Artist:Son HouseSong:Death Letter Blues
Album:Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: The Best Of The Blues
Eddie "Son" House Jr. was a pioneer of Misissippi Delta Blues and of acoustic guitar technique. Like a lot of legendary bluesmen, he lived in obscurity until the 60s folk boom. He was born Mar. 21, 1902 in Riverton, MI. He started out as a Baptist preacher and didn't even pick up a guitar until age 25. In 1928, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing a man apparently in self defense. He only served two years and the judge threw him out of Clarksdale. He started traveling with legendary bluesman Charley Patton they wound up in Wisconsin recording some very influential music for Paramount. House had a low profile after Patton died in 1934 but musicologist Alan Lomax found and recorded him in 1941 for the Library Of Congress. House then retired from music and moved to Rochester, NY and then was rediscovered in 1964. His performance at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival gave him a new audience and House started touring regularly. Death Letter Blues was a song House performed at Newport. This various artists comp is from the Martin Scorsese produced PBS series. It's a bit of a mishmash but there is also a CD devoted to Son House. The popular group The White Stripes dedicated their 2004 debut CD to Son House and covered Death Letter Blues. House started having health issues in the early 70s. He was forced to retire in 1976 and died on Oct. 19, 1988 at age 86. Son House was an innovator of slide guitar and is worth checking out. Here's Son House performing Death Letter Blues in 1965.
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