L to R: Mance, Bill Neely & Taj Mahal photo: Burton Wilson

Mance Lipscomb YOU'LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER MAN LIKE MANCE

Born April 9tb, 1895 near Navasota, Texas, Mance Lipscomb died on Janu­ary 30th, 1976. Most of those 80 years were spent as a sharecropper on those rich bottom lands near the Brazos River. In 1960 Mack McCormick and I had the pleasure of first meeting Mance on a warm summer evening and from the tape made that night at his house, came not only Mance Lips­comb's first record but it was the first release on Arhoolie Records, a label I started to document America 's rich and varied folk traditions.

Mance Lipscomb's musical life began way back when his father played the fiddle and little Mance would com­pliment him on the guitar at country dances and suppers in the early 1900's. Mance's repertoir reflects the tradi­tions and folklore of the time and place where he grew up. A rich heritage it was from those formative years when the blues were beginning to come out

of the field hollers, the church songs, and minstrel shows, finding a very destinctive place in the broad spec­trum of America's music

Fellow Texas blues musicians like Lightning Hopkins and Lowell Fulson had known about Mance Lipscomb for a long time along with the field hands and laborers around Navasota. Mance supplied the music at suppers, dances and house parties for both blacks and whites alike. He had met Blind Lemon Jefferson and Texas Alexander and learned songs from other traveling musicians who would come through town with carnivals. But somehow, Mance Lipscomb never made the move to be recorded until we met him in 1960. The initial album won wide­spread critical acclaim and resulted in many personal appearances at folk festivals and clubs during the folk music revival of the 1960's. Mance's music never became as popular as the

Chicago blues variety but he took great pleasure in knowing that many a young guitarist picked up some of his l icks and he was especially proud of the fact that Bob Dylan came out with a song very much like his own " Baby let me lay it on you".

Mance married his wife Elenora in 1913. They had one son , Mance Junior and raised most of the 21 grandchild­ren along with a few other relatives. Several times Mance was visited by film makers but the classic motion picture about him and his life and music is Les Blank's " A Well Spent Life" (write to Flower Films - 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito, Ca. 94530 for rental or purchase details) which is probably the finest film ever made about American folk musicians. Mance was a remarkable human being and a superb musician. A real gentleman who in a way was like a father to me. We spent a lot of time together not only in Texas but whenever Mance came to the West Coast and one year we drove all over the East where Mance played concerts in Boston, New York, Chicago, and colleges along the way. He was a great story teller and had a wonderful sense of humor. I never heard Mance speak a harsh word about anyone - and as you hear him say it on this record - he met all kinds , the good and the bad! A kind man who shared his music and humanity with many people - never demanding anything in return . I think we can rejoice in know­ing that Mance's was indeed " A Well Spent Life".

Chris Strachwitz

MEET ME IN THE BOTTOM

TOM MOORE'S FARM

PLAYING MUSIC IN TEXAS

KEEP ON TRUCKING

JOE TURNER KILLED A MAN

ALABAMA BOUND

YOU'VE GOT TO SEE YOUR MAMA EVERY NIGHT

OUT AND DOWN

ANGEL CHILD

PLAYING DANCES IN TEXAS

YOU RASCAL YOU

MANCE'S ST. LOUIS BLUES

BABY; DON'T YOU LAY IT ON ME

TALLANGELATTHEBAR

JOHNNY TAKE A ONE ON ME & BUCK DANCE

Cover photo by Jim Marshall

Cover by Wayne Pope

Produced by Chris Strachwitz

Recorded in Berkeley, Ca. in 1964 by Chris Strachwitz

Although some of these songs have appeared on various LPs by Mance Lipscomb before, these performances recorded before an audience at the old Cabale in Berkeley are unique and are issued on this LP for the first time ever.

®1978 by Arhoolie Productions, Inc.

For our complete 78 page catalog listing hundreds of Blues, Cajun, Zydeco, Tex-Mex, Country, Folk, and ethnic Cassettes, Albums, CDs, and Video Casset­tes listing all songs on each album and the latest DOWN HOME MUSIC CO. NEWSLETTER send $2.00 for postage to: ARHOOLIE CATALOG -10341 San Pablo Ave. - El Cerrito, Ca . 94530 USA.