The African American String Music Tradition

In touch with the world ... at home on the High Plains

Donate

Play Live Radio

Next Up:

0:00

0:00 0:00

Available On Air Stations

KJJP-FM 105.7 is currently operating at 15% of power, limiting its signal strength and range in the Amarillo-Canyon area. This due to complicated problems with its very old transmitter. Local engineers are continuing to work on the transmitter and are consulting with the manufacturer to diagnose and fix the problems. We apologize for this disruption and service as we work as quickly as possible to restore KJPFM to full power. In the mean time you can always stream either the HPPR Mix service or HPPR Connect service using the player above or the HPPR app.

The African American String Music Tradition

Monday, February 12th, 2024 at 3pm CT

There’s been a lot of speculation about the chain of musical events that link the blues back to Africa. Most of that chain is unrecorded and shrouded in mystery. But there is one chapter, just before the blues, that we do know quite a lot about. That’s the history of African-American string bands. This program explores the history, with music and memories from a special guest: the late string maestro Howard Armstrong. Along the way, we hear music from Canray Fontenot, Blind James Campbell, Hobard Smith and other legends of this little-known chapter in American folk and popular music. Produced by Banning Eyre.