John Jackson
Rappahannock Blues (CD)

SFW-CD-40181

Raised in a large, musical farm family in Rappahannock County, Virginia, John Jackson (1924–2002) was the most important black Appalachian musician to come to broad public attention during the mid-1960s. Having learned guitar and his wideranging stock of songs as a youth from family and 78-rpm recordings, he enthralled major audiences during more than three decades with his vintage style and repertoire. Culled from hundreds of live concert recordings in the Smithsonian Folkways archives, the twenty tracks highlight John Jackson the way he most wanted to be remembered—as bluesman. Rappahannock Blues is the 5th release in the ongoing Smithsonian Folkways African American Legacy series, co-presented with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
20 tracks (** 18 previously unreleased), 57 mins, 32-page booklet.

Track listing:

1. Rocks and Gravel [John Jackson]
2. Too Tight Rag [Blind Blake]
3. Candy Man [Mississippi John Hurt]
4. Truckin’ Little Baby [Blind Boy Fuller]
5. Railroad Bill [traditional]
6. Nobody’s Business (If I Do) [traditional]
7. Don’t You Want to Go Up There
[trad. arr. by John Jackson]
8. The Year Clayton Delaney Died [Tom T. Hall]
9. John Jackson’s Breakdown [John Jackson]
10. Red River Blues [traditional]
11. Brown’s Ferry Blues [The Delmore Brothers]
12. Cindy [trad. arr. John Jackson]
13. You Ain’t No Woman [Bill Jackson]
14. John Henry [traditional]
15. Diddy Wah Diddy (Blind Blake)
16. Just a Closer Walk with Thee [Kenneth Morris]
17. Frankie and Johnny (traditional)
18. Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down
[trad. arr. by John Jackson]
19. Step it Up and Go
[Blind Boy Fuller, arr. by John Jackson]
20. West Coast Rag [Blind Blake]

Published: 2010

Genre: Blues & Jazz & USA
Label: Smithsonian Folkways