Mother of the Blues
The Matriarch of the Family of the Blues a Louisiana Musical Dynasty, Mrs. Shirley Neal “The Mother of the Blues” talks about life growing up in Erwinville, Louisiana her life with Blues legend Raful Neal and raising a family of world renown Blues musicians. An inspirational look at family, hardship and love.
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Count Time Podcast Living Legend Shirley B Neal
Selected quotes and notes from Count Time Podcast with LD Azobra Interview with Shirley Neal
Good evening. Good evening. Good evening it’s 4:00 PM. Stand up it’s count time, time for every man and woman to stand up and be counted. Welcome to another edition of Count Time podcast. I am brother LD Azobra. Thank you for joining us today.
The Mother of Blue is going to be our Mother Day special. We got a wonderful young lady here all the way from Erwinville, Louisiana. So today we got Miss Shirley Brooke Neal from Erwinville, Louisiana. We like to welcome you to Count Time Ms. Shirley.
SBN
Thank you.
LD
Well, I know once we give you some information, you’re going to find out who this lovely, beautiful young lady is and a lot about her. She has been around for quite some time. Her husband was a famous young man that I got to know many years ago, he used to come to my restaurant all the time called Lyman Whites, Buffalo Wings Express. He used to come there all the time. You and your husband, what’s his name?
SBN
Raful.
LD
Raful Senior. Who was a big time Blues player.
SBN
He played harmonica and sang.
LD
Now, what we want to do here today is kind of go down memory road. We want to learn some more about you, about your history. But the most important thing we want to take away here is that you have a whole family of the Blues. You all keep the Blues going. Today she is known as the mother of Blues. All of her children sing the Blues now. We’re at your home today. How many children you had?
SBN
I had ten. Seven boys and three girls. Everybody was a musician.
LD
All ten of your children played the Blues?
SBN
That’s right.
LD
How did that come about? How do you get all ten children?
SBN
My husband, when they were small, I mean, that’s what he gave them instruments. Kenny really enjoyed it. Slim Harpo used to come by the house sometimes He had a trailer on the back of his car. And he opened the door and Kenny go in there and he just tried to play everything he seen so they locked him up in there one day. He was so scared. He didn’t know what was going to happen.
But Kenny would get to like the bar where you served the people. He’d go get him a chair and get on top of the bar and try to sing I mean, that’s the way they were. They just thought they just could get into the music and they did it.
