To mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, we’re cataloging 25 objects that define the country’s history.
Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” put the spotlight on the Mississippi Delta blues. But throughout the early 20th century, every region was putting their own spin on the genre. On the East Coast, musicians developed a finger-picking, ragtime-style called the Piedmont blues.
Singer and guitarist John Cephas and harmonica player Phil Wiggins were modern ambassadors of the Piedmont blues in the late 1900s and early 2000s.
The Smithsonian Institution has preserved the duo’s work, and Smithsonian Folkways director Maureen Loughran spoke with Here & Now’s Robin Young about their influence on the genre.
Who were John Cephas and Phil Wiggins?
“These were two extraordinary individuals that both grew up in the Washington, D.C., area. John Cephas was a guitar player. Phil Wiggins was a harmonica player. And they became a duo as a result of being at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1976.
“And what they did with the Piedmont blues was make it a living, breathing art form in the 20th century and into the 21st century. The form of Piedmont blues became really well-known because of its recordings on 78 records. So a lot of what John learned came from family members and listening to 78s. And Phil did that, too. He taught himself how to play the harmonica by listening to these recordings.
“So both John and Phil are able to take that music into live engagement with audiences. Playing it on the stage. Playing it for people. Playing it how it really was used, which is for dance music. They gave it that living, breathing feeling. “
Have the Piedmont blues died out?
“No. One of the most important things that John used to say about the music was that he wanted it to continue into future generations. So teaching the music was really important to him. It lives on today in artists like Justin Golden, who is a blues player from Richmond, Virginia. So it’s not a dying art form.”
How does the story of the Piedmont blues fit into the story of America?
“Piedmont blues is obviously another regional expression of the blues. We might think of the Mississippi Delta. We think of Chicago. Piedmont really talks about the music from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, specifically in the South – from Richmond to Atlanta. So in this region of the South, there were a lot of great guitar players who played in this style. Using your thumb to hit the base notes and then using the rest of your fingers to strike out the melody lines.
“And the story of Piedmont blues is also the story of America. It’s really the story of migration and the story of community and adaptation. The blues came out of an experience of living in rural communities, migrating to urban environments and then using the music to create community. So the Piedmont blues is really another one of those great stories of how we as Americans express ourselves.”
This interview was edited for clarity.
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Will Walkey produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Catherine Welch. Walkey also adapted it for the web.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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