The Depression Years 3

Meanwhile, some record companies broadened their scope and brought fresh executives and talent scouts to the industry to revive past labels such as Victor, Okeh, and Vocalion. The American Record Company (A.R.C.), which combined several smaller companies, discovered new talents and revealed overlooked ones. The American Record Company (A.R.C.), which combined several smaller companies, discovered new talents and revealed overlooked ones. There was a renewed interest in the singers of the Deep South, such as those of the Mississippi Delta, which took the idiom of the blues in a new direction. For instance, the guitarists Floyd "Dipper Boy" Council and Blind Boy Fuller from the Carolinas revealed that the rural traditions were still active. At the same time, the youthful Josh White, with a lighter voice and singular guitar style, drew on the folk idioms with a measure of sophistication. But individualist blues singers such as the introverted Sleepy John Estes from Brownsville, Tennessee, continued singing and recording blues with profound personal expression.