Remembering Skip James (June 9, 1902 – October 3, 1969)
The haunting quality of Nehemiah “Skip” James’s music earned him a reputation as one of the great early Mississippi bluesmen. James grew up at the Woodbine Plantation and as a youth learned to play both guitar and piano. At his 1931 session for Paramount he recorded eighteen songs, including the dark-themed “Devil GotMy Woman” and “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues.” He later became a minister, but returned to performing blues during the1960s “blues revival.”
The music of Skip James and fellow Bentonia guitarists such as Henry Stuckey (1897-1966) and Jack Owens (1904-1997) is often characterized as a genre unto itself. The distinctive approach is notable for its ethereal sounds, open minor guitar tunings, gloomy themes, falsetto vocals, and songs that bemoan the work of the devil. Stuckey learned one of the tunings from Caribbean soldiers while serving in France during World War I, and said that he taught it to James, who went on to become the most famous of Bentonia’s musicians.
content © Mississippi Blues Commission
photograph by David Gahr
Now that’s a handsome man!
Don's Tunes
Skip James - Illinois Blues
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