Skip James
Our Delta Blues guide to things that haunt us
by Keith Purtell
Highly emotive, sometimes haunting, Nehemiah Curtis “Skip” James (1902-1969) was one of a half-dozen virtuosos of Delta blues. He stood out from other artists not only because of his skill, but also because of his courage in pursuing an unusual vision.
Whether because of religious background or personal hardships, his music often reflected a serious outlook. One writer said it always seemed like night when “Skip” sang the blues. His superior vocal phrasing and free-form piano playing added to that.
His piano playing probably influenced his guitar work indirectly, by deepening his musical vocabulary.
5 cool things about "Skip"
1. The "Bentonia" Sound and Tuning
Most Delta blues players used standard or open G/D tunings, but Skip James used a Cross-Note D-minor tuning. This gave his music a lonely, eerie, and dissonant quality that sounds modern even today. For guitarists and musicologists, his "Bentonia" style is a distinct sub-genre that invites deep technical study.
2. The Ghostly Falsetto
Unlike the gravelly, heavy vocals of musicians like Howlin' Wolf or Charley Patton, Skip sang in a high, detached falsetto. This "ethereal" quality creates a sense of detachment and sorrow that resonates with listeners looking for music with high emotional stakes. It feels less like a performance and more like a private lament.
3. The Dramatic "Two-Act" Life Story
His biography reads like a film script about a man working on important relationships:
- The 1931 Sessions: He recorded a handful of tracks during the Great Depression that were commercial failures but are now considered masterpieces.
- The Disappearance: He walked away from music to become a minister and a choir leader, effectively vanishing from the public eye.
- The Rediscovery: His "legendary" status was cemented when he was "rediscovered" in 1964 while being treated for cancer in a hospital. Blues enthusiasts John Fahey, Bill Barth, and Henry Vestine located him there and helped bring him back into public performance. This was in time to perform at the Newport Folk Festival. 2
4. High-Profile Covers
Public curiosity is often spiked by modern artists paying homage. When Cream covered "I'm So Glad" in the 1960s, it introduced his music to a rock audience1. More recently, his influence can be heard in the raw, minimalist approaches of artists like The White Stripes or Beck, leading younger fans to trace the lineage back to the source.
5. Technical Complexity
For the "fingerstyle" enthusiast, Skip’s playing is incredibly intricate. He used his index finger and thumb in a way that created a rolling, piano-like texture on the guitar. In a world of three-chord blues, his compositions feel architecturally complex and "dark" in a way that appeals to the "indie" or "alternative" sensibility.
The lasting interest in this article likely stems from the fact that Skip James doesn't just represent "the blues"—he represents a specific kind of haunted artist who people are constantly trying to decode. A modern example of such an artist might be Nick Drake.
Why might James have been haunted?
Skip James had an intermittent relationship with his father, Eddie James. Eddie abandoned the family around 1907 when Skip was young, creating emotional issues that lasted years. Much later, Eddie James re-entered his life as a minister, prompting Skip to briefly abandon the blues for religious music in the 1930s.
Psychologists and social workers who work with minorities have noticed recurring patterns: Boys without a father figure often lack a model for expressing and regulating emotions. They may struggle to manage emotions, potentially defaulting to aggression or, conversely, emotional withdrawal.
This plus growing up as a young man during the Jim Crow era (from 1877 to the mid-1960s). James and countless other people of color faced state and local statutes that legalized racial segregation and disenfranchised African Americans. Primarily enforced in the South, these laws mandated "separate but equal" status in public facilities, education, and transportation.
After his detour through church music, James eventually returned to blues. However, he then gave up music altogether for a number of years. Re-discovered at age 62 during the mid-1960s blues revival, James had been supporting himself by working as a field hand.
Unlike a lot of other Delta bluesmen, James’ abilities were not skewed in favor of either singing or picking. He was equally adept at both. James’ recorded performances are clean and solid.
Just above the subtle ka-thunk of his rhythm you can hear the nicely shaped counterpoint of his fingerpicking. His balanced blues delivery is greatly appreciated by music lovers. The songs are built on the give-and-take between storytelling and playing.
Although he is best known for songs like “Devil Got My Woman” and “Hard Time Killing Floor,” equally powerful is a distinctive song on the “Devil Got My Woman” CD called “Sick Bed Blues” (YouTube video above). Singing in an eerie falsetto, James produces something unconventional; something that verges on exotic.
Perhaps it is a sense of loss in his songs that brings people around to Skip James' music. That, plus his patient attention to details.
This isn’t the kind of blues typically packaged for mass consumption, but it is one of Skip’s most compelling statements. Implied in his musicianship is a declaration of human dignity and artistic ambition despite the openly racist culture of his era.
1931 sessions with Paramount Records
| A-side | B-side |
|---|---|
| “Cherry Ball Blues” | “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues” |
| “22-20 Blues” | “If You Haven't Any Hay Get on Down the Road” |
| “Illinois Blues” | “Yola My Blues Away” |
| “How Long 'Buck'” | “Little Cow and Calf Is Gonna Die Blues” |
| “Devil Got My Woman” | “Cypress Grove Blues” |
| “I'm So Glad” | “Special Rider Blues” |
| “Four O'Clock Blues” | “Hard Luck Child” |
| “Jesus Is a Mighty Good Leader” | “Be Ready When He Comes” |
| “Drunken Spree” | “What Am I to Do” |
Song samples:
Links
- Link to purchase site (new window): Amazon.com
- Well-researched Skip James biography by Tyler King
- Review (new window): Robert Christgau review of Skip James video
- Related: American music and Frank Fairfield (The Tonearm)
Sources
- 1Cream recorded Skip James’ “I'm So Glad” for their 1966 debut album Fresh Cream because guitarist Eric Clapton was a fan of 1930s Delta blues and suggested the track. The song was chosen for its potential to be transformed into a high-energy rock song, while providing financial royalties to the then-hospitalized James. -Wikipedia (new tab/window)
- 2James rediscovery described in Oxford American (new tab/window).
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