Have You Heard of ‘Crabmeat’ Thompson?
You never know what will show up at Bahoukas Antique Mall. Here’s one such example. Intrigued by the title of the album, we did a bit of research. We learned that ‘Crabmeat’ Thompson was a resident of our neighbor state, Delaware, for many decades. Teacher and musician, he had audiences of all ages and loved sharing his storytelling and music to teach school-age kids and to celebrate EARTH DAY. He even created a coloring book, ‘Stretch Saves the Inland Bays” – about a heron. We’ll have a copy in the store this weekend.
On a Friday afternoon, Jerry “Crabmeat” Thompson sat on a piano bench in his sunny living room and talked about his life.
from Middletown Life Magazine 2017
Though he claims to be shy, he has a larger-than-life presence, and people are drawn to his animated personality. Like his counterparts in folk music, he is a natural storyteller, and his tales are often punctuated by his explosive laughter.
Thompson is a teacher and a musician. For him, the two occupations go hand-in-hand as he creates tunes that can be teachable moments, and educates using his storytelling and musical skills. He’s been a wanderer, criss-crossing the country for both music and teaching jobs, driven by whatever he finds to be intellectually or creatively stimulating — or sometimes just in search of a paying gig.
The above quote from the Middletown Life Magazine is a wonderful read giving details of the interesting life of ‘Crabmeat’ Thompson. Click on the link to read more. He lived and performed in many states and was well-known in Delaware.
“I returned to Wilmington with a valise of new songs,” he said. Through his friendship with Johnny Neel, he was given the opportunity to record an album. “Animals, Vegetables and Mineral Springs” was released in 1983. On the album, Thompson was backed by local musicians, and with the exception of two songs, it was all original material.
From Middletown Life Magazine 2017
One of the songs on the album is Thompson’s tribute to Delaware, called “Small Wonder.” As to be expected with Thompson, there is a story to be told about the writing of the song.
Jerry was playing at the Rusty Rudder in Dewey Beach when he was offered a job playing at the World’s Fair U.S. Pavilion in Knoxville, Tenn. “I agreed to go down. There was no pay, but they said they’d feed me and buy me beers at the Australian Pavilion,” he said, chuckling.
Thompson approached the State of Delaware to ask for funding. He was told to write a song about Delaware in exchange for a bus ticket and lodging. “They gave me a list of things to put in the song, so the whole tune is really, really long,” Thompson said. “So there I was at the Word’s Fair. I was the Delaware exhibit, singing ‘Small Wonder’ and passing out pamphlets.” Thompson is especially proud that Jerry Silverman included “Small Wonder” in the Mel Bay guitar songbook, “Songs for the American People.”
The following article from Out & About Magazine is a delightful piece by Crabmeat Thompson. Anyone who enjoys crabs and a good crab feast will have a chuckle!
One of the great pleasures of producing this magazine (Out & About Magazine) for more than three decades is the wide range of talented storytellers we’ve had the privilege of publishing.
from Out & about Magazine 2021
… One of the special gifts of storytelling: The words outlive the person who wrote them.
… Crabmeat was an author, educator, musician, advocate, ambassador, and all-around fascinating guy. He also produced award-winning stories for Out & About Magazine for more than a decade — and was a friend of the magazine since its inception.
… Out & About is honored to have had Crabmeat’s prose grace our pages. And if you didn’t know him, well, perhaps the following piece (Crabmeat’s last contribution to Out & About, August 2011) will help paint a picture — not to mention provide invaluable crab-eating tips from the legend himself.
The Fine Art of Eating Crabs by Crabmeat Thompson
What the editors didn’t realize was that my moniker often gets me invited to play music at crab feasts. And though they are jolly events, and often for charity, they present three problems: 1) the banging of hammers doesn’t provide the optimum backup for folk music; 2) the Old Bay in the air tends to get up your nose, into your lungs, and down the old raw throat; 3) starvation, which ordinarily sets in as you scrape out your fourth or fifth crab, attacks the guitar picker much sooner. No way one can pick crabs without scarifying the fingers and filling the abrasions with spicy Old Bay. So you starve in the midst of plenty.
Read more and get a few tips on eating crabs by clicking the link in the citation below.
You can listen to one of Crabmeat Thompson’s albums by CLICKING HERE.
Stop by and see this album and hundreds, if not thousands, more on our shelves! You truly never know what treasure you might find. In the meantime, you know we’re here, and we’re watchin’ for ya!
