Blind Lemon Jefferson
Encyclopedia
"Blind" Lemon Jefferson (September 24, 1893 – December 19, 1929) was an American
blues
singer and guitarist from Texas. He was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920s, and has been titled "Father of the Texas Blues
".
Jefferson's singing and self-accompaniment were distinctive as a result of his high-pitched voice and originality on the guitar. He was not influential on some younger blues singers of his generation, as they did not seek to imitate him as they did other commercially successful artists. However, later blues and rock and roll musicians attempted to imitate both his songs and his musical style. His recordings would later influence such legends as B.B. King, T-Bone Walker
, Lightnin' Hopkins
, Canned Heat
, Son House
and Robert Johnson.
near Coutchman, Texas
in Freestone County
, near present-day Wortham, Texas
. Jefferson was one of eight children born to sharecroppers Alex and Clarissa Jefferson. Disputes regarding his exact birth date derive from contradictory census records and draft registration records. By 1900, the family was farming southeast of Streetman, Texas
, and Lemon Jefferson's birth date is indicated as September 1893 in the 1900 census. The 1910 census, taken in May before his birthday, further confirms his birth year as 1893, and indicated the family was farming northwest of Wortham, near Lemon Jefferson's birthplace.
In his 1917 draft registration
, Jefferson gave his birth date as October 26, 1894, further stating that he then lived in Dallas, Texas
, and that he had been blind from birth. In the 1920 Census, he is recorded as having returned to the Freestone County area, and he was living with his half-brother Kit Banks on a farm between Wortham and Streetman.
Jefferson began playing the guitar in his early teens, and soon after he began performing at picnics and parties. He also became a street musician
, playing in East Texas
towns in front of barber
shops and on corners. According to his cousin, Alec Jefferson, quoted in the notes for Blind Lemon Jefferson, Classic Sides:
By the early 1910s, Jefferson began traveling frequently to Dallas, where he met and played with fellow blues musician Leadbelly
. In Dallas, Jefferson was one of the earliest and most prominent figures in the blues movement developing in the Deep Ellum
area of Dallas. Jefferson likely moved to Deep Ellum in a more permanent fashion by 1917, where he met Aaron Thibeaux Walker, also known as T-Bone Walker
. Jefferson taught Walker the basics of blues guitar, in exchange for Walker's occasional services as a guide. Also, by the early 1920s, Jefferson was earning enough money for his musical performances to support a wife, and possibly a child. However, firm evidence for both his marriage and any offspring is unavailable.
and guitarist Sylvester Weaver. Jefferson's music is uninhibited and represented the classic sounds of everyday life from a honky-tonk to a country picnic to street corner blues to work in the burgeoning oil fields, a reflection too of his interest in mechanical things.
Jefferson did what very few had ever done; became a successful solo guitarist and male vocalist in the commercial recording world.
Unlike many artists who were "discovered" and recorded in their normal venues, in December 1925 or January 1926, he was taken to Chicago, Illinois, to record his first tracks. Uncharacteristically, Jefferson's first two recordings from this session were gospel
songs ("I Want to be like Jesus in my Heart" and "All I Want is that Pure Religion"), released under the name Deacon L. J. Bates. This led to a second recording session in March 1926. His first releases under his own name, "Booster Blues" and "Dry Southern Blues," were hits; this led to the release of the other two songs from that session, "Got the Blues" and "Long Lonesome Blues," which became a runaway success, with sales in six figures. He recorded about 100 tracks between 1926 and 1929; 43 records
were issued, all but one for Paramount Records
. Unfortunately, Paramount Records' studio techniques and quality were bad, and the resulting recordings sound no better than if they had been recorded in a hotel room. In fact, in May 1926, Paramount had Jefferson re-record his hits "Got the Blues" and "Long Lonesome Blues" in the superior facilities at Marsh Laboratories
, and subsequent releases used that version. Both versions appear on compilation albums and may be compared.
It was largely due to the popularity of artists such as Blind Lemon Jefferson and contemporaries such as Blind Blake
and Ma Rainey
that Paramount became the leading recording company for the blues in the 1920s. Jefferson's earnings reputedly enabled him to buy a car and employ chauffeurs (although there is debate over the reliability of this as well); he was given a Ford car "worth over $700" by Mayo Williams, Paramount's connection with the black community. This was a frequently seen compensation for recording rights in that market. Jefferson is known to have done an unusual amount of traveling for the time in the American South, which is reflected in the difficulty of pigeonholing his music into one regional category. It was Jefferson's “old-fashioned sound and confident musicianship that made him easy to market. His skillful guitar playing and impressive vocal ranges opened the door for a new generation of male solo blues performers such as Furry Lewis, Charlie Patton, and Barbecue Bob. He sticks to no musical conventions, varying his riff
s and rhythm and singing complex and expressive lyrics in a manner exceptional at the time for a "simple country blues singer." According to North Carolina musician Walter Davis, Jefferson played on the streets in Johnson City, Tennessee
, during the early 1920s at which time Davis and fellow entertainer Clarence Greene learned the art of blues guitar.
Jefferson was reputedly unhappy with his royalties (although Williams said that Jefferson had a bank account containing as much as $1500). In 1927, when Williams moved to OKeh Records
, he took Jefferson with him, and OKeh quickly recorded and released Jefferson's "Matchbox Blues" backed with "Black Snake Moan," which was to be his only OKeh recording, probably because of contractual obligations with Paramount. Jefferson's two songs released on Okeh have considerably better sound quality than on his Paramount records at the time. When he had returned to Paramount a few months later, "Matchbox Blues" had already become such a hit that Paramount re-recorded and released two new versions, under producer Arthur Laibly.
In 1927, Jefferson recorded another of his now classic songs, the haunting "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
" (once again using the pseudonym Deacon L. J. Bates) along with two other uncharacteristically spiritual songs, "He Arose from the Dead" and "Where Shall I Be." Of the three, "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" became such a big hit that it was re-recorded and re-released in 1928.
states that as a boy, he was employed by Jefferson to lead him around the streets of Dallas; he would have been of the appropriate age at the time. A Paramount employee told biographer Orrin Keepnews
that Jefferson was a womanizing sloppy drunk; on the other hand, Jefferson's neighbor in Chicago, Romeo Nelson
, reports him as being "warm and cordial," and singer Rube Lacy states that Jefferson always refused to play on a Sunday, "even if you give me two hundred." He is claimed to have earned money wrestling before his musical success. Victoria Spivey
elliptically credits Jefferson as someone who "could sure feel his way around."
. Jefferson was buried at Wortham Negro Cemetery (later Wortham Black Cemetery). Far from his grave being kept clean, it was unmarked until 1967, when a Texas Historical Marker was erected in the general area of his plot, the precise location being unknown. By 1996, the cemetery and marker were in poor condition, but a new granite headstone was erected in 1997. In 2007, the cemetery's name was changed to Blind Lemon Memorial Cemetery and his gravesite is kept clean by a cemetery committee in Wortham, Texas.
sound and an important influence on other blues singers and guitarists, including Lead Belly and Lightnin' Hopkins
. The white North Carolina performer Arthel "Doc" Watson
credited listening to Jefferson's recordings as his first exposure to the blues, which would powerfully influence his own style.
He was the author of many tunes covered by later musicians, including the classic "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
". Another of his tunes, "Matchbox Blues
", was recorded more than 30 years later by The Beatles
, albeit in a rockabilly
version credited to Carl Perkins
, who himself did not credit Jefferson on his 1955 recording. Given this influence, it is unfortunate that many of the details of his life remain shrouded in mystery, perhaps forever; even the only known picture of him, shown above, is heavily retouched, with a fake tie painted in by hand. However, at the time, "race music" and its white cousin, "hillbilly music", were not considered to be worthy of consideration as art, rather as a low-cost product to be sold and soon forgotten.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
listed one song by Blind Lemon Jefferson of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll.
Jefferson was among the inaugural class of blues musicians inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame
.
