Homesick James (April 30, 1910December 13, 2006
was an American
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 ...
musician known for his mastery of the
slide guitar
Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos t ...
. He worked with his cousin,
Elmore James
Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ...
, and with
Sonny Boy Williamson II
Alex or Aleck Miller (originally Ford, possibly December 5, 1912 – May 24, 1965), known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was an early and influential blues harp st ...
.
Early years
Homesick James was born in
Somerville, Tennessee
Somerville is a town in Fayette County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Memphis metropolitan area. The population was 3,415 at the 2020 census, up from 3,094 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Fayette County.
History
The to ...
, United States, the son of Cordellia Henderson and Plez Williamson Rivers, who were both musicians. The year of his birth is uncertain. He stated that he was born in 1905,
1910,
[ or 1914,][Russell, T.; Smith, C. (2006). ''The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings''. London: Penguin Books. p. 263.] while his union records give 1924. His actual birth name has given as James Williamson or John Henderson.
Little is known about his early life. He developed a self-taught style of slide guitar through playing at local dances in his teens. He claimed to have played with Yank Rachell
Yank Rachell (born James A. Rachel; March 16, 1903 or 1910 – April 9, 1997) was an American country blues musician who has been called an "elder statesman of the blues". His career as a performer spanned nearly seventy years, from the late 19 ...
, Sleepy John Estes
John Adam Estes (January 25, 1899 or 1900June 5, 1977),
known as Sleepy John Estes, was an Am ...
, Blind Boy Fuller
Blind Boy Fuller (born Fulton Allen, July 10, 1904February 13, 1941) was an American blues guitarist and singer. Fuller was one of the most popular of the recorded Piedmont blues artists, rural African Americans, along with Blind Blake, Josh Whi ...
, Sonny Boy Williamson II
Alex or Aleck Miller (originally Ford, possibly December 5, 1912 – May 24, 1965), known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was an early and influential blues harp st ...
and Big Joe Williams
Joseph Lee "Big Joe" Williams (October 16, 1903 – December 17, 1982) was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar. Performing over five decades, he recorded the s ...
, among others, and to have been acquainted with Robert Johnson
Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...
. He also claimed to be the older cousin of Elmore James
Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ...
, to have bought James his first guitar, and to have taught him how to play slide. However, some of these claims are unconfirmed.
In 1932, he relocated to Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, Illinois, working with Horace Henderson
Horace W. Henderson (November 22, 1904 – August 29, 1988), the younger brother of Fletcher Henderson, was an American jazz pianist, organist, arranger, and bandleader.
Henderson was born in Cuthbert, Georgia, United States. While later a ...
's band at the Circle Inn and with the pianist Jimmy Walker at the Square Deal Club. He may have first recorded for RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
in 1937, but this is also unconfirmed, and by 1938 may have begun playing electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...
. His first known recordings were in 1952 for Chance Records
Chance Records was a Chicago-based label founded in 1950 by Art Sheridan. It specialized in blues, jazz, doo-wop, and gospel.
Among the acts who recorded for Chance were The Flamingos, The Moonglows, Homesick James, J. B. Hutto, Brother Joh ...
, recording the tracks "Lonesome Ole Train" and "Homesick", which gave him his stage name. During the late 1940s and 1950s he worked with Sonny Boy Williamson II
Alex or Aleck Miller (originally Ford, possibly December 5, 1912 – May 24, 1965), known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was an early and influential blues harp st ...
(Rice Miller), and with Elmore James, and in the early 1950s he worked in bands including Baby Face Leroy Foster, Snooky Pryor, Floyd Jones
Floyd Jones (July 21, 1917 – December 19, 1989) was an African-American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. He was one of the first of the new generation of electric blues artists to record in Chicago after World War II, and a number of h ...
, and Lazy Bill Lucas
Lazy Bill Lucas (May 29, 1918 – December 11, 1982) was an American blues musician who was part of the birth of the Chicago blues scene in the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s. He then took his talents to Minneapolis, Minnesota, becoming an im ...
