Ishmon Bracey (January 9, 1899
or 1901 – February 12, 1970), sometimes credited as Ishman Bracey, was an American
Delta blues
Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...
singer-guitarist.
Alongside his contemporary
Tommy Johnson, Bracey was a highly influential bluesman in
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...
, and was one of the area's earliest figures to record blues material. Bracey's recordings include "Trouble Hearted Blues" and "Left Alone Blues", both of which appear on several
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
s.
Biography
Bracey was born in the small town of
Byram, Mississippi
Byram () is a city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,489 as of the 2010 census, up from 7,386 at the 2000 census, at which time it was an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP); in 2020, its population was ...
. Most sources give his birth year as 1901, but researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc give 1899, based on
1900 census information.
Ishmon's parents were Richard and Etta Bracey. Bracey learned how to play the particular
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
style of
bottlenecking
Bottleneck literally refers to the narrowed portion (neck) of a bottle near its opening, which limit the rate of outflow, and may describe any object of a similar shape. The literal neck of a bottle was originally used to play what is now known as ...
from local
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
Rubin Lacey
Rubin "Rube" Lacy (or Lacey) (January 2, 1901 – November 14, 1969) was an American country blues musician, who played guitar and was a singer and songwriter.
Lacy was born in Pelahatchie, Mississippi, United States, and learned to play the gu ...
and Louis Cooper. He began his music career by performing at dances,
juke joint
Juke joint (also jukejoint, jook house, jook, or juke) is the vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African Americans in the southeastern United States. A juke joint ...
s,
fish fries, and other rural events before relocating to
Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name
Places
Australia
* Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson North, Qu ...
in the late 1910s.
[ Talent scout H. C. Speir approached Bracey while he was performing on Mill Street in 1927 with the intent of recording the musician for ]Victor Records
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...
. On February 4, 1928, Bracey completed his first two sides for the label
A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...
, "Saturday Blues" and "Left Alone Blues", at the Memphis Auditorium with Papa Charlie McCoy
Charles "Papa Charlie" McCoy (May 26, 1909 or 1911 – July 26, 1950) was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter.
Career
McCoy was born in Jackson, Mississippi. He was best known by his nickname, Papa Charlie. As a guitarist and mando ...
providing the backup guitar lines. Bracey and McCoy returned to Memphis on August 31 to record seven additional songs.
In most of his recordings, Bracey used distinctive variations on the usual three-line verse form of blues songs, and was one of the few Mississippi bluesmen who sang with a nasal tone without embellishment. Bracey returned to the studio in 1929 and early-1930 for Paramount Records
Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson.
Early years
Paramount Records was formed in 19 ...
, backed by the group the New Orleans Nehi Boys. The band featured Kid Ernest Michall on clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
and Charles Taylor (who Bracey accompanied on four sides of his own) on piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
, both unusual instruments to appear on Mississippi Delta blues
Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...
recordings. Like his associate Tommy Johnson, Bracey's total discography is relatively limited with only 16 songs, and original copies of his 78-rpm records are among the most valued items sought by blues collectors. His compositions "Trouble Hearted Blues" and "Left Alone Blues" are his most recognized works.[
He was an associate of Johnson's, and the two performed regularly together on the ]medicine show
Medicine shows were touring acts (traveling by truck, horse, or wagon teams) that peddled "miracle cure" patent medicines and other products between various entertainments. They developed from European Charlatan, mountebank shows and were common i ...
circuit in the early 1930s.[ Bracey played the blues until 1951 when he was ]ordain
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...
ed as a Baptist minister
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
. Although he would no longer partake in making blues music, Bracey still helped music historian Gayle Dean Wardlow
Gayle Dean Wardlow (born August 31, 1940) is an American historian of the blues. He is particularly associated with research into the lives of the musicians Charlie Patton and Robert Johnson and the historical development of the Delta blues, on w ...
in 1963 gather information on Delta blues musicians, most notably Skip James
Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James (June 9, 1902October 3, 1969) was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. AllMusic stated: "This emotional, lyrical performer was a talented blues guitarist and arranger with an impressive ...
. Bracey died on February 12, 1970; he is buried in Willow Park Cemetery in Jackson. Ishmon Bracey pastored a church in Canton, Ms at the time of his death.
Discography
*''The Famous 1928 Tommy Johnson–Ishman Bracey Session'' (Roots, 1970)
*''Complete Recordings in Chronological Order'' (Wolf, 1983)
*''Ishman Bracey & Charley Taylor 1928–1929'' (Document, 2000)
*''King of the Blues'', vol. 12 (P-Vine, 2003)
*''Suitcase Full of Blues'' (Monk, 2010)
See also
*List of country blues musicians
The following is a list of country blues musicians.
A
* Alger "Texas" Alexander (September 12, 1900, Jewett, Texas – April 16, 1954). Singer, a forebear of Texas blues. He did not play a musical instrument but was backed by such artists as ...
References
External links
*Biography
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
at Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
website
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...
Mississippi Blues Trail - Ishmon Bracey marker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bracey, Ishmon
Year of birth uncertain
1970 deaths
20th-century African-American male singers
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
American blues singers
Blues musicians from Mississippi
Country blues musicians
Delta blues musicians
RCA Victor artists
Paramount Records artists
20th-century American guitarists
Guitarists from Mississippi
African-American guitarists