H. C. Speir (October 6, 1895 – April 22, 1972) was an American "talent broker" and

record store A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells recorded music. In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records, but over the 20th century, record shops sold the new formats that were ...

owner from Jackson, Mississippi. He was responsible for launching the recording careers of most of the greatest Mississippi

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

musicians in the 1920s and 1930s. It has been said that, "Speir was the godfather of Delta Blues" and was "a musical visionary". Without Speir, Mississippi's greatest natural resource might have gone untapped."

Biography

Born Henry Columbus Speir in

Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (mining ...

, Mississippi, Speir was a white businessman who ran a music and mercantile store on Farish Street, in Jackson's black neighborhood. In 1926, through selling blues records in his store, he began working as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

for the record companies producing the records, such as Okeh,

Victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

Gennett Gennett (pronounced "jennett") was an American record company and label in Richmond, Indiana, United States, which flourished in the 1920s. Gennett produced some of the earliest recordings by Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Bix Beiderbecke, and Hoa ...

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

, Vocalion, Decca and

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

. Using a metal disc machine in his store, Speir made demo

recordings A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

of the musicians that he sent to the labels, before arranging for more formal recording sessions. Word spread among blues musicians that Speir could help them make records, and many came to audition at the store. This audition process — along with the ensuing recording sessions — was dramatized in the

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker, playwright, author, and photographer. He is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among many honors, he has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Docum ...

-directed installment of the television mini-series '' Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: A Musical Journey'', entitled "

The Soul of a Man ''The Soul of a Man'' is a 2003 documentary film, directed by Wim Wenders, as the second instalment of the documentary film series ''The Blues'', produced by Martin Scorsese. The film explores the musical careers of blues musicians Skip James, ...

", which aired on PBS in 2003. Among the numerous musicians whom Speir introduced to the record companies were

William Harris William or Will or Willie Harris may refer to: Politicians and political activists *William Harris (born 1504) (1504–?), MP for Newport, Cornwall * William Harris (died 1556), MP for Maldon * William Harris (MP, died 1709) (c. 1652–1709), Engl ...

, Ishman Bracey, Tommy Johnson, Charlie Patton, Son House, Skip James, Robert Johnson, Bo Carter, Willie Brown, the

Mississippi Sheiks The Mississippi Sheiks were a popular and influential American guitar and fiddle group of the 1930s. They were notable mostly for playing country blues but were adept at many styles of popular music of the time. They recorded around 70 tracks, ...

Blind Joe Reynolds "Blind Joe" Reynolds (1900 or 1904 – March 10, 1968), was an American singer-songwriter and blues guitarist. Reynolds is thought to have been born in Tallulah, Louisiana in 1904, although his death certificate states his birthplace as Arkansa ...

, Blind Roosevelt Graves,

Geeshie Wiley Geeshie Wiley was an American country blues singer and guitar player who recorded six songs for Paramount Records, issued on three records in April 1930.Death Certificate for Thornton Wiley, dated December 13, 1931 According to the blues histori ...

, and Robert Wilkins. He also auditioned, but turned down,

Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmi ...

. Speir retired from recording in 1936, and left Farish Street after a 1942 fire at his store. In the 1960s, Speir was extensively interviewed by blues scholar Gayle Dean Wardlow about the recordings he had made. On April 22, 1972, Speir died at his home in Pearl, Mississippi after a heart attack. He is buried alongside his wife at Lakewood Memorial Park Cemetery, in Clinton, Hinds County, Mississippi. Speir was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2005.

References

External links

H. C. Speir bio
(introduction)

(part 1)

(part 2)

(part 3) {{DEFAULTSORT:Speir, H. C. 1895 births 1972 deaths Gennett Records artists People from Newton County, Mississippi People from Pearl, Mississippi