I’m Gonna Tell You Somethin’ …

David “Honeyboy” Edwards, the very last of the Mississippi Delta bluesmen, recorded I’m Gonna Tell You Somethin’ That I Know in September 2010. (He passed away 11 months later at age 96.) He was perhaps most noted for having traveled and worked with Robert Johnson—the “King of the Delta Blues”—and having been present when Johnson, “who liked whiskey and women,” according to Edwards, was poisoned by a jealous husband. This CD/DVD features the very genial bluesman in company with four acolytes, as he eases his way through 10 songs and a lively 17-minute reminiscence about his career that includes, naturally, details of Johnson’s death. Among the blues standards is an original (“Apron Strings”) and a lively version of Johnson’s “Sweet Home Chicago” on which Edwards plays some very effective slide guitar. On the DVD, Edwards gives some valuable advice: “Don’t overspeed yourself,” he urges his fellow musicians, and his lengthy career is proof that there’s something to be said for taking it slow and easy.