Instrument(s): guitar, piano, vocals
Lifespan:1902-1969
Style synopsis: Unique falsetto vocal style, great songs, both gospel and secular blues.
Representative Recordings:
Skip James Today! (Vanguard)
The Devil Got my Woman (Vanguard)
50 years - Mississippi Blues in Bentonia : Skip James & Jack Owens 1931-1981 (Wolf)
Contributor:Phil Wood (Phil_Wood@compuserve.com)
Contributor's Comments: Skip's "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" has been rated as one of the three or four great Depression songs. To disagree seems churlish, but what's this "one of" - it's THE greatest. Nicknamed "Skippy" by his schoolmates because of his dancing ability, Skip first recorded in 1931. He remembered recording 26 songs at this session, 18 of which can be found on the Wolf CD. However, beware the recording quality, which is far from good on many tracks. (5 Jack Owens tracks recorded in 1981 are a welcome bonus). He had to wait a little while to be recorded again - 33 years in fact! Discovered in a hospital in Tunica he appeared at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival and subsequently recorded two superb albums for Vanguard, the pick of which is Skip James Today! which features his best known compositions: "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues", "Special Rider Blues" and "I'm So Glad", among others. His falsetto vocal style is unusual to say the least, but is strangely compelling and his phrasing is second to none.