Little Hat Jones
| Little Hat Jones | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | George Jones |
| Born |
October 5, 1899 Bowie County, Texas, United States |
| Died |
March 7, 1981 (aged 81) Naples, Texas, United States |
| Genres | Texas blues[1] |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Labels | Okeh |
George "Little Hat" Jones (October 5, 1899 – March 7, 1981)[2] was an American Texas blues musician.
Biography
George Jones was born in Bowie County, Texas, and was a street busker in the 1920s in San Antonio. Jones dropped out of school at the age of 13 to support the family farm after his father suffered from illnesses and crops were destroyed. The nickname "Little Hat" was acquired from a construction job in Garland, where Jones wore a hat that had some of the brims torn.[3] He recorded two compositions, "New Two Sixteen Blues" and "Two String Blues", and released it as a single on Okeh Records on June 15, 1929.[1] That same day, he played guitar on nine tracks by Alger "Texas" Alexander in the Okeh studio. On June 21, Okeh had Jones record four additional songs, and on June 14, 1930, Jones recorded six more. These three sessions represent the majority of Jones's recorded output: ten songs of his own and nine with "Texas" Alexander.[1] He also has two tracks on Yazoo L-1010 (LP, 1968), "Hurry Blues" and "Rollin From Side to Side", both listed as recorded in 1929. Jones performed at various the parties, fish fries and juke joints, often in the company of Thomas Shaw, Alger "Texas" Alexander, and J. T. Smith.[4]
Jones never recorded another song, and resided in Naples, Texas, where he would stay for the remainder of his lifetime with his second wife, while working in several professions.[5] He died at the age of 81 in 1981.[2]
Jones's style is marked by his tendency to start off songs quickly and then slow down once he began to sing.[1] Once a forgotten obscurity, Jones became better known later in the 20th century as historians began to explore the Okeh Records catalog, and his posthumous fame was boosted by the appearance of his song "Bye Bye Baby Blues" in the movie, Ghost World, in 2001.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Steve Leggett. "Little Hat Jones". Allmusic. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
- 1 2 Doc Rock. "The 1980s". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
- ↑ Palinski, Laurie. "Handbook of Texas Music". Google.com.
- ↑ "J.T. Funny Papa Smith". Thebluestrail.com. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
- ↑ "Dennis Little Hat Jones". Thebluestrail.com. Retrieved November 18, 2011.