Blues break: Mississippi Fred McDowell - "All The Way From East St. Louis"

Another fine performance by a blues master. I had the great good fortune of seeing him at work in Portland in 1972, a few months before he died at the age of 68.

Blues Break: Mississippi Fred McDowell's 'Goin' Down to the River'

Fred McDowell (1904-72) was one of the finest Delta blues vocalists and guitar players--on both acoustic and electric. (And he offers a nice break from politics.) Fred lived the blues, and you get a hint of that on his face at the very end of this fine song. I saw him in Portland (the Upper Left Coast version) in a powerful performance just a year before his death.