Mississippi John Hurt

"Mississippi" John Smith Hurt (July 2, 1892,There is confusion about his date of birth, but the grave  mentions this date. Teoc, Mississippi - November 2, 1966, Grenada, Mississippi) was an American blues singer and guitarist.

Life
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. 

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

Discography
 "Frankie" (3:21)- February 24, 1928, Memphis, TN - 400221-B, OK 8560
 "Nobody's Dirty Business" (2:52)- February 24, 1928, Memphis - 400223-B, OK 8560
 "Ain't No Tellin'" (2:54)- December 21, 1928, New York City, NY - 401471-A, OK 8560
 "Louis Collins" (2:57)- December 21, 1928, NYC - 401472-A, OK 8724
 "Avalon Blues" (3:01)- December 21, 1928, NYC - 401473-B, OK 8759
 "Big Leg Blues" (2:50)- December 21, 1928, NYC - 401474-B, unissued
 "Stack O' Lee" (2:55)- December 28, 1928, NYC - 401481-B, OK 8654
 "Candy Man Blues" (2:44)- December 28, 1928, NYC - 401483-B, OK 8654
 "Got The Blues (Can't Be Satisfied)" (2:49)- Dec 28, 1928, NYC- 401484-B, OK 8734
 "Blessed Be The Name" (2:46)- December 28, 1928, NYC - 401485-B, OK 8666
 "Praying On The Old Camp Ground" (2:35)- Dec 28 1928, NYC- 401486-B, OK 8666
 "Blue Harvest Blues" (2:51)- December 28, 1928 NYC - 401487-A, OK 8692
 "Spike Driver Blues"Spike Driver's Blues is about the Afro-American folk hero John Henry (folklore). (3:13)- December 28, 1928 NYC - 401488, OK 8692
Last Sessions - 1966 (Vanguard)
 "Poor Boy, Long Ways From Home"
 "Boys, You're Welcome"
 "Joe Turner Blues"
 "First Shot Missed Him"
 "Farther Along"
 "Funky Butt"
 "Spider, Spider"
 "Waiting For You"
 "Shortnin' Bread"
 "Trouble, I've Had It All My Days"
 "Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me"
 "Good Morning, Carrie"
 "Nobody Cares For Me"
 "All Night Long"
 "Hey, Honey, Right Away"
 "You've Got To Die"
 "Goodnight Irene"

Mississippi John Hurt 1928 Sessions  (Yazoo 1065,  Yazoo Records)
Side 1Side 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
 Candy Man Blues 

Worried Blues (Piedmont PLP 13161, Piedmont Records)
Side 1Side 2 Lazy Blues
 Farther along
 Sliding delta
 Nobody cares for me
 Cow hooking blues Talkin’ Casey Jones
 Weeping and wailing
 Worried blues
 Oh Mary don’t you weep
 I been cryin’ since you been gone

Mississippi John Hurt Today (VSD-79220, Vanguard Records)
Side 1Side 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
 Beulah land

Mississippi John Hurt Last Sessions  (VSD-79327, Vanguard Records)
Side 1Side 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 1Side 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 3Side 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 1Side 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

Volume One of a Legacy (CLPS 1068, Piedmont Records) 
Side 1Side 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 1Side 2 Avalon blues
 Richland woman blues
 Spike driver blues
 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

Notes

Other websites
 Mississippi John Hurt Museum  Includes a link to a discussion forum regarding Mississippi John Hurt with substantive participation by grand nephew, Fred Bolden.
 Mississippi John Hurt News  Website run by John's grand nephew, Fred Bolden. Has several forums and discussions open to the public.
 Illustrated Mississippi John Hurt discography
 Available recordings at The Internet Archive
 [ Allmusic]
 Mississippi John Hurt's Stackolee  Recording, sheet music and guitar tab.

Category:Blues guitarists
Category:American blues singers
Category:American guitarists
Category:Singers from Mississippi
Category:Musicians from Mississippi
Category:1892 births
Category:1966 deaths
Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction