I was asked by famed Ethnomusicologist Dick Spottswood to participate in the release of a new CD of the Gospel tunes of Reverend Robert Wilkins.

Memphis bluesman Robert Wilkins recorded between 1928 and 1935 - and then disappeared. Researcher Dick Spottswood rediscovered him in 1964 and gave him a new career. Of all the rediscovered pre-War blues singers, Wilkins was among the finest. His vocals and guitar playing were still very strong and confident. But Wilkins had become a preacher and wouldn't do blues as he had recorded them before the War. Instead, he recorded gospel songs with the fire and passion with which he'd recorded blues. 

 My job in this project was to figure out how Reverend Wilkins actually played each of these songs, what tunings he was playing in and any other musical nuisances that may be present. This basically required learning how to play every song on the CD. This info was included in Dick Spottswood’s detailed liner notes of the CD to give interested parties a glimpse into the music of Reverend Robert Wilkins and how he actually approached playing it. Reverend Wilkins has alway been a guitar hero to me, so it was a real honor for me to be involved in this project.