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Blues Mandolin Man: The Life and Music of Yank Rachell (American Made Music Series)

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Richard Congress has championed the music of the late Yank Rachell, one of the few blues artists to record extensively on the mandolin. Congress has made available some of rachell's hard to fine post-war recordings on his Random Chance label as well as put together Rachell's oral history. The first 100 or so pages are devoted to Rachell's recollections and if some parts are sketchy, its because Rachell's death prevented Congress from fleshing out more details. Rachell's association with John Estes and others in the neglected Jackson, Tennessee music scene is discussed as is his life as a travelling musician, as well as his pursuits of daytime employment unlike others he played with. He recounts playing in St. Louis and then recording, Big Joe Williams and John Lee "Sonny Boy Williamson" and his early recordings as well as moving up to Indianopolis for the last years of his life. The oral history is supplemented by Rich Delgrosso's discussion of Yank's mandolin style, David Evans' distillation of Yank's guitar playing and recollections of those who came under Yank's spell including Henry Townsend and Charlie Musselwhite. A full discography of Yank's recordings, both as a leader and an accompanist is provided. In summary, this is a very nicely put together volume that provides us with a window into a slice of the blues past often neglected.

The glory of this book is that it is Yank Rachel's story, told in Yank Rachel's words, Yank Rachel's way. The absences and differences from what those with a check list for Blues biographies desire in a biography speak to what Yank wanted, Yank thought, and to his age when interviews.

For example, he answers questions about learning the mandolina nd the guitar similar to what other Bluesicians of his generation answer, because these instruments were all around at the turn of the century and early 20th Century when Rachel was growing up in the music. People learned not from lessons, but from hearing players and trying to match their styles. There was much to hear in the Delta and its environs where Rachel grew up.

Rachel is quite important to me because rather than being a solo blues guitarist as the stereotype of a blues singer is, Rachel usually played in small bands and trios, usually with a guitarist and a jug player, but often with bassists and other instruments. Such bands were a really important part of the early Blues although they tend to be neglected by white folkie-Blues fans who fantasize about the solo guitarist. Actually, many of the solo guitarists like Robert Johnson, usually travelled with a partner and played a lot with another guitarist or a mandolin or bass or fiddle player or all three.

This is because the main venue for making money for bluesicians was playing for dancers at Juke Joints, at country suppers, and in bars and tavern. Dancers needed more support than a guitar could give, particularly in larger venues.

In Handy's autobiography, he mentions one night his Ragtime band of 9 pieces played a dance in Cleveland, Mississippi sometime in the early 1900s. When Handy's band wanted to take a break, the crowd asked if a local band of a guitar, mandolin, and bass could play a few tunes in the intermission. Handy reports the thrills these three scruffy blues players gave the audience and how they motivated the dancers. Hand who is always concerned about commerce first, second, and third, notes that the crowd gave this trio more in tips, than he was charging for his entire band! He says this was one of his main reasons for adopting the Blues for his orchestras and band (Handy was as much of a booking agent with a number of bands travelling throughout the South as he was a bandleader in these years.).

What Yank tells us is that Handy turned the tables on this kind of arrangement. Not only did he move his orchestra to play Blues tunes, or at least ragtime tunes tinged with the Blues, but he hired little Blues bands like the one Yank played in to play intermissions for his band.

Well, if Handy learned from folks like Yank, we should be grateful that this book allows us to learn from Yank.

This book is for anyone who's not sure what the definition of a Blues-man is. For those not familiar with Yank Rachell, but have seen the original Blues Brothers movie you will have heard his "I Caught The Katy" The book isn't full of fluff and theory and should be required reading in any college level music course for those who want to make it in the music business. Once you've read the book you'll understand why he was such an influence on Sonny Boy Williamson, B.B. King, Allen Stratyner, John Sebastian and Charlie Musselwhite.

This book was pretty dissappointing. The author did virtually nothing except turn on a tape recorder and let Yank speak, and then transcribe his monolog. The publisher did nothing excpect slap the pages betweeen a softcover wrapper.

The author provided no or very little historical context of the subject or the music; if it's there, then it is so short and shallow that I missed it. The only discussion of other musians and music is what Yank provides.

For example, there is virtually no real description of how this son-of-a-share-cropper learned to play mandolin or develop his style (heavy tremolo) of music. All Yank said is that he got hold of a mandolin and started fooling around with it. This is the sort of basic information that should have been explored in fuller detail.

On the other hand, maybe I was just looking for something else. Perhaps, if you're into studying Southern culture, you'll find this book useful. But even then, you'd better come with some knowledge of the culture of rural West Tennessee in the first half of the 20th century or you'll miss out on a lot of what Yank is describing. Again, the author could have provided supplemental detail and context.

Richard Congress' Blues Mandolin Man provides a biography of the life and music of Yank Rachell, a 1960s blues mandolin performer. This is his first biography, and one of the few books to discuss the mandolin instrument's contributions to blues.