THE NATCHEZ BURNING | Elmo Williams & Hezekiah Early | Deep Blues Festival III | Summer 2009

Both Elmo Williams and Hezekiah Early are from Natchez, Mississippi. Hezekiah, formerly of Hezekiah and the House Rockers, is still the only man going who can simultaneously beat drums and blow through harmonica with the aid of electrician's tape and a mike stand. Hezekiah has no competition - that must be nice.

Elmo, armed with a Yamaha guitar and a full Fender Band Master stack, does everything else. For Elmo, learning riffs has always come easy, as having respect for others, their beliefs, values, and personal property has always been difficult. The harder he tries to respect others, the harder it gets. Things would be a lot easier if he's just give up. When not in church praying or playing guitar, Elmo mostly enjoys staying out of trouble.

Hezekiah loves busting big ol' deer damn straight dead with his rifle both in, and out, of season. If he's really bored he might eat some of it. He also enjoys driving his Thunderbird with the accelerator stomped all the way down. It makes him feel good about himself, grinding that floppy accelerator past where it should stop and into the carpet. This style of driving is Hezekiah's way of giving something back to America, his own personal way of standing up for the rights of All-American men.

Don't think for a second that these acts don't go unnoticed. Ask anyone in Natchez - Hezekiah Early has a humdinger of a reputation.

- Matthew Johnson
(more info at fat possum records: http://www.fatpossum.com/)

THE NATCHEZ BURNING

One of the deadliest fires in American history took the lives of over 200 people, including bandleader Walter Barnes and nine members of his dance orchestra, at the Rhythm Club (less than a mile southeast of this site) on April 23, 1940. News of the tragedy reverberated throughout the country, especially among the African American community, and blues performers have recorded memorial songs such as The Natchez Burning and The Mighty Fire ever since.


Marker text (back):

THE NATCHEZ BURNING

Did you ever hear about the burnin
That happened way down in Natchez Mississippi town?
The whole buildin got to burnin,
There my baby laying on the ground.

The Natchez Burning Howlin Wolf

Few events in African-American history have been as memorialized as the Natchez fire of 1940. In addition to a monument, markers, museum exhibits, and annual local ceremonies in remembrance of the dead, the fire has inspired both prose and poetry, as well as songs by blues and gospel singers. Just weeks after the disaster, the Lewis Bronzeville Five, Leonard Baby Doo Caston, and Gene Gilmore recorded the first commemorative songs in Chicago. The most well-known song to address the topic, The Natchez Burning, recorded in 1956 by Howlin Wolf, led to versions by Natchez bluesmen Elmo Williams and Hezekiah Early, rock performer Captain Beefheart, and others. John Lee Hooker, blind ballad singer Charles Haffer of Clarksdale and Louisiana guitarist Robert Gilmore also sang about the tragedy on various recordings.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• blues
• deep blues festival
• elmo williams
• hezekiah early
• natchez mississippi
• delta blues

[michaelmikaeel]

the first beat i ever played was a bluse beat bom bom bom tap bom bombom tap i was a bout 6yr old to this day i dont know were it came from other than in side of me be cause i had never heard it before

[tachristmas]

my great grandmas uncle was in the fire but he survived

[cjoey39]

Wow! You guys are fun!! Awesome performance! Love it!!! Joey Vaughan "World Blues Attack

[LakesideArt]

My Dad was friends with Walter Barnes the bandleader who died in the Natchez Rhythm Nightclub fire. He mourned the loss of his friends all his life.

[theTroyC]

@phdoyon I know, right? There is no clip of the Howlin' Wolf version on YouTube.

[phdoyon]

Natchez Burning; in 1940, the Rythmn Night Club in Mississipi 209 people died in the fire. Now if only there is a clip of Howlin' Wolf performing this one.

[Mzj0812]

That's my grandpa (Elmore)! Alright pawpaw!

[kdwilent]

Yea Man! from the first cd!

[faunoram]

this rocks!!