Miississippi John Hurt unquestionably did not write this - it was rearranged by A.P. Carter with new lyrics from an original hymn by Ada Habershon, published in 1907. This track is from his Library of Congress recordings in 1963. The song has been recorded many hundreds of times in countless styles, mainly country, gospel and blues, and even in a reggae vein by the Dynamic Ken Parker (which I h...
More >
Mississippi John Hurt (c. 1892-1966) was one of a fairly small number of musicians born in the nineteenth century still active in the 1960s. This, as far as I can discern, is one of his later recordings when he was aged close to sixty. The song itself is perhaps even older - if the contest between man of immense strength and steam drill did take place, it was during the era of railroad expansio...
More >
"The Blues is the first music that was here. It was born with Eve and Adam in the Garden. It is the one that tells the story."-- John Lee HookerMississippi John HurtBorn July 3, 1893, Teoc (Carroll County) MSDied November 2, 1966, Grenada, MSJohn's father was Isom Hurt and his mother was Mary Jan McCain. John was one of 3 children. He and his wife, Jessie, had 14 children. (Source: Blues Who's ...
More >
According to the latest census, Carroll County, Mississippi is home to about ten thousand residents, less than half of the number that inhabited the county a century ago. By the standards of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth centuries, it was a remote place off of the beaten path. J. S. McCain had a sizable plantation spread there, near the town of Teoc. It was from there that McCain'...
More >
Smithsonian Folkways, a label known for preserving obscure recordings of many of the heroes of traditional music, has released a beautiful (inside and out) box-set of music recorded by Friends of Old Time Music from 1961 to 1965 (with Doc Watson's first public concert and performances by Mother Maybelle Carter, The Stanley Brothers, Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys, Mississippi John Hurt and...
More >
Got a little summer mix for you all, holler if you hear me. This Mississippi John Hurt ditty about a way with the ladies kicks it off and it goes all sorts of places after that, with the emphasis on overall flow and enjoyment, with some oscillation in mood because that is what I like in a mix. It also covers several recent MOG posts of mine and from other folks. Represented are Brazil, Jamaica,...
More >
He gonna put a stick a candy in yo hand...I love that line. Mississippi John Hurt was a humble man up until his dyin' day. He never even wanted to be famous. Just simply did it for the joy of music. I personally like money. And I made me some. But I would by some candy and give it to a woman after hearin' this song... FBLJMore Mississippi John Hurt music at mp34u
More >
Just picked this up today... Great stuff! I also found another classic track on YT so......
More >
Stumbled across this old Mississippi John Hurt video discussing and performing "Steel Driving Man." Pete Seeger is the interviewer. I don't know anybody who can listen to MJH without being completely captivated. Not by his technique, which is entirely his and brilliant in its own right, but by the fact that each note rides from his guitar on a wave of soulful intention. There is no better Sun...
More >
Blind Blake, Robert Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Rev Gary Davis, ... and great blues men. I had all the LP's ever cut for these men and many more. Time and fate has led them to a different place. I also liked the ragtime that some of these and a Georgia man played. I learned to play slide guitar and ragtime from some of these people. I stopped in 1984 due to personal rea...
More >
Featuring over 75 minutes and 23 tracks, Rediscovered compiles tracks off Hurt's four Vanguard releases -- Today!, The Immortal Mississippi John Hurt, Last Sessions, and The Best of Mississippi John Hurt. The tracks selected are truly first-rate and give a fine cross-section of Hurt's gently rolling country-blues, including many of his better-known tracks such as "It Ain't Nobody's Business" ...
More >
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
