Soul Music

Soul Music. Along about 1999 I worked with a couple members of a Seattle Grunge Band, they kept bringing that shit to work to listen to. I countered with some Country and Western and Bluegrass, damned if those two didn't like that too!!! The music tastes ran the gamut and it was the so called hip-hop that was universally disliked, hell I'll even listen to opera but disdane all that rap shit. Some where along the line we got into the classics of American Folk music and the topic of Mississippi John Hurt came up, we researched and found that his earliest recordings were with OKEH Records and producer Tommy Rockwell. So the purist one of the grunge group ordered the complete set of Mississippi John Hurt's recording made at OHEH Records in 1928, we each made copies of the CD and I treasure mine. John was Born July 3, 1893, in Teoc, Mississippi, Hurt and his family moved in 1895 to Avalon, a town on the edge of Mississippi's hill country. He dropped out of school at the age of nine to begin working as a farmer. In 1902, Hurt picked up the guitar, a $1.50 "Black Annie" his mother bought him. Self-taught, Hurt developed a distinctive three-finger style that bears no resemblance to other area musicians. He also developed proficiency with the harmonica but was always a self-accompanied musician. John never travelled from his home and thus wasn't recognised nationally. MY CREOLE BELLE / LOVIN' SPOONFUL Hurt refused an offer to accompany a traveling medicine show, preferring to stay close to home. Hurt played solo at local parties where his fluid yet highly syncopated guitar style made him a favorite among Carroll County dancers. His fame was localized, however; it was not until 1912 that he started playing parties around Jackson, Mississippi, 103 miles from his native Avalon. While Hurt worked mostly outside music as a farmer and laborer, his musical reputation among whites as well as blacks led to that first recording session in Memphis in 1928. Hurt recorded eight sides for the Okeh label, two of which were released and sold well: "Frankie" and "Nobody's Dirty Business." In Memphis for the same recording session was St. Louis guitarist/pianist Lonnie Johnson, and Hurt later recalled that Blind Lemon Jefferson and Bessie Smith were also in town. He saw none of these famous musicians play but instead returned home to Avalon. Okeh called Hurt to New York City for another session in December 1928, where he cut twelve additional sides, including "Avalon Blues." Again, Hurt returned home to Avalon to farm and play music for local parties. These two sessions were the extent of Hurt's recording before the Great Depression curtailed record sales. His graceful picking, gentle crooning and homespun lyrics marked him as an exceptionally talented musician.The preponderance of songs about legendary figures in his repertoire ("Casey Jones," "Frankie," "Stack O'Lee Blues") and the lack of then-modern blues influences on his style, establish Hurt as a link between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Okeh originally designated two of his songs "Old Time Music," an appellation reserved for the label's hillbilly series. This, together with the fact that white musicians were familiar with and recommended his musicianship, suggests strongly that Hurt's music sprang from a common source that produced blues and country music. You Got To Walk That Lonesome Valley Hurt lived a quiet life as a farmer and laborer, playing occasional parties and fish fries until 1963. He was rediscovered in Avalon, a consequence of having named it as his hometown in a record made thirty-five years before. Hurt enjoyed great popularity during the blues revival of the 1960s, making television appearances, playing folk festivals, and recording albums. Exceptionally well liked by all who came in contact with him, he became the most famous of all the rediscovered 1920s bluesmen. Candy Man Blues   Make Me a Pallet on the Floor According to personal biography of his life John Hurt learn to love and appreciate music and guitar playing from William H Carson, a man infatuated with his teacher at the St. James School, located in Avalon, Mississippi. John Hurt stated, "I wasn't allowed to bother Mr. Carson's guitar. I would wait until he fell asleep at my house, then I would slip his guitar into my room and try to play. There I learned to play the guitar at the age of nine years old. After that, my mother bought me a second hand guitar at the price of $1.50! I can tell you there was no beautiful sound than my own guitar music. I was playing for country dances at the same time working very hard on a farm neear Avalon,Mississippi. Richland Woman Blues During the blues revival of the 1960s John's newfound fame lasted three years before his death on November 2,1966. Mississippi John Hurt's grave is located outside his hometown of Avalon, Mississippi. This is my idea of Soul Music.