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Mississippi John Hurt

 
Mississippi John Hurt

 
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Mississippi John Hurt
 
 
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"Mississippi" John Smith Hurt (July 3, 1893, or March 8, 1892, Teoc
Teoc, Mississippi

Teoc is an unincorporated community in Carroll County, Mississippi best known as the birthplace of the blues legend Mississippi John Hurt. It is about 7 miles northeast of Greenwood, Mississippi, on Teoc Road on the north side of Teoc Creek....
, Carroll County
Carroll County, Mississippi

Carroll County is a county located in the Mississippi Delta region of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of 2000, the population is 10,769. Its county seat is Carrollton, Mississippi....
, Mississippi
Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....
 - November 2, 1966, Grenada
Grenada, Mississippi

Grenada is a city in Grenada County, Mississippi, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,879 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Grenada County, Mississippi....
, Mississippi
Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....
) was an influential blues
Blues

Blues is a music genre based on the use of the blues chord progressions and the blue notes. Though several blues musical form s exist, the 12-bar blues chord progressions are the most frequently encountered....
 singer and guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
ist.

ed in Avalon, Mississippi
Avalon, Mississippi

Avalon is an unincorporated area in Carroll County, Mississippi, Mississippi, United States.It is known as the home of the great bluesman Mississippi John Hurt....
, he learned to play guitar at age 9. He spent much of his youth playing old time music for friends and dances, earning a living as a farm hand into the 1920s. In 1923 he partnered with the fiddle
Musical styles (violin)

Classical musicSince the Baroque music era the violin has been one of the most important of all instruments in European classical music, for several reasons....
 player Willie Narmour (Carroll County Blues) as a substitute for his regular partner Shell Smith.






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Encyclopedia


"Mississippi" John Smith Hurt (July 3, 1893, or March 8, 1892, Teoc
Teoc, Mississippi

Teoc is an unincorporated community in Carroll County, Mississippi best known as the birthplace of the blues legend Mississippi John Hurt. It is about 7 miles northeast of Greenwood, Mississippi, on Teoc Road on the north side of Teoc Creek....
, Carroll County
Carroll County, Mississippi

Carroll County is a county located in the Mississippi Delta region of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of 2000, the population is 10,769. Its county seat is Carrollton, Mississippi....
, Mississippi
Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....
 - November 2, 1966, Grenada
Grenada, Mississippi

Grenada is a city in Grenada County, Mississippi, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,879 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Grenada County, Mississippi....
, Mississippi
Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....
) was an influential blues
Blues

Blues is a music genre based on the use of the blues chord progressions and the blue notes. Though several blues musical form s exist, the 12-bar blues chord progressions are the most frequently encountered....
 singer and guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
ist.

Biography

Raised in Avalon, Mississippi
Avalon, Mississippi

Avalon is an unincorporated area in Carroll County, Mississippi, Mississippi, United States.It is known as the home of the great bluesman Mississippi John Hurt....
, he learned to play guitar at age 9. He spent much of his youth playing old time music for friends and dances, earning a living as a farm hand into the 1920s. In 1923 he partnered with the fiddle
Musical styles (violin)

Classical musicSince the Baroque music era the violin has been one of the most important of all instruments in European classical music, for several reasons....
 player Willie Narmour (Carroll County Blues) as a substitute for his regular partner Shell Smith. When Narmour got a chance to record for Okeh Records
Okeh Records

Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States in 1918 in music; from the late 1920s on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records....
 as a prize for winning first place in a 1928 fiddle contest, Narmour recommended John Hurt to Okeh Records
Okeh Records

Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States in 1918 in music; from the late 1920s on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records....
 producer Tommy Rockwell. After auditioning "Monday Morning Blues" at his home, he took part in two recording sessions, in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County, Tennessee. Memphis rises above the Mississippi River on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff just south of the mouth of the Wolf River ....
 and New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 (See Discography below). The "Mississippi" tag was added by Okeh as a sales gimmick. After the commercial failure of the resulting records, and Okeh records going out of business during the depression, Hurt returned to Avalon and obscurity, working as a sharecropper and playing local parties and dances.

