Talk:Jimmy Blythe

South Keene?

What's the evidence that he was from South Keene, rather than just Keene? The online bio for him referenced in the entry says Keene. Nicmart (talk) 01:48, 7 February 2016 (UTC)

South Keene actually distinguishes the African-American neighborhood of the miniscule town of Keene, which sits about 15 miles SSW of Lexington, KY. BlytheBoogieWoogie (talk) 16:05, 24 May 2020 (UTC)

Original research

In this edit I removed a whole bunch of original research from the article per WP:NOR. If reliable published sources can be found for any of it, of course it can be restored. Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:09, 27 April 2020 (UTC)

Ghmyrtle- My point is that the existing published materials are woefully inaccurate in much of the information that has been gathered from them on Wikipedia regarding Jimmy Blythe. I live in Lexington and my personal research includes in-person conversations on local history, research from public records and the city directory, research on Ancestry.com, and cross-referencing all online sources. Unfortunately, career historians have bungled the biography of Jimmy Blythe, and probably many other unfortunate victims of bad research. He has been listed as born in Louisville, KY (wrong), as never having lived in Lexington, KY (wrong), as having moved to Chicago in 1915 (wrong), as having recorded the first complete boogie-woogie piano solo record (correct!) but having done that out of thin air with no mention of his recording piano rolls of George W. Thomas tunes (the composer of the first published work containing a boogie-woogie, rolling bass figure- "New Orleans Hop Scop Blues" circa 1915), therefore indicating an emulation of the unofficial 'godfather' of boogie-woogie, maybe even an acquaintance of his (unverified), etc. The misinformation is voluminous. I am new to Wikipedia and now understand more clearly how specialized it is in its methods and sources. It's funny, sad, and altogether absurd that some people with the appropriate "credentials" actually contribute to the distortion of facts, and therefore the distortion of history. Jimmy Blythe just happens to be my entree into historical research, and in this young process, I am learning how biased and untrue many published works are in actuality. In time I will correct the untruths of Blythe's existing bio, in some places containing racially skewed assumptions and speculation (which ultimately reduce Blythe's modest genius to the category of uneducated mimicry- a typical throwaway, racially insensitive default presumption), but it obviously will take an effort of publication on my part. Now knowing that Wikipedia is not truly open to "anyone" to contribute, I will begin to brush up on my academic, or more appropriately pseudo-academic, credentials. Now knowing that a very specific method of communication techniques are required to properly contribute to Wikipedia, I will decide whether or not it is worth my time to learn the language and protocols of this elite and exclusive club that is "open to all". Like a private club, as long as you have the right patron or sponsor, know the secret handshake, speak the official language, or else can successfully bamboozle your way into membership, then you or anyone are potential candidates for admission (the unconnected and uneducated need not apply). In a way it's kind of crass. Nevertheless, I am so committed to righting the wrongs of Jimmy Blythe's biography, and the biographies of other forgotten musicians, that I will persist. I see that you have a special interest in American, specifically African-American, music history, and I will eventually deliver the truth to you. Sorry that you only believe published history and not personal, local, oral history- which, ironically, is a mainstay of African-American culture (though, I myself am not African-American). Here's a nugget for you: your post-war British music fad, Skiffle, derives its title directly, however by a few degrees, from the title of the 1925 tune "Chicago Skiffle", recorded by Jimmy O'Bryant's Famous Original Washboard Band (a trio consisting of O'Bryant (clarinet), Jimmy Blythe (piano), and Buddy Burton (washboard)). That tune is the first instance of the use of the word "skiffle" in a song title, and Jimmy Blythe is credited as the composer. "Skiffle" was a term used to refer to a rent party in Chicago's South Side circa the 1920's. Blythe also recorded the first complete boogie-woogie piano solo record, as cited in the Wkipedia "pseudo-history". What is not mentioned is that he was a direct influence on Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson, two of "the big three" boogie-woogie pianists of the second wave of that style. American Rock and Roll was spawned from the boogie-woogie/Jump Blues/Rhythm and Blues chain of innovation of the 1940's. British rock grew out of the Skiffle craze which was heavily influenced by the song/wordcraft of Jimmy Blythe. (The next use of the word was in the Paramount Trio's 1929 record- "Hometown Skiffle". Then in 1946, Chicago pianist Dan Burley, coincidentally born in Lexington, KY, named his band "Dan Burley & His Skiffle Boys. Then came Lonnie Donegan a few years after the war, and voiala!). Blythe's State Street Ramblers records were even re-issued in 1954 on the London Records label, just as Lonnie Donegan and Chris Barber were sharpening their blues/jazz licks. It is sad to me that self-styled historians like Scott Yanow, Bill Edwards, among others, would rather rest on the laurels, and misinformation, of their shoddy, careless, and erratic work to misrepresent someone as innovative as Jimmy Blythe (for starters...). The truth lies elsewhere besides their online publications and books, but until the record is corrected officially, by someone who has an interest in the truth rather than in myth, those who make hobby of African-American music will be none the wiser and will continue to believe in their myths and legends. Oh, well. Such is life! Sincerely -BlytheBoogieWoogie — Preceding unsigned comment added by BlytheBoogieWoogie (talk • contribs) 17:41, 24 May 2020 (UTC)