Little Whitt & Big Bo - Moody Swamp Blues (1995)

This recording of "Little Whitt" Wells and "Big Bo" McGee is their first one, and it's about time! They have played for over 50 years. Whitt and Bo are the two of the last real Alabama bluesmen still performing for house parties, fish fries, and family reunions all over the state. Often in America, this kind of "hidden" talent never gets discovered. If you head south out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and go down Moody Swamp Road, you might see Little Whitt out in his yard entertaining a group of his many friends. They like to get together and listen to the blues on the weekend and, as Whitt puts it, "see who can tell the biggest lie." "Big Bo" is a mountain of a man who lives down the road a piece near Eutaw. You'll see him out on his front porch in his rocking chair, occasionally waving to his friends who pass by on the road. He is well known around Alabama as one of the most powerful singers in the state. His sensitive harp work meshes beautifully with Little Whitt's guitar playing. Together, Whitt and Bo can conjure up the real stuff. Whitt and Bo are retired now and ready to leave home and take to the road for the first time in their lives. In the spring of '95 they toured six countries in Europe for over two months (Little Whitt had never even been to the state capital in Montgomery!). Vent Records goal is to expose the many unknown blues talents of our state to the rest of the world. This CD is representative of the type of music Vent Records hopes to produce for your enjoyment. In our opinion, Little Whitt and Bo are national treasures. We don't intend to let them, or others like them, go to their graves unrecorded or unappreciated. Mississippi is just next door to Alabama and gets the spotlight for being a "Mecca" of real blues. But a state line doesn't stop the blues from crossing, so check out what's happening in Alabama and at Vent Records. You'll be surprised by what you find! -- Michael McCracken