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Sid Selvidge - Twice Told Tales

Sid Selvidge has had a musical career as expansive as the Mississippi Delta -- and as true to his roots as the bluesmen of yesteryear. Born in Greenville, Mississippi, at 13 he received and fell in love with his first guitar. A few years later he moved to Memphis, studying and performing with legendary bluesmen like Furry Lewis and Mississippi Fred McDowell at the famous Bitter Lemon Club. With a knack for the southern tradition of story telling, Selvidge swiftly adapted their picking styles and incorporated them into his distinctive fusion of country, blues, folk, and rock.

Soon his music began to catch the attention of those outside the Bluff City, who took notice of his ability to integrate classic methods into unique singing and playing approaches. "Sid Selvidge, who comes from Mississippi by way of Memphis, is neither country nor rock," said John Rockwell of the New York Times. "He"s pretty much everything musically in the whole Southeast."

While still in School at Washington University, Sid recorded his debut LP, Portrait, which was quickly snapped up and released by Enterprise Records, a subsidiary of the famed Stax label. Thereafter, he traveled to New York and captivated audiences from Carnegie Hall to Lincoln Center, garnering rave reviews. "His voice is an astonishing instrument," raved New York Times writer Robert Palmer. "Cool and liquid with a range of several octaves." By this time, he caught the attention of major labels, resulting in a deal with Elektra releasing his Twice Told Tales as a part of the Nonesuch Records "American Explorer Series."