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  • Guitar Player

    BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL

    Mar 08, 2022 4 minutes
    —Jim Beaugez

    MISSISSIPPI DELTA BLUESMAN

    Robert Johnson may have sung about having a hellhound on his trail, but Skip James sounded like the one on the run. During his lifetime, James alternated between shadow and light in his performances, ranging from the wrenching “Devil Got My Woman” to the rolling gospel “Jesus Is a Mighty Good Leader.” His D-minor guitar tuning and high, ghostly singing style gave these compositions gravitas as his fingerstyle technique propelled them forward, all while never committing to a definitive structure for any of his songs.

    James traveled from Bentonia, Mississippi to Grafton, Wisconsin in 1931 and recorded 18 sides for Paramount Records, but (1966) and (1968).

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