Blind Lemon Jefferson was born between September of 1893 and July 1897. He was born and raised in Couchman Texas which is a part of the Freestone Country. It is about halfway between Dallas and Houston. Jefferson was born blind, which is why his stage name pays homage to that. He was the youngest of seven kids! Jefferson started music when he was a teenager. He would learn prison songs and spiritual pieces on the guitar. He would work at parties as well as standing on the street to get playing time. According to Britannica, he worked in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and even Virginia. In 1925, Jefferson left Texas and moved to Chicago. At first, Jefferson was not planning on moving to Chicago, but after attending recording sessions with Paramount, he decided to move. After his move, he was signed to Paramount Records in 1926 and stayed with them until 1929 when the Great Depression hit. He worked with Lead Belly during this time. Jefferson was widely known for his “… high voice, shouting style and advanced guitar technique, which used melodic lead lines, bent notes, and imitative effects as well as his lyrics and themes, became staples of blues through such disciplines as Lead Belly…”. In 1980, Jefferson was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame as a part of their first class. He passed away sometime in December of 1929 in Chicago.
One of Blind Lemon Jefferson’s popular songs is Match Box Blues. They only recorded this song two times because they were so happy with the outcome. Match Box Blues was so popular that a lot of artists went on to cover it. Encyclopedia.com states, “… several decades later found its way into the repertoires of Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles.”
Another one of his popular songs is See That My Grave Is Kept Clean. Once again, this song is so popular that more people went on to cover this song. This song is much longer than Match Box Blues which intrigues me for some reason. I expected all of his songs to be around the same length. I think it is very ironic that this song is titled the way it is. This is because when he passed, his grave was unmarked for the longest time. It was covered in weeds and never taken care of.
The last peak song that I chose was Prison Cell Blues. I chose this song mostly because of the lyrics. As you will read shortly, his songs incorporated the 12 Bar Blues. However, this song does not follow the same style. Yes, he repeats the lyric “Lord, I wouldn’t have been here if it had not been for Nell”, but it is not the 12-bar blue style.
A lot of Jefferson’s songs do not really relate to Texas. Which I think is very interesting. He grew up in Texas and did not leave until his 30s. So why would his songs not relate to Texas? I want to know more about that. I think some can relate them back to Texas if you really read into it. However, I just see the songs specifically more of a story. The lyrics tell a story throughout the whole song. I also noticed that during a lot of his songs, he repeats the lyrics. Which can be thought of as the start of the 12 Bar Blues. Blind Lemon Jefferson can be thanked for bringing the Blues style to the surface. He was able to become a star even with some difficulties that not everyone had to deal with.
Works Cited
“Blind Lemon Jefferson.” Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/biography/Blind-Lemon-Jefferson.
“Blind Lemon Jefferson.” Encyclopedia.com | Free Online Encyclopedia, www.encyclopedia.com/history/historians-and-chronicles/historians-miscellaneous-biographies/blind-lemon-jefferson.
