Skip James: Im So Glad

Nehemiah Curtis James was born near Yazoo City, Mississippi, in 1902. James was raised just south of the Mississippi Delta near Bentonia, on the Whitehead plantation, where his mother was the plantation cook. James’s friends named him “Skippy” due to his peculiar style of dancing. Skip’s father, a guitar-playing bootlegger, abandoned his family when Skip was a young boy. 

In 1931, after years of work as a laborer, bootlegger, and sometimes musician, James entered a singing competition at a store in Jackson, Mississippi. James had just begun to play his song, “Devil Got My Woman,” when he was awarded the prize-a train ticket to Grafton, Wisconsin, and a recording session with Paramount Records.

Paramount was famous for the poor quality of its recordings, and sadly, many fine performances were poorly recorded by the label, including those by James. James recorded several songs with guitar during his first session, and eight piano songs during the second session. James recalls recording 26 sides in all, though only 18 have been found. Among the classic recordings he made at those sessions were, “Devil Got My Woman,” “I’m So Glad,” “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues,” “22-20 Blues,” and “Special Rider Blues.”

James was only paid 40 dollars for his efforts, and as the recordings were made during the height of the depression, only a few sides were ever released. Disillusioned with the music business, James quit and turned to religion. Little is known about his life during the 33 years between his Paramount recordings and his rediscovery in the mid-Sixties.

James played his first show in 33 years at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival. His performance was a brilliant one and it seemed that his powers were still completely intact despite his long lay off. Many believed that James performance at the festival topped all others who appeared.

Despite his huge popularity at Newport, James did not have a recording deal. When Cream recorded “I'm So Glad” on their Fresh Cream album, James, now ailing, used his royalties to get into a good hospital in Washington, DC, where he could have the surgery that extended his life by three years.

James recorded the excellent albums, “Today!” (1966) and “Devil Got My Woman” (1968). James died in 1969, in Philadelphia.

Tommy Johnson: Canned Heat Blues

Tommy Johnson was country blues singer and guitarist from Terry, Mississippi. Johnson was born in 1896, and by the Twenties he was an established figure in Mississippi blues. The Sixties blues rock band, Canned Heat, took their name from the Johnson song, “Canned Heat Blues.”

Johnson was a dissolute figure who actively cultivated a sinister image through excessive drinking and stories that he had sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his musical mastery. A similar mythology would later be attached to Robert Johnson.

Johnson made his first recordings for the Victor label in 1928 with the sides, “Canned Heat Blues” and “Big Road Blues.” Johnson also recorded for Paramount Records in two sessions, one from 1928 and another from the following year. These recordings proved Johnson to be a vocalist of great depth and a fine guitarist. Unfortunately, his recordings for Paramount, are of lo-fidelity.

Johnson’s classic sides can be found on the compilation, “Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order (1928-1929)” (1994).

A deal with the crossroads Urban Legend Grim Dark

ROBERT JOHNSON THE FIRST BLUES SINGER IN HISTORY TO SELLOUT TO GOAT LUCIFER.