Skip James

Blues singer/guitarist Skip James was born in Bentonia, MS, in 1902, the son of a minister. He learned to play piano and guitar in high school, and it wasn't long before he was playing gigs at local dances and parties. In 1930 a Mississippi record-store owner heard him and arranged for him to record an album for Paramount Records at its studio in Grafton, WI, but unfortunately for James it was in the depths of the Depression, and the record didn't sell. Dispirited, he quit the music business and moved to Dallas, TX. He formed a gospel group called The Dallas Jubilee Singers, mainly as a backup group for his father's preaching. James eventually became a preacher himself, and in 1932 was ordained as a Baptist minister. He returned to Mississippi in the 1940s, but not to the music business. In the 1960s he was "discovered" by several folk-music enthusiasts--including Henry Vestine, later of Canned Heat--and they persuaded him to play at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. He was a hit with the audience, and was soon playing gigs in folk clubs, blues clubs and festivals, often with fellow blues icon Mississippi John Hurt. In addition, James recorded two albums for Vanguard Records. He died of cancer in 1969 in Chicago, IL.