East Coast Piedmont Blues - Cephas and Wiggins

Cephas and Wiggins are a pair of musicians that play an integral part in the Piedmont blues. It was 1977, at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington D.C. (birthplace for both musicians) where the two met. The duo tends to play the majority of their shows at folk festivals such as this, and to mainly white audiences. Some of their songs show a liking to R & B, but mostly they stick to Piedmont blues as their main style. At the time of their meeting, Cephas was in a band and Wiggins was playing with the widely-known gospel singer Flora Martin. Cephas and Wiggins teamed up with Wilber “Big Chief” Ellis and James Bellamy to form the group Barrelhouse Rockers. The pianist, Ellis, passed away and within a year Cephas and Wiggins decided to give it a go as duo, which they have remained ever since. Their sound is greatly inspired by past Piedmont blues greats such as Blind Boy Fuller, Reverend Gary Davis, Blind Willie McTell and Blind Blake. The alternating finger-picking style in the Piedmont blues was further popularized by Cephas. He is considered to be one of the best Piedmont blues guitarists of all time by multiple sources listed below. Cephas has expanded and originated his own Piedmont Blues guitar playing style, while Wiggins continues to develop his own unique harmonica style dominantly influenced by Flora Martin. They are today held in high regard in the blues community winning awards such as “W.C. Handy Blues Entertainers of the Year” and “Best Traditional Album of the Year" for their album Dog Days of August in 1987. The two are well known for conducting workshops for the general public, so that others may learn the art of playing the Piedmont blues. The pair has also taken part in multiple world tours. They even had the honor bestowed upon them to play at President Bill Clinton’s inaugural party in 1997.

“People automatically think of sadness and depression when they think of the Blues. But the Blues is uplifting music to nourish the spirit. The lyrics are true-to-life experiences that people everywhere can relate to.” -John Cephas

“I just like good music.”
-Phil Wiggins

Books

Bastin, Bruce. Red River Blues: The Blues Tradition of the Southeast. Urbana: The University of Illinois Press, 1986.

Harris, Sheldon. Blues Who’s Who. DaCapo Press, 1979.

Herzhaft, Gerard. Encyclopedia of the Blues. Fayetteville: The University of Arkansas Press, 1992.

Pearson, Barry Lee. Virginia Piedmont Blues: The Lives and Art of Two Virginia Bluesmen. Philadelphia: The University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990.

Santelli, Robert. The Big Book of Blues. Penguin, 1993.

Lornell, Kip. Virginia's Blues, Country & Gospel Records, 1902-1943: An Annotated Discography. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1989.

Articles (Journals/Magazines)

Beatty, Brian. “Cephas & Wiggins: Somebody Told the Truth.” Blues Revue 80 (February-March 2003): 45-46.

DelGrosso, Rich. “Acoustic Profile: Cephas and Wiggins – Heart of the Piedmont Blues.” Blues Revue 42 (November 1998): 20.

Pearson, Barry Lee. “Bowling Green John Cephas and Harmonica Phil Wiggins: D.C. Country Blues.” Living Blues 63 (January-February 1985): 14-20.

Pearson, Barry Lee. “Cephas and Wiggins: Blues is Nourishment for the Human Spirit.” Living Blues 30 (May-June 1999): 14-21.

Articles (Newspapers)

Roos, John. “A Blues of Multiple Hues – The Upbeat Piedmont Style of Acoustic Duo Cephas & Wiggins Captures Emotions of the Moment.” Los Angeles Times (18 January 1997) Calendar: F-2

Harrington, Richard. “The Country Calling of the Bluesmen – National Heritage Fellow John Cephas’s Folk Music.” Washington Post (27 September 1989) Style: C-1

Takahama, Valerie. “Duo Plays a Blues Streak Everyone Can Relate To.” The Orange County Register (21 April 1989) Show: 19

“Laying the Foundation – John Cephas Carries the Music of His Home Around the World.” Intelligencer Journal (Lancaster, PA) (10 March 2000) Happenings: 3

