James, Elmore

Born in Richland, Holmes County, Mississippi. Elmore began playing at the age of 12 using a makeshift single-string instrument. The musical career began with dance performances under the names Cleanhead and Joe Willie James ^[3] .

Elmore James had a chance to speak with such eminent contemporaries as Sonny Boy Williamson and Robert Johnson ^[3] . He met Johnson around 1937 and took over from him some elements of both playing the blues on the guitar and the technique of playing the slide. Elmore James was also influenced by Kokomo Arnold and Tampa Red (several Tampa Red songs were recorded with Elmore James). Around the same time, Elmore James met with Rice Miller, who would later become known as Sonny Boy Williamson II. They often performed a duet ^[2] .

During the Second World War, Elmore James served in the Navy. After demobilization, he returns to Mississippi and settles in Canton with his brother Robert Halston. There Elmore James organized the first electric blues band in the region playing through amplifiers ^{[2] [3]} .

In 1951, he began recording on the small Trumpet Records label , first as a guest musician with Sonny Boy Williamson and Willy Love, and then as a solo artist debuted with the single “ Dust My Broom ”. The recording was an authorized version of the blues of Robert Johnson ^[2] . The single was released in 1952 and became one of the rhythm and blues bestsellers of the year. Larger record companies offered Elmore James a contract with them.

Elmore James terminates the contract with Trumpet and signs with Bihari Brothers . The song "I Believe" becomes popular next year. In the 1950s, Elmore James also collaborated with the labels Flair Records and Meteor Records ^[4] , Modern Records , Chess Records , Chief Records .

In 1959, he began collaborating with Fire Records , where he made his best recordings: “The Sky Is Crying”, “My Bleeding Heart”, “Stranger Blues”, “Look On Yonder Wall”, “Done Somebody Wrong”, “ Shake Your Moneymaker. "

Death

Elmore James's health was seriously undermined by an unhealthy lifestyle, especially by excessive drinking. In 1963, James's health deteriorated, as a result of which he refused the planned tours. On May 24, 1963, James, who was in Chicago at that time, had a heart attack before traveling to Europe as part of the American Folk Blues Festival. The musician died at the 46th year of life. The burial expenses were incurred by Chicago DJ Big Bill Hill.

The musician was buried in the cemetery of the Baptist Church in Newport , Holmes County, Mississippi . The tombstone on James’s grave was installed on December 10, 1992 at the expense of Capricorn Records owner Phil Walden. On the front side of black granite is a bronze sculpture of James with a guitar and a signature carved in stone: “The King of the Slide Guitar” (Slide Guitar King). On the reverse side is the line of the song “The Sky Is Crying”: “The Sky Is Cryin '... Look at the Tears Roll Down the Street” ( Heaven is crying ... Look at the tears flowing down the street ).

Producer Bobby Robinson later recalled that day: “I did not see how he died, and when I found out about it, I was very upset” ^[5] . Elmore’s cousin Homesick James, who lived with him, said: “He sat on a chair and dressed, as he was about to go to the club. Other musicians were waiting for him in the car. And suddenly he felt pain and fell to the floor. He had already suffered one heart attack, and I realized that Elmore was dead. It was a shock and a big loss for all of us ” ^[5] .

After the death of James, Robinson founded the recording studio "Enjoy Records" and released old material from the singer, recorded on various labels. In the spring of 1965, the song “It Hurts Me Too” (Enjoy 2015) took 15th place in the Billboard charts ^[6] .

• Blues After Hours (Crown 5168, 1961)
• The Best Of (Sue 918 [UK], 1965)
• The Sky Is Crying (Sphere Sound 7002, 1965)
• Memorial Album (Sue 927 [UK], 1965)
• The Blues In My Heart, The Rhythm In My Soul (re-release of Blues After Hours ) (United 716, 1966)
• The Blues In My Heart, The Rhythm In My Soul (re-release of Blues After Hours ) (Custom 2054, 1966)
• Original Folk Blues (Kent 522, 1967)
• I Need You (Sphere Sound 7008, 1967)
• The Late Fantastically Great (re-release of Blues After Hours ) (Ember 3397 [UK], 1968)
• Tough (Chess recordings plus tracks by John Brim) (Blue Horizon 7-63204 [UK], 1968)
• Something Inside of Me (Bell 104, 1968)
• The Legend Of Elmore James (Kent 9001, 1969)
• Elmore James (Bell 6037, 1969)
• Whose Muddy Shoes (plus tracks by John Brim) (Chess 1537, 1969)
• The Resurrection Of Elmore James (Kent 9010, 1969)
• To Know A Man [2LP] (Blue Horizon 7-66230 [UK], 1969)
• King of the Slide Guitar (1992)
• Charly Blues Masterworks Volume 28: Standing at the Crossroad (1993)
• The Sky Is Crying: The History Of Elmore James (1993)
• Rollin 'And Tumblin' (1999)
• Legends Of Blues, Pickin 'The Blues; The Greatest Hits (2002)
• King of the Slide Guitar: The Complete Trumpet, Chief and Fire Sessions (2005)
• A Proper Records Introduction to Elmore James: Slide Guitar Master (2006)

• Elmore James on Find-A-Grave
• Discography on MusicBrainz
• Illustrated Elmore James discography
• 1980 Blues Foundation Hall of Fame Inductee
• http://www.cr.nps.gov/delta/blues/people/elmore_james.htm
• A review of Steve Franz's The Amazing Secret History of Elmore James , from his master's thesis
• The grave of Elmore James at Ebeneizer, Delta, Mississippi. Photo essay by Valery Pisigin