Died On This Date (October 3, 1969) Skip James / Blues Legend
themusicsover Nehemiah “Skip” James
June 21, 1902 – October 3, 1969
Skip James was a hard living bootlegger, a sharecropper and a hard laborer. But above all, he was one of the most influential of the early Delta bluesmen. With a unique and highly sophisticated style of picking coupled with a ghostly falsetto voice, James was indeed one of a kind. His form of playing and singing was a direct influence on many, such as Robert Johnson, but no one has ever truly been able to replicate it effectively. James’ professional music career began in 1931 when he began recording sides of Paramount Records. James re-recorded many blues standards at the time, but it was generally his versions of the songs that later got covered by the likes of Johnson and even later, Cream, Deep Purple and Beck. As quick as James came onto the scene, he vanished. Over the next three decades, he rarely performed live and made no new recordings, becoming not much more than a footnote in blues history, until the early ’60s when he was “re-discovered” during the folk and blues revival. After being descovered by folk guitarists John Fahey, Bill Barth, and Henry Vestine in a Mississippi hospital in 1964, James’ career was put back on track. During his later years, he was a featured performer at the Newport Folk Festival and recorded for Takoma Records and Vanguard Records, where he was dubbed a “Vanguard Visionary” by future Vice-President, Dan Sell. His influence on pop culture has been felt in recent years as well. Indie rock icon, Beck covered his “He’s A Mighty Good Leader” in 1994, while Chris Thomas King recorded his “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues” for the O’ Brother, Where Art Thou flim and soundtrack. And his “Devil Got My Woman” was prominently featured both the plot of and soundtrack to the 2001 cult hit, Ghost World, starring Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson. With his health deteriorating in later years, Skip James passed away in 1969 at the age of 69.
What You Should Own
Darryl DeLoach was the original lead singer and lyricist for San Diego psychedelic rock band, Iron Butterfly. Some consider Iron Butterfly to be the very first heavy metal band. The group released their first album, Heavy, in 1968. It contained several songs written by DeLoach who left the band shortly after its release. The band’s next album (without DeLoach) contained their biggest hit, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” DeRoach continued to record post-Iron Butterfly, but not much is known about his more recent years. He died of liver cancer at the age of 54.
Benjamin Orr is best remembered as the bassist and co-lead singer of popular Boston new wave band, the Cars. Formed by Orr and Ric Ocasek in 1976, the band released a string of multi-platinum albums and hit singles that helped define ’80s pop music. They were also one of the early bands adopted by MTV. Orr sang lead on such hit singles as “Drive,” “Just What I Needed,” and “Let’s Go.” In 1986, he left the group and recorded his solo debut, The Lace, and then left the group the following year. Orr continued to record and perform live in various incarnations up until just a few months before his death. Benjamin Orr, age 53, died of pancreatic cancer on October 3, 2000.
“Johnny J” Jackson was a hip hop producer and rapper who, over the course of his career, produced albums and records that sold in the millions. Born in Mexico and raised in South Central Los Angeles, Jackson’s career kicked into high gear in 1990 when he produced a “one-hit-wonder” for his friend Candall Mason, better known as Candyman. That song was “Knockin’ Boots,” which helped Candyman’s Shame In The Game album go platinum. The success of “Knockin’ Boots” opened the door for Jackson to meet