American blues musician (1918?1963)
Elmore James
|
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|
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Birth name
| Elmore Brooks
|
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Also known as
| "King of the Slide Guitar"
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Born
| (
1918-01-27
)
January 27, 1918
Richland, Holmes County, Mississippi
, U.S.
|
---|
Died
| May 24, 1963
(1963-05-24)
(aged 45)
Chicago, Illinois
, U.S.
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Genres
| Blues
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Occupation(s)
| - Musician
- singer
- songwriter
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Instrument(s)
| |
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Years active
| 1940s?1963
|
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Musical artist
Elmore James
(
ne
Brooks
; January 27, 1918 ? May 24, 1963)
[1]
was an American
blues
guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader.
[2]
Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in 1992.
[3]
His
slide guitar
technique earned him the nickname "King of the Slide Guitar".
Biography
[
edit
]
Elmore James was born Elmore Brooks in
Richland, Holmes County, Mississippi
, the son of 15-year-old Leola Brooks, a field hand.
[4]
His father was probably Joe Willie "Frost" James,
[1]
who moved in with Leola, and Elmore took his surname. He began making music at the age of 12, using a simple one-string instrument (
diddley bow
, or jitterbug) strung on a shack wall.
[1]
As a teen he performed at dances under the names Cleanhead and Joe Willie James.
[4]
James was influenced by
Robert Johnson
,
[1]
Kokomo Arnold
and
Tampa Red
. He recorded several of Tampa Red's songs. He also inherited from Tampa Red's band two musicians who joined his own backing band, the Broomdusters,
"Little" Johnny Jones
(piano) and
Odie Payne
(drums).
[4]
In the late 1930s, James worked alongside
Sonny Boy Williamson II
.
[4]
During
World War II
, James joined the U.S. Navy, was promoted to
coxswain
and took part in the invasion of
Guam
.
[1]
Upon his discharge, he returned to central Mississippi and settled in the town of
Canton
with his adopted brother, Robert Holston.
He began recording with
Trumpet Records
in nearby Jackson in January 1951, first as a sideman again for Sonny Boy Williamson II and for their mutual friend
Willie Love
and possibly others.
[1]
He made his debut as a session leader in August that year recording a Robert Johnson composition, "
Dust My Broom
", which was a surprise R&B hit in 1952.
[2]
His backing musicians became known as the Broomdusters.
[2]
James broke his contract with Trumpet Records to sign with the
Bihari brothers
[1]
through their scout
Ike Turner
, who played guitar and piano on a couple of his early Bihari recordings. His "I Believe" was a hit a year later.
[2]
During the 1950s he recorded for the Bihari brothers'
Flair Records
,
Meteor Records
, and
Modern Records
; he also recorded for
Chess Records
and
Mel London
's
Chief Records
.
[5]
He played lead guitar on
Big Joe Turner
's 1954 top 10 R&B hit "TV Mama".
[6]
In 1959, he began recording for
Bobby Robinson
's
Fire Records
, which released "
The Sky Is Crying
", "
My Bleeding Heart
", "Stranger Blues", "
Look on Yonder Wall
", "
Done Somebody Wrong
", and "
Shake Your Moneymaker
", among others.
[2]
James died of a
heart attack
in Chicago in 1963, at the age of 45,
[2]
as he was about to tour Europe with that year's
American Folk Blues Festival
. He was buried in the Newport Baptist Church Cemetery, in
Ebenezer, Mississippi
.
[7]
Phil Walden
of
Capricorn Records
raised funds for a granite headstone for James's grave. The headstone which reads "King of the Slide Guitar", features a bronze
relief
of James playing guitar. It was revealed at a dedication ceremony sponsored by the
Mt. Zion Memorial Fund
in 1992.
[8]
James was posthumously inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in 1992 as an "Early Influence" inductee.
[3]
He had been inducted in the
Blues Hall of Fame
within its initial list of inductions in 1980.
[9]
In 2012, he was honored with a marker on the
Mississippi Blues Trail
in Ebenezer.
[7]
[8]
Influence
[
edit
]
James influenced many slide players, such as blues guitarists
Homesick James
,
Hound Dog Taylor
, and
J. B. Hutto
.
[4]
His single string playing also influenced
B.B. King
and
Chuck Berry
.
[4]
Rock guitarists
Jimi Hendrix
,
Brian Jones
,
Jeremy Spencer
, and
Frank Zappa
have acknowledged his influence.
[10]
[11]
In the
Beatles
' song "
For You Blue
",
John Lennon
plays a slide solo on a
Hofner
lap steel guitar
;
[12]
George Harrison
encourages him with "Go, Johnny, go
... Elmore James got nothin' on this, baby".
[13]
Discography
[
edit
]
Selected singles
[
edit
]
Selected compilation albums
[
edit
]
- Blues After Hours
(1960)
- Whose Muddy Shoes
(1969) (split album with
John Brim
)
- Street Talkin'
(1975)
- King of the Slide Guitar
(1992)
- The Classic Early Recordings: 1951?1956
(1993)
- The Sky Is Crying: The History of Elmore James
(1993)
- Golden Hits
(1996)
Gallery
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Robert Palmer
(1981).
Deep Blues
.
Penguin Books
. pp. 205?215.
ISBN
978-0-14-006223-6
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Strong, Martin C. (2000).
The Great Rock Discography
(5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 493?494.
ISBN
978-1-84195-017-4
.
- ^
a
b
"Elmore James"
.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Koda, Cub
.
"Elmore James ? Biography & History"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
February 1,
2019
.
- ^
Whitburn, Joel (1988).
Top R&B Singles 1942?1988
. Record Research. p.
216
.
ISBN
978-0-89820-068-3
.
- ^
Swyner, Alan (1998). Liner notes to
The Very Best of Big Joe Turner
. Rhino CD 72968.
- ^
a
b
"Elmore James"
.
Mississippi Blues Trail
.
- ^
a
b
"Featured Marker ? Elmore James"
.
Mississippi Blues Trail
.
- ^
Anderson, Grego (March 22, 2023).
"Elmore James | Everything you need to know about Blues Music"
.
Mojohand.com
.
- ^
Larkin, Colin
(2007). "James, Elmore".
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
. London:
Omnibus Press
. pp. 1974?1975.
ISBN
978-0-85712-595-8
.
- ^
Mulhern, Tom (February 1983).
"
"I'm Different" or "Not Exactly Duane Allman"
"
.
Guitar Player
. Archived from
the original
on February 23, 2012
. Retrieved
December 30,
2011
– via Home.online.no.
{{
cite magazine
}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (
link
)
- ^
Babiuk, A (2002).
Beatles Gear
.
Hal Leonard
. p. 239.
ISBN
978-0-87930-662-5
.
- ^
Smith, Alan (May 9, 1970). "New LP Shows They Couldn't Care Less".
NME
. p. 2.
External links
[
edit
]
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Singles
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Songs
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Related articles
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Performers
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Early influences
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Non-performers
(Ahmet Ertegun Award)
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International
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National
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Artists
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Other
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