Rubin "Rube" Lacy (or Lacey) (January 2, 1901 – November 14, 1969) was an American

country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...

musician, who played guitar and was a singer and songwriter. Lacy was born in

Pelahatchie, Mississippi Pelahatchie is a town in Rankin County, Mississippi, United States. The town's population was 1,334 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its zip code is 39145. History Pelahatchie was founded i ...

, United States, and learned to play the guitar in his teens from an older performer, George Hendrix. Working out of the

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 ...

area 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 ...

, he became one of the state's most popular blues singers. His bottleneck style inspired that of the better-known performer

Son House Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902His date of birth is a matter of some debate. House alleged that he was middle-aged during World War I and that he was 79 in 1965, which would make his date of birth around 1886. However, all legal re ...

. In 1927, he recorded four songs for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, though none were released, and the masters do not survive. In 1928, Lacy recorded two songs, "Mississippi Jail House Groan" and "Ham Hound Crave", 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 ...

, which constitute his recorded legacy. Four years later he became a minister. He was later found living in

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 173,51 ...

, by the blues researcher David Evans, who recorded him with his congregation. He died there on November 14, 1969."Rube Lacy Discography"
Wirz.de. Retrieved 2 January 2016.

References

Sources

* R. Crumb, ''Heroes of Blues, Jazz and Country''

External links

Rubin Lacy on the Mississippi Blues Trail
1901 births 1969 deaths Country blues musicians American blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Slide guitarists Paramount Records artists Songwriters from Mississippi Singers from Mississippi 20th-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Mississippi 20th-century American male singers American male songwriters {{US-country-musician-stub