Rare Air

Skip James - I'm So Glad

The Skip James was easily one of the most haunting, brilliant, and uniquely eerie figures in the entire history of the Delta blues. Born near Bentonia, Mississippi in 1902, he didn't sound like anyone else of his era. While other bluesmen were stomping their feet and playing driving rhythms, James was casting musical spells. He tuned his guitar to a moody, minor-key open D, picked the strings with a lightning-fast three-finger technique, and sang in a ghostly, high-pitched falsetto that could give you chills. In 1931, he recorded a handful of absolute masterpieces like "Devil Got My Woman" and "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues." But bad luck struck hard: the Great Depression hit right as his records dropped, sales tanked, and a frustrated James walked away from music entirely. For the next 30 years, he lived a completely quiet life, working in lumber camps, doing some bootlegging, and even serving as a church minister, seemingly lost to history.
Then came one of the greatest second acts in music. In 1964, a group of passionate young blues enthusiasts tracked a frail James down in a Mississippi hospital and convinced him to play again. When he stepped onto the stage at the Newport Folk Festival that summer, the audience was completely stunned. Despite three decades of silence, his eerie voice and intricate guitar skills were completely flawless. He spent his final five years finally getting his flowers—touring, recording new albums, and watching rock royalty like Eric Clapton and Cream cover his songs. Though he passed away in 1969, his induction into the Blues Hall of Fame cemented what music fans already knew: Skip James was an absolute original who helped shape the bedrock of modern rock and blues.

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Band: Skip James

Style: Delta Blues

Formed:

▼ Studio Releases & Catalog: 5 Items

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