Mississippi John Hurt: His Life, His Times, His Blues

by Philip R. Ratcliffe, Mary Frances Hurt Wright (Foreword)

When Mississippi John Hurt (1892-1966) was "rediscovered" by blues revivalists in 1963, his musicianship and recordings transformed popular notions of prewar country blues. At seventy-one he moved to Washington, D.C., from Avalon, Mississippi, and became a live-wire connection to a powerful, authentic past. His intricate and lively style made him the most sought after musician among the many talents the revival brought to light.

Mississippi John Hurt provides this legendary creator's life story for the first time. Biographer Philip Ratcliffe traces Hurt's roots to the moment his mother Mary Jane McCain and his father Isom Hurt were freed from slavery. Anecdotes from Hurt's childhood and teenage years include the destiny-making moment when his mother purchased his first guitar for $1.50 when he was only nine years old. Stories from his neighbors and friends, from both of his wives, and from his extended family round out the community picture of Avalon. U.S. census records, Hurt's first marriage record in 1916, images of his first autographed LP record, and excerpts from personal letters written in his own hand provide treasures for fans. Ratcliffe details Hurt's musical influences and the origins of his style and repertoire. The author also relates numerous stories from the time of his success, drawing on published sources and many hours of interviews with people who knew Hurt well, including the late Jerry Ricks, Pat Sky, Stefan Grossman and Max Ochs, Dick Spottswood, and the late Mike Stewart. In addition, some of the last photographs taken of the legendary musician are featured for the first time in Mississippi John Hurt.

Genres: Music, Biography, History, African American

503 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 6, 2011

Reviews

[Sean Belt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is essential for fans of John Hurt and, more generally, the Delta blues. Full of interesting stories as well as the minutiae of the record business and how Hurt moved through it.

[Michael Robertson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very thorough compilation of what must be every fact known about the life of MJH. Unfortunately, this thoroughness comes at the expense of readability. At times the story lapses into dry regurgitation of data that reads more like an academic masters thesis. This is particularly true for everything preceding the rediscovery of MJH (the first 1/3 of the book) which is pieced together from US census data and other documents. The narrative improves markedly for the 1960s rediscovery period because of the many interesting firsthand anecdotes.

This book is clearly a labor of love written by a devoted follower of MJH, and intended to be a complete summary of his life for other fans, and probably not appropriate for the casual reader. If you can stick with it through the slow parts, this book not only establishes a detailed chronology of the life of MJH, but also conveys a sense the man's gentle character.

[Alberto Ambard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent source of information for fans of MJH.
Previous reviews complain about the factual nature of the book. Well, it is a biography and it is written by an English.
Not sure why, but English people seem to have a natural ability to do biographies. Check it out, any list of best biographers will always have at least 50% English...
Mr. Ratcliffe does an excellent job. He does show his passion for the music, but he doesn't allow his love for the music to distort the story.
The manuscript is full of details that may not be of your interest; just skip them! At the end of the day, what isn't interesting for you may be interesting for the next person.
If you are looking for romanticism, this isn't the book for sure, but if you are a fan looking for information go for it because with that information you will be able to form your own romantic world surrounding MJH. Mr. Ratcliffe did his job well.

[Kris Michaud · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of research obviously went into this, but it comes off a little dry. In the absence of many interviews with people who knew the man, the author dives into the minutiae of census records, discographies, publishing contracts and lawsuit filings. It picks up a bit after MJH's "rediscovery" in the 60s, but it's bogged down in detail without much of a narrative. Recommended only for the most obsessive fans.

[Ry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a big MJH fan. I've been looking forward to reading this book for some time- but it just didn't deliver like I'd hoped. I certainly learned more about the man- but it sure wasn't an enjoyable book to read.
John was a simple beautiful person and I expected a bit more focus on this in the writing.

[Christopher Klug · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very thorough but also very dry.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-documented and well-written account of John Hurt's life, his new found fame, the people behind the scenes who often were at odds, and his continuing legacy.

[Jim O'Loughlin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'd always wanted to read about what the experience of Mississippi John Hurt was like, particularly what it felt like to have 30-year-old recordings rediscovered that launched his music career in his 70s. After finishing this book, I'd still like to know. This is not really a biography. It's an account of what it was like to do research on Hurt. The only real insights come from generously excerpted interviews. There may be a good book to emerge from such research, but this wasn't it.

[Dillon Gibbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

The amount of effort and research put into this book is astonishing. I'm grateful for the preservation of conversations and letters of John Hurt, flaws and all. He was the greatest musical personality of all time and had a bittersweet story. Even though some of the information can feel unrelated to John Hurt himself, I cannot deny the commitment to detail that the author has included. Tracking down the life and times of a sharecropper who lived in Avalon, Mississippi during the early 1900s is quite the undertaking. And we would not have this wonderful preservation of John Hurt's life without Philip R. Ratcliffe. I hope John is jamming on his guitar, doing his shoulder hop, looking down on us appreciating his life.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to the author, for putting the amount of love, time and effort it must have taken to write this book. Mississippi John Hurt’s music has meant a great deal to me over the last 20 or so years. It was just so wonderful to finally know about John Hurt the person. It was even more wonderful to find out Mr. Hurt was a great of a human being as I had always hoped he must have been. Again, THANK YOU.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this 20 stars if I could. Incredible research and contextualization of an unparalleled artist

[Jordan Wegner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was desperate to learn more about this musician I had instantly fallen in love with, but I was hesitant to read this after seeing many other reviews talk about how boring the first two thirds are. If you’re sitting there feeling the exact same thing - “Ehhh I really want to learn more about this guy but I don’t want to slog through a dull read….” - just go ahead and read it. The other reviews aren’t wrong, per se, but getting through the less interesting bits is worth it to get a fuller picture of Mississippi John Hurt, which if you’re considering reading this, I assume is what you’re after. I don’t regret picking it up.

[Nate]

Goodreads reviewer Michael Robertson accurately sums up my feelings on this book. Lots of information but written very dryly, basically a recounting of facts with little flow (especially in the first half). Just about everything you need to know about John Hurt is here; I wish it was better written.

Oh, and if you've never listened to Mississippi John Hurt, you're missing out on one of America's greatest musicians who, as this book makes clear, was a kind, gentle, and humble man until his dying day.

[RA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-researched biography of Mississippi John Hurt, rediscovered folk/blues musician. A lot of detail about his family and the area they lived in (settling in Avalon, Mississippi), plenty of information about the demographics of the area.

The author does a good job of presenting differing accounts and details concerning the discovery & management of John Hurt. In addition, he presents information about inheritance issues and the construction of the legacy of Mississippi John Hurt.