"The blues is our soundtrack. It’s not a sad music – in fact, it’s often about deep joy, celebration, and has far more meaning and depth than people realize when they hear it first off."

Mississippi MacDonald: The Thames King

Mississippi MacDonald and the Cottonmouth Kings was nominated for a 2011 British Blues Award, this is genuine, original blues from the Thames Delta. The Yorkshire Times says “Mississippi is the 'real deal'….a gravelly rich authentic blues voice and the kind of acoustic guitar style that would have graced the porches of many a Clarksdale shanty town”. Mississippi (Oliver McDonald) was born 35 ago, and has been playing and singing the blues since he was 11. He plays a sunburst Gibson J45 Custom, wears a trademark red suit and has travelled the blues highway from Clarksdale to Chicago.

Mississippi has been to Al Green’s church on a Sunday, stood at the legendary cross roads, been on Beale on a Saturday night, and seen Jerry Lee Lewis kick over his piano stool. In 2008, he was part of the OV Wright Memorial Fund team in Memphis Tennessee who purchased a headstone for the unmarked grave of the Hi Records deep soul legend Overton Vertis Wright, along with Otis Clay, Roosevelt Jamieson, Hi Rhythm, and fans and musicians from around the world. The Cottonmouth Kings are: Rossco "Blues" Jacques, a master craftsman of the blues harp. A harmonica fanatic and acclaimed tutor, he has “Been Livin with the Blues” ever since the 60s, when he heard the song of the same name, played by Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee. He had the privilege of playing with them on one of their rare appearances in the UK. BC Black on bass has been playing since the early 1960s and Rob Wilson is the newest Cottonmouth King on drums is a master drummer, and a brilliant musician. Latest release of band was the album "Devil's Chain" (2014) with an authentic, down-home good-time heavy rollin' sound.

Interview by Michael Limnios

What do you learn about yourself from the blues and what does the blues mean to you?

The blues is our soundtrack. It’s not a sad music – in fact, it’s often about deep joy, celebration, and has far more meaning and depth than people realize when they hear it first off. It’s fascinating as it’s tied up with social history, brings together gospel, the cotton fields and many great innovations in music. BB King said of vibrato, “I wouldn’t say I invented it, but they weren’t doing it before I started”. I’m pretty sure that you can link back all modern music back to the blues.

Once you get into it, the blues has a capacity for taking you over – did you ever listen to Otis Rush’s “So Many Roads”?  that guitar solo sends shivers down my spine, and continues to even 30 years after I first heard it. What I learned is that there ain’t nothin’ but…..

"The best advice I ever had was from Big Joe Turner (Memphis Blues Caravan). All he said was “listen to Albert King”. Can’t really add more to that I guess…."

How do you describe Mississippi MacDonald sound and progress, what characterize your music philosophy?

We’re all about celebrating this wonderful form of music, and I’m lucky enough to play with some brilliant musicians and be accepted into the blues community. People have been really kind and supportive of us – and thank you for the opportunity to do this interview. When we play and record, we try to share our love for this music with everybody – entertain those who know about the blues, and try and convert those for whom its all new. Our sound is part Chicago, part Gospel, part Country Blues. We’re taking lots of elements and putting them all together. You can hear what we’re like at our site.

Which is the most interesting period in your life? Which was the best and highlight moment of your career?

In terms of blues, that period is right now. I’m fortunate enough to play with some amazing musicians - Rossco Blues on Harmonica, who is a master of the instrument and one played with Sonny Terry, and BC Black, the king of the Hofner bass. We recently recorded an album – “Devil’s Chain’ which is available for digital download at our site and on itunes which I’m really proud of. We’re getting some great airplay and support.

Why did you think that the Blues music continues to generate such a devoted following?

There’s a Muddy Waters album from 1978 – Muddy Mississippi Waters Live. On a Friday night, after a hard week at work, get hold of a copy of that, pour yourself a cold beer and put that on loud. That’s why.

What’s the best jam you ever played in? Are there any memories which you’d like to share with us?

