Topic: Li'l Son Jackson

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I was listening to the Arhoolie Lil Son Jackson album on Arhoolie (recently released on CD) today, and was so impressed with it.  There was much more variety than I had remembered there being.  In addition to his signature sound in Open G, there are a number of songs with different sounds in E standard and A standard, including a cover of Lemon's "Blues come From Texas Loping Like a Mule".  His singing and playing are great throughout the album.  
I have never known or understood why Lil Son Jackson was never booked into coffee houses or festivals in the 60s and later.  He was not an old guy then--I believe he was born in the 1912-1914 range.  Maybe he seriously gave up the music business.  Another guy roughly from the same part of the world who did not play out much was Jesse "Babyface" Thomas.  Why I don't know.
All best,
John

[Slack]

Hi John,

I just ordered this Arhoolie CD a couple of days ago and so have not received it yet.... so glad to hear the whole thing is good.

I've been working on 'Gamblers Blues' - sucked in my breath and decided that was the next one to tackle - although I haven't started working on the vocal yet, so hope it works out....  it's going to take me a bit to get those triplet treble/bass/bass's so that they are automatic.  Gonna work on that heavy time and back of the head nasal singing.

Anyway, it is such a great tune - I cannot get enough of it.  Thanks for teaching this one.

cheers,
JohnD

[Johnm]

Hi John,
Glad you're having fun with "Gambler's"--what a great tune!  I think Lil Son was one of those Country blues musicians like Lemon, who would have been tremendous even if he didn't play a lick; he was such a tremendous singer.
Incidentally, I don't know if you remember, but at the PT class someone inquired about the lyric,
  "I'm through with gambling, some jack-stropper can have my room"
and I didn't really have any answer for what a jack-stropper is.  I thought it was a non-specific semi-derogatory term like "sucker".  When I was in England to teach at the Blues Week over there I was reading some English blues publication that Michael Roach had and there was a sort of "Ask the Blues lyric man" column.  Sure enough, somebody asked about jack-stroppers, and according to the answer, they are card sharks who shave the edges of jacks and other face cards so that they can tell them by feel when they deal or by the slightly different appearance of the edge in another player's hand.  Strikes me as the kind of thing you would have to do very carefully if you wanted to keep on living!
All best,
John

[waxwing]

Hey John,
That's great! I love finding the meaning behind the obscure slang. I don't remember anything about jack stroppers in Blues Fell This Morning (another Paul Oliver book which should be added to our Amazon list, Slack, I just checked). So I'm blanking on Gambler's Blues. Did you teach that in a morning class and then not get to it in the afternoon? Or should I review my MDs and chalk it up to lack of sleep induced memory loss? That singing style Slack describes sounds great. Guess I'll be visiting Arhoolie soon. Time, I need more time.
All for now,
John C.

[Slack]

Hi John, yes I remember the question and could not imagine what it could be - very interesting! I see Lightin' Hopkins had a song called "Jack Stropping Blues" also.

I'll post "Gambler's Blues" lyrics (and may need some help) when I get some time to put them down.

JohnC, if my memory serves me (which it often does not), I think the Little Son class was Friday morning and the repeat was on Saturday morning.

cheers,
JohnD

[waxwing]

Ok Slack, I was there, guess I got it on MD. Just haven't reviewed it, yet. And, as I recall, it was light when I was heading to bed for an hour or two before the class. Oh yeah.
All for now,
John C.

[Slack]

JohnC,

Disregard my email then   - I now remember you in that class - amazing how spaced you get  -- usually by mid-week for me!

cheers,
JohnD

[Bunker Hill]

Elsewhere on Weenie the indefatigable John M is carrying out an examination of Lil Son Jackson's music and lyricism. I thought I'd add a bit of background by submitting a forthright piece that Chris Strachwitz wrote for Bob Koester's Jazz Report (Feb 1961) and later reprinted in Blues Unlimited's Texas Blues booklet (1965 p.7-9):

LIL' SON JACKSON
Chris Strachwitz

If it had not been for the boom in independent record producers after the Second War, the world would probably never have heard the voice and guitar of this Texas bluesman. Perhaps Lil' Son Jackson would have been physically and spiritually better off, but fate was to decide differently.

