Classic Sides

Blind Lemon Jefferson was born in Coutchman Texas probably in 1893. Little is known of his youth. A cousin, Alec Jefferson, recalled the teenage Blind Lemon being allowed to play for money at local 'country suppers'. They was rough... Around 1917 he moved to Dallas, probably chasing a dollar. Leadbelly and T-Bone Walker claimed that as boys they had led Jefferson around Dallas, collecting his tips. He traveled widely for the time. He is reported to have visited Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and the Mississippi Delta. This may account for the eclecticism of his music. Jefferson seems to have been helped to contact Paramount which explains why his first recordings are in Chicago rather than 'in the field'. Our first two sides are gospel oddities, originally billed as by Deacon J Bates - not the blues that Blind Lemon's fans (if they knew it was him) would have expected. No matter. Paramount arranged a second session which yielded a release under Jefferson's own name - Booster Blues/Dry Southern Blues. Its sales justified the issue of two further sides - Got The Blues/Long Lonesome Blues, the sales of which went comfortably into six figures. The effect on listeners must have been stunning. Its cavalier way with blues conventions, the variety of riffs, rhythmic complexity and the poetic lyric were anyway exceptional, but for a 'country blues' they were unique. Jefferson had only just started. More recordings were speedily organized. Black Horse Blues was another big seller, inspiring work by Charley Patton and others. Jefferson prospered for another four years. Matchbox Blues and the haunting See My Grave Is Kept Clean were recorded along the way. He died during a snowstorm in Chicago in 1929, the most plausible account saying he had a heart attack after getting lost. Wherever he pull his guitar out, he was the king there. Wasn't no good anyone talkin' about playin' against him, 'cause they couldn't even do what he was doin'... Tom Shaw.