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J D SHORT and SON HOUSE BLUES FROM THE MISISSIPPI DELTA
Released: 1 Jan 1963
Label: Folkways Records
Format: [email protected] cbr
This album presents the distinctive blues born from the hardships of life—especially African-American life—in Northern Mississippi.
Son House
Born Eddie (some sources say Eugene) James House, Jr., March 21, c. 1902, near Clarksdale, MS; died October 19, 1988, in Detroit, r
Began as preacher in Mississippi and Louisiana, c. 1917; gathered and bailed tree moss for mattress stuffing, 1916-early 1920s; pastor of Baptist church near Lyon, MS, 1922; worked at Commonwealth Steel Plant, East St. Louis, MO, 1922-23; worked on horse farm in Louisiana, c. 1925; began playing guitar and working as hired musician, Mississippi, 1926; began performing with Charley Patton and Willie Brown, 1929; recorded "My Black Mama" and "Preachin' the Blues," Paramount, 1930; made recordings for Library of Congress, 1941-42; worked for New York Central Railroad as rivet heater in boxcar assembly, Rochester, NY, 1943; porter on Empire State Express, c. 1945-late 1950s; retired as musician, 1960; coaxed out of retirement and signed with Columbia Records, 1964; recorded and performed, 1964-76.
[size=4]J D Short
Gifted with a striking and almost immediately identifable vocal style characterized by an amazing vibrato, J.D. Short was also a very versatile musician. He played piano, saxophone, guitar, harmonica, clarinet and drums. Growing up in the Mississippi Delta, Short learned guitar and piano. He was a frequent performer at house parties before he moved to St. Louis in the '20s. Short played with the Neckbones, Henry Spaulding, Honeyboy Edwards, Douglas Williams, and Big Joe Williams from the '30s until the early '60s. He recorded for Vocalion, Delmark, Folkways, and Sonet. Short was in the 1963 documentary The Blues, but died before it was released.
Tracklist:
01 So Much Wine 4:13 (J. D. Short)
02 Train, Bring My Baby Back 3:49 (J. D. Short)
03 You Been Cheating Me 3:00 (J. D. Short)
04 Charlie Patton 1:15 (J. D. Short)
05 Fighting For Dear Old Uncle Sam 5:23 (J. D. Short)
06 My Black Woman 3:01 (Son House)
07 Sun Goin'Down 5:00 (Son House)
08 I Ain't Goin' To Cry No More 2:57 (Son House)
09 The Key of Minor 1:33 (Son House)
10 This War Will Last You For Years 2:55 (Son House)
11 Was I Right or Wrong? 1:49 (Son House)
12 County Farm Blues 2:17 (Son House)
Son House tracks rec. August 1942 by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress
J. D. Short tracks rec. July 3, 1962 in St. Louis, Missouri by Samuel Charters
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