In the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club music video for "Whatever happened to my Rock&Roll", a picture of Blind Lemon can be seen the background.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singer and guitarist from Texas. He was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920s, and has been titled "Father of the Texas Blues
Texas blues
Texas blues is a subgenre of blues. It has had various style variations but typically has been played with more swing than other blues styles....
".
Jefferson's singing and self-accompaniment were distinctive as a result of his high-pitched voice and originality on the guitar. He was not influential on some younger blues singers of his generation, as they did not seek to imitate him as they did other commercially successful artists. However, later blues and rock and roll musicians attempted to imitate both his songs and his musical style. His recordings would later influence such legends as B.B. King, T-Bone Walker
T-Bone Walker
Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker was a critically acclaimed American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who was one of the most influential pioneers and innovators of the jump blues and electric blues sound. He is the first musician recorded playing blues with the...
, Lightnin' Hopkins
Lightnin' Hopkins
Sam John Hopkins better known as Lightnin’ Hopkins, was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist, from Houston, Texas...
, Canned Heat
Canned Heat
Canned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists...
, Son House
Son House
Eddie James "Son" House, Jr. was an American blues singer and guitarist. House pioneered an innovative style featuring strong, repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of slide guitar, and his singing often incorporated elements of southern gospel and spiritual music...
and Robert Johnson.
Early life
Lemon Jefferson was born blindBlindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
near Coutchman, Texas
Coutchman, Texas
Coutchman was a town in northern Freestone County, Texas, United States, some 5 miles west of Streetman on farm road 489....
in Freestone County
Freestone County, Texas
Freestone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 17,867. Its county seat is Fairfield.-Geography:...
, near present-day Wortham, Texas
Wortham, Texas
Wortham is a town in Freestone County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,082 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Wortham is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land...
. Jefferson was one of eight children born to sharecroppers Alex and Clarissa Jefferson. Disputes regarding his exact birth date derive from contradictory census records and draft registration records. By 1900, the family was farming southeast of Streetman, Texas
Streetman, Texas
Streetman is a town in Freestone and Navarro Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. In 1990 the population was 260. The population dropped to 203 in 2000.-Geography:...
, and Lemon Jefferson's birth date is indicated as September 1893 in the 1900 census. The 1910 census, taken in May before his birthday, further confirms his birth year as 1893, and indicated the family was farming northwest of Wortham, near Lemon Jefferson's birthplace.
In his 1917 draft registration
Conscription in the United States
Conscription in the United States has been employed several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War...
, Jefferson gave his birth date as October 26, 1894, further stating that he then lived in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, and that he had been blind from birth. In the 1920 Census, he is recorded as having returned to the Freestone County area, and he was living with his half-brother Kit Banks on a farm between Wortham and Streetman.
Jefferson began playing the guitar in his early teens, and soon after he began performing at picnics and parties. He also became a street musician
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
, playing in East Texas
East Texas
East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U.S. state of Texas.According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone...
towns in front of barber
Barber
A barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....
shops and on corners. According to his cousin, Alec Jefferson, quoted in the notes for Blind Lemon Jefferson, Classic Sides:
By the early 1910s, Jefferson began traveling frequently to Dallas, where he met and played with fellow blues musician Leadbelly
Leadbelly
Huddie William Ledbetter was an iconic American folk and blues musician, notable for his strong vocals, his virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the songbook of folk standards he introduced....
. In Dallas, Jefferson was one of the earliest and most prominent figures in the blues movement developing in the Deep Ellum
Deep Ellum
Deep Ellum is an arts and entertainment district near downtown in east Dallas, Texas . It lies directly east of the elevated I-45/US 75 freeway and extends to Exposition Avenue, connected to downtown by, from north to south, Pacific, Elm, Main, Commerce, and Canton streets...
area of Dallas. Jefferson likely moved to Deep Ellum in a more permanent fashion by 1917, where he met Aaron Thibeaux Walker, also known as T-Bone Walker
T-Bone Walker
Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker was a critically acclaimed American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who was one of the most influential pioneers and innovators of the jump blues and electric blues sound. He is the first musician recorded playing blues with the...
