Eric Bibb - Needed Time

Topic: Seminal Influences - Innovation
Lighnin’ Hopkins’ version of "Needed Time" allowed for possible innovation because he did not always play it the same way. Taj Mahal added another blessing for change when he transposed the song to the banjo at the end of Sounder.

Eric Bibb introduced three changes in the many performances uploaded to YouTube that did not obscure the outlines of Hopkins’ version. First, he converted it into an audience participation song like Pete Seeger did with "Kumbaya." Some of the longer videos included his introduction that invited the audience to sing. Most just showed them singing the "needed time" lines.

Not all audiences responded the same. The one in Thailand would not sing, or if it did, the camera microphone didn’t pick up their voices. [1] Fewer responded to his request to clap during the instrumental interludes. The only audiences that were able to sing and clap at the same time were in Amsterdam [2] and Hannover, Germany. [3]

Bibb, like the Fourth Street Gospel Band discussed in the post for 14 February 2018, was able to use different instrumental configurations. Starting around 2008 he began appearing with a drum set, string bass, and an electric guitar played by Staffan Astner. [4] A few times he appeared with Michael Jerome Browne playing a slide-style guitar. [5] In these performances he and his backup musicians played as a group.

On some videos he appeared with local musicians. In Italy, Fabrizio Poggi played harmonica, [6] and in Stockholm, Ale Möller played a horizontal member of the flute family. [7] In that Hannover show Bibb appeared with mandolin and dobro players. [3] In these performances, Bibb usually took turns with the others on solo passages.

Bibb went a step farther and wrote his own introduction to "Needed Time." In addition, when he introduced Habib Koité to "Needed Time" the African guitar player added his own verses in Bambara. [8]

Performers
Vocal Soloist: Eric Bibb
Vocal Group: audience
Vocal Director: Eric Bibb

Instrumental Accompaniment: acoustic guitar, often electric guitar

Rhythm Accompaniment: sometimes drum set and string bass

Credits
Bibb always credited Taj Mahal with introducing him to "Needed Time"

Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Verses: needed time, bended knee, if you don’t stay long

Vocabulary
Pronoun: I
Term for Deity: Lord, Jesus
Special Terms: none

Basic Form: open-ended with "needed time" treated as a burden

Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: Lightnin’ Hopkins
Tempo: moderate

Basic Structure: alternated between sung sections and instrumental ones. The latter were introduced by the invitation to "think of someone you love" between 2008 and 2011, and with the announcement "it’s praying time" since 2010.

Singing Style: Bibb’s style was unornamented; the audiences sang in unison.

Solo-Group Dynamics: Bibb sang the verses and the audience sang the burden. He often just sang a few words in each line of the burden and let the audience carry the melody.

Vocal-Orchestral Dynamics: the accompanying instruments were subdued during the singing.

Instrumental-Rhythm Dynamics: Bibb told Keith Shadwick "having a percussionist will allow the sound of the guitar, which was my first love and something I still love, to come through." [14]

Notes on Performance
Occasion: Bibb appeared alone in remote areas like Ontario, [15] Australia, [16] and Thailand, [1] but more often appeared with other musicians.

Location: the videos ranged from small, indoor clubs to outdoor festivals. Some festivals were in tents.

Microphones: floor microphones in most places.

Clothing: Bibb dressed informally in a colored shirt that was open at the neck. He sometimes added a sports jacket and always appeared in a flat-brimmed hat.

Notes on Movement
Bibb might sit or stand while performing, but was always in motion. He used his feet to set the rhythm. In Östersund, Sweden, Astner tapped his toe twice as often as Bibb moved his feet. [4] Koité used his foot less often that Bibb, and one time crossed his ankles. Later he lifted one heel to mark time. [8]

Audience Perceptions
YouTube comments ran the gamut from praise to religious comments to questions about technique. Some recalled other concerts where they saw him perform, and add their memories of singing with him. Typical was Lani Dundore’s comment: "We needed you Eric and you played. We sang along at Laxon Chico World Music Fest." [17]

More specific was the memory of Nevada Cato, who sang backup on Bibb’s 1994 album, Spirit and The Blues. [18] He wrote:

