Skip James

Early years Nehemiah Curtis James was born on June 9, 1902, in a segregated hospital near Bentonia, Mississippi. James also operated a music school for would-be blues musicians in Jackson, giving lessons on guitar, piano, and even violin. James continued working locally as a street singer. In early 1931, James auditioned for the record shop owner and talent scout H. C. Speir in Jackson, Mississippi. Speir placed blues performers with various record labels, including Paramount Records. have been similarly influential. Very few original copies of James's Paramount 78 rpm records have survived. The Great Depression struck just as James's recordings were hitting the market. Sales were poor as a result, and he gave up performing the blues to become the choir director in his father's church. In 1964, blues enthusiasts John Fahey, Bill Barth, and Henry Vestine found him in a hospital in Tunica, Mississippi. According to Calt, the "rediscovery" of both James and Son House at virtually the same time was the start of the blues revival in the United States. In July 1964, James and other rediscovered musicians appeared at the Newport Folk Festival. More of James's recordings have been available since his death than were available during his lifetime. His 1931 recordings and several of his recordings and concerts from the 1960s have been reissued on numerous compact discs, in and out of print. His songs were not initially recorded as frequently as those of other rediscovered blues musicians. However, the British rock band Cream recorded "I'm So Glad", Because James had not been filmed before the 1960s, Keith B. Brown played the part of the young James in the documentary. James' song "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" was featured in the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou? and included on the soundtrack album. James was the inspiration for Dion's 2007 blues album, Son of Skip James, which peaked at No. 4 in the Billboard 200 chart. James was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Bentonia, his hometown. In 2020, James' song "Devil Got My Woman" was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame. Personality James was described as aloof and moody. The musicologist Dick Spottswood commented, "Skip James, you never knew. Skip could be sunshine, or thunder and lightning depending on his whim of the moment". ==Musical style==

Equipment The guitar that James played in his 1931 sessions is now generally accepted to have been a 12-string Stella guitar restrung as a six-string. When he was rediscovered in the 1960s, he typically played a Gibson J-185, Gibson J-45, Martin D-18, and a Martin D-28. James as guitarist James often played guitar with an open D-minor tuning (D–A–D–F–A–D), resulting in the "deep" sound of the 1931 recordings. He reportedly learned this tuning from his musical mentor, the unrecorded bluesman Henry Stuckey, who in turn was said to have acquired it from Bahamian soldiers during the First World War, despite the fact that his service card shows he did not serve overseas. Robert Johnson also recorded in this tuning, his "Hell Hound on My Trail" being based on James's "Devil Got My Woman." ==Discography==

Paramount 78 RPM records, 1931 Much like his later recordings, these initial records have been repeatedly reissued and are scattered among many compilations released by small labels. Consequently, many of these releases are of varying quality. There are at least two releases that have been digitally remastered, listed below. • Complete 1931 Recordings In Chronological Order (Document DOCD-5005, 1990) remastered by Hans Klement • The Complete Early Recordings of Skip James - 1930 (Yazoo 2009, 1994) remastered by Rich Nevins, Joe Tarantino, and Scott Levitin Later recordings, 1964–1969 Despite poor health, James recorded several LPs from 1964 to 1969, mostly revisiting his 1931 sides, traditional music, and spirituals, but also including a handful of newly written blues meditating on his illness and convalescence. These five prolific years have not been thoroughly documented: recordings, outtakes, and interviews not released on James's LPs (which have been repeatedly cannibalized and reissued) are scattered among many compilations released by small labels. Original recordings and reissues are listed below. • Greatest of the Delta Blues Singers (Melodeon, Biograph, 1964) • ''She Lyin''' (Adelphi, 1964; first released by Genes, 1996) • Today! (Vanguard, 1966) • Devil Got My Woman (Vanguard, 1968) • ''I'm So Glad'' (Vanguard, 1978) • Live: Boston, 1964 & Philadelphia, 1966 (Document, 1994) • ''Skip's Piano Blues'', 1964 (Genes, 1998) • Blues from the Delta, with two previously unreleased recordings (Vanguard, 1998) • The Complete Bloomington, Indiana Concert, March 30, 1968 (Document, 1999) • ''Skip's Guitar Blues'', 1964(?), (Genes, 1999) • Studio Sessions: Rare and Unreleased, 1967 (Vanguard, 2003) • Hard Time Killing Floor Blues (Biograph, 2003†) • Heroes of the Blues: The Very Best of Skip James (Shout!, 2003) • Hard Time (Universe, 2003†) • Cypress Grove Blues (2004) • ''Hard Time Killin' Floor'' (Yazoo 2075, 2005) ==References==