Okamoto, David. “Musical Duo Plays the Blues for all Occasions / Concerts Make Distinction Between Traditional, Rock.” The Gazzette (Colorado Springs, CO) (21 April 1989) Scene: 1

Nicholson, David. “Singin’ the Blues / Pair Lives Tradition Through Music in ‘Echoes of Africa’. ” Daily Press (Newport News, VA) (1 February 1994) Final ed.: B1

Bledsoe, Wayne. “Get Happy With the Blues – Cephas and Wiggins are masters of the sunny Piedmont Blues.” The Knoxville News-Sentinel (6 February 2000) Showtime: G1

Kilian, Michael. “Red, White, and Blues / Cephas and Wiggins Share Our Music With the World.” Chicago Tribune (19 March 1989) Final ed.: 21

CD Liner Notes

Wilson, Joe. Liner notes to Cool Down, Alligator ALCD 4838.

Recommended CDs

Cephas and Wiggins: Dog Days of August. Flying Fish, 1992. Won W.C. Handy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album of Year.

Cephas and Wiggins: Cool Down. Alligator Records, 1996.

Cephas and Wiggins: Homemade. Alligator Records, 1999.

Cephas and Wiggins: Sweet Bitter Blues. L&R, 1984.

Cephas and Wiggins: Bluesmen. Chesky, 1992.

Cephas and Wiggins: Flip, Flop, and Fly, Flying Fish: (1992)

Sound Files

“Cephas and Wiggins.” Cephas and Wiggins. Accessed 28 September 2005. <http://www.cephasandwiggins.net/home.htm>.
This site contains 8 different songs from 8 of their Cds. They can be played through Windows Media Player by clicking on the title of the song.

Cephas, John. "Black Rat Swing." [Listen ] MP3 (Time: 3:43; Size: 1.5 MB) Recorded 17 September 1977. From Virginia Traditions: Tidewater Blues. Global Village CD 1006. Courtesy of the Blue Ridge Institute and the Blue Ridge Heritage Archive, Ferrum College.

Websites

“John Cephas and Phil Wiggins.” eFolkMusic. Accessed 28 September 2005. <http://www.efolkmusic.org/ArtMusic/ViewArtist.asp?AID=934>.

“Cephas and Wiggins.” Alligator. 305 SPIN. Accessed 28 September 2005. <http://www.alligator.com/index.cfm?section=artists&artistid=31>.

Hill, Adam. “John Cephas.” East Coast Piedmont Blues. 11 January 2005. Accessed 24 September 2005. <http://facstaff.unca.edu/sinclair/piedmontblues/cephas.html>

Pearson, Barry Lee and Richard Skelly. “Cephas and Wiggins.” All Media Guide. Accessed 29 September 2005. <http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:
bi8m963o3ep1>

“John Cephas (1930- ) and Phil Wiggins (1954- ).” T-Bone’s Piedmont Blues Page. Accessed 27 September 2005. <http://www.io.com/~tbone1/blues/ECblz/.html>

“Cephas and Wiggins.” Piedmont Talent. Piedmont Talent, Inc. Accessed 28 September 2005. <http://www.piedmonttalent.com/bios.cfm?ID=4>

“Cephas and Wiggins.” Cephas and Wiggins. Accessed 28 September 2005. <http://www.cephasandwiggins.net/home.htm>. CD’s are available to purchase on this site. Pictures of the CDs are provided, along with a song list.

“Liner Notes - Masters of the Piedmont Blues: Cephas & Wiggins.” Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Heritage Music Collection. Accessed 27 September2005.
<http://www.crackerbarrel.com/about-heritage.cfm?doc_id=710> This site is interesting because it provides liner notes written by the artists themselves for various songs.

Videos/DVDs

Pearson, Barry Lee. Blues Houseparty [video recording]: Music, Dance, and Stories by Masters of the Piedmont Blues. Takoma Park, Maryland: Houseparty Productions, 1989.

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Last updated 31 October 2005.