10 episodes
The Blues Alley Podcast American Entertainment Works Inc
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- Music
The history of black music is the history of American music. AEWorks Blues Alley Podcast takes you on a remarkable odyssey of struggle, intrigue, business, crime, & music, all spanning more than a century.
But, Blues Alley isn’t your typical blues documentary. Our goal is to tell the stories of blues music, but also to reach into the lives of the people who created it. Explore the places they lived, and the times that inspired the first truly authentic form of American music.
Our first series W.C. Handy, the Founding Father of American Music, weaves the tale of the man who first took a rustic music from the Mississippi delta, turned it into an international phenomenon, and made blues music sing for everyone, everywhere.
You’ll be amazed.
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Blues Alley Special Rabbit Hole Edition – Ida B Wells – The Truth About Lynching
Before Rosa Parks, there was another Rosa Parks, a Memphian named Ida B Wells. Wells was a school teacher - turned journalist - turned activist. Predictably her anti-lynching articles, and speeches enraged southern whites. We’ll tell you the whole amazing story on this Special Rabbit Hole Edition of AEWorks Blues Alley Podcast.
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Blues Alley Special Rabbit Hole Edition – Lt. Lee – The Boswell of Beale Street
He fought in WWI, championed civil rights throughout the twentieth century, became a celebrated author, and adviser to Dr. Martin Luther King. Yet few people know his name. We’ll tell you the whole amazing story on the AEWorks Blues Alley Podcast.
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Blues Alley Special Rabbit Hole Edition – Chester Pond and the Yellow Dog Railroad
Founded by Chester Pond, the Yazoo & Delta Railway began service in 1897, running from Ruleville, Mississippi - population 336, to an empty spot in the middle of the delta. So why would a tiny town need it’s own railroad? And why was it called the Dog? We’ll tell you the whole amazing story on the AEWorks Blues Alley Podcast.
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W.C. Handy, the Founding Father of American Music EP 6 – They’re More Than Songs
Broadway bound, Handy faced a whole new set of problems. We’ll tell you the rest of his amazing story on this episode of AEWorks Blues Alley Podcast.
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W.C. Handy, the Founding Father of American Music EP 5 – A Change Is Gonna Come
Handy had a hit… but could he write another? And, why was he still playing gigs for six dollars a night? We’ll tell you the whole amazing story on the AEWorks Blues Alley Podcast.
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W.C. Handy, the Founding Father of American Music EP 4 – The Same Old Song
Handy had written a hit in Memphis Blues, but could he keep it? There’s a fine line between business and theft in Jim Crow Memphis. We’ll tell you the whole amazing story on the AEWorks Blues Alley Podcast.