List of Piedmont blues musicians
Encyclopedia
The Piedmont blues is a type of blues
music characterized by a unique fingerpicking method on the guitar in which a regular, alternating-thumb bassline
pattern supports a melody using treble strings. The result is comparable in sound to a ragtime
piano. The Piedmont blues typically refers to a greater area than Piedmont
, which refers to the East Coast of the United States from about Richmond, Virginia
to Atlanta, Georgia
. Piedmont blues musicians come from this area, as well as Maryland
, Delaware
, West Virginia
, Pennsylvania
and Florida. It was made popular in the early 20th century. Below is a list of Piedmont blues
musicians.
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
music characterized by a unique fingerpicking method on the guitar in which a regular, alternating-thumb bassline
Bassline
A bassline is the term used in many styles of popular music, such as jazz, blues, funk, dub and electronic music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played by a rhythm section instrument such as the electric bass, double bass, tuba or keyboard...
pattern supports a melody using treble strings. The result is comparable in sound to a ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
piano. The Piedmont blues typically refers to a greater area than Piedmont
Piedmont (United States)
The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division...
, which refers to the East Coast of the United States from about Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
to Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. Piedmont blues musicians come from this area, as well as Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and Florida. It was made popular in the early 20th century. Below is a list of Piedmont blues
Piedmont blues
Piedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
musicians.
A
- Pink AndersonPink Anderson"Pink" Anderson was a blues singer and guitarist, born in Laurens, South Carolina.-Life and career:After being raised in Greenville and Spartanburg, South Carolina, he joined Dr...
– (February 12, 1900 – October 12, 1974) Born in Laurens, South CarolinaLaurens, South CarolinaLaurens is a city in Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 9,916 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Laurens County.-History:...
, Anderson was an early country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
guitarist and singer who performed Piedmont bluesPiedmont bluesPiedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
. He recorded in the late 20s with guitarisyt/singer Blind Simmie Dooley (from Greenville, SC). Anderson had a long career as a medicine show performer, his last jobs being with Leo Kahdot's ("Chief Thundercloud") show. He was later picked up by the "blues revivalists"of the 1960s: Many of his recordings from that time have been released by Prestige RecordsPrestige RecordsPrestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several...
.
B
- Memphis Willie B.Memphis Willie B.Memphis Willie B. was an American Memphis blues guitarist, harmonica player, singer and songwriter.He was known for his work with Jack Kelly's Jug Busters, the Memphis Jug Band, and his resurgence in the 1960s after years away from the music industry. He recorded "The Stuff Is Here" and "Stop...
– (November 4, 1911 – October 5, 1993) - Etta BakerEtta BakerEtta Baker was an American Piedmont blues guitarist and singer from North Carolina, United States.-Biography:...
– (March 31, 1913 – September 23, 2006) Born in Caldwell County, North CarolinaCaldwell County, North Carolina-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 77,415 people, 30,768 households, and 22,399 families residing in the county. The population density was 164 people per square mile . There were 33,430 housing units at an average density of 71 per square mile...
, Baker a country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
guitarist, banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
player and singer who performed Piedmont bluesPiedmont bluesPiedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
. In the 1990s she released two solo albums, one for Rounder RecordsRounder RecordsRounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
. In 2004 Music Maker RecordsMusic Maker (label)Music Maker Relief Foundation is an American non-profit record label, based in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Music Maker Relief Foundation was founded in 1994 by Tim and Denise Duffy to "help the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern music gain recognition and meet their day to day needs...
released some recording she did with Taj MahalTaj Mahal (musician)Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...
in 1956 and 1998. - Scrapper BlackwellScrapper BlackwellFrancis Hillman "Scrapper" Blackwell was an American blues guitarist and singer; best known as half of the guitar-piano duo he formed with Leroy Carr in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he was an acoustic single-note picker in the Chicago blues and Piedmont blues style, with some critics noting...
