Selaws
Well-Known Member
Day 26 - I’ve Got The Blues
Robert Pete Williams - Angola Prisoners' Blues (Collector Records, 1960 First Pressing)
I stumbled across another album by Robert Pete Williams, 'Those Prison Blues', at a carboot sale a few years ago and found it to be fantastic. I then managed to get this at an incredibly low price on ebay (£12) last year. Its a superb record with an incredible story. In 1956 he fatally shot a man in a nightclub, which he claimed was self-defence, and was given a life sentence. Later, two ethnomusicologists recorded him in prison (this album being recorded at the Angola State Penitentiary some years later) and ended up pleading for his innocence. In 1958 he was given parole and was required to provide 80 hours of labour per week. After that he recorded several albums, with many songs being written whilst he was in prison.
Robert Pete Williams - Angola Prisoners' Blues (Collector Records, 1960 First Pressing)
I stumbled across another album by Robert Pete Williams, 'Those Prison Blues', at a carboot sale a few years ago and found it to be fantastic. I then managed to get this at an incredibly low price on ebay (£12) last year. Its a superb record with an incredible story. In 1956 he fatally shot a man in a nightclub, which he claimed was self-defence, and was given a life sentence. Later, two ethnomusicologists recorded him in prison (this album being recorded at the Angola State Penitentiary some years later) and ended up pleading for his innocence. In 1958 he was given parole and was required to provide 80 hours of labour per week. After that he recorded several albums, with many songs being written whilst he was in prison.
