Elmore James

Elmore James (January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader.[1] He was known as King of the Slide Guitar, but he was also noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.

Contents
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 * 1 Biography
 * 2 Death
 * 3 Sound
 * 4 Influence
 * 5 Discography
 * 5.1 Selected singles
 * 5.2 Selected compilation albums
 * 6 References
 * 7 External links

Biography[edit]
James was born Elmore Brooks in Richland, Holmes County, Mississippi, the illegitimate son of 15-year-old Leola Brooks, a field hand. His father was probably Joe Willie "Frost" James, who moved in with Leola, and so Elmore took this as his name. Elmore began making music at the age of 12 using a simple one-string instrument ("diddley bow" or "jitterbug") strung up on a shack wall. As a teen he was playing at local dances under the names Cleanhead and Joe Willie James. His first marriage, circa 1942, was to Minnie Mae.[2] He subsequently married at least twice more.[citation needed]

James was strongly influenced by Robert Johnson, as well as by Kokomo Arnold and Tampa Red. James recorded several of Tampa's songs, and even inherited from his band two of his famous "Broomdusters", "Little" Johnny Jones (piano) and Odie Payne (drums). There is a dispute as to whether Robert Johnson or Elmore wrote James' trademark song, "Dust My Broom".[2]

During World War II, James joined the United States Navy, was promoted to coxswain and took part in the invasion of Guam. Upon his discharge, James returned to central Mississippi and settled in the town of Canton with his adopted brother Robert Holston. Working in Robert's electrical shop, he devised his unique electric sound, using parts from the shop and an unusual placement of two D'Armond pickups.[2] Around this time James learned that he had a serious heart condition.

He began recording with Trumpet Records in nearby Jackson in January 1951, first as sideman to the second Sonny Boy Williamson and also to their mutual friend Willie Love and possibly others, then debuting as a session leader in August with "Dust My Broom", which was a surprise R&B hit in 1952.[1] He broke his recording contract with Trumpet Records to sign up with the Bihari Brothers through their "scout" Ike Turner who played guitar and piano on a couple of his early Bihari recordings. His "I Believe" was another hit a year later.[1] During the 1950s he recorded for the Bihari brothers'Flair Records, Meteor Records[3] and Modern Records labels, as well as for Chess Records and Mel London's Chief Records.[4]

He played lead guitar on Joe Turner's 1954 top 10 R&B hit "TV Mama".[5] His backing musicians were known as the Broomdusters.[1] In 1959, he began recording for Bobby Robinson's Fire Records label. These include "The Sky Is Crying", "My Bleeding Heart", "Stranger Blues", "Look on Yonder Wall", "Done Somebody Wrong", and "Shake Your Moneymaker".[1]

Death[edit]
James died of a heart attack in Chicago in 1963,[1] just prior to a tour of Europe with that year's American Folk Blues Festival. He was buried in the Newport Baptist Church Cemetery in Ebenezer, Mississippi.[6]

Sound[edit]
James played a wide variety of "blues" (which often crossed over into other styles of music) similar to that of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and some of B. B. King's work, but distinguished by his guitar's unique tone coming from a modified, hollow body traditional acoustic guitar, which sounded like an amped up version of the "more modern" solid body guitars. Muddy Waters took the Belgian blues fan George Adins to see James play in Chicago in 1959, Adins recalled,

Adins also witnessed James at 'Alex Club' in West Side Chicago where...

His best known song is the blues standard "Dust My Broom" (also known as "Dust My Blues"). The song gave its name to James' band, The Broomdusters. The song's opening slide guitar riff is one of the best-known sounds in all of blues. It is essentially the same riff that appeared in the recording of the same song by Robert Johnson, but James played the riff with electric slide guitar. B. B. King used this riff to open his 1953 #1 R&B hit "Please Love Me." It was even transformed into a doo-wop chorus on Jesse Stone's "Down in the Alley", recorded by The Clovers and Elvis Presley. Stone transcribed the riff as: "Changety changety changety changety chang chang!"[citation needed]

Influence[edit]
Many electric slide guitar players will admit to the influence of James' style. He was also a major influence on such successful blues guitarists as Homesick James, John Littlejohn, Hound Dog Taylor, J. B. Hutto and many others. He also influenced many rock guitarists such as The Rolling Stones' Brian Jones (Keith Richards wrote in his book that at the time he met Brian Jones, Brian called himself Elmo Lewis, and that he wanted to be Elmore James), Canned Heat's Alan Wilson and in particular Fleetwood Mac's Jeremy Spencer. John Mayall included "Mr. James" on his 1969 "Looking Back" album as a dedication to James. James' songs "Done Somebody Wrong" and "One Way Out" were often covered by The Allman Brothers Band, who were influenced by James.[8]

James was also covered by blues-rock band Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble many times in concert. The most famous of these covers is one that came by an indirect route - James' fellow bluesman Albert King recorded a cover of "The Sky Is Crying", and Stevie Ray Vaughan copied King's version of the song. That song was also covered by George Thorogood on his second album, Move It On Over and by Eric Clapton on his album There's One in Every Crowd. The most famous guitarist who admired James was Jimi Hendrix. Early in his career Hendrix styled himself variously as 'Maurice James' and subsequently as 'Jimmy James.' This, according to former bandmate and recording partner Lonnie Youngblood, was a tribute to Elmore James.[9] There is a photo of Hendrix (that can be seen in the sleeve of his Blues album) in London wearing his iconic military jacket and holding Elmore James's UK LP The Best Of Elmore James. (Hendrix was frequently photographed throughout his performing career holding LP covers of musicians that influenced him.) He performed James' "Bleeding Heart" during the Experience's Royal Albert Hall concert in 1969, and also with the Band of Gypsys at their New Year's concerts at the Fillmore East in 1969/70 as well as recording two different versions of it in the studio.[citation needed]

James is referenced in The Beatles' song "For You Blue". While John Lennon evokes James' signature sound with a Höfner 5140 Hawaiian Standard lap steel guitar,[10] George Harrison says, "Elmore James got nothin' on this, baby." Other artists influenced by Elmore James include Frank Zappa[11]

Discography[edit]
Main article: Elmore James discography

Selected singles[edit]

 * "Dust My Broom" (1951 & 1965)
 * "I Believe" (1953)
 * "Standing at the Crossroads" (1954 & 1965)
 * "Dust My Blues" (1955)
 * "It Hurts Me Too" (1957 & 1965)
 * "The Sky Is Crying" (1960)
 * "I Can't Hold Out" (1960)
 * "Rollin' and Tumblin'" (1960)
 * "Shake Your Moneymaker" (1961)
 * "Look on Yonder Wall" (1961)
 * "Bleeding Heart" (1965)
 * "One Way Out" (1965)
 * "Every Day I Have the Blues" (1965)

Selected compilation albums[edit]

 * Blues After Hours (1960)
 * Whose Muddy Shoes (1969)
 *  Street Talkin'  (1975)
 * Elmore James — King of the Slide Guitar (1992)
 * Elmore James — The Classic Early Records 1951–1956 (1993)
 * The Sky Is Crying: The History of Elmore James (1993)