VOA标准英语2012--Lurrie Bell's Dream Comes True With 'The Devil Ain’t Got No Music'

Lurrie Bell's Dream Comes True With 'The Devil Ain’t Got No Music' 

Bell’s introduction to music came from his father, the late harmonica great Carey Bell. As the son of one of Chicago’s most famous musicians, Bell says he never missed an opportunity to play the blues¹. 

“As a kid I used go on to the west side of Chicago and hear my dad rehearse a lot with his band there, when I was a youngster," he said. "I picked up the guitar and taught myself how to play a blues song and I’ve been playing it ever since. I think I had to be five years old when I picked up the guitar."

Bell expanded his musical horizons when he spent seven years living with his grandparents in Mississippi and Alabama. He says before returning to Chicago at age 14, he immersed himself in gospel while adding his own touch of the blues. 

“When I was living down in Lisman, Alabama I played gospel music, but I would put some blues licks in some of the church revivals² and the Sunday school meetings," he said. "But I never did forget what I learned about blues.”

Bell has done a lot of work in Europe and says it is a thrill to play there.

“It really is. The people there in Europe go way out of their way to show American culture," he said. "They really let you know that they really love and appreciate that kind of music when you go over there [and play] in those European countries.” 

Bell will perform at the 29th Annual Chicago Blues Festival, before embarking³ on the “Chicago Blues: A Living History” tour of Italy, France and Switzerland. He’s also slated⁴ to appear in Japan and Argentina.

His new album “The Devil Ain’t Got No Music” features traditional gospel tunes⁵, as well as songs by Muddy Waters, Tom Waits, James Taylor, Thomas Dorsey, Mathew Skoller and Joe Louis Walker. 

1 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

2 revivals   

n.复活( revival的名词复数 )；再生；复兴；（老戏多年后）重新上演

参考例句：

• She adored parades, lectures, conventions, camp meetings, church revivals-in fact every kind of dissipation. 她最喜欢什么游行啦、演讲啦、开大会啦、营火会啦、福音布道会啦--实际上各种各样的娱乐。 来自辞典例句
• The history of art is the history of revivals. 艺术的历史就是复兴的历史。 来自互联网

3 embarking   

乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• He's embarking on a new career as a writer. 他即将开始新的职业生涯——当一名作家。
• The campaign on which were embarking was backed up by such intricate and detailed maintenance arrangemets. 我们实施的战争，须要如此复杂及详细的维护准备。

4 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

5 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》