Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine. Singing to a melodious finger-picked accompaniment, he began to play local dances and parties while working as a sharecropper. He first recorded for Okeh Records in 1928, but these were commercial failures. Hurt then drifted out of the recording scene, and he continued his work as a farmer. Tom Hoskins, a blues enthusiast, would be the first to locate Hurt in 1963. He convinced Hurt to relocate to Washington, D.C., where he was recorded by the Library of Congress in 1964. This rediscovery helped further the American folk music revival, which had led to the rediscovery of many other bluesmen of Hurt's era. Hurt entered the same university and coffeehouse concert circuit as his contemporaries, as well as other Delta blues musicians brought out of retirement. As well as playing concerts, he recorded several studio albums for Vanguard Records.
Born John Smith Hurt in Teoc, Carroll County, Mississippi (there is confusion about his date of birth, but the grave marker mentions March 8, 1892) and raised in Avalon, Mississippi, he learned to play guitar at age nine. He was completely self-taught, stealthily playing the guitar of a friend of his mother's, who often stayed at the Hurt home while courting a lady who lived near by. His style was not reminiscent of any other style being played at the time; it was the way Hurt "thought the guitar should sound". He spent much of his youth playing old time music for friends and dances, earning a living as a farmhand into the 1920s. His fast, highly syncopated style of playing made his music adept for dancing. On occasion, a medicine show would come through the area; Hurt recalls being wanted by one of them. "One of them wanted me, but I said no because I just never wanted to get away from home." In 1923 he partnered with the fiddle player Willie Narmour as a substitute for his regular partner Shell Smith.
When Narmour got a chance to record for Okeh Records as a prize for winning first place in a 1928 fiddle contest, he recommended Hurt to Okeh Records producer Tommy Rockwell. After auditioning "Monday Morning Blues" at his home, he took part in two recording sessions, in Memphis and New York City (see Discography below). While in Memphis, Hurt recalled seeing "many, many blues singers ... Lonnie Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Bessie Smith, and lots, lots more." Hurt described his first recording session as such:
... a great big hall with only the three of us in it: me, the man [Rockwell], and the engineer. It was really something. I sat on a chair, and they pushed the microphone right up to my mouth and told me that I couldn't move after they had found the right position. I had to keep my head absolutely still. Oh, I was nervous, and my neck was sore for days after.
Hurt attempted further negotiations with Okeh to record again, but after the commercial failure of the resulting records, and Okeh Records going out of business during the Great Depression, Hurt returned to Avalon and obscurity, working as a sharecropper and playing local parties and dances.
After Hurt's renditions of "Frankie" and "Spike Driver Blues" were included in The Anthology of American Folk Music in 1952, and an Australian man discovered a copy of "Avalon Blues", there became increased interest in finding Hurt himself. In 1963, a folk musicologist, Tom Hoskins, supervised by Richard Spottswood, was able to locate Hurt near Avalon, Mississippi using the lyrics of "Avalon Blues":
Avalon, my home town, always on my mind/Avalon, my home town.
While in Avalon, Hoskins convinced an apprehensive Hurt to perform several songs for him, to ensure that he was genuine. Hoskins was convinced, and seeing that Hurt's guitar playing skills were still intact, Hoskins encouraged him to move to Washington, D.C., and begin performing on a wider stage. His performance at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival saw his star rise amongst the new folk revival audience. Before his death he played extensively in colleges, concert halls, coffee houses and also on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, as well as recording three further albums for Vanguard Records. Much of his repertoire was recorded for the Library of Congress, also. His fans particularly liked the ragtime songs "Salty Dog" and "Candy Man", and the blues ballads "Spike Driver Blues" (a variant of "John Henry") and "Frankie".
Hurt incorporated a fast, pick-less, syncopated fingerpicking style that he taught himself. He was influenced by very few people; but did recall an elderly, unrecorded, blues singer from that area, Rufus Hanks, who played twelve-string guitar and harmonica. He also recalled listening to the country singer Jimmie Rodgers. On occasion, Hurt would use an open tuning and a slide, as he did in his arrangement of "The Ballad of Casey Jones".
Hurt's influence spanned several music genres including blues, country, bluegrass, folk and contemporary rock and roll. A soft-spoken man, his nature was reflected in the work, which consisted of a mellow mix of country, blues and old time music.
