Cripple Clarence Lofton Kingsport or Burns, Tennessee, United States Blues, boogie-woogie, twelve-bar blues
Clarence Lofton (March 28, 1887, 1896 or 1897 – January 9, 1957), credited as Cripple Clarence Lofton, was an American boogie-woogie pianist and singer born in Tennessee.
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1991) 1935-1939
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2 (1991) 1939-1943
Blind Lemon Jefferson Near Coutchman, Texas, U.S. Blues, gospel blues
Lemon Henry "Blind Lemon" Jefferson (September 24, 1893 – December 19, 1929) was an American blues and gospel singer, songwriter, and musician. He was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920s and has been called the "Father of the Texas Blues". Jefferson's performances were distinctive because of his high-pitched voice and the originality of his guitar playing. His recordings sold well, but he was not a strong influence on younger blues singers of his generation, who could not imitate him as easily as they could other commercially successful artists. Later blues and rock and roll musicians, however, did attempt to imitate both his songs and his musical style.
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1991) 1925-1926
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2 (1991) 1927
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 3 (1991) 1928
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 4 (1991) 1929
Buddy Boy Hawkins Alabama or, somewhat less definitively, the northern Mississippi Delta area Country blues
Walter "Buddy Boy" Hawkins was an American country blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He recorded only 12 songs, between 1927 and 1929, but Paul Oliver opined that "Hawkins was a major figure in black country music". AllMusic noted that he was "one of the most distinctive country-blues performers of the pre-war era, a gifted vocalist whose taste for slow, dirge-like songs was ideally suited to his intricate guitar work." Details of Hawkins's life outside of his brief recording career are minimal.
Complete Recorded Works (1991) 1927-1929, split with William Harris
William Harris Mississippi Delta area (probably) Country blues
William Harris was an American country blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He recorded sixteen songs between 1927 and 1928, of which fourteen were released on record. AllMusic noted that Harris was "a fine second-level blues and folksong performer". His best known works are "Kansas City Blues," "Early Mornin' Blues," and "Hot Time Blues." Details of Harris's life outside of his brief recording career are minimal.
Complete Recorded Works (1991) 1927-1929, split with Buddy Boy Hawkins
Memphis Jug Band was an American musical group active from the mid-1920s to the late 1950s. The band featured harmonica, kazoo, fiddle and mandolin or banjolin, backed by guitar, piano, washboard, washtub bass and jug. They played slow blues, pop songs, humorous songs and upbeat dance numbers with jazz and string band flavors. The band made the first commercial recordings in Memphis, Tennessee, and recorded more sides than any other prewar jug band. Beginning in 1926, African-American musicians in the Memphis area grouped around the singer, songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player Will Shade (also known as Son Brimmer or Sun Brimmer). The personnel of the band varied from day to day, with Shade booking gigs and arranging recording sessions. The band was as a training ground for musicians who would go on make careers of their own.
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1991) 1927-1928
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2 (1991) 1928-1929
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 3 (1991) 1930
Sam Collins (August 11, 1887 – October 20, 1949), sometimes known as Crying Sam Collins and also as Jim Foster, Jelly Roll Hunter, Big Boy Woods, Bunny Carter, and Salty Dog Sam, was an early American blues singer and guitarist.
Barbecue Bob Walnut Grove, Georgia, United States Piedmont blues, country blues
Robert Hicks, better known as Barbecue Bob (September 11, 1902 – October 21, 1931), was an early American Piedmont blues musician. His nickname was derived from his working as a cook in a barbecue restaurant. One of the two extant photographs of him show him playing a guitar and wearing a full-length white apron and cook's hat.
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1991) 1927-1928
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2 (1991) 1928-1929
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 3 (1991) 1929-1930
Blind Blake Jacksonville, Florida, or Newport News, Virginia, United States (uncertain) Piedmont blues, ragtime, country blues
Arthur "Blind" Blake (1896 – December 1, 1934) was an American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist. He is known for numerous recordings he made for Paramount Records between 1926 and 1932. Little else is known about his life.
Kokomo Arnold Lovejoy's Station, Georgia, U.S. Blues
James "Kokomo" Arnold (February 15, 1896 or 1901 – November 8, 1968) was an American blues musician. A left-handed slide guitarist, his intense style of playing and rapid-fire vocal delivery set him apart from his contemporaries. He got his nickname in 1934 after releasing "Old Original Kokomo Blues" for Decca Records, a cover version of Scrapper Blackwell's blues song about the city of Kokomo, Indiana.
Complete Recorded Works Vol. 1 (1991) 1930-1935
Complete Recorded Works Vol. 2 (1991) 1935-1936
Complete Recorded Works Vol. 3 (1991) 1936-1937
Complete Recorded Works Vol. 4 (1991) 1937-1938