– (February 21, 1903 – October 27, 1962) Born in Syracuse, North Carolina as Francis Hillman Blackwell, Scrapper Blackwell performed acoustic Piedmont bluesPiedmont bluesPiedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
and an early exponent of Chicago bluesChicago bluesThe Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
who worked closely with pianist Leroy CarrLeroy CarrLeroy Carr was an American blues singer, songwriter and pianist, who developed a laid-back, crooning technique and whose popularity and style influenced such artists as Nat King Cole and Ray Charles. He first became famous for "How Long, How Long Blues" on Vocalion Records in 1928.-Life and...
. He also backed singer Black Bottom McPhail. Document RecordsDocument RecordsDocument Records is a British record label that specializes in early American blues, bluegrass, gospel, spirituals jazz, and other rural American genres , generally made between 1900 and 1945...
has issued most of his work in three volumes. - Blind BlakeBlind Blake"Blind" Blake was an American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist.-Biography:...
– (c. 1895 – 1937) Born in Jacksonville, FloridaJacksonville, FloridaJacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, guitarist and singer Blind Blake played almost every form of music imaginable. He performed early ragtime on guitar, Piedmont bluesPiedmont bluesPiedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
, country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
, Delta bluesDelta bluesThe Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
and Chicago bluesChicago bluesThe Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
. A musician of great importance, he recorded frequently for Paramount RecordsParamount RecordsParamount Records was an American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson.-Early years:...
. - Gabriel BrownGabriel BrownGabriel Brown was an American Piedmont blues singer and guitarist.-Biography:Brown was born in Florida, and graduated from the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College. In 1934, Brown performed at the first National Folk Festival in St. Louis, Missouri. He was musically discovered by folklorist...
– (1910–1972) Born in Florida, Brown was an original country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
guitarist and singer. He was discovered in the 1930s by folk music researchers Zora Neale Hurston and Alan Lomax, and had a career lasting several decades, mainly in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, recording for Joe Davis. - Barbecue BobBarbecue BobRobert Hicks, better known as Barbecue Bob was an early American Piedmont blues musician. His nickname came from the fact that he was a cook in a barbecue restaurant. One of the two extant photographs of Bob show him playing his guitar while wearing a full length white apron and cook's hat.-Early...
C
- Carolina SlimCarolina SlimCarolina Slim was an American Piedmont blues guitarist and singer. His best known tracks were "Black Cat Trail" and "I'll Never Walk in Your Door". He used various pseudonyms during his relatively brief recording career, including Country Paul, Jammin' Jim, Lazy Slim Jim and Paul Howard...
(Edward P. Harris) (August 22, 1923 – October 22, 1953) - Cephas & WigginsCephas & WigginsCephas & Wiggins was an American acoustic blues duo, composed of guitarist John Cephas and harmonica player Phil Wiggins . They were known for playing Piedmont blues.- History :...
(John Cephas & Phil Wiggins) - Cortelia ClarkCortelia ClarkCortelia Clark was an African American blues singer and guitarist, known for his performances on the streets of Nashville...
- Jaybird ColemanJaybird ColemanBurl C. "Jaybird" Coleman was an American country blues harmonica player, guitarist and singer.Born in Gainesville, Alabama, United States, the son of sharecroppers and one of four children. He was born, raised and worked on a farm, and picked up and learned the harmonica at 12 years of age...
– (May 20, 1896 – January 28, 1950) Born in Gainesville, AlabamaGainesville, AlabamaGainesville is a town in Sumter County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 220.-Geography:Gainesville is located at .According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....
, Coleman was a country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
harmonica player, guitarist and singer who performed early Piedmont bluesPiedmont bluesPiedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
and harmonica blues active most in the 1930s. His career fizzled out and he was left to perform as a street act in Alabama. Document RecordsDocument RecordsDocument Records is a British record label that specializes in early American blues, bluegrass, gospel, spirituals jazz, and other rural American genres , generally made between 1900 and 1945...
has issued a compilation of all of his recordings. - Elizabeth CottenElizabeth CottenElizabeth "Libba" Cotten was an American blues and folk musician, singer, and songwriter.A self-taught left-handed guitarist, Cotten developed her own original style. Her approach involved using a right-handed guitar , not re-strung for left-handed playing, essentially, holding a right-handed...
