MP3 Henry May - Dreamin´ the Blues

Contemporary acoustic Blues guitar solos. Lots of slide and plenty of personality. Recorded just as Henry played it-- one guitar (though you won't believe it.) and no overdubbing.

15 MP3 Songs
BLUES: Finger-Picked Guitar, BLUES: Acoustic Blues

Details:
Born in 1943 and grew up in the Bronx. We were all music crazy in the 60âs, from Django Reinhart to Doc Watson and Charlie Byrd to Blind Lemon Jefferson. I first heard Lightninâ Hopkins and John Lee Hooker on Nat Hentoffâs radio show-an experience that changed my life. Artie Traum and Larry Sandberg showed me the rudiments of finger picking.

Brownie McGee and Reverend Gary Davis were teaching guitar in Harlem but I was too shy to go, so I listened to lots of L.Pâs of the old guys on my parents Grundig Majestic Hi-Fi and tried to teach myself their styles --which I am still doing 50 years later! Still trying to figure out that Snooks Eaglin run--how he got that tone--oh well!

Had a blues band out of Cambridge, Mass. in the seventies-played the clubs and opened for guys like Hound Dog Taylor at Joeâs Place in Inman Square.

Tried playing with a flat-pick, but dropped it enough times in the middle of a set to know it wasnât for me.

Iâm finger-style all the wayâ¦thumb keeps the rhythm⦠first two fingers and sometimes third play the melody⦠thumb first finger up and down for fast runs-used to use metal fingerpicks⦠now I like the plastic ones.

I have had a pretty crazy life in the midst of which I sometimes miss playing for an audience-so I play the clubs now and thenâ¦lately in Marin County, California.

Recorded âDreamin' the Bluesâ which my brother Andy produced in 2000. My guitar was an old Sigma that I paid $100.00 for. Now I have a few better guitars and a bunch of new tunes so maybe weâll do another CD soon. Stay tuned!

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In addition to being technically brilliant, Henryâs playing shows the depth of his understanding of and love for the blues, as well as a sense of humor blues aficionados will appreciate. At the same time, his performances are accessible to the âuninitiatedâ. This combination is likely to draw in and win new fans not only for Henry, but also for the wonderfully rich heritage that is the blues. --Swift River Music

For over forty years now, Henry May has been one of my all-time favorite guitarists. Henry's music is always evolving: each piece changes from one performance to the next. We cut the music live and present it here as Henry played it: unedited, with no overdubbing. -- Andy May, producer

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