Post #1569887

Every now and then you need Skip James. This tune was originally recorded in 1931, and only about a thousand copies were made at the time. As his best selling track, it sold only 650 copies. This, it can safely be said, is down to segregation. Also the Depression did not help. Like many Blues artists of the era, he gave up on the industry and walked away to lead another life. In many cases, like say, Son House, this means going back to agricultural work. In Skip James' case, he was workin in the church. And like some Blues artists (but by no means all, many are never even recorded), the 1960s brought with it a new audence. The term 'rediscovery' often comes up to describe what is really, the white audiences catching up very late in the day in the wake of rock artists hitting their stride. This new fame would come at a time where James' health was in trouble, from 64-69. This footage here is from 67, right in the middle of that. It's notable that even just this video here has 1.9M views. There was always an audience for this, but when you limit somebody's reach, you limit their ability to survive. But it survives. He survives. The style survives. There's a victory in that. Skip James - Hard Time Killing Floor Blues https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYALBzfY5QY