The Magic of Mississippi John Hurt

With the passing of time, unfortunately many of yesterday’s brilliant musicians and performers are
largely forgotten in our culture’s demand for newness.  Mississippi John Hurt is not well-known today in popular culture but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t of monumental importance to music and specifically the blues in his time.  Hurt transcended his genre to display a totally original musical outlook and personality.  In fact, John Hurt deserves more credit and listenership because his unique musical style and character.

I first came across Mississippi John Hurt’s music from a single song on a 6 CD box set entitled Roots N’ Blues: The Retrospective, 1925-1950.  The box set was a compilation of seminal roots and blues recordings from the first half of the 20th century.  In it, Hurt’s 1928 recording “Big Leg Blues” captured my mind and attention.  It had a unique quality in many regards.  The soft-spoken, quiet nature of Hurt’s voice sounded totally unique and seemed to put forth a personality unlike any other I’d heard in the blues.  Already I could see his persona paving the way for mellow, laid-back and more introspective folk artists that would appear several decades later:  the folky side of Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Nick Drake and Donovan. 

This initiation into the world of John Hurt was followed by my further investigation into his history.  I learned that after recording several songs in 1928, Hurt disappeared.  He was only rediscovered in the early 1960‘s, in his seventies, when researchers and music fans, going by the lyrics of his 1928 recording “Avalon Blues” located him near his hometown of Avalon, Mississippi. The lyrics hinted at Hurt’s whereabouts:

Avalon, my home town, always on my mind
Avalon, my home town.

This rediscovery would lead to a renaissance in Hurt’s elderly years as well as contributing to what was known as the “Folk Revival” of the 1960’s.  Hurt recorded three studio albums leading to critical and commercial success.

After hearing “Big Leg Blues” and learning more about Hurt, I bought a three CD pack Mississippi John Hurt:  The Complete Studio Recordings, a collection of his 1960’s albums.  After listening to this, I was hooked for life.  There is a warmth and closeness of the 1960’s albums, because of the better recording methods, that really brings out the quality of Hurt’s music, songwriting prowess, and personality. 

John Hurt’s musical style is all his own but it has been classified as falling into the country blues and delta blues categories of the blues.  Hurt employs finger-picking in all his songs:  there is a syncopated bass note played by his thumb with alternating treble notes played by his index and middle fingers.  This produces a style not unlike ragtime for guitar:  imagine Scott Joplin’s piano rags arranged for acoustic guitar.  The songs are always rhythmically flawless and are a testament to a totally accomplished guitar musicianship. 

Lyrically the songs are always clever, sometimes humorous.  Take the song “Candy Man Blues” as an example.  Like many blues singers, Hurt uses metaphors alluding to sexuality.  The song begins with:

All you ladies, gather ‘round
The good sweet Candy Man’s in town

Later on the lyrics are even less subtle:

Don’t stand close to the Candy Man
He’ll put a big candy stick in your hand.

Aside from a sly sense of humor, Hurt employs a wide range of emotional colour throughout all his recordings.  What always comes across is his unique personality:  a laid-back, gentle and kind persona that you seldom hear in the blues or any musical genre.

After many hours of listening to Hurt’s 1960’s recordings I decided to further explore his oeuvre by purchasing his 1928 recordings for OKeh records.   These recordings offer an interesting counter-point to the records he made in his old age:  in 1928 he is young and more energetic.  Some of the songs he recorded in 1928 were re-recorded in the 60’s and it is also interesting to see how these songs have evolved and mellowed like a vintage wine.

The history of recorded music is rich in output from artists and musicians that don’t get the exposure that they deserve.  By exploring music history, one can often find music and people that speak to his or her own unique outlook on life and personal experience.  Focusing on only current popular culture trends will blind you to the diverse and highly-personal discoveries you can make by excavating the past.  My own discovery of Mississippi John Hurt is testament to this claim.