Mississippi John Hurt

American country blues singer and guitarist (1892-1966)

"Mississippi" John Smith Hurt (July 2, 1892,[1] Teoc, Mississippi - November 2, 1966, Grenada, Mississippi) was an American blues singer and guitarist.

Mississippi John Hurt
Mississippi John Hurt recording for the Library of Congress 1964
Mississippi John Hurt recording for the Library of Congress 1964
Background information
Birth nameJohn Smith Hurt
Born(1892-07-02)July 2, 1892
Teoc, Mississippi, US
DiedNovember 2, 1966(1966-11-02) (aged 74)
Grenada, Mississippi, US
GenresPiedmont blues
Occupation(s)musician
Instrumentsguitar, vocals
Years active1920s - 1960s
LabelsOkeh Vanguard
Websitehttp://www.msjohnhurtmuseum.com/

Hurt was raised in Avalon. He tought himself playing guitar at the age of nine. While he was working as a sharecropper, he played at local dances and parties. He did his first recording in 1928 for Okeh Records but was not successful. So he worked on as a sharecropper and played on at the local parties.

Two of Hurt's songs were included in the album The Anthology of American Folk Music and an Australian found a copy of Avalon Blues. So the interest in finding John Hurt himself increased. In 1963 Tom Hoskins found him in Avalon and found out that his musical skill was still intact. He brought him to Washington, D. C. He started playing at greater festivals like the 1964 Newport Folk Festival. In his later years he often played in colleges, concert halls, coffee houses and also on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He also recorded three albums for Vanguard Records and recorded most of his songs for the Library of Congress.

Hurt influenced different music genres like blues, country, bluegrass, folk and contemporary rock and roll.


Hurt died on November 2, 1966 from a heart attack in Grenada, Mississippi.

Discography

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  1. "Frankie" (3:21)- February 24, 1928, Memphis, TN - 400221-B, OK 8560
  2. "Nobody's Dirty Business" (2:52)- February 24, 1928, Memphis - 400223-B, OK 8560
  3. "Ain't No Tellin'" (2:54)- December 21, 1928, New York City, NY - 401471-A, OK 8560
  4. "Louis Collins" (2:57)- December 21, 1928, NYC - 401472-A, OK 8724
  5. "Avalon Blues" (3:01)- December 21, 1928, NYC - 401473-B, OK 8759
  6. "Big Leg Blues" (2:50)- December 21, 1928, NYC - 401474-B, unissued
  7. "Stack O' Lee" (2:55)- December 28, 1928, NYC - 401481-B, OK 8654
  8. "Candy Man Blues" (2:44)- December 28, 1928, NYC - 401483-B, OK 8654
  9. "Got The Blues (Can't Be Satisfied)" (2:49)- Dec 28, 1928, NYC- 401484-B, OK 8734
  10. "Blessed Be The Name" (2:46)- December 28, 1928, NYC - 401485-B, OK 8666
  11. "Praying On The Old Camp Ground" (2:35)- Dec 28 1928, NYC- 401486-B, OK 8666
  12. "Blue Harvest Blues" (2:51)- December 28, 1928 NYC - 401487-A, OK 8692
  13. "Spike Driver Blues"[2] (3:13)- December 28, 1928 NYC - 401488, OK 8692

Last Sessions - 1966 (Vanguard)

  1. "Poor Boy, Long Ways From Home"
  2. "Boys, You're Welcome"
  3. "Joe Turner Blues"
  4. "First Shot Missed Him"
  5. "Farther Along"
  6. "Funky Butt"
  7. "Spider, Spider"
  8. "Waiting For You"
  9. "Shortnin' Bread"
  10. "Trouble, I've Had It All My Days"
  11. "Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me"
  12. "Good Morning, Carrie"
  13. "Nobody Cares For Me"
  14. "All Night Long"
  15. "Hey, Honey, Right Away"
  16. "You've Got To Die"
  17. "Goodnight Irene"

Mississippi John Hurt 1928 Sessions (Yazoo 1065, Yazoo Records)

Side 1 Side 2
  • "Got the Blues Can’t Be Satisfied"
  • "Louis Collins"
  • "Blue Harvest Blues"
  • "Avalon Blues"
  • "Blessed Be the Name"
  • "Nobody’s Dirty Business"
  • Frankie
  • Ain’t no tellin’
  • Big leg blues
  • Stack O’Lee blues
  • Praying on the old camp ground
  • Spike Driver Blues[2]
  • Candy Man Blues

Worried Blues (Piedmont PLP 13161, Piedmont Records)

Side 1 Side 2
  • Lazy Blues
  • Farther along
  • Sliding delta
  • Nobody cares for me
  • Cow hooking blues

Mississippi John Hurt Today (VSD-79220, Vanguard Records)

Side 1 Side 2
  • Payday
  • I’m satisfied
  • Candy man
  • Make me a pallet on the floor
  • Talkin’ Casey Jones
  • Corrina, Corrina
  • Coffee blues
  • Louis Collins
  • Hot time in the old town tonight
  • If you don’t want me. Baby
  • Spike driver blues[2]
  • Beulah land

Mississippi John Hurt Last Sessions (VSD-79327, Vanguard Records)

Side 1 Side 2
  • 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
  • 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 Side 2
  • 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
  • Salty dog blues
  • Coffee blues
  • Avalon, my home town
  • Make me a pallet on the floor
  • Since I’ve laid this burden down
Side 3 Side 4
  • Sliding delta
  • Monday morning blues
  • Richland women blues
  • Candy man
  • Stagolee
  • My creole belle
  • CC rider
  • Spanish Fandango
  • Talking casey
  • Chicken
  • You are my sunshine

The Candy Man (QS 5042, Quicksilver Records)

Side 1 Side 2
  • Richland women blues
  • Trouble, I’ve had it all my days
  • Chicken
  • Coffee blues
  • Monday morning blues
  • Frankie and Albert
  • Talking Casey
  • Here I am, Oh Lord, send me
  • Hard time in the old town tonight
  • Spike driver blues[2]

Volume One of a Legacy (CLPS 1068, Piedmont Records)

Side 1 Side 2
  • 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
  • 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 Side 2
  • Avalon blues
  • Richland woman blues
  • Spike driver blues[2]
  • Salty dog
  • Cow hooking blues
  • Spanish Fandang
  • Casey Jones
  • Louis Collins
  • Candy Man Blues
  • My Creole belle
  • Liza Jane – God’s unchanging hand
  • Joe Turner blues
  1. There is confusion about his date of birth, but the grave Archived 2015-03-25 at the Wayback Machine mentions this date.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Spike Driver's Blues is about the Afro-American folk hero John Henry (folklore).

Other websites

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