Skip James - Devil Got My Woman: Grafton, Wisconsin, February 1931

2024

Delta Blues legend Skip James was a remarkable musician, accomplished on two instruments, guitar and piano. His guitar style was noted for it's dark, minor-key sound, played in an open D-minor tuning with an intricate fingerpicking technique, associated with the Bentonia School of playing. Indeed, his style of playing had more in common with the Piedmont Blues of the East Coast, than with the Blues of his native Mississippi. James is chiefly remembered for a concise, albeit obscure body of work; just nine 78rpm shellac discs recorded for Paramount, in Grafton, Wisconsin, in February 1931, which rank among the rarest records known to serious Blues collectors. His most well-known number, by default, is 'I'm So Glad'; recorded by British Rock band Cream in 1966, it generated the only royalty cheque he ever received, for $10,000.

18 tracks

• Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues
• Cherry Ball Blues
• 22-20 Blues
• If You Haven't Got Any Hay, Get On Down the Road
• Illinois Blues
• Yola My Blues Away
• How Long Buck
• Little Cow and Calf Is Gonna Die Blues
• Devil Got My Woman
• Cypress Grove Blues
• I'm So Glad
• Special Rider Blues
• Hard Luck Child
• Four O'clock Blues
• Be Ready When He Comes
• Jesus Is a Mighty Good Leader
• Drunken Spree
• What Am I to Do Blues

NB - some of Jasmine Records releases are MOD titles. This may or may not be one of them.