Track Listing

1. Never Let Your Deal Go Down
2. One-Dime Blues
3. Knoxville Rag
4. Broken Hearted Blues
5. Lost John
6. Dew Drop
7. Going Down the Road Feeling Bad
8. Near the Cross I Watch and Pray
9. Spanish Fandango
10. Round My Back Door Selling Coal
11. But on the Other Hand Baby
12. Crow Jane
13. John Henry
14. Alabama Wagonwheel
15. Bully of the Town
16. Going to the Race Track
17. Police Dog Blues
18. Marching Jaybird
19. Railroad Bill
20. Carolina Breakdown

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #70822 in Music
• Released on: 1992-02-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Album Description
Etta Baker is a virtuoso performer in a style heard infrequently these days--the finger-picked guitar tradition known as the Piedmont blues. Using a two- and three-fingered technique similar to that of other North Carolina guitarists such as Elizabeth Cotten, Rev. Gary Davis, and Blind Boy Fuller, Etta creates music that is remarkable in its range and depth. These recordings--her first since 1956--are masterworks from an exceptional artist.

Customer Reviews

More people should know her story.
I grew up in Morganton, NC, Etta Baker's hometown. My mother worked in a textile plant called Skyland, sewing sleeves and tags on t-shirts, where Mrs. Baker worked as the janitor -- for many, many years. Mom says she is one of the sweetest, kindest people you could ever hope to know. Here's her story as I understand it: she was a well-regarded musician in the 1920's at social functions and clubs in the south, but when she married, her husband demanded that she abandon that lifestyle for a more familiar, traditional one. From that point on, until he passed on some 60 years later, she only played at home and at some family functions. Once he passed and she retired, she began to play publicly again and, of course, astonished everyone within earshot. I think Mrs. Bakers's music touches me because of the depth of context in her sound. The structure and influence of the music are unmistakably traditional blues (with a little Appalachain bluegrass mixed in), but instead of the "down-and-out" plot so typical of the blues, she turns heartache and sacrifice into hope, spring, sunshine and victory. I can hear this in her playing, and I know it mirrors her life. I catch myself wondering what might have been, but find solace in the something small - Etta Baker spent those "lost years" at a place called Skyland, a fitting name for a place that hosted at least two angels. I think Mrs. Baker would understand. I know my mom does.

Elizabeth Cotten + Mississippi John Hurt = Etta Baker
If Libba Cotten and MJH had gotten together and had children, their daughter would sound like Etta Baker. Buy this album if you love traditional American folk/blues played by a marvelous guitar player & banjoist.

Also, look for Etta Baker's all-instrumental album "Railroad Bill" available for sale on the Music Maker Relief Foundation web site.

My Favourite cd EVER!
I had One Dime Blues on a cassette. It got lost. For several years I was lost. Now I have it on cd and my life is back on track. This music makes me feel happy and brave and glad to be alive. Etta Baker plays the best guitar I've ever heard.