Early in Music Maker’s history, blues legend Taj Mahal traveled to visit. My wife Denise and I were renting an old farmhouse in Pinnacle, NC that was both our home and Music Maker’s headquarters. It was not fancy, in fact it was very rural, but it worked for us; during his visit Taj graciously slept […]

This is by far my favorite version of “Old Time Religion.” The song itself has managed to stay popular since the mid 1800s. It’s been featured in a handful of movies, television shows, and plays. There are hundreds of recorded versions, and yet the Goins’ version stands on its own. Their simple, stripped down style […]

Music Maker’s new exhibit, Our Living Past: A Platinum Portrait of Music Maker is on display at the Atlanta International Airport until January, 21st 2016. Atlanta’s local NPR affiliate WABE did a piece about the exhibit.   Listen here

“If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again” by Elder Anderson Johnson is a song that packs a full punch. For fans of musicians that let it all out, this one is right up your alley. As the song progresses, Johnson pushes harder and harder on his vocal range, reminiscing to younger times where he […]

Never underestimate the depths of the Music Maker catalog. I had the JukeBox on the homepage running in the background this morning, when all of a sudden I heard this eerie shriek come out of my speakers. It was the wailing sound of a child’s cry, followed by an arpeggiated guitar that was covered in […]