"Death Don't Have No Mercy" Performed by Reverend Gary Davis and "Poor Boys Long Way From Home" Performed by John Fahey

"Both were Christian mystics, Fahey through several levels of irony and existential philosophy, Davis a pure Pentacostal," writes Charles M. Young — Playing in the Church of the Rev. Gary Davis. More:

Both created astounding, eerie worlds of beauty by absorbing and reconfiguring just about everything in American music in the first half of the 20th century. Both had difficult lives, Fahey struggling with addiction and inability to deal with the onerous details of normal life, Davis traumatized by blindness, racism, poverty and homelessness. Fahey lived from 1939-2001, Davis from 1896-1972.

I’ve been listening to Fahey since college. I could hear him from the first note. Davis has been a more recent acquisition. I didn’t get him for a long time because of his singing, which borrows heavily from his preaching, which is to say that he bellows and roars a lot. It takes a little getting used to.

I've been listening to the Reverend Gary Davis since high school, after buying a used LP for a buck or so. I've been listening to John Fahey for just a few minutes now, and realize I've been missing out on something big, namely American Primitivism.