In 1963, however, a folk
Folk music

Folk music can have a number of different meanings, including:* Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous with the term "Traditional music", also often including World Music and Roots music; the term "Traditional music" was given its more specific meaning to distinguish it from the other definition...
 musicologist named Tom Hoskins, inspired by the recordings, was able to locate John Hurt near Avalon, Mississippi. In fact, in an early recording, Hurt sang of "Avalon, my home town." Seeing that Hurt's guitar playing skills were still intact, Hoskins encouraged him to move to Washington, DC, and begin performing on a wider stage. Whereas his first releases had coincided with the Great Depression
Great Depression

File:International depression.pngThe Great Depression was a worldwide economic Recession starting in most places in 1929 and ending at different times in the 1930s or early 1940s for different countries....
, his new career could hardly have been better timed. A stellar performance at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival
Newport Folk Festival

The Newport Folk Festival is an Music of the United States annual folk music-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959....
 saw his star rise amongst the new "folk revival" audience, and before his death in 1966 he played extensively in college
College

File:Government college for Women Dhoke Kala Khan.JPGCollege is a term most often used today to denote an education institution. More broadly, it can be the name of any group of collegialitys, for example, an electoral college, a College of Arms or the College of Cardinals....
s, concert halls, coffee houses and even the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson

John William ?Johnny? Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years....
, as well as recording three further albums for Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records

Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 in music by brothers Maynard Solomon and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical music label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary label....
. John Hurt's influence spans several music genres including blues, country
Country music

Country music is a blend of popular American music forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. It has roots in Traditional music, Celtic music, gospel music, and old-time music and evolved rapidly in the 1920s....
, bluegrass
Bluegrass music

Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and is a sub-genre of country music. It has its own roots in Folk music of Ireland, Music of Scotland, Music of Wales and Folk Music of England traditional music....
, folk and contemporary rock and roll
Rock music

Rock music is a loosely defined genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the mid 1950's. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rhythm and blues, country music and other influences....
. A soft-spoken man, his nature was reflected in the work, which remained a mellow mix of country, blues and old time music to the end.

Tributes

There is now a memorial in Avalon, Mississippi for Mississippi John Hurt. It is parallel to RR2, which is the rural road on which he grew up.

American singer-songwriter Tom Paxton
Tom Paxton

Thomas Richard Paxton is an United States folk music singer and singer-songwriter who has been writing, performing and recording music for over forty years....
, who met Mississippi John Hurt and played on the same bill as him at the Gaslight
The Gaslight Cafe

The Gaslight Cafe was a coffee house located in the basement of 116 Macdougal Street in Greenwich Village, New York City...
 in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village

Greenwich Village , often simply called the Village, is a largely residential area on the lower west side of southern Manhattan in New York City....
 around 1963, wrote and recorded a song about him around 1977 entitled "Did You Hear John Hurt?" Paxton still frequently plays this song at his live performances.

Media


Discography

Avalon Blues: The Complete 1928 OKEH Recordings (Columbia Roots N' Blues reissue)
  1. "Frankie" (3:21)- February 24, 1928, Memphis, TN - 400221-B, OK 8560
  2. "Nobody's Dirty Business" (2:52)- February 24, 1928, Memphis - 400223-B, OK 8560
  3. "Ain't No Tellin'" (2:54)- December 21, 1928, New York City, NY - 401471-A, OK 8560
  4. "Louis Collins" (2:57)- December 21, 1928, NYC - 401472-A, OK 8724
  5. "Avalon Blues" (3:01)- December 21, 1928, NYC - 401473-B, OK 8759
  6. "Big Leg Blues" (2:50)- December 21, 1928, NYC - 401474-B, unissued
  7. "Stack O' Lee
    Stagger Lee

    Lee Shelton was a African American cab driver and a pimp convicted of murdering William "Billy" Lyons on Christmas Eve, 1895 in St. Louis, Missouri....
    " (2:55)- December 28, 1928, NYC - 401481-B, OK 8654
  8. "Candy Man Blues" (2:44)- December 28, 1928, NYC - 401483-B, OK 8654
  9. "Got The Blues (Can't Be Satisfied)" (2:49)- Dec 28, 1928, NYC- 401484-B, OK 8734
  10. "Blessed Be The Name" (2:46)- December 28, 1928, NYC - 401485-B, OK 8666
  11. "Praying On The Old Camp Ground" (2:35)- Dec 28 1928, NYC- 401486-B, OK 8666
  12. "Blue Harvest Blues" (2:51)- December 28, 1928 NYC - 401487-A, OK 8692
  13. "Spike Driver Blues" (3:13)- December 28, 1928 NYC - 401488, OK 8692


Last Sessions - 1966

(Vanguard)
  1. "Poor Boy, Long Ways From Home
    Poor Boy Blues

    Poor Boy Blues or Poor Boy, Long Ways From Home is a traditional blues song of unknown origin. As with most traditional blues songs, there is great variation in the melody and lyrical content as performed by different artists....
    "
  2. "Boys, You're Welcome"
  3. "Joe Turner Blues"
  4. "First Shot Missed Him"
  5. "Farther Along"
  6. "Funky Butt"
  7. "Spider, Spider"
  8. "Waiting For You"
  9. "Shortnin' Bread"
  10. "Trouble, I've Had It All My Days"
  11. "Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me"
  12. "Good Morning, Carrie"
  13. "Nobody Cares For Me"
  14. "All Night Long"
  15. "Hey, Honey, Right Away"
  16. "You've Got To Die"
  17. "Goodnight Irene"


