't Got No Home" (1994) and "Blinds of Life" (1996). They performed at the first Bluebird Festival at Prince George's College in 1994. They also performed at the 11th annual DC Mayor's Arts Awards in 1995. Mike toured England with Michael Roach in 1996. In 1998 he played the roll of the Bluesman in the play "I Am a Man." He also accompanied poet Theresa Davis on the harmonica during her poetry readings.

Mike performed with Archie Edwards, his mentor, in the later years of Mr. Edwards' life, on both harmonica and guitar. Mike and Archie played at the Smithsonian Institute's 150th birthday celebration. In 1997 they played the 90th anniversary of the Niagara Group at Harper's Ferry, WV. Also in 1997, they played at the Rocky Gap Festival in Cumberland, MD, along with Richard "Mr. Bones" Thomas.

In 1998, Mike performed at the Bull Durham Blues Festival. He also has performed at the Blues in the Burg Festival in Fredericksburg, VA, the 2002 DC Blues Society Festival, the Smithsonian National Folk Life Festival, and the 2001Folk Festival at Ferrum College in Ferrum, VA.

Mike spoke and performed at the University of Maryland in 2002, and he annually participates in the Percussion Discussion, a program for elementary schools. He also renders community service through performances and civic events.

Born in Alexandria, Virginia in 1952, Rick has been playing and singing the Blues at local festivals and community events, as well as various clubs and cafes since 1981.

Rick's musical style of blues is known as the "Piedmont" style identified with such legendary players like Blind Blake, Blind Boy Fuller and William More along with contemporary players like Virginia residents John Ceaphas, the late John Jackson and the late Maryland resident, Archie Edwards.

Rick has taught guitar to youths and adults and is personally committed to the preservation and diffusion of the Blues, especially amongst the young.

Rick has been an Executive Board member of the DC Blues Society and helped organize and performed in the first annual DC Blues Festival. Rick also contributed to the DC Blues Society as a music critic for their monthly and quarterly publication.

In addition to solo performances, Rick also performs in the area with the popular acoustic blues trio Franklin, Harpe, and Usilton. This trio performs 1920s and 1930s blues and ragtime in the Memphis and St. Louis guitar-duet style.

The trio has released a self produced CD entitled "Hokum Blues" and the trio has also been featured on cable television for Arlington, Fairfax and Montgomery counties. Franklin & Harpe have also released a second self produced CD entitled "Doin’ The Dozens".

Rick has performed throughout the metropolitan area at events such as the Washington Folk Festival, Northern Virginia Folk Festival, the DC Blues Society Blues Festival, the Columbia Pike Blues Festival, the Old Songs Festival, the Herndon Blues Festival, and for the Baltimore Blues Society, in addition to appearances at The National Portrait Gallery and local elementary schools.