Deeper Roots explores a minor genre in this episode; coming from early 19th century minstrel shows and adapted with bawdy humor, double entendre, and biting sarcasm. A little bit blues, a little bit country, and always in your face, they call it “hokum”. The English dictionary defines the term as ‘nonsense’ or ‘trite, sentimental, and unrealistic’ but as a musical genre, it goes well beyond those simple definitions. As noted in Wikipedia, “Although the sexual content of hokum is generally playful by modern standards, early recordings were marginalized for both sexual “suggestiveness” and “trashy” appeal, but still flourished in niche markets outside the mainstream. Our show will take a journey through early to mid-century examples featuring numerous pieces by Tampa Red, Papa Charlie Jackson, Memphis Minnie, and Georgia Tom as well as some later fifties R&B examples that drew from the hokum well including The Dominoes, Julia Lee, and Bullmoose Jackson. Join Dave Stroud for a fun mix of musical nonsense that is anything but trite or sentimental.