Author: Debra Devi

Discover the ancient african origins of the word, as well as Buddy Guy’s incredible Chicago Blues contribution to it’s meaning.

Everyone from Leadbelly to the Grateful Dead has performed “C.C. Rider,” but the question remains: Who was C.C. Rider?

Blues and jazz musicians use “cat” to refer to other musicians they respect. Scholars suspect this use of cat stems from this interesting origin…

Many delta blues men sang about the mean ol’ captain, including Son House and Robert Johnson. Now find out what “Captain” REALLY means.

During Prohibition, alcoholics who couldn’t get their hands on moonshine resorted to some truly dangerous methods to satisfy their cravings…

The Cutting Room and recording artist Eliza Neals present a rare visit by the Motown legendary songwriter Barrett Strong, who co-wrote “Heard it Through the Grapevine,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone, “War”, and more.

Although early slide guitar players used knives and bones as slides, blues guitarists soon broke the necks off of bottles for slides. Read all about the guitar slide and it’s incredible place in history!!

Ford, Pat Metheny, Lee Ritenour Darryl Stuermer Slated to Teach & Perform

From the early 1900s to the 1930s, certain speakeasies/brothels in African American urban communities were known as “buffet flats.” Discover the bawdy, wild hidden meanings behind this word!

This is the grand return of our weekly series, The Language of the Blues, exploring the meaning and significance of unique words used in the blues!