A great episode of 99% Invisible : “Tootle of a Devilish Song,” all about yodeling.
Two musicians missing from the episode who deserve mentioning: Emmett Miller, the minstrel show (blackface) performer whose “Lovesick Blues” (with yodeling) was taken up by Hank Williams, and Tommy Johnson, the Mississippi blues singer and guitarist with a signature understated yodel. As on, for instance, “Canned Heat Blues.”
[“Canned heat”: Sterno, an extremely dangerous subsitute for alcohol beverages. Johnson’s song is the source for the name of the blues-rock band Canned Heat.]
Friday, October 2, 2026
Yodeling
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We just watched Les Blank's Innocents Abroad, a 1991 documentary about a group of Americans on a tour bus trip through Europe. Yodeling is involved in the Swiss portion of the tour.
ReplyDeleteI’ve seen many Les Blanks, but not that one. I’ll have to look. Thanks for the recommendation.
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