. Jefferson taught Walker the basics of blues guitar, in exchange for Walker's occasional services as a guide. Also, by the early 1920s, Jefferson was earning enough money for his musical performances to support a wife, and possibly a child. However, firm evidence for both his marriage and any offspring is unavailable.
The beginning of the recording career
Until Jefferson, very few artists had recorded solo voice and blues guitar, the first of which was vocalist Sara MartinSara Martin
Sara Martin was an American blues singer, in her time one of the most popular of the classic blues singers. She was billed as "The Famous Moanin' Mama" and "The Colored Sophie Tucker"...
and guitarist Sylvester Weaver. Jefferson's music is uninhibited and represented the classic sounds of everyday life from a honky-tonk to a country picnic to street corner blues to work in the burgeoning oil fields, a reflection too of his interest in mechanical things.
Jefferson did what very few had ever done; became a successful solo guitarist and male vocalist in the commercial recording world.
Unlike many artists who were "discovered" and recorded in their normal venues, in December 1925 or January 1926, he was taken to Chicago, Illinois, to record his first tracks. Uncharacteristically, Jefferson's first two recordings from this session were gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
songs ("I Want to be like Jesus in my Heart" and "All I Want is that Pure Religion"), released under the name Deacon L. J. Bates. This led to a second recording session in March 1926. His first releases under his own name, "Booster Blues" and "Dry Southern Blues," were hits; this led to the release of the other two songs from that session, "Got the Blues" and "Long Lonesome Blues," which became a runaway success, with sales in six figures. He recorded about 100 tracks between 1926 and 1929; 43 records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
were issued, all but one for Paramount Records
Paramount Records
Paramount Records was an American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson.-Early years:...
. Unfortunately, Paramount Records' studio techniques and quality were bad, and the resulting recordings sound no better than if they had been recorded in a hotel room. In fact, in May 1926, Paramount had Jefferson re-record his hits "Got the Blues" and "Long Lonesome Blues" in the superior facilities at Marsh Laboratories
Autograph Records
Autograph Records was a United States record label of the 1920s.Autograph was a small label, owned by Marsh Laboratories Incorporated of Chicago, Illinois. Marsh Laboratories in turn was owned by electrical engineer Orlando R. Marsh...
, and subsequent releases used that version. Both versions appear on compilation albums and may be compared.
Success with Paramount Records
Blind Blake
"Blind" Blake was an American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist.-Biography:...
and Ma Rainey
Ma Rainey
Ma Rainey was one of the earliest known American professional blues singers and one of the first generation of such singers to record. She was billed as The Mother of the Blues....
that Paramount became the leading recording company for the blues in the 1920s. Jefferson's earnings reputedly enabled him to buy a car and employ chauffeurs (although there is debate over the reliability of this as well); he was given a Ford car "worth over $700" by Mayo Williams, Paramount's connection with the black community. This was a frequently seen compensation for recording rights in that market. Jefferson is known to have done an unusual amount of traveling for the time in the American South, which is reflected in the difficulty of pigeonholing his music into one regional category. It was Jefferson's “old-fashioned sound and confident musicianship that made him easy to market. His skillful guitar playing and impressive vocal ranges opened the door for a new generation of male solo blues performers such as Furry Lewis, Charlie Patton, and Barbecue Bob. He sticks to no musical conventions, varying his riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
s and rhythm and singing complex and expressive lyrics in a manner exceptional at the time for a "simple country blues singer." According to North Carolina musician Walter Davis, Jefferson played on the streets in Johnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City is a city in Carter, Sullivan, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with most of the city being in Washington County...
, during the early 1920s at which time Davis and fellow entertainer Clarence Greene learned the art of blues guitar.
Jefferson was reputedly unhappy with his royalties (although Williams said that Jefferson had a bank account containing as much as $1500). In 1927, when Williams moved to OKeh Records
Okeh Records
Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918. From 1926 on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.-History:...
