Mississippi John Hurt

Blues singer/songwriter Mississippi John Hurt was born John Smith Hurt in Teoc, MS, on July 3, 1893. As a young man he taught himself how to play guitar and performed at local clubs and dances. In 1928 a talent scout for Okeh Records heard him and signed him to the label, then sent him to Memphis and New York City to record. He made 13 songs for the label, but returned to Mississippi where he kept performing until the early 1960s, when a folk-music fan discovered his works. He appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1963, 1964 and 1965 and on a variety of television shows. He also recorded three albums for Vanguard Records. Many folk singers of the 1960s have said that Hurt's gentle blues ballads and folk songs were major influences on them, among them Bob Dylan. Hurt died in Grenada, MS, in 1966.