Blind Lemon Blues: How Many Blues Can One Musical Have?

"One Dime Blues"

"Matchbox Blues"

"Shuckin' Sugar Blues"

"Gossip Talking Blues"

"Hambone Talking Blues"

"Disgusted Blues"

"Saturday Spender Blues"

"Fence Breakin' Yellen' Blues"

"Broke and Hungry Blues"

"Black Snake Dream Blues"

"Big Night Blues"

"Hangman's Blues"

"Mosquito Moan Blues"

"'Lectric Chair Blues"

I know the old song says "I Got A Right To Sing The Blues" but do we have to hear all of them in one night?

There are 65 songs listed in the credits of Blind Lemon Blues, the musical tribute to early 20^th Century country blues artist Blind Lemon Jefferson created by Alan Govenar and Akin Babatunde.  And despite the best efforts of a very talented ensemble, the sheer volume of material, much of which has little to do with the story being told, makes the evening more exhausting than inspiring, with too many tunes blending into one another with little difference in style or presentation.

The show is presented as a flashback as the great Lead Belly (Cavin Yarbrough) recalls his days traveling and playing with Blind Lemon (Babatunde, who also directed and choreographed), who, for someone who suffered the typical injustices put upon black musicians at that time, died a very well-off man in 1929.  Born in Texas, where he would sing and play guitar for donations on a street corner, Jefferson was invited to record for Paramount records in Chicago, where he spent the last three years of his life influencing young musicians both on records and in live performances throughout the south.

And that's about it, as far as the plot goes.

The story is told primarily through narration as Yarbrough and Babatunde mime the guitar playing that's performed behind a scrim by Sam Swank.  (Aside from a brief piano interlude, Swank is the show's sole instrumentalist.)  The songs are primarily by Jefferson and his contemporaries, with contributions by Govenar and Babatunde.  The ensemble of Benita Arterberry, Timothy Parham, Lillias White and Alisa Peoples Yarbrough act as a sort of Greek chorus, playing small roles and commenting on the action with unison singing and speaking.  They also perform choreography that distracts from the material, rather than enhancing it.

But for all the structural problems in Blind Lemon Blues, the singing is stirring, particularly when Tony-winning star White adds her magnetic sparkle and devilish lyric phrasing to Bessie Tucker's "Butcher Shop Blues" and Lillian Glinn's "Cravin A Man Blues."  Babatunde also distinguishes himself with handsomely rich vocals.

Teetering somewhere between a concert and a biography, Blind Lemon Blues doesn't satisfy as either, but if all you're looking for is a night of sweet singing blues, then you've got until February 25^th to plant yourself at The York Theatre.

Photo of Akin Babatunde by Alan Govenar

 

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