| Coordinates | 49°37′39″N18°34′35″N |
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| Name | Mississippi John Hurt |
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| Background | solo_singer |
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| Birth name | John Smith Hurt |
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| Born | July 03, 1893 or March 08, 1892Teoc, Carroll County, Mississippi, United States |
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| Died | November 02, 1966Grenada, Mississippi |
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| Origin | Avalon, Mississippi |
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| Instrument | Guitar, Vocals |
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| Genre | Country blues, Delta blues, Folk |
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| Occupation | Singer-songwriter, Sharecropper, Farm hand |
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| Years active | 1928, 1963 – 1966 |
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| Label | Okeh Vanguard |
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| Associated acts | Shell Smith Willie Narmour |
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| Notable instruments | Guild F-30 |
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John Smith Hurt, better known as
Mississippi John Hurt (July 3, 1893 or March 8, 1892 — November 2, 1966) was an influential
country blues singer and
guitarist. Raised in the tiny Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the
guitar around age nine. Singing in a loud whisper, to a melodious
finger-picked accompaniment, he began to play local dances and parties while working as a
sharecropper. He first recorded for
Okeh Records in 1928, but these were commercial failures, and Hurt drifted out of the
recording scene, where he continued his work as a
farmer. After a man discovered a copy of one of his recordings, "Avalon Blues", which gave the location of his hometown, there became increased interest in his whereabouts. Tom Hoskins, a blues enthusiast, would be the first to locate Hurt in 1963. He convinced Hurt to relocate to
Washington, D.C., where he was recorded by the
Library of Congress in 1964. This rediscovery helped further the
American folk music revival, which had led to the rediscovery of many other archaic
bluesmen. Hurt entered the same
university and
coffeehouse concert circuit as his contemporaries, as well as other
Delta blues musicians brought out of retirement. As well as playing concerts, he recorded several
studio albums for
Vanguard Records. He died in November of 1966 in
Grenada, Mississippi. Material recorded by Hurt has been re-released by many
record labels over the years (see
discography); and his influence has extended over many generations of guitarists. Songs recorded by Hurt have been covered by
Bob Dylan,
Jerry Garcia,
Beck,
Doc Watson,
John McCutcheon,
Taj Mahal,
Bruce Cockburn, and Guthrie Thomas.
Biography
Early years
Born John Smith Hurt in
Teoc,
Carroll County,
Mississippi and raised in
Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt learned to play guitar at age 9. He was completely self-taught, using his mother's boyfriend's guitar to teach himself whenever he stayed over at her house. His style was not reminiscent of any other style being played at the time; it was the way Hurt "thought the guitar
should sound." He spent much of his
youth playing
old time music for friends and dances, earning a living as a farm hand into the 1920s. His fast, highly
syncopated style of playing made his music adept for dancing. On occasion, a
medicine show would come through the area; Hurt recalls being wanted by one of them. "One of them wanted me, but I said no because I just never wanted to get away from home." In 1963, a
folk musicologist, Tom Hoskins, supervised by Richard Spottswood, was able to locate Hurt near Avalon, Mississippi using the lyrics of "Avalon Blues":
Style
Hurt incorporated a fast,
pick-less, syncopated fingerpicking style that he taught himself.
78 rpm releases
"Frankie"/"Nobody's Dirty Business" (Okeh Records, OKeh 8560) (1928)
"Stack O' Lee"/"Candy Man Blues" (Okeh Records, OKeh 8654) (1928)
"Blessed Be the Name"/"Praying on the Old Camp Ground" (Okeh Records, OKeh 8666) (1928)
"Blue Harvest Blues"/"Spike Driver Blues" (Okeh Records, OKeh 8692) (1928)
"Louis Collins"/"Got the Blues (Can't Be Satisfied)" (Okeh Records, OKeh 8724) (1928)
"Ain't No Tellin'"/"Avalon Blues" (Okeh Records, OKeh 8759) (1928)
Albums
Folk Songs and Blues [live recordings] (Piedmont Records, PLP 13757) (1963)
Worried Blues (Piedmont Records, PLP 13161) (1964)
Today! (Vanguard Records, VSD-79220) (1966)
The Immortal Mississippi John Hurt (Vanguard Records, VSD-79248) (1967)
The Best of Mississippi John Hurt [live recordings] (Vanguard Records, VSD-19/20) (1970)
Last Sessions (Vanguard Records, VSD-79327) (1972)
Volume One of a Legacy [live recordings] (Piedmont Records, CLPS 1068) (1975)
Monday Morning Blues: The Library of Congress Recordings – Volume One (Flyright Records, FLYLP 553) (1980)
Avalon Blues: The Library of Congress Recordings – Volume Two (Heritage Records, HT-301) (1982)
Satisfied [live recordings] (Quicksilver Intermedia, QS 5007) (1982)
The Candy Man [live recordings] (Quicksilver Intermedia, QS 5042) (1982)
Sacred and Secular: The Library of Congress Recordings – Volume Three (Heritage Records, HT-320) (1988)
Avalon Blues (Flyright Records, FLYCD 06) (1989)
Memorial Anthology [live recordings] (Genes Records, GCD 9906/7) (1993)
Selected compilation albums
The Original 1928 Recordings (Spokane Records, SPL 1001) (1971)
1928: Stack O' Lee Blues – His First Recordings (Biograph Records, BLP C4) (1972)
1928 Sessions (Yazoo Records, L 1065) (1979)
Satisfying Blues (Collectables Records, VCL 5529) (1995)
Avalon Blues: The Complete 1928 Okeh Recordings (Columbia Records, CK64986) (1996)
Rediscovered (Vanguard Records, CD 79519) (1998)
The Complete Recordings (Vanguard Records, CD 70181-2) (1998)
Candy Man Blues: The Complete 1928 Sessions (Snapper Music, SBLUECD 010) (2004)
References
External links
Mississippi John Hurt Museum Includes a link to a discussion forum regarding Mississippi John Hurt with substantive participation by grand nephew, Fred Bolden.
Mississippi John Hurt News Website run by John's grand nephew, Fred Bolden. Has several forums and discussions open to the public.
Illustrated Mississippi John Hurt discography
Available recordings at The Internet Archive
[ Allmusic]
Mississippi John Hurt's Stackolee Recording, sheet music and guitar tab.
Category:1892 births
Category:1966 deaths
Category:Acoustic blues musicians
Category:African American musicians
Category:Country blues singers
Category:American folk singers
Category:American blues guitarists
Category:American male singers
Category:Fingerstyle guitarists
Category:Blues Hall of Fame inductees
Category:Blues musicians from Mississippi
Category:Blues revival musicians
Category:Songster musicians
Category:Vanguard Records artists
Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction
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![Selocta (or Shelocta) was a Muscogee chief who appealed to Andrew Jackson to reduce the demands for Creek lands at the signing of the Treaty of Fort Jackson.[21]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110907042352im_/http://cdn9.wn.com/pd/0f/b6/b84f66b80480ec2a198e04ced7b8_thumb.jpg "Selocta (or Shelocta) was a Muscogee chief who appealed to Andrew Jackson to reduce the demands for Creek lands at the signing of the Treaty of Fort Jackson.[21]")
