Noah Adams talks with Peter Case, musician and producer of the new CD Avalon Blues: A Tribute to the music of Mississippi John Hurt. Case has assembled an impressive group of musicians who each play a Hurt song. They include Chris Smither, Lucinda Williams, Beck, Ben Harper, Bill Morrissey, and Gillian Welch. Case explains how he first heard the music of Mississippi John Hurt as a kid in Buffalo, and that his blues playing was powerful and opened doors for him into understanding American music. Some of the songs on this CD have a very modern feel; others harken back to the classic blues sound of Hurt, in terms of vocals and guitar playing. The CD is on Vanguard Records.
Copyright 2001 NPR