SAVE THE DATE!
JOSH WHITE, JR
Sunday, February 28th
4 pm
On The Porch
As a concert artist, Josh, Jr. has performed on the world’s greatest stages of four continents, including Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Odeon Hammersmith Hall, Berlin Philharmonic Hall, and Madison Square Garden to name a few.
From 1963 through the 80s, Josh headlined more than 2000 college concerts. At the peak of this folk boom, in the mid 60s through the late 70s, Josh was considered one of NACA’s most celebrated and honored performing artist. C. Shaw Smith, from Davidson College, North Carolina, penned him the ‘Dean of College Concert Attractions’.
Below is a review of the artist from earlier years….
“The triumph of Josh White was not only his music, but his wide-reaching social contributions, especially those that broke down color barriers leading to further southern desegregation. His musical contributions are the root stock of early folk and acoustic blues — equally important to the development of blues in the Delta and the early folk scene in Greenwich Village.
This release is a tribute by Josh White Jr. to his father, whom he often performed with in his youth. The closing cut is a 1945 live Armed Forces Radio Show featuring the five-year old Josh White Jr. and his father performing. The interpretations of many of his father’s songs, including “House of the Rising Sun,” are near dead-ringers. Ten of the twelve tunes here are by the father, Josh White. The other two poignant songs include one the senior performed at many shows; “Strange Fruit” talks of racial lynchings, speaking plainly of black bodies hanging from southern poplar trees. Reemphasizing the senior’s innovative chording and phrasings, Josh White Jr. (now fifty-four years old) is the best testament to the immensely historic contributions of his father.
A master of vocal inflection and involvement, Josh White Jr. pushes his envelope and shows why he is considered one of music’s premiere vocalists and performers. In the shadow of his father, Josh White Jr. invokes the presence of the senior, making music for the masses and masses for the music. These simple acoustic renditions will reveal layer after layer of intrinsically belabored design; pure, unadulterated chords and notes, along with deeply intense lyrics, characterize each tune.
This disc warrants awards, rave reviews, and all the attention possible! Solid folk/blues, nothing short of magnificent.”
-Mark A. Cole Big City Blues