Melvin Jackson, born in Tyler, Texas on August 17, 1916, was not unusual in having parents who were both active in the Holiness Church, singing and playing for the congregation and leaving a strong and lasting impression on their child. Melvin spent most of his childhood on a farm in North-East Texas, memories of which still evoke comment from him from time to time. During a recording session he came up with "the meanest man in town"?the sheriff, Charley Cherry. But not being one of those rare individuals who sing a good deal about their personal thoughts and experiences, Lil' Son only rarely comes up with such recollections in his songs.

In the early 'thirties he ran off to Dallas and tried his luck in garages and at other odd jobs. He improved his guitar style, but did not play for money until after his first recording session. He beard Blind Lemon's records and recalls bits of his numbers, such as 'Blues Came To Texas', with the popular line, 'I walked from Dallas clear into Wichita Falls', later taken over by the Western swing band of Bob Wills. Son Jackson's favourite however, was Lonnie Johnson, no doubt one of the most influential guitarists in the blues field. But Blind Blake, Walter Davis and Texas Alexander also left their impression on him. About this time, Melvin was singing with a spiritual group known as the 'Blue Eagle Four' and this strong tie with church traditions is very evident again today after a period which he refers to as sinful and filled with "fast-living"?the period when he was well known as a blues singer.

During World War Two, Melvin, with his skills as a mechanic, found himself in the Quartermaster branch of the Army and saw service in Wales, France and later Germany until 1946 when, upon discharge, he returned to Dallas. During his time in the Army he sang occasionally for friends, but never professionally.

Back in Dallas, he heard on the jukeboxes a man who was rapidly becoming one of the best selling artists for a new Houston-based label operated by Bill Quinn?Lightnin' Hopkins. It wasn't long before some of Melvin's friends persuaded him to try his luck at an amusement gallery where they had a rather primitive recording machine. He made an acetate of 'Roberta' and '2:16 Blues', a song about "some girl", which he sent off to Bill Quinn. He was naturally pleasantly surprised when a telegram arrived from Mr Quinn asking him to come to Houston to record some numbers. Lil' Son Jackson made his first sides with his old fashioned Spanish guitar and he got 200 dollars a side plus some royalties His records-were soon all over the jukeboxes in East Texas, Louisiana and the rest of the South, and his talents were in demand throughout this region. He met many of his contemporaries, such as Texas Alexander, Smokey Hogg, Lowell Fulson, Zu Zu Bollin and Fats Domino and like them he surrounded himself with a rhythm section, even a tenor sax being added occasionally. Having acquired an electric pick-up for his guitar, he was trying to conform with the trend of Rhythm & Blues. Playing in noisy joints he was forced to somehow increase the volume of his music. However, there was also a partial reason for the end of his association with Gold Star records. Quinn found Son to be one of his three best selling artists and treated him fairly, but objected to the 'band'. He did not like its sound and naturally did not feel like paying all those extra men when Son, all by himself, had proved quite successful on records. Bad luck hit Quinn all at once. His wife died and his best seller, Harry Choates, died in prison. His second best seller, Lightnin' Hopkins, had gone off to New York to record for Bob Shad and finally Lil' Son Jackson quit because he insisted on recording with the band. This marked the end of Gold Star, but Son went on to record for Imperial where his style and rhythm continued to sell during a time when sales of blues records were at an all time high. But with this outpour of records Son's performances became less emotional and sincere.

For some artists, making a record is not a particularly difficult task; they will think of some old theme, change a few lines and give it their own interpretation, or perhaps make up something on the spot about their immediate desires, thoughts, or feelings. Lil' Son is unfortunate in this respect. He is a perfectionist and has been trained by the "record man" to produce blues numbers lasting exactly two minutes and thirty seconds, the content of which must be of a rather general nature so as to appeal to the widest possible audience. So today he labouriously works on a particular number until it comes out to his own satisfaction. It will usually be technically well performed, but none of the initial emotions that went into creating the song are there by the time he is ready to record it. Also, like most professional musicians trying to please a mass audience, Lil' Son has hidden or discarded much of the personal involvement that went into his first recordings. At dances he had to play his hits over and over again, squelching much of the inventiveness which he may once have had, but perhaps this was not really so bad for him since I don't believe he was ever what I'd call an impulsively creative artist like Lightnin' Hopkins. Son has always been a good, competent performer, but one who would not let his emotions take over to flavour his songs and make them into powerful, personal messages.

