Bedside Blues by Nick Swan

The inspiration for this collection of songs came from a group of CD's I keep at my bedside and listen to most every night. I've always loved the blues and in recent years I've had a desire to get deeper into the early masters of the genre. Son House, Charley Patton, Lonnie Johnson, Tommy Johnson, Blind Willie Johnson (and McTell), Mississippi John Hurt (and Fred McDowell!), Furry Lewis, Bukka White and so many more. In our digital age, this is the kinda stuff that holds up nearly 100 years later. It's also the kind of stuff that you're gonna want to own in a physical form. So while I've accumulated all these CD's, I found the best place to listen to them was in bed, at night. The music is compelling enough to listen to intensely without getting bored, yet open and quiet enough to fall asleep to if desired. I try to put myself back in the country, where much (though not all) of this music was played and where unamplified music could still be heard for miles because there were no other sounds at night. Instead of looking at a phone or watching TV, I listened to the old blues. Usually one man, one guitar. The sense of space within the music makes you feel some place else. Maybe some of it has seeped into my mind and soul a little deeper in my dreams. One used to be able to dial in this sort of stuff on a radio late at night, from hundreds of miles away. Some of it was nearly lost forever before being granted a second life during the Folk revival of the 50s and 60s. The spirit of those records is what I've tried to put forth here. It's just me and a guitar, all live, save for one small overdub on "Darn that Dream," the sole "non-blues" song on this album. Occasionally I would branch out and put on some jazz, particularly Dexter Gordon's "Ballads" album. There's also one original, a tune I wrote in high school called "Sleepy." I tried to put a Lightnin Hopkins spin on it here. There's also plenty of Robert Johnson, who I've probably listened to more than any other early blues artist. And keeping with the theme, I've tried to keep this set pretty mellow, though there is plenty of early blues by my bedside that "rocks." Maybe that's for another time...

p.s. A note on the album cover. This was taken at the Riverside Hotel in Clarksdale, MS. Originally a hospital, it is was the spot where Bessie Smith died. There's a room in tribute to her there. It was later converted to a hotel and many legends have stayed there, including Muddy Waters and Sam Cooke. This particular room was where Howlin Wolf stayed, and he reportedly slept on this same bed. I've always felt a kinship to the Wolf so I hope he didn't mind the company...

Tennessee Troubadour. Playing a mix of America's best roots music, from blues & folk to classic rock & 90s grunge.

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