"Awesom guy! Awesom music! Cant forget when he pulled me out out the crowd to join him on this song in Stockholm. Long live Erik Bibb." [19]

Notes on Performers
Bibb was born in New York in 1951. [20] His father, Leon Bibb had moved from Louisville, Kentucky, to New York where he performed in Broadway musicals, before turning to the folk-revival circuit. The elder Bibb was friends with Paul Robeson. [21] After Leon moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Eric went to Paris where he worked with Mickey Baker. [22] He was the Louisville-born musician mentioned in the post 17 August 2018 who worked with John Littleton.

The diversity of Bibb’s relations with other musicians like Astner was partly the result of his life in Europe. From Paris, he settled in Sweden. Around 1980, he returned to the States, but found the congenial atmosphere he remembered from Greenwich Village had been replaced by one of rugged individualism. [23] He returned to Sweden. Then, after recording for an English company, Bibb moved to London in 2003. After his marriage to Sari Matinlassi, he moved to Helsinki, Finland in 2011. [24]

Availability
I found nearly 30 concert videos on YouTube on 31 January 2018 with the search parameters "Eric Bibb Needed Time." Some are mentioned in the End Notes.

End Notes
1. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by Ed Vaughan on 31 October 2009. Phuket International Blues Rock Festival, Thailand, 2009.

2. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by DeKuijp on 28 April 2012. Staffan Astner, electric guitar. Amstel Kerk, concert, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 27 April 2012.

3. Eric Bibb and the North Country Far. "Needed time." Uploaded by snory66 on 16 December 2013. Bluesgarage Isernhagen, club, near Hannover, Germany, 15 December 2013. Petri Hakala, mandolin; Ollie Haavisto, Dobro guitar.

4. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by dreamingtree72 on 19 April 2010. Gamla Teatern, hotel, Östersund, Sweden, 2010. Staffan Astner, electric guitar.

5. Eric Bibb and Michael Jerome Browne. "Needed Time." Uploaded by randallstaffordcook on 21 January 2016. Hugh’s Room, club, Toronto, Canada, 20 January 2016.

6. Eric Bibb. "Needed time." Uploaded by Alberto Polito on 2 August 2016. Fabrizio Poggi, harmonica; Guy Davis, electric guitar. Liri Blues Festival, near Rome, Italy, 2016.

7. Ale Möller, Eric Bibb, and Knut Reiersrud. "Needed Time." Uploaded by sssler on 18 September 2010. Concert, Stockholm, Sweden, 17 October 2010. Reiersrud, electric guitar.

8. Eric Bibb and Habib Koité. "Touma Ni Kelen/Needed Time." Uploaded by Gudi0510 on 13 November 2012. Harmonie, club, Bonn, Germany, 11 November 2011. Mamadou Kone, shakers.

14. Eric Bibb. Interviewed by Keith Shadwick. "Eric Bibb: Blues with a Pedigree." [London] Independent website. 21 February 2003.

15. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by Opeongolad on 18 July 2011. Festival, Perth, Ontario, Canada, 2011.

16. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by SilkySkillsUnited on 24 December 2011. The Basement, club, Sydney, Australia.

17. Lani Dundore. Comment, 2008, on Eric Bibb and Brian Kramer. "Needed Time." Uploaded by zekezement on 30 June 2007. California club, 1999.

18. Eric Bibb. Spirit and The Blues. Opus 3 Records 19401. Sweden, 1994. (Discogs entry for the album.)

19. bangoutaorda. Comment, 2009, on Eric Bibb and Brian Kramer. (See #17 above.)

20. Wikipedia. "Eric Bibb."

21. Joshua D. Farrington. "Bibb, Charles Leon." The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia. Edited by Gerald L. Smith, Karen Cotton McDaniel, and John A. Hardin. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2015. Robeson was mentioned in the post for 17 August 2018.

22. Wikipedia.

23. James M. Manheim. "Eric Bibb Biography - Steered Toward Blues by Jazz Musician, Moved to Sweden, Influenced by Taj Mahal." JRank website.

24. Wikipedia.