Blind Lemon Jefferson

"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 had an intricate and fa

"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 had an intricate and fast style of guitar playing and a particularly high-pitched voice. He was a founder of the Texas blues sound and an important influence on the next generation of blues singers and guitarists, including Leadbelly and Lightnin Hopkins. He was the author of many tunes covered by later musicians, including the classic "See That My Grave is Kept Clean". Another of his tunes, "Matchbox Blues", was recorded more than 30 years later by the Beatles, albeit in a country & western version credited to Carl Perkins, who himself did not credit Jefferson on his 1955 recording. Given this influence, it is unfortunate that many of the details of his life remain shrouded in mystery, perhaps forever; even the only known picture of him, shown here, is heavily retouched. However, at the time, "race music" and its white cousin, "hillbilly music", were not considered to be worthy of consideration as art, rather as a low-cost product to be sold and soon forgotten.