This legendary lady was bought up on gospel music and grew up singing in church, the late Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, was no stranger to the blues, or what Christian folk called, The Devil’s Music This compilation of blue gems from the Memphis-born diva’s Atlantic repertoire, includes such inspired tracks such as Today I sing the blues B.B. King’s classic, The thrill is gone, and Cecil Gant’s 1944 hit, I Wonder.
Latest release 28th Aug 2025 - Thank you for visiting with us, we cordially invite you to review and download the current production below. 'Backtracking' is a result of our research a journey of discovery that never ends, our love of the Blues and respect for the artists that left us this legacy of music.
All this simply because the music, the history and the culture of the blues never ends. We're honoured and privileged to share the music within the genre of the Blues back in time a hundred years and beyond, a genre so vast and so diverse.
Backtracking is streamed online and is broadcast worldwide. It's free to join the 'Backtracking' time machine - Get the authentic blues on your radio station .....
James Founty (August 31, 1907 – August 16, 1967), better known as Dan Pickett, was an American Piedmont blues and country blues artist. He recorded fourteen tracks in 1949, several of which have been issued more recently. Many commentators have noted that Dan had a distinctive rhythmic style and unique phrasing that makes his records compelling to listen to decades after their release.
Dan was born in Pike County, Alabama. In 1949, he travelled to Philadelphia, where he recorded fourteen songs, ten of which were released as 78-rpm singles the same year. The other tracks, along with alternate takes of those issued, were unreleased for decades. Unusually for the time, the recordings were made on a master tape and were of better quality than most other recordings of that era. The songs he recorded were mostly reworking of songs issued in the 1930s.
By the 1960s, his recordings had become legendary among record collectors who regarded them as some of the best commercial country blues recordings of the post–World War II era. Eventually there emerged a letter from a James Founty, dated July 1950, in which Founty claimed he had not been paid royalties. Subsequent investigations concluded that his label had paid him for the recording session and that any royalties were determined by that contractual arrangement. The connection to Pickett was suggested by the fact that he did not record any more under any name. There is to this day some speculation that Dan could have been Charlie Pickett, the Tennessee-based guitarist who recorded for Vocalion Records in 1937.
There is little firm evidence of his life after his only recording session, other than details concerning his given name and the dates of his birth and death. Dan, or it may have been Charlie died in Boaz, Alabama, in August 1967, days short of his 60th birthday.
Sawmill Gravy Blues, a bit on the side ... Spirituals - The Blues connection
When enslaved Africans were brought to the United States, they were forced to leave behind nearly all material possessions; they however retained their cultural traditions, these including a tradition of vibrant, rhythmic communal music. As a form of entertainment, worship and as a means of illegal communication the black spirituals emerged. Although certainly, white communities had their own folk spirituals, slaves used spirituals as a form of a rhythmic work song in order to boost their companions' spirits, to express their sorrow and deprivation, to pass along, often secret messages, and seek comfort in God.
Despite their conceptual differences, gospel, the Sunday morning music of the church, and blues, the Saturday night music of the juke joint, share some of the same roots, influences and musical traits. Many African singers have performed in both fields. Rev. C.L. Franklin, influenced many gospel, R&B and blues artists
Gospel music and the blues share a unique relationship, reflecting ‘two sides of the same coin,’ It’s probably fair to surmise the blues and the spirituals flow from the same bedrock of experience, and neither is an adequate interpretation of black life without the other.” Spirituals preceded gospel, a genre that evolved through the work of Thomas A. Dorsey, a former blues singer and composer often called the ‘father of gospel blues’. The influence between religious music and blues has long been mutual. While both genres have their own distinct characteristics, many gospel songs have been transformed into blues or soul songs, and vice versa, by simply changing a few words in the lyrics.
Every day we have the blues ..... PD Productions Video archive...
Welcome to the PD Productions video archive. We are delighted to receive video clips from our very good friends around the world to include in our 'Backtracking' program. Below is a list of the clips scheduled for the next few weeks ...
The Staple Singers - I'll Take You There
47th Street Jive - June Richmond with Roy Milton's band
B. B. King - The Thrill Is Gone
Diunna Greenleaf & Blue Mercy
Nina Simone - Ain't got no, I got life
Raymunda Dutch Blues - Pity the fool
Take Me to the River LIVE - Sharde Thomas and Rising Star
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Current clip: .... The Staple Singers - I'll Take You There (1972)
Myths and Legends of the blues ..... The Gandy Dancers
Gandy dancers” was a nickname for railroad section gangs in the days before modern mechanised track upkeep.
The men were called dancers because of their synchronised movements when repairing track under the direction of a lead workman known as the “caller” or “call man.”
The name 'Gandy' supposedly arose from a belief that their hand tools once came from the Gandy tool company in Chicago (though no researcher has ever turned up such a company that made railroad tools). The name may also have derived from “gander” because the flat-footed steps of the workmen when lining track resembled the way that geese walk. There is, however, no consensus on the origin of the name.
When levelling the track, workmen jacked up the track at its low spots and pushed ballast under the raised ties with square-ended picks, often leaning shoulder-to-shoulder in pairs while the caller marked time with a four-beat “tamping” song.
