Jessie Mae Hemphill
Encyclopedia
Jessie Mae Hemphill was an American
award-winning electric guitarist, songwriter
, and vocalist specializing in the primal, northern Mississippi
country blues
traditions of her family and regional heritage.
and Senatobia, Mississippi
, in northern Mississippi just east of the Mississippi Delta
. She began playing the guitar at the age of seven and also played drums in various local Mississippi fife and drum bands. Her musical background began with playing snare drum and bass drum in the fife-and-drum band led by her grandfather, Sid Hemphill. Aside from sitting in at Memphis bars a few times in the 1950s, most of her playing was done in family and informal settings such as picnics with fife and drum music until her 1979 recordings.
The first field recordings of her work were made by blues researcher George Mitchell
in 1967 and ethnomusicologist Dr. David Evans in 1973 when she was known as Jessie Mae Brooks, using the surname from a brief early marriage, but the recordings were not released. In 1978, Dr. Evans came to Memphis
to teach at Memphis State University
(now University of Memphis). The school founded the High Water
label in 1979 to promote interest in the indigenous music of the South. Evans made the first high-quality field recordings of Hemphill in that year and soon after produced her first sessions for the High Water label.
Hemphill then launched a recording career in the early 1980s, a period which was her heyday. In 1981 her first full-length album, She-Wolf, was licensed from High Water and released on France's Vogue Records. In the early 1980s, she performed in a Mississippi drum corps put together by Evans composed of herself, Abe Young, and Jim Harper on Tav Falco's Panther Burns'
Behind the Magnolia Curtain album; she also appeared in another drum group with Young and fife-and-drum band veteran Othar Turner
in a televised appearance in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Other recordings of hers were released on the French label Black and Blue, and she performed concerts across the United States and other countries including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and Canada. She received the W. C. Handy Award for best traditional female blues artist in 1987 and 1988.
In 1990, her first American full length album, Feelin' Good, was released, which also won a Handy Award for best acoustic album. Hemphill suffered a stroke that paralyzed her left side in 1993, preventing her from playing guitar, resulting in her retiring at that time from her blues career. However, she did continue to play, accompanying her band on the tambourine.
In 2004, the Jessie Mae Hemphill Foundation released Dare You to Do It Again, a double album of gospel
standards, newly recorded by the ailing vocalist singing and playing tambourine with accompaniment from Steve Gardner, DJ Logic
, and descendants of the late musicians Junior Kimbrough
, R. L. Burnside
, and Otha Turner. The release, her first recordings since the 1993 stroke, also included a DVD. Also in 2004, Inside Sounds released Get Right Blues, containing material recorded from 1979 through the early 1980s; Black & Blue released Mississippi Blues Festival, which included seven live tracks by her from a Paris concert in 1986.
On July 22, 2006, Jessie Mae Hemphill died at The Regional Medical Center in Memphis, after experiencing complications from an ulcer.
. Marshall used one of Hemphill's tracks on her album Jukebox
without credit, to much controversy. In 2003, her protege and collaborator, Olga Wilhelmine Munding
founded the Jessie Mae Hemphill Foundation to preserve and archive the indigenous music of northern Mississippi and to provide assistance for musicians in need from the region who could not survive on meager publishing royalties. One of her songs was also featured in the dance performance Tales From the Creek, by Reggie Wilson's Fist and Heel Performance Group in a series of events celebrating black culture in Union Square Park in 1998.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
award-winning electric guitarist, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, and vocalist specializing in the primal, northern Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
country blues
Country blues
Country blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
traditions of her family and regional heritage.
Life and career
Hemphill was born near ComoComo, Mississippi
Como is a town in Panola County, Mississippi, United States which borders the Mississippi Delta. The population was 1,310 as of the 2000 census. Wayne Drash, a CNN.com senior producer, described Como as "a hard-hit rural community" in a 2007 article.-History:...
and Senatobia, Mississippi
Senatobia, Mississippi
Senatobia is a city in and the county seat of Tate County, Mississippi, United States, and is the 15th largest municipality in the Memphis Metropolitan Area. The population was 8,165 at the 2010 census....
, in northern Mississippi just east of the Mississippi Delta
Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. The region has been called "The Most Southern Place on Earth" because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history...
. She began playing the guitar at the age of seven and also played drums in various local Mississippi fife and drum bands. Her musical background began with playing snare drum and bass drum in the fife-and-drum band led by her grandfather, Sid Hemphill. Aside from sitting in at Memphis bars a few times in the 1950s, most of her playing was done in family and informal settings such as picnics with fife and drum music until her 1979 recordings.
The first field recordings of her work were made by blues researcher George Mitchell
George Mitchell (music historian)
George Mitchell is an American music historian, writer, record producer, and photographer.Born in Coral Gables, Florida in 1944 and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, from the 1960s until the 1980s he has recorded blues musicians such as Jessie Mae Hemphill, Fred McDowell and Johnny Woods, George Henry...
in 1967 and ethnomusicologist Dr. David Evans in 1973 when she was known as Jessie Mae Brooks, using the surname from a brief early marriage, but the recordings were not released. In 1978, Dr. Evans came to Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
to teach at Memphis State University
University of Memphis
The University of Memphis is an American public research university located in the Normal Station neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee and is the flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system....
