Photo from Yazoo Records Hero of Blues Cards
Born July 3, 1893, Teoc (Carroll County) MS
Died November 2, 1966, Grenada, MS
John's father was Isom Hurt and his mother was Mary Jan McCain. John was one of 3 children. He and his wife, Jessie, had 14 children. (Source: Blues Who's Who- A Biographical Dictionary of the Blues Singers by Sheldon Harris, published by Da Capo Paperbacks)
Mississippi John Hurt's quiet dignity, humor, superb guitar style, and his tender and expressive voice made him the most popular artist of traditional country blues re discovered by the public in the sixties.
John was not a real blues man but was a collector of popular songs who arranged them to entertain his neighbors on Saturday evenings.
Mississippi John never pursued success. In 1928 a mobile unit of the Vocalion company came to Avalon, Mississippi to look for new talents. An audition in Avalon resulted in John being called several months later to go to New York for a recording session under the direction of Lonnie Johnson. The depression led to the reduction in pressing of records and John stayed in Avalon and lived quietly on his farm with his 14 children.
Guided by the words of one of the titles recorded in 1928 by Hurt, "Avalon My Home Town", the folklorist Tom Hoskins decided in 1963 to go to Avalon. He met Hurt, who was shocked to see that someone remembered his 1928 recordings that had brought him only twenty dollars a song.
John Hurt's new career lasted only three years, but at Newport Festival, on college campuses, and in the folk clubs of Washington D.C., he displayed his talents as storyteller, entertainer, and singer. He overwhelmed the public with his outstanding mastery of the guitar.
(Source: Encyclopedia of the Blues by Gerard Herzhaft, 1992 University of Arkansas Press) Discography (Music Blvd. Link 1) (Music Blvd. Link 2)
(Genes GCD9906/07) This was
released in 1993 and is a live 2 CD set. It is quite good and the recording quality is
excellent. It includes a wonderful interview of John by Pete Seeger for Seeger's
Sing Out magazine. The interview is over 20 minutes long. John talks about his first
guitar, his recording and his rediscovery. This is a great interview and is a must for a
true fan of Mississippi John. In discussing his guitar style John states in the
interview "I just make my guitar sound like the way I thought it
should." The music was recorded by Blues enthusiast Gene Rosenthal at the
Ontario Place coffeehouse in Washington. DC in November 1964. Highly
recommended. For
an excellent review from the All Music Guide click on this link.
(Vanguard VCD-19/20) This
is a live performance at Oberlin College in Ohio recorded on April 15, 1965. It contains a
number of excellent "religious" recordings of John that are not found on studio
recordings. They are extremely well done and this CD is a must if you want a collection of
all types of John's songs. John tells some stories during the performance and I highly
recommend this CD and it is an absolute must if you enjoy live recordings. The
link above to Vanguard includes a listing of all songs on the album.
(Vanguard VMD-79220) This,
as well as all the Vanguard recordings, is very good sound quality and is the first and
best of the studio recordings of John. The link to Vanguard above includes the
original liner notes and a complete listing of songs on the album.
(Vanguard VMD 79248)
This is the second of John's studio recording sessions for Vanguard. This also has very
good sound quality. Included are excellent liner notes by Dick Waterman who became
John's manager as well as the manager of some of the other rediscovered Blues
artists. John, when asked by Waterman what he wanted out of life more than anything
else, said "If I was to have just one wish and I knew that wish was to come
true, . . . I would wish that everyone in this world would love me just like I love
everyone in this world." From everything I have heard and read about John
Hurt, this describes him best. The link to Vanguard above includes the complete
liner notes and a complete song listing.
(Vanguard VMD 79327) This
is the last of John's studio recordings for Vanguard. His voice seems weaker than
on the other two Vanguard studio recordings but it remains an excellent recording.
The link to Vanguard above includes a complete listing of all songs on the album.
(Rounder CD
1081) This is volume one of what is known as the Piedmont Sessions. It is also
available on album on OJL and is titled Folk Songs/Blues. Included are excellent
liner notes contributed to by Tom Hoskins, one of the people who "rediscovered"
John. It was recorded in April 1963. When asked if John knew how good his
music was he replied, "Yeah . . . I know it . . . and I been knowin it, but I never
dreamed things would have turned out like they have. . . never dreamed it." The
link to Rounder above includes cover art, song listings, a sound sample and review.