- Floyd CouncilFloyd CouncilFloyd Council was an American blues guitarist and singer. He became a well-known practitioner of the Piedmont blues sound from that area, popular throughout the southeastern region of the US in the 1930s....
– (September 2, 1911 – May 9, 1976) Born in Chapel Hill, North CarolinaChapel Hill, North CarolinaChapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
, was an American blues guitarist and singer. He became a well-known practitioner of the Piedmont blues sound from that area, popular throughout the southeastern region of the US in the 1930s. Floyd began his musical career on the streets of Chapel Hill in the 1920s, performing with two brothers, Leo and Thomas Strowd as "The Chapel Hillbillies". He recorded twice for ARC at sessions with Blind Boy FullerBlind Boy FullerBlind Boy Fuller was an American blues guitarist and vocalist. He was one of the most popular of the recorded Piedmont blues artists with rural Black Americans, a group that also included Blind Blake, Josh White, and Buddy Moss.-Life and career:Fulton Allen was born in Wadesboro, North Carolina,...
in the mid-1930s.
E
- Archie EdwardsArchie EdwardsArchie Edwards was an American Piedmont blues guitarist, who in a sporadic career spanning several decades, worked variously with Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, and John Jackson. His best known tracks included "Saturday Night Hop", "The Road is Rough and Rocky", and "I Called My Baby Long...
(September 4, 1918 – June 18, 1998) Born in Union Hall, VirginiaUnion Hall, VirginiaUnion Hall is a census-designated place in Franklin County, Virginia, United States. The population was 957 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Union Hall is located at ....
, he released Blues 'n Bones in 1989.
H
- John Dee HolemanJohn Dee HolemanJohn Dee Holeman is an American Piedmont blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. His music includes elements of Texas blues, R&B and jazz. In his younger days he was also known for his proficiency as a 'buckdancer'.-Biography:...
(born 1929, Orange County, North CarolinaOrange County, North CarolinaOrange County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 133,801. Its county seat is Hillsborough...
) - Frank HovingtonFrank HovingtonFranklin "Frank" Hovington , also known as Guitar Frank, was an American blues musician. He played the guitar and banjo, and was a singer in the Piedmont style, who lived in the vicinity of Frederica, Delaware....
- Peg Leg HowellPeg Leg HowellJoshua Barnes Howell, known as Peg Leg Howell , was an African American blues singer and guitarist, who connected early country blues and the later 12-bar style...
– (March 5, 1888 – August 11, 1968) Born in Eatonton, GeorgiaEatonton, GeorgiaEatonton is a city in Putnam County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,480. The city is the county seat of Putnam County. It was named after William Eaton, an officer and diplomat involved in the First Barbary War...
as Joshua Barnes Howell, Howell was an amputee missing one leg who taught himself to play guitar and sing. He performed acoustic country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
in the Piedmont bluesPiedmont bluesPiedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
style, spending most of his career in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. From 1926 or so until 1929 he recorded for Columbia RecordsColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, then fell off into obscurity shortly after (eventually losing his other leg to diabetes). - Mississippi John HurtMississippi John HurtJohn Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt was an American country blues singer and guitarist.Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine...
J
- Bo Weavil JacksonBo Weavil JacksonBo Weavil Jackson , was an African American blues singer and guitarist. Some sources claim he was born in Birmingham, Alabama....
- John JacksonJohn Jackson (blues musician)John Jackson was an American Piedmont blues musician; his music did not become primary until his accidental "discovery" by folklorist Chuck Perdue in the 1960s...
