In 1980, University of Memphis professor David Evans was nominated for a GRAMMY. Now 20 years later he is nominated again for his album notes.
However, Evans still hasn’t changed his tune.
In the past, he said he felt he would not get an award and this year he said he feels the same.
“I didn’t think (my essay) was going to get nominated,” he said. “I was nominated before in 1980 and I don’t think I will win this time either.”
It is unlikely Evans’ nomination will air Sunday for the 45th Annual GRAMMY Awards, but he said is going to attend the ceremony with his wife.
“It’d be interesting to go and see,” Evans said. “It’s sort of a zoo—big stars and paparazzi and people like myself who are in the background.”
Evans, ethnomusicology/regional studies doctoral program director, is nominated for the essay “Charley Patton: The Conscience of the Delta” he contributed for “Screamin’ and Hollerin’The Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton,” a 7-CD box set.
To research for the album notes Evans talked to relatives of Patton and listened to a number of his songs.
“Through an analysis of his recordings and the people who knew him I (wrote the essay),” Evans said. “I met his sister and niece in the ‘70s and interviewed them about Patton and his music.”
Evans’ fascination with Patton began about 40 years ago, he said.
“I got turned on to his music in the early 1960s,” Evans said. “At that time he was a singer and guitarist.”
Patton not only sang the blues, but spirtituals and popular music. He is known for such attention-grabbing tunes as: “Mississippi Boweavil Blues” and “Make Me a Pallet on the Floor.”
Patton died in 1934, at age the age of 43.
Despite the polar differences in their cultural backgrounds, Evans said he was drawn to Patton’s music.
“(His music) was exotic to me,” Evans said. “It was something from another world. There are many layers of expression and meaning in his words. It was difficult for me to understand his dialect because he was singing about his world not mine.”
Many of Patton’s songs, recorded in the late 1920s, are challenging to pay attention to because of the skips and scratches.
“I have some extremely rare recordings, the surface noise and low fidelity makes it difficult to listen to. You have to make an effort to hear that,” Evans said.
So why, does Evans tolerate all of the skips, scratches and cultural differences?
“The thing with a great artist is you always hear something new every time,” he said.
