Blind Lemon Jefferson - Hangman Blues

Blind" Lemon Jefferson (September 1893–December 1929) was an influential blues singer and guitarist from Texas. He was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920s.

Jefferson is believed to have been born in Couchman, Texas, near Wortham, Texas. It was long believed by most that he was born in 1897 (although some accounts varied the date by up to ten years) but research a century later revealed a census record that listed his birth record as September 1893. He was blind or nearly blind from a young age, possibly from birth; the cause is unknown, as is the reason for the name or nickname "Lemon".

Where, how, and from whom he learned to play guitar and learned his songs is unknown. Around 1912, he began performing at picnics and parties. He also became a street musician, playing in East Texas towns. According to his cousin, Alec Jefferson, quoted in the notes for Blind Lemon Jefferson, Classic Sides:

They was rough. Men was hustling women and selling bootleg and Lemon was singing for them all night... he'd start singing about eight and go on until four in the morning... mostly it would be just him sitting there and playing and singing all night.

By 1917, Lemon had moved to Dallas, where he is reputed to have met and played with Leadbelly, as well as gotten married.
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The beginning of the recording career

Unlike many artists who were "discovered" and recorded in their normal venues, in December 1925 or January 1926, he was taken to Chicago, Illinois, to record his first tracks. Uncharacteristically, Jefferson's first two recordings from this session were gospel songs ("I Want to be like Jesus in my Heart", and "All I Want is that Pure Religion"), released under the name Deacon L. J. Bates. This led to a second recording session in March 1926. His first release under his own name, "Booster Blues" and "Dry Southern Blues", was a hit; this led to the release of the other two songs from that session, "Got the Blues" and "Long Lonesome Blues", which became a runaway success, with sales in the six figures. He recorded about 100 tracks between 1926 and 1929; 43 records were issued, all but one for Paramount Records. Unfortunately, Paramount Records' studio techniques and quality were infamously bad, and the resulting recordings sound no better than if they had been recorded in a hotel room. In fact, in May 1926, Paramount had Jefferson re-record his hit "Got the Blues" and "Long Lonesome Blues" in the superior facilities at Marsh Laboratories and subsequent releases used that version. Both versions appear on compilation albums and may be compared.