Name: Dark was the night
Duration: 4 min 2 s
Channel: David Kampmann
Description: "Dark was the night" is a song by David Kampmann. Ry Cooder calls the inspiration behind this tune "the most transcendent piece in all American history". My hope is that I have been able to convey a bit of this transcendence here.

Free download

Ry Cooder calls the inspiration behind this tune "the most transcendent piece in all American history". My hope is that I have been able to convey a bit of this transcendence here.

David Kampmann

Acoustic slide and blues playing on the National Reso-phonic tricone guitar.

I'm really a rock guitarist, and I used to play professionally in various bands. These days, I'm into country blues, ragtime and slide playing in open tunings on my National Reso-phonic Tricone Style 1 guitar. I'm attracted to the idea of one person being able to play everything necessary for a full listening experience, the portability and ever-readiness of the one-man-band. I guess this is a very social attraction too, and hence I hope you'll enjoy the tunes I've uploaded here. Everything you hear is recorded in my home on my PC using RME hardware interface and a Rode Nt-1 condenser microphone. Voice and guitar at the same time, into the same microphone.

Song Info

Genre

Blues • Country Blues

Charts

Peak #116

Peak in subgenre #19

Author

David Kampmann

Uploaded

December 09, 2003

Track Files

MP3

MP3 3.7 MB • 128 kbps • 4:02

Story behind the song

I hadn't heard Blind Willie's own version of "Dark was the night" when I recorded this tune, but I had a vague idea of what it might sound like. It's one of the very first recordings I made after I'd decided to play this style of music, and I think it embodies many of the aspects that I love about acoustic blues/gospel playing and open tunings, particularly open D.

This is played on my old resonator guitar, an OMI Dobro model 1000 from 1991. I traded this guitar to get my tricone, and while I do not regret it, everytime I listen to this tune, I'm reminded of my love for the Dobro. Oh, well - another one loves her now ;)