, he took Jefferson with him, and OKeh quickly recorded and released Jefferson's "Matchbox Blues" backed with "Black Snake Moan," which was to be his only OKeh recording, probably because of contractual obligations with Paramount. Jefferson's two songs released on Okeh have considerably better sound quality than on his Paramount records at the time. When he had returned to Paramount a few months later, "Matchbox Blues" had already become such a hit that Paramount re-recorded and released two new versions, under producer Arthur Laibly.
In 1927, Jefferson recorded another of his now classic songs, the haunting "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
"See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" is a blues song recorded by Blind Lemon Jefferson in 1927 that became "one of his most famous compositions". Son House used the melody on his 1930 recording of "Mississippi County Farm Blues"....
" (once again using the pseudonym Deacon L. J. Bates) along with two other uncharacteristically spiritual songs, "He Arose from the Dead" and "Where Shall I Be." Of the three, "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" became such a big hit that it was re-recorded and re-released in 1928.
Stories
As his fame grew, so did the tales regarding his life, often personally involving the teller. T-Bone WalkerT-Bone Walker
Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker was a critically acclaimed American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who was one of the most influential pioneers and innovators of the jump blues and electric blues sound. He is the first musician recorded playing blues with the...
states that as a boy, he was employed by Jefferson to lead him around the streets of Dallas; he would have been of the appropriate age at the time. A Paramount employee told biographer Orrin Keepnews
Orrin Keepnews
Orrin Keepnews is an American writer and jazz record producer. In June 2010, he received a lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts.- Career :...
that Jefferson was a womanizing sloppy drunk; on the other hand, Jefferson's neighbor in Chicago, Romeo Nelson
Romeo Nelson
Iromeio "Romeo" Nelson was an American boogie woogie pianist. His recordings from 1929 are regarded as some of the finest, and certainly the fastest, boogie woogie showpieces on record....
, reports him as being "warm and cordial," and singer Rube Lacy states that Jefferson always refused to play on a Sunday, "even if you give me two hundred." He is claimed to have earned money wrestling before his musical success. Victoria Spivey
Victoria Spivey
Victoria Spivey was an American blues singer and songwriter. She is best known for her recordings of "Dope Head Blues" and "Organ Grinder Blues", and Spivey variously worked with her sister, Addie "Sweet Pease" Spivey, and with Bob Dylan, Lonnie Johnson, Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Clarence...
elliptically credits Jefferson as someone who "could sure feel his way around."
Death and grave
Jefferson died in Chicago at 10 am on December 19, 1929, of what his death certificate called "probably acute myocarditis". For many years, apocryphal rumors circulated that a jealous lover had poisoned his coffee, but a more likely scenario is that he died of a heart attack after becoming disoriented during a snowstorm (i.e., he froze to death). Some have said that Jefferson died from a heart attack after being attacked by a dog in the middle of the night. More recently, the book, Tolbert's Texas, claimed that he was killed while being robbed of a large royalty payment by a guide escorting him to Union Station to catch a train home to Texas. Paramount Records paid for the return of his body to Texas by train, accompanied by pianist William EzellWilliam Ezell
William Ezell was an American blues, jazz, ragtime and boogie-woogie pianist and occasional singer. He was also billed as Will Ezell, and was a regular participant in recordings made by Paramount Records in the late 1920s and early 1930s...
. Jefferson was buried at Wortham Negro Cemetery (later Wortham Black Cemetery). Far from his grave being kept clean, it was unmarked until 1967, when a Texas Historical Marker was erected in the general area of his plot, the precise location being unknown. By 1996, the cemetery and marker were in poor condition, but a new granite headstone was erected in 1997. In 2007, the cemetery's name was changed to Blind Lemon Memorial Cemetery and his gravesite is kept clean by a cemetery committee in Wortham, Texas.
