Special "Good Friday" Edition! Sometimes in the blues world, there are “biographical blanks,” and then there are folks like Henry Green.... which is to say, somewhat beyond your typical “biographical blank.” We have no idea where he came from -- although based on this one title, it’s tempting to imagine a home state of Mississippi -- and no idea what happened to him after he cut this. All we know, was that he was in a recording studio in Chicago, on Tuesday, June 5th, 1951, where he cut four titles. According to the good folks at the Red Saunders Research Foundation, this was not actually a very good time for Art Sheridan, who founded the Chance label in September 1950. After word got around that non-union musicians had been used during one of his recording sessions, the Local 208 came down heavy on Sheridan, revoking his recording license. As a result, there was very little activity at the label during 1951. Enter Henry Green. He recorded four titles for Sheridan -- “Jesus Is Going To Make Up” and “No Need To Run” both remain unissued, while “Strange Things” would be the flip side to “Storm Thru Mississippi” -- which would end up being his one and only 78. At least as far as we know. Admittedly, “Storm Thru Mississippi” is a rather curious offering. With lyrics that border on the gruesome at times (“Well, some was torn to pieces, and some we had to drown; well some was burned to ashes, and some could not be found.”), the song was based on a real-life event, a series of tornadoes that broke out on the evening of Palm Sunday, 1936, between Gainesville, Georgia and Tupelo, Mississippi. According to Wikipedia, “the storm leveled 48 city blocks and over 200 homes, killing 216 people and injuring more than 700 persons.” It is still considered to be one of the deadliest in U.S. History. Among the survivors? A 15-month-old Elvis Presley. The history of the blues is, unfortunately, littered with musicians who made one or two records, and then disappeared again. Perhaps the lesson of Henry Green is that, if you’re gonna make a record.... make sure it’s a memorable one. For more great gospel rarities like this, be sure to check out: Blues Unlimited #154 - Down Home Gospel Favorites at http://www.prx.org/pieces/77444
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