JOHN JACKSON 1924 - 2002
"Jackson is a brilliant technician and a master of East Coast blues."
--Living Blues
"A genuine blues legend, performing in his own distinctive style, beholden to no one else."
--Washington Post
Jackson was one of the last remaining first-generation country bluesmen. His music--East Coast Piedmont-style blues, ragtime, folk, old-time hillbilly songs and ballads--transcended race, class and intellectual backgrounds. The Chicago Tribune called Jackson, "a master of both songster classics and Piedmont-style blues fingerpicking...mingling engaging storytelling, authoritative musicianship and down home charm."
Over the years, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Luther Allison, Junior Wells and Son House all shared stages and swapped songs with Jackson. Carl Sandburg and Alex Haley, even Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers Neighborhood ) counted themselves among Jackson's close friends. With a strong desire to stay in Virginia and not take to the road very often, Jackson's accomplishments were truly astounding. He went from playing on his front porch to playing at President Jimmy Carter's Labor Day Picnic at the White House, Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, to points all over the world.
Over the course of his career, Jackson released a total of nine albums. His most recent recording, 1999's Front Porch Blues on Chicago-based Alligator Records, reintroduced Jackson to a national audience. The album received widespread critical and popular acclaim, and it also received three W.C. Handy Blues Award nominations in 2000, including Acoustic Blues Album Of The Year. His other albums were: 1965's Blues And Country Dance Tunes From Virginia (Arhoolie); 1966's John Jackson (Rounder); 1968's John Jackson, Vol. 2 (Arhoolie); 1970's John Jackson In Europe (Arhoolie); 1970's Don't Let Your Deal Go Down (Arhoolie); 1979's Step It Up & Go (Rounder); 1983's Deep In Bottom (Rounder); and 1999's compilation album, Country Blues & Ditties (Arhoolie).
Born in Rappahanock County, Virginia on February 25, 1924, John Jackson was the seventh son of 14 children. His parents were farmers as well as musicians who played parties on weekends and holidays. John first played around with his father's guitar at age four, and by eight he taught himself enough to accompany his parents at parties. His parents bought a second-hand Victrola when John was six, and John soaked up the sounds from the blues and country 78s by Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Blake, Blind Boy Fuller, Uncle Dave Macon and Jimmie Rodgers. Before he could learn to read or write, John had to drop out of school to work on the farm. He continued playing parties with his parents during the 1930s and 1940s but quit playing music a short time later. He felt music encouraged violent behavior, and he didn't want any part of it.
John moved to Fairfax County, Virginia in 1950 with his wife, Cora, and children to work on a dairy farm. A friend of John's, in need of some quick cash, pawned John his guitar, and John quietly started playing again. He became a gravedigger to support his family, occasionally pulling out his guitar for fun. One day, while John was playing guitar for some neighborhood kids, his mailman asked him for lessons. John agreed to meet him at the local gas station, where the mailman had a second job. While John was playing at the gas station, Chuck Perdue, the president of the Folklore Society of Greater Washington, pulled in for a fill-up. He heard John playing and knew that he had stumbled onto a true original. Within weeks, John was playing at coffeehouses in the Washington D.C. area, where he gradually regained all his old musical powers.
In April of 1965, John recorded songs for his first album for Arhoolie. He became an instant hit at blues festivals, easily winning a whole new generation of fans. Two more Arhoolie albums followed as John's reputation continued to grow. Two albums for Rounder kept Jackson busy on the international tour circuit. Besides constant trips to Europe, Jackson played Asia, Africa, South America, India and all over the United States. The National Endowment for the Arts awarded John their National Heritage Fellowship in 1986, giving official recognition to this giant of traditional blues.
DISCOGRAPHY
1999 Front Porch Blues Alligator
1999 Country Blues & Ditties (compilation) Arhoolie
1983 Deep In Bottom Rounder
1979 Step It Up & Go Rounder
1970 Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Arhoolie
1970 John Jackson In Europe Arhoolie
1968 John Jackson, Vol. 2 Arhoolie
1966 John Jackson Rounder
1965 Blues And Country Dance Tunes From Virginia Arhoolie
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