Discography and awards
Jefferson had an intricate and fast style of guitar playing and a particularly high-pitched voice. He was a founder of the Texas bluesTexas blues
Texas blues is a subgenre of blues. It has had various style variations but typically has been played with more swing than other blues styles....
sound and an important influence on other blues singers and guitarists, including Lead Belly and Lightnin' Hopkins
Lightnin' Hopkins
Sam John Hopkins better known as Lightnin’ Hopkins, was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist, from Houston, Texas...
. The white North Carolina performer Arthel "Doc" Watson
Doc Watson
Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson is an American guitar player, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music. He has won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Watson's flatpicking skills and knowledge of traditional American music are highly regarded...
credited listening to Jefferson's recordings as his first exposure to the blues, which would powerfully influence his own style.
He was the author of many tunes covered by later musicians, including the classic "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
"See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" is a blues song recorded by Blind Lemon Jefferson in 1927 that became "one of his most famous compositions". Son House used the melody on his 1930 recording of "Mississippi County Farm Blues"....
". Another of his tunes, "Matchbox Blues
Matchbox (song)
"Matchbox" is a rock and roll and rockabilly song written by Carl Perkins and first recorded by him at Sun Records in December 1956 and released on February 11, 1957 as a 45 single on Sun Records. It has become one of Perkins' best-known recordings...
", was recorded more than 30 years later by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, albeit in a rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
version credited to Carl Perkins
Carl Perkins
Carl Lee Perkins was an American rockabilly musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning during 1954...
, who himself did not credit Jefferson on his 1955 recording. Given this influence, it is unfortunate that many of the details of his life remain shrouded in mystery, perhaps forever; even the only known picture of him, shown above, is heavily retouched, with a fake tie painted in by hand. However, at the time, "race music" and its white cousin, "hillbilly music", were not considered to be worthy of consideration as art, rather as a low-cost product to be sold and soon forgotten.
- Blind Lemon Jefferson is the featured musician on a State of Texas license plate.
- B. B. KingB. B. KingRiley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
has always maintained that Jefferson was a huge influence on his singing and guitar playing.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
listed one song by Blind Lemon Jefferson of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll.
| Year Recorded | Title |
|---|---|
| 1927 | Matchbox Blues Matchbox (song) "Matchbox" is a rock and roll and rockabilly song written by Carl Perkins and first recorded by him at Sun Records in December 1956 and released on February 11, 1957 as a 45 single on Sun Records. It has become one of Perkins' best-known recordings... |
Jefferson was among the inaugural class of blues musicians inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame
Blues Hall of Fame
The Blues Hall of Fame is a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1980 by the Blues Foundation, it honors those who have performed, recorded, or documented blues.-1980:*Big Bill Broonzy*Willie Dixon*John Lee Hooker...
.
Cover versions
- Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
– "See That My Grave Is Kept CleanSee That My Grave Is Kept Clean"See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" is a blues song recorded by Blind Lemon Jefferson in 1927 that became "one of his most famous compositions". Son House used the melody on his 1930 recording of "Mississippi County Farm Blues"....
" on Bob DylanBob Dylan (album)Bob Dylan is the debut album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released in March 1962 on Columbia Records. It features two original compositions, the rest being old folk standards, and was produced by Columbia's legendary talent scout John H... - Grateful DeadGrateful DeadThe Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
– "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" as "One Kind Favor" on Birth of the DeadBirth of the DeadBirth of the Dead is a two-CD compilation album chronicling the early years of the San Francisco psychedelic band the Grateful Dead. The set was originally part of the twelve-CD box set The Golden Road , released on October 16, 2001, but was released as a stand-alone album on March 25, 2003... - Merl SaundersMerl SaundersMerl Saunders, was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ.-Biography:...
/Jerry GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
/John KahnJohn KahnJohn Kahn was an American rock bass player. For a period of about twenty five years Kahn was Jerry Garcia's principal collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead.-Biography:...
/Bil Vitt – "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" as "One Kind Favor" on Keystone Encores, Volume 1 - John HammondJohn P. HammondJohn Paul Hammond is an American blues singer and guitarist. The son of record producer John H. Hammond, he is sometimes referred to as "John Hammond, Jr.".-Background:...
