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THE TRUTH OF THE BLUES - BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN ... Our Company is PD Productions based in the South West of the UK, but here isn't where our journey into the blues began.... It all started, way back in the 1980’s in a small town bar in Louisiana; it was like travelling back in time, dusty, rickety tables, chairs, and a bare wooden floor. Sat on a little platform was a lady and a guy with a guitar, and then the lady began to sing the blues. I could have closed my eyes, although I didn’t realise it at the time, I could have been listening to Ma Rainey or Bessie Smith. Quietly listening, and with encouragement from others we joined with the, ‘Tell us your story' - and oh yes, we know.
We knew and felt the songs were telling us of a deep sadness, if you will the truth of the blues, borne of a deprivation, beyond our comprehension. I was listening to the 'Blues' long before that, but never really understood, until then, what was meant by 'Feeling the Blues' ... Each time we produce ‘Backtracking’ we try to show our love and respect for the people and the lives these songs are about, this deprivation, sadness and misery. We are honouring them by keeping their presence and their simple music alive and well.
Each time, we are inviting our listeners to journey back with us in time to the abomination of slavery, the depth of the spirituals and of course the expressive, authentic blues from all those years ago. Our research and journey since that day has been a discovery of the ‘Blues’ that never ends, of a culture and history that has faded in the mists of time, but remains there, sleeping for us to find. We're honoured and privileged to share with you this great music and its history, back a hundred years and beyond, a genre so rich, so vast so diverse and so real.
Now based in Somerset (UK) What started all those years ago with a handful of blues tracks, a few faded photographs and books has grown exponentially with the help of our good friends, Alan, Terry, my dear friend, Graham, the ‘Doc’ my late cousin Len (Houston) and Bob (Humble Texas) the never ending patience of our group and so many people from around the world, far too many to mention, Backtracking has become a library of music and resources so vast it’s often difficult to keep track of it all, as it continues to grow.
Our radio production, ‘Backtracking’ is available to blues stations around the world, totally free and non contractual. We upload the latest production to subscribing stations direct from our UK offices every Thursday. We cordially invite you to visit our website and review the latest show, we hope you will choose to join our friends around the world, as we go ‘Backtracking’ to the Roots of the Blues’ Back, to where it all began.
David R Howard – PD Productions (UK)
Get in touch at: ... syndicatingtheblues@gmail.com |
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Every Friday we have the blues: 4th April 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, and our love of the Blues. 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 ..... |
| Featured on Backtracking .. |
- The lady sings the blues.
- Blues on the Bayou.
- Gospel blues train.
- Featured artist of the week.
- Spirituals – The blues connection.
- Prison work songs.
- Myths and Legends of the blues.
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The Blues Club Showcase ...
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Dietra Farr...A lady it is our honour and delight to include as a friend of PD Productions. A lady whose music soars and touches us with the deepest blue / soul, just ask our Umm Layla.
Chicago vocalist Dietra Farr is so versatile that it's a misnomer to call her singing soul-blues. She's equally comfortable with ballads, pop music, soul, and blues, and she presents a delightful combination of all these styles on her debut record, The Search Is Over.
Deitra spent her childhood listening to the radio and the soul music of the late '60s and early '70s. She began singing in the choir at the Catholic grade school she attended, and by the time she was a senior in high school, she was singing with her uncle's band. Deitra also sang with another local band for fun, but music was still an avocation for her. We've chosen what for us is her signature track to share with you. Immerse yourself in this deepest blue soul - enjoy. Taking the long way home |
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Current production .... Walking down Beale Street
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Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately 1.8 miles. It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of blues music. Today, the blues clubs and restaurants that line Beale Street are major tourist attractions in Memphis. Festivals and outdoor concerts frequently bring large crowds to the street and its surrounding areas. |
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Review / Download page ..... Mississippi Hill Country Blues
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Mississippi Down home blues is a genre of music that originated in the African American communities of the southern United States. It has a rich history and unique characteristics that have made it a significant part of American music culture.
The roots of down home blues can be traced back to the early 20th century when African Americans faced immense hardships and racial segregation. Born out of these instances of deprivation, down home blues became a form of expression. |
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Featured artist of the week .... Moran Lee 'Dock' Boggs
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Moran Lee "Dock" Boggs (February 7, 1898 – February 7, 1971) was an American old-time singer, songwriter and banjo player. His style of banjo playing, as well as his singing, is considered a unique combination of Appalachian folk music and African-American blues.
Contemporary folk musicians and performers consider him a seminal figure, at least in part because of the appearance of two of his recordings from the 1920s, Sugar Baby and Country Blues, on Harry Smith's 1952 collection Anthology of American Folk Music. Boggs was first recorded in 1927 and again in 1929, although he worked primarily as a coal miner for most of his life.
He was rediscovered during the folk music revival of the 1960s and spent much of his later life playing at folk music festivals and recording for Folkways Records.
In June 1963, at the height of the folk music revival in the United States, the folk music scholar Mike Seeger sought out and found Dock at his home near Needmore, Virginia. Seeger was delighted to learn that Boggs had recently repurchased a banjo and had been practicing the instrument for several months before his arrival. He persuaded Boggs to play at the American Folk Festival in Asheville, North Carolina, later that year. With Seeger's help, Dock began recording again, eventually recording three albums for Folkways Records. Throughout the 1960s, he toured the United States, playing in clubs and at folk music festivals, including a performance before  an audience of 10,000 at the Newport Folk Festival.
In the early 1970s, Moran's health began to deteriorate, and he died on his 73rd birthday. In 1968, at the time of writing his protégé Jack Wright still runs Dock Boggs Festival held annually in Boggs's hometown of Norton, although it is now known as the Dock Boggs & Kate Peters Sturgill Festival. He was buried in Norton, Virginia.
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Copyright: PD Productions ... All rights reserved .. Registered 2021 |
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