(now University of Memphis). The school founded the High Water
High Water Recording Company
High Water Recording Company is a US record label founded in 1979 by Dr. David Evans and the Memphis State University.The label first issued only singles, since 1983 also LPs of recordings by blues-, gospel- and jazz-artists of the Memphis area produced by Dr. Evans. Almost all of those recordings...
label in 1979 to promote interest in the indigenous music of the South. Evans made the first high-quality field recordings of Hemphill in that year and soon after produced her first sessions for the High Water label.
Hemphill then launched a recording career in the early 1980s, a period which was her heyday. In 1981 her first full-length album, She-Wolf, was licensed from High Water and released on France's Vogue Records. In the early 1980s, she performed in a Mississippi drum corps put together by Evans composed of herself, Abe Young, and Jim Harper on Tav Falco's Panther Burns'
Tav Falco's Panther Burns
Tav Falco's Panther Burns, sometimes shortened to Panther Burns, is a rock band originally from Memphis, Tennessee, United States, led by Tav Falco...
Behind the Magnolia Curtain album; she also appeared in another drum group with Young and fife-and-drum band veteran Othar Turner
Othar Turner
Othar "Otha" Turner was one of the last well-known fife players in the vanishing American fife and drum blues tradition...
in a televised appearance in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Other recordings of hers were released on the French label Black and Blue, and she performed concerts across the United States and other countries including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and Canada. She received the W. C. Handy Award for best traditional female blues artist in 1987 and 1988.
In 1990, her first American full length album, Feelin' Good, was released, which also won a Handy Award for best acoustic album. Hemphill suffered a stroke that paralyzed her left side in 1993, preventing her from playing guitar, resulting in her retiring at that time from her blues career. However, she did continue to play, accompanying her band on the tambourine.
In 2004, the Jessie Mae Hemphill Foundation released Dare You to Do It Again, a double album of 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....
standards, newly recorded by the ailing vocalist singing and playing tambourine with accompaniment from Steve Gardner, DJ Logic
DJ Logic
DJ Logic is an American turntablist active primarily in jazz and with jam bands.Kibler was born and raised in The Bronx. An early interest in hip hop led to his using the turntables, practicing often. Kibler was also interested in funk and jazz music, and began collaborating with various musicians...
, and descendants of the late musicians Junior Kimbrough
Junior Kimbrough
David "Junior" Kimbrough was an American blues musician. His best known work included "Keep Your Hands Off Her" and "All Night Long". Music journalist Tony Russell stated "his raw, repetitive style suggests an archaic forebear of John Lee Hooker, a character his music shares with that of fellow...
, R. L. Burnside
R. L. Burnside
Not to be confused with R. H. Burnside, stage director.R. L. Burnside , born Robert Lee Burnside, was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist who lived much of his life in and around Holly Springs, Mississippi. He played music for much of his life, but did not receive much attention...
, and Otha Turner. The release, her first recordings since the 1993 stroke, also included a DVD. Also in 2004, Inside Sounds released Get Right Blues, containing material recorded from 1979 through the early 1980s; Black & Blue released Mississippi Blues Festival, which included seven live tracks by her from a Paris concert in 1986.
On July 22, 2006, Jessie Mae Hemphill died at The Regional Medical Center in Memphis, after experiencing complications from an ulcer.
Influence
As one of the earliest successful female blues musicians, Hemphill has been an influential and pioneering artists. Her songs have been performed by indie musician Chan Marshall of Cat PowerCat Power
Charlyn Marie Marshall , also known as Chan Marshall or by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer/songwriter and occasional actress and model. Cat Power was originally the name of Marshall's first band, but has come to refer to her musical projects with various backing bands...
. Marshall used one of Hemphill's tracks on her album Jukebox
Jukebox (Cat Power album)
Jukebox is the eighth album by American singer/songwriter Chan Marshall, also known by her stage name, Cat Power. It was released on January 22, 2008 on Matador Records...
without credit, to much controversy. In 2003, her protege and collaborator, Olga Wilhelmine Munding
Olga Wilhelmine Munding
Olga Wilhelmine Munding is an American New Orleans-based blues musician and actress.-Music:Olga is a blues vocalist and guitar player known for her sultry voice and Southern sound. Munding first took interest in the blues, when she was in high school...
founded the Jessie Mae Hemphill Foundation to preserve and archive the indigenous music of northern Mississippi and to provide assistance for musicians in need from the region who could not survive on meager publishing royalties. One of her songs was also featured in the dance performance Tales From the Creek, by Reggie Wilson's Fist and Heel Performance Group in a series of events celebrating black culture in Union Square Park in 1998.
Discography
- She-Wolf (1981; reissued 1998)
- Swamp Surfing in Memphis (various artists, 1986, rereleased 1998)
- Mississippi Blues Festival (various artists, 1986; reissued 2004)
- Giants of Country Blues Guitar (1967–1981) (various artists, 1988)
- Feelin' Good (1990; reissued 1997 with extra tracks)
- The Fabulous Low-Price HMG Blues Sampler (various artists, 1997)
- Deep South Blues (various artists, 1999)
- Heritage of the Blues: Shake It Baby (2003)
- Dare You to Do It Again (2004)
- Get Right Blues (2004)
- Mississippi Blues Festival (also includes tracks by Hezekiah & the House Rockers, 2004)
- On Air: Live Music From The WEVL Archives (various artists, 1996)
- Foot Hill Stomp (2002) Richard Johnston with Jessie Mae Hemphill