Dedication

This year’s Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival is respectfully dedicated to two of the most talented and influential figures ever to grace the world of blues — Fred McDowell and Son House. Both men were familiar performers at previous Ann Arbor Blues Festivals, and their absence this year is a loss suffered by us all.

“Mississippi” Fred McDowell was probably the most accomplished bottleneck guitarist in blues history. He learned the technique as a small boy, courtesy of an uncle who played it with a polished “beef bone” (as Fred was fond of recalling). He exchanged the beef bone for a bottleneck which was filed smooth, and proceeded to perfect a style of guitar playing which only now is receiving the kind of attention jt warrants.

He was discovered by Folklorist Alan Lomax in 1959, and added to the early-Sixties folk revival the blues spirit which would completely dominate folk music by the end of the decade. McDowell’s work vibrantly stands out on the Vanguard recordings of the Newport Folk Festival of 1964, and later work on a variety of labels could only substantiate his excellence. One of his last public appearnaces was in Ann Arbor in 1971 at a club called The Alley, where every set was met with a packed house and an enthusiastic response.

Shortly after the Ann Arbor engagement, exploratory surgery at Memphis’ Baptist Hospital revealed that he was stricken with stomach cancer. Following a short period at home in Como, Mississippi, Fred re-entered Baptist Hospital, where he died on July 3, 1972.

Eddie James “Son” House, Jr. was a walking encyclopedia of blues tradition. Confidante of Charlie Patton, teacher of the immortal > Robert Johnson, a man Muddy Waters has called “the best there is,” Son House was never destined to enjoy the full rewards that being a “living legend” should certainly bring.

After recording with Patton, Willie Brown and Louise Jordan in the Thirties, he seemed to slip into obscurity (save for a Library of Congress recording made in 1942) and was all but forgotten. House was rediscovered by Dick Waterman in Rochester, New York in 1964, and promptly began making the rounds of blues festivals and clubs. His music was heavy on rhythm and even heavier on emotion, often sacrificing verbal clarity for an intense purity of expression which spells out the meaning of his words much better than the letters ever could.

Son House has fallen victim to his years, and a failing memory and increasing physical strain have necessitated a retirement which leaves a hole unfilled within blues enthusiasts everywhere.

In addition, this year will see a formal dedication of the festival site as “Otis Spann Memorial Field.” For over two decades, Otis Spann was without peer among blues pianists. As a cornerstone of the Muddy Waters Band, and later as a solo performer, he established a stylistic track record which will most likely go unchallenged for many years to come. He died at 40 of cancer of the liver in Cook County Hospital in Chicago; and although it’s been over two years since his passing, the weight of his accomplishments is felt as strongly as ever. Taking part in the ceremony will be his wife, Lucille Spann, who performs at this year’s festival as a member of Mighty Joe Young’s Band.

When people discuss the blues in future time, it is a certainty that the names of Fred McDowell, Son House and Otis Spann will figure prominently in the discussion. The dedication of the 1972 Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival to these three artists is but our small way of recognizing the timelessness of their contributions.