Henry Thomas (blues musician)

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Henry Thomas (* probably 1874 ; † after 1929), also known as Ragtime Texas , was an early American blues guitarist. He is considered to be the oldest Afro-American musician who left a notable number of recordings.

Little is known about the life of Henry Thomas. Between 1927 and 1929 he published 23 songs, including 8 blues titles. In addition to the guitar, which he played more like a banjo , he used '' quills '', a kind of Afro-American panpipe .

One of his best-known pieces is the Bull Doze Blues , which was later reworked by the band Canned Heat into Going Up The Country . Don't Ease Me In was recorded by Grateful Dead .

The quills flute

An analysis based on the song Bull-doze Blues reconstructs a flute with at least eight pipes, which has the following tones: 

 d#(oder e) f g# a# (h) c d'# f' g#

This corresponds to a pentatonic scale in F minor or G # major. The unusual key is probably originally a G major pentatonic scale; however, the recordings sound higher as they have been sped up to give the song more pizzazz. The pipes were probably made from the bamboo species Arundinaria gigantea , which is particularly common in the southern United States.

List of all songs

Henry Thomas recorded a total of 24 songs for Vocalion Records , 23 were released.

The following table can e.g. B. sort by publication date and recording date:

Year of publication A side B side Recording date Label, no. Location Instruments
1927 John Henry Cottonfield Blues July 5, 1927 Vocalion 1094 Chicago voc, git, quills
1927 The Fox and the Hounds Red River Blues Oct 5, 1927 Vocalion 1137 Chicago voc, git, quills
1927 The Little Red Caboose Bob McKinney Oct 5, 1927 Vocalion 1138 Chicago voc, git, quills
1927 Shanty blues Woodhouse blues Oct 7, 1927 Vocalion 1139 Chicago voc, git
1927 Jonah in the Wilderness When the Train Comes Along Oct 7, 1927 Vocalion 1140 Chicago voc, git
1927 Honey, Won't You Allow Me One More Chance Run, Mollie, Run Oct 7, 1927 Vocalion 1141 Chicago voc, git, quills
1928 Don't Ease Me In Texas Easy Street Blues June 13, 1928 Vocalion 1197 Chicago voc, git
1928 Bull-Doze Blues Old Country Stomp June 13, 1928 Vocalion 1230 Chicago voc, git, quills
1928 Texas Worried Blues Fishing blues June 13, 1928 Vocalion 1249 Chicago voc, git, quills
1928 Arkansas Georgia Tom and Tampa Red , Lonesome Man Blues July 1, 1927 Vocalion 1286 voc, git
1929 Railroadin 'Some Don't leave me here Oct 7, 1929 Vocalion 1443 Chicago voc, git, quills
1929 Charmin 'Betsy Lovin 'babe Oct 7, 1929 Vocalion 1468 Chicago voc, git, quills

Publications

  • Henry Thomas - Texas Worried Blues: Complete Recorded Works 1927–1929 with Yazoo (1989)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In some songs a whistle with the blue note h can be heard.
  2. ↑ The Quills - a North American Panpipe. In: pan-flute.com. Retrieved November 9, 2018 .
  3. ^ Henry Thomas Discography . Wirz.de. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  4. ↑ 1000-1500 (1926-1930) . 78discography.com. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  5. ↑ Date of recording on June 30, 1927 at wirz.de.
personal data
SURNAME Thomas, Henry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ragtime Texas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American blues musician
DATE OF BIRTH around 1874
DATE OF DEATH 20th century