– "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" as "One Kind Favor" on John Hammond Live - B.B. King – "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" on One Kind FavorOne Kind FavorOne Kind Favor is B.B. King's 24th studio album. It was released on August 26, 2008 by Geffen Records.The album won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album at the 51st Grammy Awards.-Track listing:...
- Peter, Paul & Mary – "See That My Grave is Kept Clean," reworked as "One Kind Favor" on In ConcertIn Concert (Peter, Paul and Mary album)In Concert is a live album by the American folk music trio Peter, Paul & Mary, released in 1964 . It was digitally re-mixed and re-mastered and released on CD in 1989.- Track listing :...
- Kelly Joe PhelpsKelly Joe PhelpsKelly Joe Phelps is an American musician and songwriter. His music has been characterized as a mixture of delta blues and jazz.-Career:...
– "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" on Roll Away The StoneRoll Away the Stone (Kelly Joe Phelps album)Roll Away the Stone is an album by American blues singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, released in 1997. It was his first release on the Rykodisc label and reached #10 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums charts.... - Counting CrowsCounting CrowsCounting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...
– "Mean Jumper Blues". Counting Crows lead singer Adam DuritzAdam DuritzAdam Fredric Duritz is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer. He is best known for his role as frontman and vocalist for the rock band Counting Crows, in which he is a founding member and principal composer of their catalogue of songs.Duritz has recorded solo...
accidentally claimed credit for "Mean Jumper Blues" in the liner notes of the Deluxe Edition reissue of the album August And Everything AfterAugust and Everything AfterAugust and Everything After is the first commercially released album of the American rock band Counting Crows, released September 14, 1993....
. The cover was featured as part of a selection of early demo tracks. Immediately after the error was brought to his attention, Duritz apologized in his personal blog.
In popular culture
- A tribute song, "My Buddy Blind Papa Lemon," was recorded for Paramount RecordsParamount RecordsParamount Records was an American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson.-Early years:...
in 1932 by King Solomon HillKing Solomon HillKing Solomon Hill was an American blues musician, who recorded a small handful of songs in 1932. His unique guitar and voice make them among the most haunting blues recorded...
. The record was long considered lost, but one copy was finally located by John Tefteller in 2002. - Geoff MuldaurGeoff MuldaurGeoff Muldaur is an American founding member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band of Cambridge, Massachusetts; a member of Paul Butterfield's Better Days; and an accomplished solo guitarist, singer, and songwriter....
refers to Jefferson with the song "Got To Find Blind Lemon" on the album The Secret HandshakeThe Secret HandshakeThe Secret Handshake is the electronica/soul musical project of self-taught musician Luis Dubuc. Dubuc sings and plays all instruments on the band's studio albums, including guitar, synthesizer, piano, percussion, and sound effects which he creates on his computer.He has a new musical project, a... - Art EvansArt EvansArthur James "Art" Evans is an American actor who has made multiple film and television program appearances over the span of three decades....
portrays Blind Lemon in the 1976 film LeadbellyLeadbellyHuddie William Ledbetter was an iconic American folk and blues musician, notable for his strong vocals, his virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the songbook of folk standards he introduced....
directed by Gordon ParksGordon ParksGordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks was a groundbreaking American photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist and film director... - Nick Cave and the Bad SeedsNick Cave and the Bad SeedsNick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian alternative rock band, formed in Melbourne in 1983. The band is fronted by Nick Cave and has featured international personnel throughout their career.-Formation and early releases :...
recorded the song "Blind Lemon Jefferson" on the album The Firstborn Is DeadThe Firstborn Is DeadThe Firstborn Is Dead is the second studio album released by the post-punk band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. It was first released in 1985. On this record, singer Nick Cave continued his fascination with the American South, with its references to Elvis Presley and bluesmen like Blind Lemon Jefferson...
. - The 2010 video game Fallout: New VegasFallout: New VegasFallout: New Vegas is a first person action role-playing video game in the Fallout series developed by Obsidian Entertainment, and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is based in a post-apocalyptic environment in and around Las Vegas, Nevada...