All this time he lived the hectic, restless life of a public performer trying to get used to meeting the public. He is basically a quiet, shy, reserved man to whom this commercial life did not come easily. One night the band was returning from a job in Oklahoma when the driver fell asleep at the wheel. Son spent some time in hospital recovering from a broken collarbone and other injuries, but he had time to think about his life. His strong religious ties helped him to decide that he couldn't continue to make a living with music. He returned to his mechanical skills and works today in a yard dealing with used automobile parts. His boss is a white man but Son is in charge of the place and no doubt his experience as a professional entertainer helped him getting used to "facing the public" as he calls it. He has very strong feelings in regard to the moral aspect of the blues; he considers the blues sinful without exception and implies that those who sing them are contributing to the sin and misery in the world. At the same time he realises that the blues were his source of livelihood for many years and that he would like to continue recording them if it would give pleasure to some people and if it were financially rewarding too.

Lil' Son Jackson continues to sing today in Church, but he is unwilling to mix religious and secular expressions, even though he admits that their outward forms are often identical. In his opinion, the feelings which go into each are as different as heaven and hell. He is a typical, middle-class American, with a new car, a nice house, and a young wife and with much the same tensions you find in many people of a rural background who have come into the fast-moving urban middle-class world, with all the social and emotional implications.

When Lil' Son finally agreed to record for me, I was not aware of all the problems which would confront us in recreating the atmosphere and feelings of his earlier days. He was reluctant to discuss his background and conditions which he had experienced and he seemed at rather a loss for material until I fetched some of his old Gold Star records out of my car. This was on a hot Sunday morning and he eventually relaxed enough to record most of the material used on an Arhoolie LP. He is no doubt a unique stylist, both instrumentally and vocally. Unfortunately, this style was limited by the commercial success of certain cliches, and he fell into the habit of using these same cliches on various numbers with only the lyrics and the tempo slightly changed; of course referring to it every time as a "new number". An example of this is his 'Rockin' And Rollin" which was a hit; he followed it up with 'Rockin' And Rollin' No. 2' and a number of sides under various titles employing the same rhythmic patterns. His 'Red River Blues', which he recorded for me, falls into the same pattern. At dances, of course, it is the rhythm that counts?the words yelled into a cheap, crystal mike are distorted and do not usually penetrate beyond the first group of dancers in a crowded juke joint. This is a rather typical development applying to most present-day blues singers?Jimmy Reed for example. It is Reed's unique sound that puts his audiences into ecstasy; the lyrics are barely audible in a dance hall or a big auditorium. Although on records lyrics play a somewhat more important role, there is no comparison with the twenties and thirties when it was often the song itself that mattered.

If one must compare blues singers, I would rank Lil' Son Jackson alongside Lightnin' Slim, Jimmy Reed and Elmore James and others who have a unique style of singing and playing. They are all fine blues men, but have fallen into patterns of cliches which have proven successful on their commercial recordings. They are also apparently limited in their repertoires and their imagination has been stifled by the jukebox orientated record-man.

[Johnm]

Thanks very much for the additional information on Lil' Son Jackson, Bunker Hill.  I have often wondered how it came about that he was never hired to play at festivals and such during the '60s and '70s when so many rediscovered blues musicians were finding work and recording opportunities.  He was young, too, only 44 years old when he did the recording for Chris Strachwitz in 1960.  Perhaps he really sincerely did not want to play the Blues any more.  It may be, too, that being a post-War musician, he did not command the same kind excitement that the rediscovered pre-War bluesmen did.  In any event, I guess we have to take the recordings he did do, for Gold Star, Imperial and Arhoolie, as his last musical words.
All best,
Johnm

[Rivers]

Unfortunately, this style was limited by the commercial success of certain cliches, and he fell into the habit of using these same cliches on various numbers with only the lyrics and the tempo slightly changed...

I have the same problem...

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I found this older thread on Lil' Son deep in the recesses of the Main Forum and thought I'd merge it with the one recently started by Bunker Hill and put all the Lil' Son posts here in a single source.
All best,
Johnm

[Bunker Hill]

I found this older thread on Lil' Son deep in the recesses of the Main Forum and thought I'd merge it with the one recently started by Bunker Hill and put all the Lil' Son posts here in a single source.

Good move. What goes around comes around, eh?

