Skip James

Nehemiah Curtis James, known as Skip James, was one of the most hauntingly original musicians in the blues tradition, possessing a high, eerie falsetto voice and a minor-key guitar tuning (open D-minor) rooted in the Bentonia tradition: a local minor-key style distinct from the broader Delta sound. He recorded a remarkable session of 26 sides for Paramount Records in 1931, including 'Devil Got My Woman,' 'Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues,' '22-20 Blues,' and 'I'm So Glad,' but the recordings appeared during the worst of the Depression and sold almost nothing. James became an ordained minister and disappeared from the music world for three decades until blues researchers John Fahey, Bill Barth, and Henry Vestine located him in a Tunica, Mississippi, hospital in 1964. His performance at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival was a sensation, and Cream's 1966 cover of 'I'm So Glad' brought him belated royalty income. He continued performing and recording until his death from cancer in 1969.