Artist:Mance Lipscomb
Song:Ella Speed
Album:Blues Masters Vol. 3: Texas Blues
Bluesman Mance Lipscomb was interesting because he never recorded in the 20s and 30s. He was part of the blues revival of the 60s. He was born Beau De Glen Lipscomb Apr. 9, 1895 in Navasota, TX. He took the name Mance from a friend of his brother. Of course it's short for emancipation. Lipscomb was a sharecropper for most of his life. He played guitar and sang at "Saturday night suppers" in the area. But he did not record in the early blues era. Arhoolie Records owner Chris Strachwitz and musicologist Mack MacCormack discovered Lipscomb in 1960. Ella Speed is from Lipscomb's 1960 debut album Texas Sharecropper and Songster. Lipscomb liked to call himself a songster instead of a blues singer. He recorded the 1961 album Trouble In Mind for Frank Sinatra's Reprise label with Warner distribution. He recorded a total of six albums for Arhoolie. Unfortunately Texas Sharecropper and Songster is out of print. Ella Speed is on this Rhino various artists CD. I have a performance video clip for Ella Speed and I don't know if there are any other clips. I have to use it when I find it. Lipscomb made his first appearance at the 1963 Monterey Folk Festival. He appeared on many folk festivals in the 60s. I guess his biggest honor is there is an annual blues festival in his hometown of Navasota, TX, a park named after him and a bronze sculpture in the park. You can't beat that. Lipscomb suffered a stroke in 1974 and died on Jan. 30, 1976 at age 80. Here's Mance Lipscomb performing Ella Speed. This video is not on Youtube.
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