On this episode of The Art of the Story, WBGO's Dave Popkin chats with three-time Grammy nominee, blues singer and guitarist Eric Bibb about his latest album One Mississippi which will be released January 29.
Bibb may be the greatest blues artist who is not a household name in the United States. His songwriting and records over the past fifty years have few peers. Some of this may be due to the fact that Bibb, a New York City native, has lived in Sweden for more than five decades. He grew up the son of a folk singer during the heyday of that music in Greenwich Village. It seeped in. Bibb continues to be a keen observer of the political world and the human condition. He’s a storyteller, a troubadour, a truth teller.
To understand 74-year old Eric Bibb is to know the backstory. His father was Leon Bibb, a musical theater singer, who also performed folk and blues. His uncle was pianist John Lewis from the Modern Jazz Quartet. His godfather was the legendary singer, actor, activist and football star Paul Robeson.
