Mississippi John Hurt

Mississippi John Hurt

Source: Music Box

Born 8 March 1893 in Teoc, Mississippi, talented folk guitarist, John Hurt, was raised in Avalon, Mississippi, where he taught himself guitar at about age nine. Working as a sharecropper, he performed at social gatherings until heading for Memphis in 1928 to record eight titles for Okeh Records on February 14, two tracks released: 'Frankie' and 'Nobody's Dirty Business'. Most compositional credits herein are from Second Hand Songs.

Composition: Hurt from traditional

Composition: Traditional

Twelve more titles for Okeh ensued in December of 1924 in New York City, all but two issued. Among them was 'Stack O'Lee Blues' aka 'Stagger Lee'. Stagger Lee refers to Lee Shelton, a black pimp who lived in St. Louis, Missouri, in the nineteenth century. Lee was also called Stag Lee or Stack Lee. The writer at Wikipedia explains that "Stag" may refer to the term's use for going out single rather than with a date. "Stack Lee" referred to a riverboat captain and/or the riverboat itself on which prostitution was practiced. According to Wikipedia, pimps so involved were called macks, which Merriam-Webster's has eventually derived from French "makerelle" (procuress) and more ultimately to Middle Dutch '"makelaer" for broker. Lee, anyway, was at the Bill Curtis Saloon in St. Louis on Christmas night of 1895 when he and one William "Billy" Lyons fell into an heated altercation during which Lyons grabbed Lee's hat. One thing you didn't do was mess with Lee's hat because he shot Lyons fatally to take it back. Lee was sentenced to prison that year where he obtained parole in 1909. Some or other further trouble found him back behind bars in 1911 where he died in 1912.

It was 1897 when 'Stack-a-lee' was played by ragtime pianist, Professor Charlie Lee, at the K.C. Negro Press Association. Performed over the years by many an unknown along the Mississippi, it saw transcribing in 1910, publishing twice in 1911 and recording by Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians in 1923.

Composition: Charlie Lee   1897

Composition: Hurt from Irish traditional

Composition: ?

Composition: Hurt

Composition: Hurt

Unfortunately, Hurt's records sold so poorly that he returned to obscurity in Avalon until he was rediscovered in March of 1963 by folklorist, Tom "Fang" Hoskins. Hurt may have ceased recording in 1928, but he hadn't stopped playing guitar and could perform as well as ever. He quickly found himself recording again, now on dates in March and 2 April in Annapolis, Maryland, at the home of Sandy Fisher. Come further titles at the Library of Congress in Washington DC on 15 and 23 July [Weenie Campbell]. He then performed at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island on 26-28 July 1963. His album, 'Worried Blues', went down in March of 1964. Hurt continued to record variously until 1966. His last-known tracks per Wirz at American Music occurred on 15 April 1966 at Oberlin College in Ohio. (The album, 'Live at Oberlin College 4-15-65' is dated incorrectly.) Hurt was later recorded, however, on 22 May of 1966 at Indian River Central High School in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, the evidence below comes with no more information as to who recorded it than as to how it got released. Nor does a Google search reveal much. Though setlist follows Hurt to September of 1966 no further recordings are known.

Composition: Hurt

Composition: Hurt   The story of John Henry who dynamited railroad tunnels

Composition: Hurt

Bibliography:

Walter Browne (An 1895 Murder Triggered 400 Songs / Medium / 2022)

Gérard Herzhaft (Encyclopedia of the Blues / 2nd Edition / University of Arkansas Press / 1997)

Jeff Suwak (Mississippi John Hurt’s “Candy Man Blues” / Medium / 2021)

Authority Search: VIAF

Other Profiles: Find a Grave

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