Dec 14

Blind Lemon Jefferson

BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON
 
 
“Blind” Lemon Jefferson  (born Lemon Henry Jefferson; September 24, 1893 – December 19, 1929) was an American blues and gospel blues singer and guitarist from Texas.  He was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920s, and has been called “Father of the Texas Blues”.  Although his recordings sold well, he was not so influential on some younger blues singers of his generation, who could not imitate him as easily as they could other commercially successful artists.  Later blues and rock and roll musicians, however, did attempt to imitate both his songs and his musical style.  (More from Wikipedia)
 
 
Adversity in life seems to be one of the sparks that have ignited many a talented musician over the years.  The idea that being blind aids hearing and, thus, musical talent is nearly a cliché.  Two of the greatest R&B artists of all time are blind:  Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles; other notable blind musicians include José Feliciano, Clarence Carter, Terri Gibbs, Ronnie Millsap, and Doc Watson.  There are many others who are less well known, such as Blind Lemon Jefferson (apparently the source of the name of the 1990’s band Blind Melon), Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, and (from the world of gospel music) the Blind Boys of Alabama and the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi (also called the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, the Original Five Blind Boys of Alabama and the Original Five Blind Boys of Mississippi).  Frontman John Kay of Steppenwolf didn’t just wear sunglasses to look cool; he has a degenerative eye disease.  There is no telling how many better known blind artists I am inadvertently omitting, there are so many.
 
(June 2011)
 
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“Jefferson airplane” is slang for a split paper match that is used to hold a marijuana cigarette when it has burned down too far to be easily held.  Many people think that this was the origin of the name of Jefferson Airplane, but (as I suspected years ago) the reverse is apparently the case.  Bandmember Jorma Kaukonen has the real story about the band’s name; as quoted from a 2007 press release in Wikipedia:  “I had this friend [Steve Talbot] in Berkeley who came up with funny names for people.  His name for me was Blind Thomas Jefferson Airplane (for blues pioneer Blind Lemon Jefferson).  When the guys were looking for band names and nobody could come up with something, I remember saying, ‘You want a silly band name?  I got a silly band name for you!’”  

 

(June 2014)

 

Last edited: March 22, 2021