- Luke JordanLuke JordanLuke Jordan was an American blues guitarist and vocalist of some renown in his local area of Lynchburg, Virginia....
– (January 28, 1892 – June 25, 1952) Born in Bluefield, West VirginiaBluefield, West VirginiaBluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 10,447 at the 2010 census. It is also the core city of the Bluefield WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,342.-Geography & Climate:...
, Jordan was a country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
guitarist of the Piedmont bluesPiedmont bluesPiedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
and East Coast bluesEast Coast bluesEast Coast blues casts a wide net covering all of Piedmont blues - a style that relied on fast, virtuosic fingerpicking and added influences such as ragtime - as well as the urbanized R&B of New York blues and countless smaller regional styles....
variety who spent most of his career in Lynchburg, VirginiaLynchburg, VirginiaLynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 75,568 as of 2010. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or "The Hill City." Lynchburg was the only major city in...
. Though not many recordings survive of his, Jordan was undeniably a major early influence on musicians in the Piedmont style.
L
- Charley LincolnCharley LincolnCharley Lincoln , was an early American country blues musician. He often recorded with his brother Robert Hicks ....
– March 11, 1900 – September 28, 1963 Born in Lithonia, GeorgiaLithonia, GeorgiaLithonia is a suburban town in eastern DeKalb County, Georgia, incorporated as a city. Lithonia's population was 1,924 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
as Charlie Hicks, Lincoln was an acoustic country and Piedmont bluesPiedmont bluesPiedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
guitarist and vocalist. He was the older brother of Robert "Barbecue BobBarbecue BobRobert Hicks, better known as Barbecue Bob was an early American Piedmont blues musician. His nickname came from the fact that he was a cook in a barbecue restaurant. One of the two extant photographs of Bob show him playing his guitar while wearing a full length white apron and cook's hat.-Early...
" Hicks, with whom he performed from the 1920s on into the 1950s. He made several recordings, some for Columbia RecordsColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
.
M
- Carl MartinCarl Martin (musician)Carl Martin was an American Piedmont blues musician and vocalist, who was capable with a variety of instruments and musical styles.Martin was born in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, United States...
- Sara MartinSara MartinSara Martin was an American blues singer, in her time one of the most popular of the classic blues singers. She was billed as "The Famous Moanin' Mama" and "The Colored Sophie Tucker"...
- Brownie McGheeBrownie McGheeWalter Brown McGhee was a Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaborations with the harmonica player Sonny Terry.-Life and career:...
- William MooreWilliam Moore (musician)William "Bill" Moore was an African American blues singer and guitarist.Born in Dover, Georgia, United States, he was the only Virginian country bluesman to record for the Paramount label . His four 78 rpm records are highly sought by collectors and have been numerously re-released on LP and CD...
- Buddy MossBuddy MossEugene "Buddy" Moss was, in the estimation of many blues scholars, one of two the most influential East Coast blues guitarists to record in the period between Blind Blake's final sessions in 1932 and Blind Boy Fuller's debut in 1935...
- Blind Willie McTellBlind Willie McTellBlind Willie McTell , was an influential Piedmont and ragtime blues singer and guitarist. He played with a fluid, syncopated fingerstyle guitar technique, common among many exponents of Piedmont blues, although, unlike his contemporaries, he used exclusively a twelve-string guitar...
W
- Willie Walker
- Curley WeaverCurley WeaverCurley James Weaver was an American blues musician, also known as Slim Gordon.-Early years:He was born in Covington, Georgia, United States, and raised on a farm near Porterdale...
- Josh WhiteJosh WhiteJoshua Daniel White , better known as Josh White, was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor, and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names "Pinewood Tom" and "Tippy Barton" in the 1930s....
- Ralph WillisRalph Willis (blues musician)Ralph Willis was an American Piedmont and country blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. Some of his Savoy records were released under pseudonyms, such as Alabama Slim, Washboard Pete and Sleepy Joe.-Biography:...