That was at a festival in the mid 1990s in the UK, where I got to play with Lee Hodgson, who at the time was the Guitar Techniques magazine’s Country Tutor. He’s an incredible player – right up there with the best - and I’m fascinated by the skill of country pickers and the way they approach the instrument. Later that day, I had the opportunity for some one-on-one tuition with him. Awesome.

What do you miss most nowadays from the music of past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?

You know there’s such a great legacy of amazing music and lots for the Blues student to study. But I think we should celebrate the current scene as well. In the UK in particular, the blues scene is strong and vibrant with some incredible talent. Check out the UK’s Jesse Davey from The Hoax – that guy can play.

Musicians are supported by a strong network of fans, radio DJs and so on.  That’s something that’s worth celebrating – we’re all bonded by our love for the music.

What are the lines that connect the legacy of Blues from US to UK? What are the differences between US & UK?

That’s clear – but it cuts both ways. American blues was highly influential in the 1960s in the UK – Fleetwood Mac, Eric Clapton, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, the Stones etc. I’ve read interviews with Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters where they say that it was the British Blues explosion of the 1960s that reinvigorated blues when it came back to the US. Didn’t John Lennon say the first thing he wanted to do when the Beatles got to the US was meet Muddy Waters?

Which meetings have been the most important experiences for you? What is the best advice ever given you?

Its whenever you get to meet any of the great players and musicians. I’ve met BB King, Pinetop Perkins and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith (photo), and Sam Moore. All of these guys were important and influential within the music, and it is a humbling and exhilarating experience to be with them. The best advice I ever had was from Big Joe Turner (Memphis Blues Caravan). All he said was “listen to Albert King”. Can’t really add more to that I guess….

What's been your experience from the road in USA to blues trail? Which memory makes you smile?

I’ve been lucky enough to travel a lot in the US – from Clarksdale through Memphis, right up to Chicago. In 2008 I was part of a team that bought a stone in Memphis for the unmarked grave of Hi Records recording artist OV Wright, a label mate of Al Green, and to my mind the greatest soul singer of them all. That was quite something – standing next to OV Wright’s sons and Otis Clay as they sang Amazing Grace at the dedication ceremony.

What has made you laugh lately and what touched (emotionally) you from the local circuits?

Like a lot of musicians, I write down little snippets of lyrics and lines that you overhear or come to mind. At a gig this week, I looked down at the set list and found I’d written on it these words… “If you’re gonna take it out, you better be prepared to use it”……  Ha ha ha. No idea where that came from. It made me laugh out loud on stage.

If you could change one thing in the musical world and it would become a reality, what would that be?

This is going to sound odd, but for me its stage wear. BB King said you should dress as if you are going to borrow money from the bank.  I’m getting a reputation for wearing red suits and boots – the suits are becoming increasingly louder. And redder!  All joking aside – in that photo of Robert Johnson he’s wearing a suit and tie.

"You know there’s such a great legacy of amazing music and lots for the Blues student to study. But I think we should celebrate the current scene as well. In the UK in particular, the blues scene is strong and vibrant with some incredible talent." 

What the difference between the ACOUSTIC and ELECTRIC BLUES guitar? What are the secrets of?

I play both. For me, the acoustic makes you a cleaner, more physical player. In a duo, for example, you have to be more conscious of filling out the sound. I just can’t get enough of that acoustic sound – especially when you listen to players like Eric Bibb – so versatile, and so intricate. Did you ever see footage of Son House in the 1960s? Just that sound of a resonator and his voice. So powerful.

I play electric too – a Strat or a Tele through a 68 Silverface Custom Deluxe Reverb, but I don’t use any effects other than the amps reverb. The sound and the style I believe should come from the player. Having said that, there’s nothing quite like a Fender valve amp up loud, with those tubes singing…

Let’s take a trip with a time machine, so where and why would you really wanna go for a whole day..?

No contest here. It’s got to be at the recording of Live At The Regal right?

Mississippi McDonald - Official website