Mississippi John Hurt 1928 Sessions

(Yazoo 1065, Yazoo Records)

Side 1
  • "Got the Blues Can’t Be Satisfied"
  • "Louis Collins"
  • "Blue Harvest Blues"
  • "Avalon Blues"
  • "Blessed Be the Name"
  • "Nobody’s Dirty Business"
  • Frankie


Side 2
  • Ain’t no tellin’
  • Big leg blues
  • Stack O’Lee blues
    Stagger Lee

    Lee Shelton was a African American cab driver and a pimp convicted of murdering William "Billy" Lyons on Christmas Eve, 1895 in St. Louis, Missouri....
  • Praying on the old camp ground
  • Spike Driver Blues
  • Candy Man Blues

Worried Blues

(Piedmont PLP 13161, Piedmont Records)

Side 1
  • Lazy Blues
  • Farther along
  • Sliding delta
  • Nobody cares for me
  • Cow hooking blues


Side 2
  • Talkin’ Casey Jones
  • Weeping and wailing
  • Worried blues
  • Oh Mary don’t you weep
  • I been cryin’ since you been gone


Mississippi John Hurt Today

(VSD-79220, Vanguard Records)

Side 1
  • Payday
  • I’m satisfied
  • Candy man
  • Make me a pallet on the floor
  • Talkin’ Casey Jones
  • Corrina, Corrina


Side 2
  • Coffee blues
  • Louis Collins
  • Hot time in the old town tonight
  • If you don’t want me. Baby
  • Spike driver blues
  • Beulah land


Mississippi John Hurt Last Sessions

(VSD-79327, Vanguard Records)

Side 1
  • Poor boy long ways from home
  • Boys, you’re welcome
  • Joe Turner blues
  • First shot missed him
  • Farther along
  • Spider, spider
  • Waiting for you
  • Shortnin’ bread


Side 2
  • Trouble, I’ve had it all my days
  • Let the mermaids flirt with me
  • Good mornin’, Carrie
  • Nobody cares for me
  • All night long
  • Hey, Honey, right away
  • You’ve got to die
  • Goodnight, Irene


The Best of Mississippi John Hurt

(VSD-19/20, Vanguard Records) Recorded live at Oberlin College April 15, 1966

Side 1
  • Here I am, Oh Lord, send me
  • I shall not be moved
  • Nearer my God to thee
  • Baby what’s wrong with you
  • It ain’t nobody’s business


Side 2
  • Salty dog blues
  • Coffee blues
  • Avalon, my home town
  • Make me a pallet on the floor
  • Since I’ve laid this burden down


Side 1
  • Sliding delta
  • Monday morning blues
  • Richland women blues
  • Candy man
  • Stagolee
    Stagger Lee

    Lee Shelton was a African American cab driver and a pimp convicted of murdering William "Billy" Lyons on Christmas Eve, 1895 in St. Louis, Missouri....


Side 2
  • My creole belle
  • CC rider
  • Spanish Fandango
  • Talking casey
  • Chicken
  • You are my sunshine


The Candy Man

(QS 5042, Quicksilver Records)

Side 1
  • Richland women blues
  • Trouble, I’ve had it all my days
  • Chicken
  • Coffee blues
  • Monday morning blues


Side 2
  • Frankie and Albert
  • Talking Casey
  • Here I am, Oh Lord, send me
  • Hard time in the old town tonight
  • Spike driver blues


Volume One of a Legacy

(CLPS 1068, Piedmont Records)

Side 1
  • Trouble, I’ve had it all my days
  • Pera Lee
  • See See rider
  • Louis Collins
  • Coffee blues
  • Nobody’s dirty business
  • Do Lord remember me
  • Monday morning blues


Side 2
  • Let the mermaids flirt with me
  • Payday
  • Stack-o-lee
    Stagger Lee

    Lee Shelton was a African American cab driver and a pimp convicted of murdering William "Billy" Lyons on Christmas Eve, 1895 in St. Louis, Missouri....
     blues
  • Casey Jones
  • Frankie and Albert


Folk Songs and Blues

(PLP 13757, Piedmont Records)

Side 1
  • Avalon blues
  • Richland woman blues
  • Spike driver blues
  • Salty dog
  • Cow hooking blues
  • Spanish Fandang


Side 2
  • Casey Jones
  • Louis Collins
  • Candy Man Blues
  • My Creole belle
  • Liza Jane – God’s unchanging hand
  • Joe Turner blues


External links

  • Includes a link to a discussion forum regarding Mississippi John Hurt with substantive participation by grand nephew, Fred Bolden.
  • Recording, sheet music and guitar tab.