Music Makers And Soul Shakers Podcast With Steve Dawson

My guest this month is the stellar guitarist and blues interpreter, Rory Block. Block grew up in Manhattan, immersed in the culture of the folk and blues music that was so prevalent at the time. Her father, Allan Block, ran a sandal shop in Greenwich Village in the 1960s, and the influence of the Greenwich Village folk music scene, including luminaries such as Peter Rowan, Maria Muldaur, and John Sebastian, tempted Block to study classical guitar. At the age of 14, she met guitarist Stefan Grossman, who introduced her to the music of Mississippi Delta blues guitarists - Fred McDowell, John Hurt, and The Reverend Gary Davis were huge for her. Block began listening to old albums, transcribing them, and learning to play the songs. At age 15, she left home to seek out the remaining blues giants and hone her craft in the traditional manner of blues musicians and ended up in Berkeley, California, where she played in clubs and coffeehouses. After retiring temporarily to raise a family, Block returned to the music