Alabama Arts Radio Podcast, Ike Zimmerman

In June of 2011 a group of relatives came together in Alabama to commemorate a common bond, the late Isaiah "Ike" Zimmerman, an Alabama native originally from Grady. After making his home in Beauregard, Mississippi in the 1930s, he became a mentor to bluesman guitarist Robert Johnson. An accomplished blues guitarist and performer himself, Ike Zimmerman and his wife Ruth took Johnson into their home for over a year where Ike generously taught Johnson, then known as R.L., what he knew about the blues.  In this program Grey Brennan, Marketing Manager at the Alabama Department of Travel and Tourism and Steve Grauberger of ASCA interview two daughters of Ike Zimmerman, Loretha Z. Smith and Nelly Ruth Brown with their sons James Smith and Oscar Brown, to try and find more information about this interesting Alabamian and his relationship to Robert Johnson.

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