(Rounder CD
1082) This is part two of the Piedmont Sessions. It, too, is available on album
on OJL and is titled the same. The link to Rounder above includes cover art,
song listings, a sound sample and a brief review.
(Quicksilver Records C-QS-5042) I
have found this on cassette only to date. The sound quality is not as good as the Vanguard
releases.
(Magnum Music Group MACD
021) This is essentially the same recording as Best of Mississippi John Hurt on
Vanguard. Both are performed at Oberlin College in Ohio in 1965. The order of
the recordings varies from Best Of Mississippi John Hurt on Vanguard. I would
recommend the Vanguard recording of the two, although both are excellent live recordings.
(Home Cooking Collectables
Col-CD-5529) This is a satisfactory recording but not as good as the Vanguard
recordings.
(Yazoo 1065) These are the
original recordings performed by John prior to his "rediscovery" by Tom Hoskins
in 1963. The quality is not very good but they are a must if you want to hear the original
recordings of John. They are also available on Biograph records but I have not located
them. The liner notes are informative and interesting. It contains some
of John's "religious" recordings not otherwise found on studio recordings or in
concert.
(Columbia/Sony records 1996) This is
another release of the Columbia "Roots n Blues" series. It has excellent liner
notes and includes some nice pictures. The sound quality is better than the original Yazoo
release. The recordings are the same as 1928 sessions, although the order
differs. Highly recommended.
(IMP/Blues Collector 309) This is
available now on both the CD now site and Music Blvd site under my "Blues Source
Page". It is imported from France and the liner notes are in French only.
The sound quality is very good. All the songs are available on other John
Hurt albums.
(Boomerang Records BEA-51577) This
is another live recording by John and it is great just to hear him speak between songs.
The sound quality is not on par with the Vanguard live recording "Best of" or
with his other live recording, Mississippi John Hurt in Concert, but it is still
worth the purchase just to hear John speak with the audience between songs.
(Rounder CD
1100) This CD has a short letter written by John Hurt about his life and
contains some great pictures of John as well as informative liner notes. It
also contains some recordings not normally found on Hurt recordings such as Do Lord
Remember Me and Stockwell. These recordings are from original masters of Hurt recordings
by Tom Hoskins and until the release of this CD by Rounder were unavailable for legal
reasons. As with any releases by Rounder, the quality of these recordings are very
good. The link to Rounder above includes cover art, sound sample and partial liner
notes. (Vanguard 79519, released 8/11/98) This recently released recording on Vanguard is an excellent
compilation from other Vanguard Hurt recordings containing 24 songs. All can be
found on either Today!, Immortal, Best of or Last Sessions. As usual the recording
quality is excellent. The link above to Vanguard includes a complete song listing,
pictures and an excellent short bio by Ed Ward, the rock historian for National Public
Radio. (Import from AIM 1998) This
contains 21 live recordings. I have been unable to locate this album but it
was recently reviewed by Blues Access magazine in the Spring 1998 issue. The
review is linked above.The video "Legends of Country Blues Guitar" (Vestapol 13003) contains two songs by Mississippi John Hurt-- Spike Driver Blues and You're Going To Walk That Lonesome Valley. They were performed on Pete Seeger's television show, Rainbow Quest WNDT- TV in 1966. This is available through Yazoo mail-order by calling (212) 253-6624 or Yazoo WebPage and is also available through Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop web page or by calling (973) 729-5544.
John also appeared on Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show, NBC-TV in 1963. I am not aware of any available copy of this appearance.
Mississippi John Hurt Links Mississippi John Hurt on Vanguard Records- highly recommended.Louis Collins, My Creole Belle, Nobodys Business, Stack O Lee Blues, tunings
Candy Man, Stack O Lee Blues, Louis Collins, Nobodys Business
This page's
Web Counter says you are visitor number
Copyright 1996, 1997 and 1998 by Dennis H. Tesreau, (DennisT@mindspring.com)
Last Updated September 6, 1998
