J. D. Short (December 26, 1902 – October 21, 1962) 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, and harmonicist with a distinctive vibrato-laden singing voice. Early in his career, he recorded under a number of pseudonyms, including Jelly Jaw Short. His noteworthy works include "Lonesome Swamp Rattlesnake" and "You're Tempting Me".

Biography

Short was born in Port Gibson, Mississippi. He was a cousin of

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 ...

and David "Honeyboy" Edwards. He learned to play the piano and the guitar at an early age. He later mastered the harmonica, saxophone,

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 drums. He performed locally in the

Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo ...

at house parties. In 1923, he relocated to St. Louis, Missouri. Short went on to play with the Neckbones, Henry Spaulding, Honeyboy Edwards, Douglas Williams, and his cousin,

. In the 1930s, he recorded for Vocalion Records. The musician Henry Townsend, in his autobiography, ''A Blues Life'', told of an incident in St. Louis in which, seemingly out of jealousy of Townsend's musical standing, Short attacked and stabbed him twice. Later, by way of revenge, Townsend shot Short in the genitals, destroying Short's testicles. The account was also mentioned in Townsend's obituary in '' The Guardian''. Short continued performing in St. Louis after World War II, often as a one-man band and sometimes with his cousin, Big Joe Williams. Short disappeared from the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

for more than two decades before re-emerging during the

blues revival The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Billie Holiday, Richard Dyer-Ben ...

of the 1960s. He achieved national recognition and went on to record for Delmark Records and

Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. History The Folkways Records & Service ...

. Later, some of his recordings were released by Sonet Records. Short appeared in a documentary film entitled ''

The 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 African- ...

'' that was released in 1963, where he was featured singing "Slidin' Delta". He died of a heart attack in October 1962, at the age of 59, in St. Louis.

Discography

;Compilations *''Stavin' Chain Blues'', with

(1961, Delmark Records) *''Blues from the Mississippi Delta'', with Son House (1963,

) *''Legacy of the Blues Vol. 8'' (Sonet 648), 1973, recorded in St. Louis, July 1962

References

External links

Complete discography at Wirz.de
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Short, J.D. 1902 births 1962 deaths People from Port Gibson, Mississippi American blues harmonica players American blues singers Songwriters from Mississippi Singers from Mississippi Memphis blues musicians Delta blues musicians Country blues musicians St. Louis blues musicians Delmark Records artists 20th-century American singers Blues musicians from Mississippi Sonet Records artists

Biography

Discography

See also

References

External links