Marsha Battle Philpot calls herself a “primordial Detroiter.” She knows the city and its history well. Her father, Joe Battle, opened a record store in 1945 and he recorded blues guitarist John Lee Hooker, the Baptist preacher reverend C. L. Franklin, and Franklin’s talented daughter Aretha.
The store was relocated when a highway was built. In 1967 it was destroyed during the Detroit Rebellion.
Here & Now‘s Scott Tong talks to Battle Philpot about her father’s store, her own musical education, her experience in a changing Detroit.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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