Mississippi John Hurt

Mississippi John Hurt
Hurt recording for the Library of Congress in July 1963
Background information
Birth name	John Smith Hurt
Born	(1893-03-08)March 8, 1893 Teoc, Mississippi, U.S.
Origin	Avalon, Mississippi, U.S.
Died	November 2, 1966(1966-11-02) (aged 73) Grenada, Mississippi, U.S.
Genres	Country blues delta blues folk
Occupation(s)	Musician songwriter
Instrument(s)	Guitar vocals
Years active	1901–1966
Labels	Okeh Vanguard

John Smith Hurt (March 8, 1893^{[1][nb 1]} – November 2, 1966), known as Mississippi John Hurt, was an American country blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist.^[3]

Hurt was raised in Avalon, Mississippi and taught himself to play the guitar around the age of nine. He worked as a sharecropper and began playing at dances and parties, singing to a melodious fingerpicked accompaniment.^[4] His first recordings, made for Okeh Records in 1928, were commercial failures, and he continued to work as a farmer.

Dick Spottswood and Tom Hoskins, a blues enthusiast, located Hurt in 1963 and persuaded him to move to Washington, D.C.^[5] He was recorded by the Library of Congress in 1964. This helped further the American folk music revival, which led to the rediscovery of many other bluesmen of Hurt's era. Hurt performed on the university and coffeehouse concert circuit with other Delta blues musicians who were brought out of retirement. He also recorded several albums for Vanguard Records.

Hurt returned to Grenada, Mississippi, in 1966, where he died at the age of 73.

Material recorded by Hurt has been re-released by several record labels. His songs have been recorded by Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, Jerry Garcia, Beck, Doc Watson, John McCutcheon, Taj Mahal, Bruce Cockburn, David Johansen, Bill Morrissey, Gillian Welch, The Be Good Tanyas, Josh Ritter, Chris Smither, Guthrie Thomas, Parsonsfield, and Rory Block.^[6]

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