Interview and music performance with blues singer Moses Williams

General Note/Comment

• Two reel to reel recordings. Williams was born 15 February 1919 in Itta Bena, Mississippi. After traveling with several acts in the 1930s/1940s, he moved to Florida to work the citrus groves. He always played the diddly bow, a one-string instrument played throughout that south that functioned as a primitive guitar. Moses talked about his songs; professional nicknames; the music business; working for the Silas Green Traveling Show as a clown; how he wrote his songs; performing on Beale Street in Memphis; and the history of blues music. In addition, Williams plays several of his songs. (The reels T81-16 and T81-17 may be a duplicate recording of this interview.)