Friday, February 18, 2011

The Mississippi Delta Blues - Ed LaMastus

One of my co-workers claims that I use the LaMastus family on these pages the same way that country comedian Jerry Clower used the Ledbetter family. 
In other words, if a story is already too bizarre for reality, I sprinkle some LaMastuses around it to take it all the way over the edge. 

Hit this link for a couple of my favorites. 

They lived a couple of farms over from us and had three boys about the same ages as my three younger siblings.  Eddie, Alan, and Trent (the EAT Boys).  We went on several vacations together, went hunting together, our parents would play cards together, and Mama and Arlas LaMastus would sometimes get together and cook enough animals to fill the Fort Worth Zoo. 


That's Alan, Eddie, and Trent from left to right. 
We once went on a trip someplace in the early 1970's, and Ed, the LaMastus patriarch, brought his guitar with him.  I remember going outside one night and listening to Ed play and sing Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson", and thinking it was the coolest thing I'd ever experienced.  Just being able to sit down and accompany yourself like that. 
A few years later, "Mrs. Robinson" was one of the first songs I learned. 

Here's Ed LaMastus on YouTube, doing "Mississippi Delta Blues".  The photographs are by #2 son, Alan Lamastus.  If this doesn't make you want to go to the Delta and eat some decent catfish, then it can't be done.  Get thee to a mall food court, and take your place amongst the Philistines where you belong. 
Lord have mercy, I love this. 


If you live in the Delta and need a photographer, go here to see some more samples from the Alan LaMastus Photography website.

1 comment:

Simon Cooke said...

Great post there! Have to make do with the maaarshes over here I guess!