Thursday
Feb042010
February 4, 2010 Man wins Grammy award and then racks up seventy-eight plays on MySpace the next day.
Several days ago, Allan Shadow published a colorful tribute post about David “Honeyboy” Edwards and how he received a Lifetime Achievement (Grammy) award last week.
Here’s a ninety-four year old man that has given his life to songwriting and music. How could we (humans) not be somewhat interested in this story? At least that’s what I thought.
I counted seventy-eight plays on MySpace (where Mr. Edwards’ online presence is maintained) - twenty-four hours later. It’s kind of shocking at first, but I guess it’s not all that surprising when you think about our culture.
If you have fans, an audience, Twitter followers or Facebook friends, please let’s show this man the ATTENTION he deserves.
Congratulations Mr. Edwards.
Reader Comments (11)
Congratulations indeed, though his near out-of-phase MySpace tracks sound rather uncomfortable to listen to, to be honest. Could be why his page views are double his play count; listeners are probably skipping and/or leaving before tracks complete.
Eh?
I see thousands of plays.
The 78 plays was within a single day after the Grammys - as recorded and noted by MySpace on the MySpace music player.
Could it be, also, that MySpace is becoming more and more irrelevant as the go-to place for music?
Could it be, also, that MySpace is becoming more and more irrelevant as the go-to place for music?
Or irrelevant as the go-to place for people interested in first-generation delta blues music...
Most of my friends didn't know last weekend was Grammys weekend. Heck, I didn't even know myself until I saw people snarking about it on Twitter.
What is this Myspace that you speak of? I don't bother reading emails, comments or anything from it anymore...waste of time.
Seriously though, I see the point of your article and agree with the sentiment. If he's been at for 70+ years then I don't think he cares anymore whether we twitter, phasebook or mysplace him.
I can clearly understand that for a person who works their entire life at a craft, which obviously means the world to them, a nod from the institution they've devoted much of their time to is a gratifying way of saying: "We hear you and you have not gone unnoticed".
Myspace was not around when I was writing tunes as a teenager. Had it been, I would have been very grateful for the immediacy and timely interest in what I was attempting to create.
It's a shame that some folks don't understand what this site (myspace) offers. It is and will continue to be credible part of music and music history. One that gives the us a chance to discover sounds across the globe that we have otherwise would never have noticed.
It also tells the tale of where the industry is headed. I used to subscribe to Rolling Stone magazine to find out what was happening in the music world and who was atop the Billboard charts. A visit to an artist's well managed site can give you all that and more.
As for David "Honeyboy" Edwards, his legacy will live forever no matter who's heard him first or last~
Rock like a Rembrandt~
peace and light~
Rosendo
Swing by for a visit~
www.myspace.com/rosendomusic
peace and light~
Rosendo
It may just speak more to the audience that watches the Grammys on TV, their main demographic is 40+ women. This is also the reason you see a majority of female performers and winners and a complete and total lack of hard rock or metal on the broadcast. I myself performed on national TV to an audience of 8 million, the show was a daytime talk show also marketed to 40+ women. I got about 200 plays the next day on myspace, not shocking when you account for how many 40+ women are on myspace or tweet. For most of the Grammy's viewers, they stop thinking about it as soon as the auto tune, backing tracks and countless stage dancers are put away.
I had the pleasure of meeting this great American of the Blues afew years ago at Jimi Hendrix 66th Brithday party in New York City's B.B. Kings club. I played that night and while we did the sound check he told me some stories about the hard time back then so when someone like Honeyboy get his do, its a shame it's been so late. America Blues is made here and you guys who have made more money playing this stuff should kiss these old guys feet cause you wouldn't have a base to play your rock and roll. Look Taylor Swift gets a grammy out of the box without breaking her teeth in the music world/ its a shame.
Great article and great music. Thanks for bringing Honeyboy to our attention.