Barrelhouse Buck McFarland

Thomas F. McFarland (September 16, 1903 – April 8, 1962), known professionally as Barrelhouse Buck McFarland was an American blues and boogie-woogie pianist, singer and composer. He first recorded material in the early 1930s, but had to wait until three decades later, before providing his 'barrelhouse' swan song.

Life and career He was born in Alton, Illinois, United States, the son of William Henry and Elizabeth "Lizzie" McFarland, as one of 12 siblings.

He moved with his family to St. Louis, Missouri, before World War I, and then to Detroit, Michigan, in 1951. Spotted in 1934 by the musician and talent scout, Charley Jordan, McFarland recorded two sides, "I Got to Go Blues" and "Lamp Post Blues", on August 20, 1934, in Chicago, which were released by Decca Records that year. Three other tracks he recorded around that time were unissued. He sang in a reflective manner and used a more percussive barrelhouse piano playing style than his contemporaries. McFarland cut his session for Folkways Records, under the production of Sam Charters. Charters commented in the collection's liner notes that McFarland's piano playing had a rural charm, dubbing it "backcountry", and noted that McFarland had remained faithful to the classic barrelhouse style from decades earlier. However, the recording was equally noted for the fact that the piano was out-of-tune, and the overall sound had "noticeable warble from the tape". Alton Blues, which was re-released on CD in 2007, contained pieces such as "Alton Blues", "Mercy Blues", and "I Got to Go Blues", which one reviewer commented "all sound like rewrites of 'St. Louis Fire Blues'". Several cuts, including "So Long Buck", were in a similar manner to the earlier "On Your Way", and utilised a 16-bar blues formula, but instead of the more usual dominant toward the end of the progression, "there is one and a half bars of the submediant (vi)". Several reviewers commented Alton Blues had the best sound of all his recordings.

Before McFarland had any chance to capitalise, he died eight months after the recording, on April 8, 1962.

Legacy Early tracks by McFarland were reissued on several compilation albums, including The Blues Box - Country Blues (1968), The Blues in St. Louis, 1929-1937 (1969), and Barrel House Piano (2009). In 2009, Wolf Records released a compilation album, Barrel House Piano, which included 18 tracks by Speckled Red and five by McFarland. All of the barrelhouse recordings were from 1929 to 1938, and originally recorded in either Chicago or Aurora, Illinois.

Discography Singles Year Title (A-side / B-side) Record label Credited to 1930 "St Louis Fire Blues" / "On Your Way" Paramount Records Buck McFarland 1934 "I Got to Go Blues" / "Lamp Post Blues" Decca Records Barrel House Buck

Albums Year Title Record label Credited to 1961 Backcountry Barrelhouse Folkways Records Barrelhouse Buck 1961 Alton Blues Delmark Records (released on CD in 2007) Barrelhouse Buck McFarland

Selected compilation albums Year Title Record label Credited to 2009 Barrel House Piano Wolf Records Speckled Red & Barrel House Buck McFarland