"Mississippi" John Smith Hurt (
July 2,
1892,
[There is confusion about his date of birth, but the grave mentions this date.] Teoc,
Carroll County,
Mississippi -
November 2,
1966,
Grenada,
Mississippi) was an influential
blues singer and
guitarist.
Raised in
Avalon, Mississippi, 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 often partnered with the
fiddle 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 in reward for winning first place in a
1928 fiddle contest, Narmour recommended John Hurt to
OKeh Records producer Tommy Rockwell. After auditioning "Monday Morning Blues" at his home, he took part in two recording sessions, in
Memphis and
New York City (See Discography below). The "Mississippi" tag was added by OKeh as a sales gimmick. After the commercial failure of the resulting disc 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 musicologist named
Tom Hoskins, inspired by the recordings, was able to locate
[Tom Hoskins was able to find Mississippi John Hurt after listening to the lyrics of Avalon and realizing it was written about a place called Avalon. Unable to find Avalon on a recent map, Hoskins searched older and older maps and eventually found it on an atlas from 1878 between Greenwood and Grenada.] 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, his new career could hardly have been better timed. A stellar performance at the 1963
Newport Folk Festival saw his star rise amongst the new "folk revival" audience, and before his death in
1966 he played extensively in
colleges,
concert halls,
coffee houses and even the
Tonight Show with
Johnny Carson, as well as recording three further albums for
Vanguard Records. John Hurt's influence spans several music genres including blues,
country,
bluegrass, folk and contemporary
rock and roll. 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.
Discography
''
Avalon Blues: The Complete 1928 OKEH Recordings'' (Columbia Roots N' Blues reissue)
# "
Frankie" (3:21)- February 24, 1928, Memphis, TN - 400221-B, OK 8560
# "Nobody's Dirty Business" (2:52)- February 24, 1928, Memphis - 400223-B, OK 8560
# "Ain't No Tellin'" (2:54)- December 21, 1928, New York City, NY - 401471-A, OK 8560
# "Louis Collins" (2:57)- December 21, 1928, NYC - 401472-A, OK 8724
# "Avalon Blues" (3:01)- December 21, 1928, NYC - 401473-B, OK 8759
# "Big Leg Blues" (2:50)- December 21, 1928, NYC - 401474-B, unissued
# "
Stack O' Lee" (2:55)- December 28, 1928, NYC - 401481-B, OK 8654
# "Candy Man Blues" (2:44)- December 28, 1928, NYC - 401483-B, OK 8654
# "Got The Blues (Can't Be Satisfied)" (2:49)- Dec 28, 1928, NYC- 401484-B, OK 8734
# "Blessed Be The Name" (2:46)- December 28, 1928, NYC - 401485-B, OK 8666
# "Praying On The Old Camp Ground" (2:35)- Dec 28 1928, NYC- 401486-B, OK 8666
# "Blue Harvest Blues" (2:51)- December 28, 1928 NYC - 401487-A, OK 8692
# "Spike Driver Blues"
[''Spike Driver's Blues'' is about the Afro-American folk hero John Henry (folklore).] (3:13)- December 28, 1928 NYC - 401488, OK 8692
''
Last Sessions - 1966'' (Vanguard)
# "
Poor Boy, Long Ways From Home"
# "Boys, You're Welcome"
# "Joe Turner Blues"
# "First Shot Missed Him"
# "Farther Along"
# "Funky Butt"
# "Spider, Spider"
# "Waiting For You"
# "Shortnin' Bread"
# "Trouble, I've Had It All My Days"
# "Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me"
# "Good Morning, Carrie"
# "Nobody Cares For Me"
# "All Night Long"
# "Hey, Honey, Right Away"
# "You've Got To Die"
# "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
Praying on the old camp ground
Spike Driver 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
''
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
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 blues
Casey Jones
Frankie and Albert
''
Folk Songs and Blues'' (PLP 13757, Piedmont Records)
Side 1
Avalon blues
Richland woman blues
Spike driver blues
Side 2
Casey Jones
Louis Collins
Candy Man Blues
My Creole belle
Liza Jane – God’s unchanging hand
Joe Turner blues