Rare Washboard Bill Recording Session!

Rare Washboard Bill video from the archives!


One of a few Blues artists given the Florida heritage award, he once recorded an album for the Smithsonian (!) with Pete Seeger and Brownie McGhee and cut several singles for King Records. In his youth he was a bona fide Hobo, riding the rails along the Eastern Seaboard. He was a storyteller and joke master supreme. His business card read simply, "WASHBOARD BILL - RHYTHM, BLUES, COMEDY".

Bill was family, and considered me his manager, often calling in the middle of the night for advice. I have been compiling all the photos, videos and stories I have and hope to get a book about Bill and his incredible life out in the near future. For now, a small sampling of the man, the rhythm, and the comedy....

Filmed in 1991 in West Palm Beach, Florida, with the help of rock art director AWest, this was from a trip we took down to record Bill for his first record in over 40 years! More rare footage from this historic trip coming soon...

MORE WASHBOARD BILL AT:
http://www.myspace.com/washboardbill

www.roulettestudios.com

video/music copyright 2007 Kalynn Campbell/Roulette Studios

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• washboard
• bill
• cooke
• ukulele
• florida
• blues
• hobo
• kalynn
• awest
• seeger
• brownie
• mcghee
• king
• records

[sandkey]

Bill so jammed with The Sunshine energy so unseen nowadays. I have adapted this song to my Banjo..

[sandkey]

Where can you find the Florida song? Or any of Bills music..I love it would like to play some on the banjo

[kd5txo]

can anyone make out what chords he's using to play Sunshine FLA? I would love to play that song... wonderful work. I've heard the full version too... his uke was way out of tune in that one.

[Paddyboy]

Thank you so much for sharing this! A great bluesman and comedian! The best!!!

[rattlebrained]

Great archive and washboard playing! 5 stars, thanks for posting this.

[haleyfan]

It's so wonderful to see this footage, thank you!

[OtisGreen]

"Go to Palm Beach, and get your Florida Tan" ... "The Beautiful Truth" indeed. Fantastic Kalynn, thanks for the memories. Dave.