, in one of its many downloadable add-ons ('Old World Blues'), features an AIAiAI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:- Computers :* Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science* Ad impression, in online advertising* .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code for Anguilla...
juke-box by the name of 'Blind Diode Jefferson'. The AI claims to have once been a 'blues musician' before his music hard-drives were stripped from him. Voicing of the AI can be characterized as a Southern drawl homage to Blind Lemon Jefferson. - In the 2003 movie Masked and AnonymousMasked and AnonymousMasked and Anonymous is a 2003 comedy-drama film directed by Larry Charles, who is better known for his writing on successful TV sitcoms, Seinfeld and Mad About You and for executive producing episodes of The Tick and Dilbert. The film was written by Larry Charles and Bob Dylan, the latter under...
, Bobby Cupid (Luke Wilson) gives his friend Jack Fate (Bob Dylan) Blind Lemon's original guitar, on which he claims Matchbox Blues was first recorded. - Patrick SkyPatrick SkyPatrick Sky is a musician, singer and songwriter of Irish and Native American ancestry...
parodied Jefferson as "Blind Funk Earwax" playing "Child Molesting Blues" on his 1973 album Songs That Made America Famous - Cheech and ChongCheech and ChongCheech & Chong are a comedy duo consisting of Richard "Cheech" Marin and Tommy Chong, who found a wide audience in the 1970s and 1980s for their films and stand-up routines, which were based on the hippie and free love era, and especially drug culture movements, most notably their love for...
parodied Jefferson as "Blind Melon Chitlin'" on their self-titled 1971 album Cheech and Chong (album), their 1985 album Get Out of My RoomGet Out of My RoomGet Out of My Room is an album and short-form video featuring comedians Cheech & Chong, released in 1985. The album and video marked the last release by the long time comedy duo, with Cheech leaving in 1986 in order to focus on his mainstream acting career...
, and in a stage routine that can be seen in their 1983 movie Still Smokin'Still Smokin'Still Smokin is a semi-concert film by Cheech and Chong, released in 1983.-Plot:Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong play versions of themselves being invited to Amsterdam for a film festival devoted to Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton...
. - Chet AtkinsChet AtkinsChester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
calls Jefferson "one of my first finger-picking influences" in the song "Nine Pound Hammer", on the album The Atkins - Travis Traveling ShowThe Atkins - Travis Traveling ShowThe Atkins-Travis Traveling Show is the title of a recording by Chet Atkins and Merle Travis. The two musical legends team up on 11 songs, earning the 1974 Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance... - A practical joke played on Down Beat magazine editor Gene Lees in the late 1950s took on a life of its own and became a long-running hoax when one of his correspondents included a reference to blues legend "Blind Orange Adams" in an article and it was inadvertently published in the magazine. "Blind Orange Adams" is obviously a parody on the name "Blind Lemon Jefferson." References to the non-existent Adams appeared in numerous articles in Down Beat over the next few years.
See also
In the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club music video for "Whatever happened to my Rock&Roll", a picture of Blind Lemon can be seen the background.
Further reading
- Evans, David, "Musical Innovation in the Blues of Blind Lemon Jefferson", Black Music Research Journal, Vol. 20, No. 1, Blind Lemon Jefferson (Spring, 2000), pp. 83–116 Published by: Center for Black Music Research – Columbia College Chicago and University of Illinois Press
- Monge, Luigi; Evansy, David, "New Songs of Blind Lemon Jefferson", Journal of Texas Music History, Volume 3, Issue 2, 2003 (Fall 2003)
- Monge, Luigi, "The Language of Blind Lemon Jefferson: The Covert Theme of Blindness", Black Music Research Journal, Vol. 20, No. 1, Blind Lemon Jefferson (Spring, 2000), pp. 35–81 Published by: Center for Black Music Research – Columbia College Chicago and University of Illinois Press
- Uzzel, Robert L., Blind Lemon Jefferson: his life, his death, and his legacy, Austin, Tex. : Eakin Press, 2002. ISBN 9781571686565