The Buskers’ Hall of Fame – from Moondog and Billy Bragg to Don Partridge and “the skating Sikh”.

Word In Your Ear

Louis Armstrong, Wild Man Fischer, Irving Berlin and Lucinda Williams all started out as buskers and Cary Baker’s ‘Down On The Corner’ traces the romance and influence of street players from Ancient Rome via Chicago’s Maxwell Street to Elvis Costello outside the CBS conference and beyond. Cary, David and Mark chuck coins in the conversational hat, among them …

… the turban and rollerblades stagewear of Harry Perry aka “the Skating Sikh”.

… Blind Arvella Gray who took up busking because of a gun battle.

… the sight of Bongo Joe on his daily commute (a moped loaded with steel drums).

… what Mick Jagger learnt from Ramblin’ Jack Elliott.

… Ted Hawkins' journey from Venice Beach to Geffen Records.

… the time Cary met Moondog dressed as a Viking and why he was a symbol of old New York.

… how Billy Bragg learnt festival crowd control playing street corners.

… Madeleine Peyroux, aged 15, playing Paris subways.

… Jesse Fuller, father of the one-man band.

… do buskers now make it via Instagram?

… the only gig where you can play the same song repeatedly.

… and when is busking just noise pollution?

Order Cary Baker’s Down On The Corner here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Down-Corner-Adventures-Busking-Street/dp/1916829104

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