Son House
One of Patton’s protégés was Son House. Son House (1902-1988) was not as well known as some of his peers, such as Robert Johnson and Charlie Patton, but he was one of the most powerful of the group – and he outlived them by a good 50 years. His playing was primitive, not flashy, and his vocal delivery was nothing if not impassioned. In his slide playing one could hear personal demons being fought, like the licking of flames at the boots of a mortal sinner.
Born near Lyon, Mississippi, House chopped cotton as a teenager while developing a passion for the Baptist church. At an early age he became a preacher but had a falling out with the church after having an affair with a woman ten years his senior.
In 1926 he began playing guitar, learning from an obscure local musician named James McCoy. But in 1928, at a house party near Lyon, House shot and killed a man. He was sentenced to work at Parchman Farm, a State penitentiary that also housed Bukka White, and that became notorious for its ill-treatment of its prisoners. A judge reexamined the case and House was released after 18 months. House was advised to leave the area and so he picked up and moved to the Clarksdale vicinity, where he struck up a friendship with Charlie Patton.
In 1930 House traveled with Patton to Grafton, Wisconsin, where he recorded his first sides. These early recordings established him as a powerful voice in the world of the blues. However, they did not lead to commercial success. There were no further recordings until Alan Lomax recorded him for the Library of Congress in 1941, and then again no recordings until the folk revival of the 1960s.
In the 1960s he could be seen at many festivals, playing his National resonator guitar and stomping his feet like a wild man. It was partly the rediscovery of House and his peers by a new white audience that helped propel a renewed interest in the blues. In his playing there was as much percussive attack – popping the strings, vocal groans – as there was melody. Often melody seemed to be sacrificed for the outpouring of emotion that came out in House’s performances. He alternated his single note slide runs with descending bass lines. House truly seemed like a man haunted by demons. When he played slide it was like shards of glass on hard pavement, not always a pleasing sound, but a raw and truthful one.
Song: ‘Empire State Blues’
Guitar: National Triolian, Duolian, or Style 0
One of Patton’s protégés was Son House. Son House (1902-1988) was not as well known as some of his peers, such as Robert Johnson and Charlie Patton, but he was one of the most powerful of the group – and he outlived them by a good 50 years. His playing was primitive, not flashy, and his vocal delivery was nothing if not impassioned. In his slide playing one could hear personal demons being fought, like the licking of flames at the boots of a mortal sinner.
Born near Lyon, Mississippi, House chopped cotton as a teenager while developing a passion for the Baptist church. At an early age he became a preacher but had a falling out with the church after having an affair with a woman ten years his senior.
In 1926 he began playing guitar, learning from an obscure local musician named James McCoy. But in 1928, at a house party near Lyon, House shot and killed a man. He was sentenced to work at Parchman Farm, a State penitentiary that also housed Bukka White, and that became notorious for its ill-treatment of its prisoners. A judge reexamined the case and House was released after 18 months. House was advised to leave the area and so he picked up and moved to the Clarksdale vicinity, where he struck up a friendship with Charlie Patton.
In 1930 House traveled with Patton to Grafton, Wisconsin, where he recorded his first sides. These early recordings established him as a powerful voice in the world of the blues. However, they did not lead to commercial success. There were no further recordings until Alan Lomax recorded him for the Library of Congress in 1941, and then again no recordings until the folk revival of the 1960s.
In the 1960s he could be seen at many festivals, playing his National resonator guitar and stomping his feet like a wild man. It was partly the rediscovery of House and his peers by a new white audience that helped propel a renewed interest in the blues. In his playing there was as much percussive attack – popping the strings, vocal groans – as there was melody. Often melody seemed to be sacrificed for the outpouring of emotion that came out in House’s performances. He alternated his single note slide runs with descending bass lines. House truly seemed like a man haunted by demons. When he played slide it was like shards of glass on hard pavement, not always a pleasing sound, but a raw and truthful one.
Song: ‘Empire State Blues’
Guitar: National Triolian, Duolian, or Style 0