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KPLU All Blues host John Kessler has expanded "The Blues Time Machine," which has been a popular segment on his weekend blues shows. The weekly series tracks one great blues song through history - from its earliest recording to its latest and sometimes, with some surprising interpretations. "The Blues Time Machine" airs on KPLU on Fridays at 12:10 p.m. during the "Blue Plate Special," and on All Blues Saturdays and Sundays at 8 and 11 p.m.

'Another Man Done Gone' - a powerful tale of woe on a chain gang

Repression of African Americans didn’t stop at the end of the Civil War, and prisons and chain gangs were full of black people arrested for minor violations. This song, “Another Man Done Gone”, tells of the death of a man on one of those chain gangs.

Folklorist Alan Lomax recorded Vera Hall singing “Another Man Done Gone” in 1940, and praised her as having the "loveliest untrained voice [he] had ever recorded."

She sang spirituals and folk songs as well as blues, and is one of the prominent singers from the Depression-era South. Her songs have been performed by Johnny Cash and John Mayall, and her song “Trouble So Hard” was integral to techno-artist Moby’s 1999 multi-platinum single “Natural Blues”.

Her unaccompanied vocal recording of “Another Man Done Gone” is haunting and unforgettable.

New Orleans soul singer Irma Thomas recreated “Another Man Done Gone” on her 2006 cd After The Rain, adding verses related to the destruction in New Orleans following hurricane Katrina.

Harmonica ace Sugar Blue recorded the song in 2006 with just voice voice, harp and drums as a fast paced, acoustic boogie. In live shows, he stretches out a bit more, as in this 2010 video clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SGa__YzBiM

New York based blues-rocker Michael Powers maintained the mournful quality of the original on his 2004 recording of “Another Man Done”, creating a thickly textured weave of guitars.

Here are the complete versions of “Another Man Done Gone”:

Vera Ward Hall  “Another Man Done Gone” 1940

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kplu/local-kplu-1006634.mp3

Irma Thomas “Another Man Done Gone”  2006

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kplu/local-kplu-1006633.mp3

Sugar Blue “Another Man Done Gone” 2006

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kplu/local-kplu-1006631.mp3

Michael Powers “Another Man Done” 2004

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kplu/local-kplu-1006632.mp3

John has worked as a professional bassist for 20 years, including a 15 year stint as Musical Director of the Mountain Stage radio program. John has been at KNKX since 1999 where he hosts “All Blues”, is producer of the BirdNote radio program, and co-hosts “Record Bin Roulette”. John is also the recording engineer for KNKX “In-Studio Performances”. Not surprisingly, John's main musical interests are jazz and blues, and he is still performing around Seattle.