Li'l Son Jackson

Melvin "Lil' Son" Jackson (August 16, 1915, Tyler, Texas – May 30, 1976, Dallas) was an American blues guitarist and singer. He was a contemporary of Lightnin' Hopkins.
Jackson's mother played gospel guitar, and he played early on in a gospel group, the Blue Eagle Four. He became a mechanic and served in the U.S. Army during World War II, after which he pursued a career as a blues musician. He recorded a demo and sent it to Bill Quinn, the owner of Gold Star Records, in 1946. Quinn signed him to a recording contract and released "Freedom Train Blues" in 1948, which became a nationwide hit in the U.S. Jackson recorded for Imperial Records between 1950 and 1954, both as a solo artist and with a backing band. His 1950 song "Rockin' and Rollin" was recast by later musicians as "Rock Me Baby".
Jackson was injured in a car crash in the mid-1950s and gave up his music career, returning to work as a mechanic. He recorded an album for Arhoolie Records in 1960, but did not resume his career as a musician during the blues revival in the 1960s. He died of cancer in 1976 in Dallas, at the age of 60. Eric Clapton recorded Jackson's "Travelin' Alone", for his 2010 album, Clapton.
== Links to Peel ==
thumb|right|250px
Li'l Son Jackson is not among the most famous of blues singers, although it is possible that Peel may have come across his earlier work while living in the USA. But listeners to Peel's shows will know of him because of one track from his LP for Arhoolie Records, "Roberta Blues", which was first played on a 1968 Night Ride and became one of the DJ's life long favourites.
"Rock Me Baby" was covered by many artists, including the hit version by B.B. King and the Jeff Beck group's rendition, "Rock My Plimsoul" with a vocal by Rod Stewart, which Peel played on the Perfumed Garden. On the same Night Ride which featured Jackson's "Roberta Blues" (01 May 1968), folk/blues guitarist Davey Graham did his own take on the song, entitled "Rock Me".
== Festive Fifty Entries ==
*None.
== Sessions ==
*None.
== Other Shows Played ==
*01 May 1968: Roberta Blues (LP: Blues Come to Texas) Arhoolie 1004 (US release)
*17 July 1982: Roberta Blues (LP-Blues Come To Texas) Arhoolie (JP: 'He gets sort of quite middle-eastern really, it's more like chanting.')
*22 June 1991: Roberta Blues (album - Li'l Son Jackson) Arhoolie F 1004
== See Also ==
*Record Collection: J
== External Links ==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
* Other
Category:Artists