John Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt (July 3, 1893 or March 8, 1892 — November 2, 1966) was an American country blues singer and guitarist.
Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine. Singing in a loud whisper, to a melodious finger-picked accompaniment, he began to play local dances and parties while working as a sharecropper. He first recorded for Okeh Records in 1928, but these were commercial failures, and Hurt drifted out of the recording scene, where he continued his work as a farmer. After a man discovered a copy of one of his recordings, "Avalon Blues", which gave the location of his hometown, there became increased interest in his whereabouts. Tom Hoskins, a blues enthusiast, would be the first to locate Hurt in 1963. He convinced Hurt to relocate to Washington, D.C., where he was recorded by the Library of Congress in 1964. This rediscovery helped further the American folk music revival, which had led to the rediscovery of many other bluesmen of Hurt's era. Hurt entered the same university and coffeehouse concert circuit as his contemporaries, as well as other Delta blues musicians brought out of retirement. As well as playing concerts, he recorded several studio albums for Vanguard Records.
He died in Grenada, Mississippi. Material recorded by Hurt has been re-released by many record labels over the years (see discography); and his influence has extended over many generations of guitarists. Songs recorded by Hurt have been covered by Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Beck, Doc Watson, John McCutcheon, Taj Mahal, Bruce Cockburn, David Johansen, Bill Morrissey, Gillian Welch and Guthrie Thomas.
Famous quotes containing the words mississippi, john and/or hurt:
“Mississippi: I told you I was no good with a gun.
Bull: The trouble is Doc, Cole was in front of the gun. The safe place is behind Mississippi when he shoots that thing.”
—Leigh Brackett (1915–1978)
“And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.”
—Bible: New Testament St. John the Divine, in Revelation, 8:1.
“[Convey to your child] that you understand how hard it can be to lose a friend, that under the circumstances feeling sad, angry, hurt or rejected is perfectly normal, that the friendship had some good things and some bad things to it and that neither aspect should be overlooked. . . . Children should be helped to realize that in time they’ll find other friends—but they mustn’t expect a new friend to “replace” a former one.”
—Myron Brenton (20th century)