Born July 3, 1893, in Teoc, Mississippi,
Hurt and his family moved in 1895 to Avalon, a town on the edge of Mississippi's
hill country. He dropped out of school at the age of nine to begin working
as a farmer. In 1902, Hurt picked up the guitar, a $1.50 "Black Annie"
his mother bought him. Self-taught, Hurt developed a distinctive three-finger
style that bears no resemblance to other area musicians. He also developed
proficiency with the harmonica but was always a self-accompanied musician.
Unlike Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie, Hurt refused an offer to accompany
a traveling medicine show, preferring to stay close to home.
Hurt played solo at local parties where
his fluid yet highly syncopated guitar style made him a favorite among
Carroll County dancers. His fame was localized, however; it was not until
1912 that he started playing parties around Jackson, Mississippi, 103 miles
from his native Avalon. While Hurt worked mostly outside music as a farmer
and laborer, his musical reputation among whites as well as blacks led
to his first recording session in Memphis in 1928. Willie T. Narmour and
Shell W. Smith, two white country musicians from Carroll County, recommended
him to their record producer, Tommy Rockwell.
Hurt recorded eight sides for the Okeh
label, two of which were released and sold well: "Frankie" and "Nobody's
Dirty Business." In Memphis for the same recording session was St. Louis
guitarist/pianist Lonnie Johnson, and Hurt later recalled that Blind Lemon
Jefferson and Bessie Smith were also in town. He saw none of these famous
musicians play but instead returned home to Avalon. Okeh called Hurt to
New York City for another session in December 1928, where he cut twelve
additional sides, including "Avalon Blues." Again, Hurt returned home to
Avalon to farm and play music for local parties.
These two sessions were the extent of Hurt's
recording before the Great Depression curtailed record sales. His graceful
picking, gentle crooning, and homespun lyrics marked him as an exceptionally
talented musician. The preponderance of songs about legendary figures in
his repertoire ("Casey Jones," "Frankie," "Stack O'Lee Blues") and the
lack of then-modern blues influences on his style, establish Hurt as a
link between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Okeh originally designated
two of his songs "Old Time Music," an appellation reserved for the label's
hillbilly series. This, together with the fact that white musicians were
familiar with and recommended his musicianship, suggests strongly that
Hurt's music sprang from a common source that produced blues and country
music.
Hurt lived a quiet life as a farmer and
laborer, playing occasional parties and fish fries until 1963. He was rediscovered
in Avalon, a consequence of having named it as his hometown in a record
made thirty-five years before. Hurt enjoyed great popularity during the
blues revival of the 1960s, making television appearances, playing folk
festivals, and recording albums. Exceptionally well liked by all who came
in contact with him, he became the most famous of all the rediscovered
1920s bluesmen, eclipsing in his fame the celebrated Son House and Skip
James.
His newfound fame lasted three years before
his death on November 2, 1966. Mississippi John Hurt's grave is located
outside his hometown of Avalon, Mississippi.
By
Sean Styles
