Ishmon Bracey

Ishmon Bracey
Born (1901-01-09)January 9, 1901
Byram, Mississippi, United States
Died February 12, 1970(1970-02-12) (aged 69)
Jackson, Mississippi, United States
Genres Delta blues, country blues
Instruments Guitar
Years active 1928–1931

Ishmon Bracey (January 9, 1901 – February 12, 1970[1]) was an American blues singer and guitarist from Mississippi, considered one of the most important early Delta blues performers. With Tommy Johnson, he was the center of a small group of blues musicians in Jackson, Mississippi, in the 1920s. His name is incorrectly spelled "Ishman" on almost all of his records and in most older sources.[2][3]

Biography

Bracey was born in Byram, Mississippi, and started playing at local dances and parties around 1917. He also worked as a water boy on the Illinois Central Railroad.[1] He first recorded in Memphis in February and August 1928 for Victor Records, with Charlie McCoy on second guitar.[4]

At that time his style had not fully formed and his performances varied considerably, probably in an attempt to become more commercially successful. In "Saturday Blues" and "Left Alone Blues" he used interesting variations on the usual three-line verse form of blues songs. Bracey was one of the few Mississippi bluesmen who sang with a nasal tone without embellishment. "Saturday Blues" is based on the conventional theme of infidelity, but he changed the form of the verses to fit a newer melodic concept. His lyrics loosened up enough to contain references to skin creams and powder advertised as being able to lighten dark skin.

He recorded again in 1931 for Paramount Records with a group called the New Orleans Nehi Boys, which included the guitarist Charles Taylor. Bracey's total recorded output is only 16 songs, and original copies of his 78-rpm records are among the most valued items sought by blues collectors. "Trouble Hearted Blues" and "Left Alone Blues" are his best-known songs.[1]

He was an associate of Tommy Johnson's, and the pair performed together in medicine shows in the 1930s. By the time he was "rediscovered" in the late 1950s, he had become a preacher and a performer of religious songs and was uninterested in recording or discussing his time as a blues performer. However, he helped in the rediscovery of his contemporary Skip James.[1]

Discography

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Biography by Uncle Dave Lewis". Allmusic.com. Retrieved December 25, 2009.
  2. ↑ Wardlow, Gayle Dean (1998). Chasin' That Devil Music. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. p. 45. ISBN 0-87930-552-5. Bracey's first name is Ishmon, not Ishman, his wife Annie said.
  3. ↑ Mississippi Blues Trail, Ishmon Bracey marker, accessed August 2013. "Bracey insisted that the correct spelling of his name was 'Ishmon Bracey'. But Victor Records used the spelling 'Ishman Bracey' and 'Ishman Bracy' on his singles. Other documents cited him as 'Ishmael' or 'Isham'."
  4. ↑ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. p. 139. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.

External links

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