. He was a member of Elmore James's band from 1955 to 1963, contributing to such tracks as " Dust My Broom," " The Sky Is Crying," and "Roll and Tumble." Elmore James is said to have died on Homesick's couch, while the latter frantically searched for the former's heart pills.
Solo performer
As a solo performer, he recorded for the Colt and USA labels in 1962, including a cover version of Robert Johnson's "Crossroads
Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to:
* Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet
Film and television Films
* ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa
* ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...
". His slide guitar style, not as refined as Elmore James's, traces back to Johnson's. He also recorded a 1964 album for Prestige Records
Prestige Records is a jazz record company and label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock in New York City which issued recordings in the mainstream, bop, and cool jazz idioms. The company recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz music ...
, ''Blues on the South Side'' (Prestige OBCCD 529-2), including another of his best-known covers, "Stones in My Passway", and some tracks for Vanguard
The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force.
History
The vanguard derives f ...
, which are available on the compilation album ''Chicago: The Blues Today''.
Later years and death
During the 1970s, Homesick was reintroduced to European audiences through his participation in the 1973 and 1975 editions of the ''American Blues Legends'' tours and albums organised by Big Bear Records
Big or BIG may refer to:
* Big, of great size or degree
Film and television
* ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks
* ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show
* ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show presente ...
, also recording a solo album ''Home Sweet Homesick James'' and a duo album with Snooky Pryor for the UK-based label.
One of his own songs, "Gotta Move" (also on ''Blues on the South Side'') was covered (as "Got to Move") by Elmore James and by Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...
. He is mentioned by name in the 1989 song " Fergus Sings the Blues" by the Scottish rock band Deacon Blue
Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow during 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The band released their debut albu ...
, with the lyric "Homesick James, my biggest influence".
From 1972 through 2006, Homesick lived in Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, Fresno and finally Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...
, where he died at age 96.
Partial discography
* 1963: ''Hard Drivin' Blues
''Hard Drivin' Blues'' is an album by blues musician Roosevelt Sykes with Homesick James Williamson recorded in 1963 and released by the Delmark label the following year. '' (Delmark) with Roosevelt Sykes
Roosevelt Sykes (January 31, 1906July 17, 1983) was an American blues musician, also known as "the Honeydripper".
Career
Sykes was born the son of a musician in Elmar, Arkansas. "Just a little old sawmill town", Sykes said of his birthplace. The ...
* 1964: ''Blues on the South Side'' (Prestige/Original Blues)
* 1972: ''The Country Blues'' (Blues On Blues)
* 1973: ''Ain't Sick No More'' (Bluesway)
* 1973: ''Homesick James Williamson & Snooky Pryor'' (Caroline under licence from Big Bear)
* 1976: ''Home Sweet Homesick James'' (Big Bear)
* 1977: ''Goin' Back Home'' (32 Jazz)
* 1979: ''Chicago Blues Festival Vol. 1'' (Black and Blue)
* 1980: ''Homesick James & Snooky Pryor: Sad and Lonesome'' (Wolf)
* 1992: ''Sweet Home Tennessee'' (as Homesick James & The Hypnotics) (Appaloosa)
* 1994: ''Goin' Back in the Times'' (Earwig)
* 1995: ''Got to Move'' (Trix Records)
* 1994: ''Juanita'' (Appaloosa)
* 1997: ''Words of Wisdom'' (Priority)
* 1998: ''Last of the Broomdusters'' (Fedora)
* 2003: ''Homesick James & Snooky Prior: The Big Bear Sessions'' (Sanctuary Records)
References
External links
Illustrated Homesick James discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Homesick James
1910 births
2006 deaths
Blues musicians from Tennessee
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
American blues singers
American street performers
Slide guitarists
People from Somerville, Tennessee
Vanguard Records artists
20th-century American singers
20th-century American guitarists
Guitarists from Tennessee
20th-century American male musicians
Black & Blue Records artists
Earwig Music artists
USA Records artists
Southland Records artists