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| A strong riff on the original photo. |
There’s an entire book written about 1920s blues legend, Blind Lemon Jefferson, but there isn’t a whole lot about him online. Don’t expect this post to improve much on Wikipedia's entry, basically; a couple decent quotes notwithstanding, it provides the bulk of this post. That said, and because I have them, let's start with one of those quotes (from Oldies.com):
“He had a good vocal range, honed by use in widely different venues, and a complicated, dense, free-form guitar style that became a nightmare for future analysts and copyists due to its disregard for time and bar structure.”
One more, this one’s from Wikipedia:
“It is likely that he moved to Deep Ellum on a more permanent basis by 1917, where he met Aaron Thibeaux Walker, also known as T-Bone Walker. Jefferson taught Walker the basics of playing blues guitar in exchange for Walker's occasional services as a guide.”
To answer the first question, yes, Jefferson was really blind. Born in 1893 (or 1894), the seventh (or eighth) child of sharecroppers Alex and Clarissa Jefferson in Coutchman, Texas, his lack of sight precluded working as a farm-hand, which, if nothing else, freed up his hands for the guitar. He started playing at an early age, first at parties and picnics near home; his late teens saw him busking on street corners in the cities of East Texas, all the way up to Dallas. Most accounts agree that Jefferson traveled widely - presumably, with someone standing in for T-Bone Walker at each stop - without his blindness getting in any part of his way (as noted most succinctly on Blackpast.org):
“It was widely thought that he played in every Southern state at one time or another and several artists recount stories of playing with him multiple times. Lemon was a firm businessman, playing only for money, with a reputation for stopping as soon as it did.”
Among those “several artists”: the famous Huddie William Ledbetter, aka, Lead Belly. Beyond a collection of names and places, tracing Jefferson’s footsteps involves jumping over some gaps. It’s unclear, for instance, who discovered him or how, but the fact he lived and worked in Deep Ellum feels like the likeliest answer to how - i.e., the gathering of blues artists drew music industry interest looking for people to record. Some things never change...
“He had a good vocal range, honed by use in widely different venues, and a complicated, dense, free-form guitar style that became a nightmare for future analysts and copyists due to its disregard for time and bar structure.”
One more, this one’s from Wikipedia:
“It is likely that he moved to Deep Ellum on a more permanent basis by 1917, where he met Aaron Thibeaux Walker, also known as T-Bone Walker. Jefferson taught Walker the basics of playing blues guitar in exchange for Walker's occasional services as a guide.”
To answer the first question, yes, Jefferson was really blind. Born in 1893 (or 1894), the seventh (or eighth) child of sharecroppers Alex and Clarissa Jefferson in Coutchman, Texas, his lack of sight precluded working as a farm-hand, which, if nothing else, freed up his hands for the guitar. He started playing at an early age, first at parties and picnics near home; his late teens saw him busking on street corners in the cities of East Texas, all the way up to Dallas. Most accounts agree that Jefferson traveled widely - presumably, with someone standing in for T-Bone Walker at each stop - without his blindness getting in any part of his way (as noted most succinctly on Blackpast.org):
“It was widely thought that he played in every Southern state at one time or another and several artists recount stories of playing with him multiple times. Lemon was a firm businessman, playing only for money, with a reputation for stopping as soon as it did.”
Among those “several artists”: the famous Huddie William Ledbetter, aka, Lead Belly. Beyond a collection of names and places, tracing Jefferson’s footsteps involves jumping over some gaps. It’s unclear, for instance, who discovered him or how, but the fact he lived and worked in Deep Ellum feels like the likeliest answer to how - i.e., the gathering of blues artists drew music industry interest looking for people to record. Some things never change...
