Poke Salad Annie is a song that has been sung and played so many times by so many great artists, it is almost unthinkable that a defining version of this classic southern standard could exist. Brook Benton, who had his first big hit with this song, is most likely the artist everyone would remember first […]

Dr. Burt, from Birmingham, Al, grew up during the historic fight for Civil Rights. His mother was very involved in the movement and worked directly with Corretta Scott King; as a young man he learned about non-violence, became a believer, led marches, and was shot at. The first bullet luckily missed his ear, but another bullet […]

This song from Dom Flemons (Founding Member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops) sheds light on how some of America’s older music is connected to modern day Hip-Hop. The rapid fire approach of the lyrics shows this relationship. Dom even had Guy Davis jump in on this track as a hype man, a technique that is […]

When I think of Black History month, I often reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Freedom Riders down in Birmingham, AL. Over the years Music Maker has had the great pleasure of performing in Birmingham with Taj Mahal. One of the greatest Music Maker Blues Revues ever lasted over 5 hours; Taj […]

  Music Maker supporters are often curious how we meet the artists we work with. There is a different story for every artist. This past week, we had the opportunity to begin work with Sam Frazier, Jr., a harmonica player and country singer from Edgewater, Alabama, a small mining camp outside of Birmingham. After learning […]