Podcast 126: Michael Corcoran on Washington Phillips

On December 5, 1927, the day after Blind Willie Johnson recorded
some of his most influential blues sides at an impromptu Columbia
Records recording studio in Dallas, in walked an equally
mysterious and haunting musician, Washington Phillips. Phillips
carried a homebrew instrument - later described as a “dulceola”
but, as we learn on today’s podcast, actually two zithers he
fabricated together. The otherworldly music coming out of those
zithers, combined with Phillips’ powerful singing and
songwriting, created some of the most awe-inspiring and
mysterious sounds ever recorded. It’s no wonder Phillips has been
covered by Ry Cooder, Jorma Kaukonen, Will Oldham and others.


On today’s podcast, we talk to writer Michael Corcoran, whose
research helped fill in the gaps of who, exactly, Phillips was,
where he lived and when he died. We also talk about Phillips
instrument of choice and how the dulceola theory was finally
debunked.


 


All of Corcoran’s findings on Phillips can be found on the new
Dust to Digital book/CD recording called Washington Phillips and
his Manzarene Dreams. It’s great music and great writing (the
liner notes are actually a 76-page book)… we can’t recommend it
enough.


“Where did this come from? That still remains the mystery,”
Corcoran concludes. “I still don’t know that… you really will
never know the motivation of the artist…”


Discussed in this podcast:
http://www.pickaway.press/fz/wp.html (page dedicated to
Washington Phillips’ instrument)


http://www.dust-digital.com/washington-phillips/ (Washington
Phillips and his Manzarene Dreams)