"Back Water Blues" by Mance Lipscomb (1960)

Texas Songster Mance Lipscomb (1895-1976) plays and sings his rendition of this blues standard written and introduced by Bessie Smith in 1927 and subsequently performed by countless others. While some live recordings of Mance’s take on it have surfaced online, this recording—which originated from Mance’s first field recording sessions with Chris Strachwitz and Mack McCormick at his home in Navasota, Texas, on August 13, 1960—was published only on Arhoolie’s 1961 anthology ’Blues ’n Trouble’ (Arhoolie F1006) and appears to be one of Mance’s few Arhoolie recordings never reissued in digital format. Photograph of Mance Lipscomb by Kelly Hart, from original circa 1970 Arhoolie publicity photo in my collection. Copyright 1961 Arhoolie Records. I claim no proprietary rights of any sort over this recording nor the source from which it was extracted. It is presented here in good faith in the interest of the conservation of Texas music history in a strictly not-for-profit c