Yank Rachell (born James A. Rachel; March 16, 1903 or 1910 – April 9, 1997) 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 has been called an "elder statesman of the blues". His career as a performer spanned nearly seventy years, from the late 1920s to the 1990s.

Career

Rachell grew up in

Brownsville, Tennessee Brownsville is a city in and the county seat of Haywood County, Tennessee, Haywood County, Tennessee, United States, located in the western Its population as of the 2010 census was 10,292, with a decrease to 9,788 at the 2020 census. The city is n ...

. There is uncertainty over his birth year; although his gravestone shows 1910, researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc conclude, on the basis of a 1920 census entry, that he was probably born in 1903. In 1958, during the

American folk music 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-Benn ...

, he moved to

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. He recorded for

Delmark Records Delmark Records is an American jazz and blues independent record label. It was founded in 1958 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when then owner, and founder, Bob Koester released a recordi ...

and Blue Goose Records. He was a capable guitarist and singer but was better known as a master of 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 Afr ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

. He bought his first mandolin at age eight, in a trade for a pig his family had given him to raise. He often performed with the guitarist and singer

Sleepy John Estes John Adam Estes (January 25, 1899 or 1900June 5, 1977),
known as Sleepy John Estes, was an Am ...

. "

She Caught the Katy "She Caught the Katy (And Left Me a Mule to Ride)" is a blues standard written by Taj Mahal and James Rachell. The song was first recorded for Taj Mahal's 1968 album ''The Natch'l Blues'', and is one of Mahal's most famous tunes. It has since been ...

," which he wrote with

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

, is considered a

blues standard Blues standards are blues songs that have attained a high level of recognition due to having been widely performed and recorded. They represent the best known and most interpreted blues songs that are seen as standing the test of time. Blues s ...

. He appeared in the 1985 documentary film ''

Louie Bluie Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong (March 4, 1909 – July 30, 2003) was an American string band and country blues musician, who played fiddle, mandolin, and guitar and sang. He was also a notable visual artist and raconteur. Early life Willia ...

'' (directed by

Terry Zwigoff Terry Zwigoff (born May 18, 1949) is an American filmmaker whose work often deals with misfits, antiheroes, and themes of alienation. He first garnered attention for his work in documentary filmmaking with ''Louie Bluie'' (1985) and '' Crumb'' (1 ...

), about the musician Howard Armstrong. Rachell performed with

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969J-Band in the film.Norris, Sharon. ''

Haywood County Tennessee Haywood may refer to: Places Canada * Haywood, Manitoba United Kingdom * Haywood, Herefordshire * Great Haywood, Staffordshire * Little Haywood, Staffordshire United States * Hayward, California, formerly Haywood * Haywood, Kentucky * Haywood ...

''. Black America Series. Arcadia Publishing, 2000, . By the mid-1990s, Rachell and

Henry Townsend Henry Townsend may refer to: *Henry Townsend (Norwich) (1626–1695), early American colonist born in Norwich, Norfolk, England *Henry Townsend (Oyster Bay) (1649–1703), American colonist born in Oyster Bay *Henry Townsend (missionary) (1815–18 ...

were the only blues musicians still active whose careers started in the 1920s. Late in his life Rachell suffered from

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

, which shortened his playing sessions, but he recorded an album just before his death, ''Too Hot for the Devil.''

Film

*''

'' (1985), directed by

References

External links

Yank Rachell page from Blues World site
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rachell, Yank 20th-century births 1997 deaths People from Brownsville, Tennessee Country blues musicians American blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Piedmont blues musicians Delmark Records artists Jug band musicians African-American guitarists American blues mandolinists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers

Career

Film

See also

References

External links