Having grown up in Philadelphia, John Oates might be expected to pay tribute to that city's soulful sound when recording an homage to his musical roots. Instead on "Mississippi Mile," Oates indulges his love for Delta blues and roots music, reinterpreting such classics as Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up," Curtis Mayfield's "It's Alright" and Mississippi John Hurt's "Pallet."  Out April 12 on PS Records/Elektra Nashville, Oates' third solo album is an Americana effort that includes two new songs -- the title track and "Deep River" -- as well as a Texas swing version of "You Make My Dreams Come True," one of the classic Hall & Oates hits he recorded with Daryl Hall.

1. Why this approach on your new album?

I started out to make a record of songs that I really liked when I was a kid. When we were cutting the tracks, I realized what I had done unconsciously is I created a musical autobiography. This is the music, the inspiration and the influences that really made me who I am as a musician before I met Daryl and before we became Hall & Oates. I started playing guitar at 5. I had an entire musical life before I met Daryl when I was 18 or 19. One night I'd be wearing a suit playing R&B in a band, the next night I'd be wearing a denim work shirt playing folk blues.

2. You recorded in Nashville with such notable musicians as Jerry Douglas and Sam Bush. Why did you pick producer Mike Henderson?

I wanted to make it swampy and really authentic, to have a certain kind of live feel. I started asking around in Nashville about various people because I have so much experience in the studio that sometimes I can get a little overanalytical. Sam Bush recommended Mike Henderson. I knew he played mandolin for the Steel Drivers, but I didn't know much about his blues stuff, so I started listening to him and thought, "Wow, he's really a deep blues guitar player."

3. How did you achieve the kind of sound you wanted?

We assembled the dream band and we cut this thing in about four days. It's about as live a record as you could possibly make in the studio. There's hardly any overdubs; in fact, 80% of the vocals you hear are the ones I sang while we were cutting the tracks. I don't think we did more than two takes on any songs. That's exactly what I wanted and Mike is the guy who could do that.

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