Taj deals with the criticism as he helps destitute performers with tobacco company money…
Wednesday, December 9, 1998
At the House of Blues, Taj Mahal performs as part of the Winston Blues Revival with Cootie Stark, Neal Pattman, Beverly "Guitar" Watkins and Danny "Mudcat" Dudeck. These are some of the same musicians featured in a series of print advertisements in national U.S. magazines seeking to connect the blues and cigarette smoking with a tag line "Real blues -- real tobacco."
The black-and-white photos of ageing blues players in these ads are eye-catching enough to make you want to save and frame them.
But why would living musicians allow themselves to become the tool of Big Tobacco? No one is lining up to support blues players. No one, that is, except a cigarette manufacturer with dwindling opportunities to look cool.
In this case, R.J. Reynolds comes off compassionate as well as opportunistic. Money from the Winston Blues Revival goes to the Music Maker Relief Foundation, an organization that provides food, medical care, shelter and other necessities to neglected blues and country musicians. That explains the involvement of Taj Mahal, who has spent the past 35 years supporting, as well as singing, the blues. He says he's not bothered by Winston's involvement at all. He welcomes it.
"If it takes R.J. Reynolds to do this," Taj says from his Pasadena, Calif., home, "at least it's getting done. Where's Sony and Time Warner and all the guys that have made a billion dollars off of this music? The point is that no one else is putting this kind of money into something like this. At least these guys are putting their money where their mouth is.
"For example, let me tell you about Precious Bryant," the always talkative Taj continues. "She comes out onstage dressed all sharp, plugs in her guitar and throws down like Lightnin' Hopkins. This lady plays the stuff!
"Recently Precious Bryant had a trailer fire. She escaped within an inch of her life, but she lost everything. While I was down in North Carolina two weeks ago, I got together with Tim Duffy, who started Music Maker and runs it from his home in Pinnacle, N.C. We walked into a music store and picked out a guitar, microphone, amplifier and a bass for her son, who plays with Precious. Just like that. Now the one way she can earn a living is back in her hands again."
If you've never heard of Precious Bryant before, you're not alone. Neither had Taj until he became involved with Music Maker. Besides rescuing aging roots musicians financially, the foundation is rescuing them from obscurity.
"I'm sure (R.J. Reynolds) are making something that may not be healthy," Taj acknowledges. "But this is the first time that I know of that a corporation has gotten behind this music. If someone don't like it, this is what I say: Here's how much money has been put out. You wanna match it?"
Music Maker Relief Foundation can be found at
