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SWEET BITTER BLUES

WASHINGTON, DC’S HOMEMADE BLUES

PHIL WIGGINS & FRANK MATHEIS

University Press Of Mississippi : ISBN 978-1-4968-2692-3

When people talk about the Piedmont style of blues, they’re generally meaning a particular style of
guitar playing, like that of Blind Blake, Brownie McGhee, Blind Boy Fuller or Rev. Gary Davis. So it’s
quite a tribute to the many guitarists of said style, that this book was co-written by a harmonica
player!! A rather good one too.

To be fair, it’s pretty much the Phil Wiggins’

story and, as Frank Matheis says in the preface,
that’s what he wanted, for Phil to use his own
words, to tell it in his own way.

As he was born in 1954, you’ll not find that he
followed a plow from sun up to sun down. Phil
Wiggins is still a relatively young man in the
world of blues and, like many of us, took
inspiration from the records of Sonny Boy

Williamson, Junior Wells, Little Walter etc; but
his favourite was Hammie Nixon. However,
growing up, he listened to Jimi Hendrix, soul
music and Motown, but wanted to play country
blues.

He also had the advantage and opportunity to
learn first hand from the older generation of
players in the area, Archie Edwards, John

Jackson, Willie and Leroy Gaines and of course
his long time partner, John Cephas.

There are sections within on Mississippi John
Hurt, Skip James and Elizabeth Cotton, an
interview with John Cephas and a chapter on
John Jackson.

“Rarely is the Piedmont region discussed with
any seriousness concerning the blues. This is
corrected once and for all with Sweet Bitter

Blues. This book is culturally priceless, and its history should be enshrined in every mention of the blues”
BRUCE CONFORTH, professor of American culture and coauthor of “Up Jumped The Devil: The Real Life Of Robert Johnson”.

I think there’s plenty in this book to be of interest to any fan of the blues, especially acoustic players,
who’d like to dig deeper into the background of the music from the Carolinas.

Bob Pearce