Here's the anonymous notes to the 1959 Imperial LP (9142). No discussion of the tracks and couldn't even get his place of birth correct and probably directed at the R&R craze:

Side 1: EVERYBODY'S BLUES/TRAVELIN' WOMAN/ACHING HEART/MR. BLUES/RESTLESS BLUES/WONDERING BLUES  Side 2: TIME CHANGES THINGS/ROCKIN' AND ROLLIN'/TWO TIMIN' WOMEN/ROCKY ROAD/NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION/YOUNG WOMAN BLUES


As almost any follower of rockin', rollin' blues knows, Lil' Son Jackson's recording of "Rockin' and Rollin'" was a recent smash hit. It came as no surprise to anybody that the record sold so well since Lil' Son is one of New Orleans' most popular and most talented blues singers. His appeal singing the blues in that soulful voice while accompanying himself on the guitar is widespread and has accounted for the sale of many records.

What proved surprising about the success of "Rockin' and Rollin' " was the fact that it is basically a happy song with a happy beat?compared to other successful blues songs which are almost always sad tune. But Lil' Son here utilizes an infectious rhythm while asking his girl to rock and roll with him?and who can be sad while they're rockin' and rollin'?

As these same followers of the bluff know, this American folk music got its very name 'way back because of the mood of the verse. The theme of the bluff is most frequently a melancholy one, as is expressed in one of the most traditional of all line: "Got the blues, but too damn mean to cry."

This is understandable when you remember that the blues, as music, sprang up about the turn of the century among the illiterate, itinerant Southern Negroes? the barroom pianists, wandering laborers, street corner guitar players, loafers, idlers, hustlers and peddlers of vice of all sorts. They had the idle time to sit and watch and tinker with an instrument and create music about the tiny, tight little world that was all they knew. Among this type of person, misery and discomfort and unhappiness in general were more often their bedfellows than were joy and comfort and happiness. So they sang of the basic things in life?their hard life. And their songs were understandably sad and blue.

Since this type of person was usually alone and lonely, his' expression of the blues was a one-man affair. It originated as an expression of the singer's feeling, complete in a single verse, and was sung rather than spoken because singing to these people was as natural a means of expression as speaking.

Blues songs in the beginning were often but a single line expressing a single thought. Sometimes they were expanded through repetition and acceptance by others into a full folk song, but the most popular ones were those in which one line would be repeated once or twice and then the thought would be concluded or explained in the final line of the stanza.

These blues were often rueful, sometime they offered a shrewd general comment; they ridiculed; they expressed a desire to be elsewhere; they managed to express virtually every emotion except satisfaction with life. And, of course, they dealt quite extensively with love?usually the unhappy love of separated or unfaithful lovers.

Regardless of what the blues said, however, the essential element in its expression is the personality of the singer himself. Whatever he sings is somehow related to his own self, his trouble, resentments, desires, feelings, opinions of life and people. There even seems to be room left at times for his pleasures, including the most pleasuresome happy love.

Happy blues are rare, but Lil' Son Jackson is one of those unusual performers who can take the rare happy blues and, with just a small sample of it, make up for all the mis'ry [sic] of all the blues of all the people.

[Bunker Hill]

 When I was in England to teach at the Blues Week over there I was reading some English blues publication that Michael Roach had and there was a sort of "Ask the Blues lyric man" column.  Sure enough, somebody asked about jack-stroppers, and according to the answer, they are card sharks who shave the edges of jacks and other face cards so that they can tell them by feel when they deal or by the slightly different appearance of the edge in another player's hand.  Strikes me as the kind of thing you would have to do very carefully if you wanted to keep on living!

I'm a few years late with this follow-up but fwiw the magazine is Blues & Rhythm and a column called "Words, Words, Words" edited by the late Keith Briggs. The feature still runs, under the guidance of Chris Smith, and is apparently a great favourite with the readership due to the "audience participation" aspect. I'm reliably informed that a future column should be discussing the etymology of yet another Lil Son Jackson usage, one I've seen recently transcribed here.

[jox51]

I love his song, Ground Hog Blues. Definately worth a listen.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
When I visited the Document site recently I noticed that they have put out a 2 volumes of Li'l Son Jackson recently.  I saw Volume I in a local record store, and it has all of his Gold Star recordings and a bunch of the early stuff he did on Imperial.  It is good to see Document putting out the work of a Post-War master like Li'l Son Jackson.
All best,
Johnm