Material recorded by Hurt has been re-released by many record labels over the years (see discography); and his influence has extended over many generations of guitarists. Songs recorded by Hurt have been covered by Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Beck, Doc Watson, John McCutcheon, Taj Mahal, Bruce Cockburn, David Johansen, Bill Morrissey and Gillian Welch.
Hurt died on November 2nd, 1966, of a heart attack in Grenada, Mississippi.
There is now a memorial in Avalon, Mississippi for Mississippi John Hurt. It is parallel to RR2, the rural road on which he grew up.
American singer-songwriter Tom Paxton, who met Hurt and played on the same bill as him at the Gaslight in Greenwich Village around 1963, wrote and recorded a song about him in 1977 entitled "Did You Hear John Hurt?" Paxton still frequently plays this song at his live performances.
The first track of John Fahey's 1968 solo acoustic guitar album Requia is entitled "Requiem For John Hurt". Fahey's posthumous live album The Great Santa Barbara Oil Slick also features a version of the piece, there entitled "Requiem For Mississippi John Hurt".
British folk/blues artist Wizz Jones recorded a tribute song called "Mississippi John" for his 1977 album Magical Flight.
Frankie and Johnny
Mississippi John Hurt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She pay one hundred dollars for our one suit of clothes
He's a man and he done me wrong.
Frankie went down to the corner saloon, didn't go to be gone long
She peek through one of the keyholes and spied Albert in Alice's arms
He's my man and he done me wrong.
"If you don't come to the woman you love, gonna haul you out of here"
You's my man and you done me wrong."
Frankie shot old Albert and she shot him three or four times
Says "Stroll back, I'd smoke my gun, let him see Albert dying
He's my man and he done me wrong."
Frankie and the judge walked down on the stand, walked out side to side
The judge says to Frankie "You're gonna be justified
For killing a man and he done you wrong."
Dark was the night, cold was on the ground
Little last word I heard Frankie say "I'd done laid old Albert down
He's my man and he done me wrong."
I ain't gonna tell no story and I ain't gonna tell no lie
Well an hour past about an hour ago, the girl called out his pride
He's your man and he done you wrong.
The song "Frankie" tells the story of a woman who finds out that her lover, Albert, is cheating on her with another woman, Alice. Despite loving him deeply, she decides to take matters into her own hands and shoots him in a fit of rage. The lyrics are straightforward and evoke a sense of sorrow and desperation, with the repeated line "he's my man and he done me wrong" underscoring the pain and betrayal that Frankie feels.
What makes this song particularly interesting is its roots in the Southern blues tradition, as it tells a story that was likely all too common in the segregated South. The song was first recorded by Mississippi John Hurt in 1928, but it has been covered by countless artists over the years, including Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. Some have even argued that "Frankie" is one of the original murder ballads, a term used to describe songs that feature violent or tragic themes.
Despite its dark subject matter, "Frankie" remains a beloved classic in the blues canon, in large part because of the emotional resonance of the lyrics. The line "he's my man and he done me wrong" is instantly recognizable to anyone who has ever experienced heartbreak, and the gritty storytelling of the song has fascinated generations of listeners.
Line by Line Meaning
Frankie was a good girl everybody know
Frankie was known to be a respectable woman
She pay one hundred dollars for our one suit of clothes
Frankie spent a lot of money on her and her man's clothing
He's a man and he done me wrong.
Frankie's man betrayed her
Frankie went down to the corner saloon, didn't go to be gone long
Frankie went to the bar for a short while
She peek through one of the keyholes and spied Albert in Alice's arms
Frankie saw her man with another woman
He's my man and he done me wrong.
Frankie's man betrayed her
Frankie called Albert, Albert says "I don't hear."
Frankie tried to talk to her man, but he ignored her
"If you don't come to the woman you love, gonna haul you out of here"
Frankie threatened to make a scene if her man did not talk to her
You's my man and you done me wrong."
Frankie's man betrayed her
Frankie shot old Albert and she shot him three or four times
Frankie shot her man several times
Says "Stroll back, I'd smoke my gun, let him see Albert dying
Frankie wanted her man to see what she had done to him
He's my man and he done me wrong."
Frankie's man betrayed her
Frankie and the judge walked down on the stand, walked out side to side
Frankie went to court with the judge
The judge says to Frankie "You're gonna be justified
The judge believed Frankie was justified in her actions
For killing a man and he done you wrong."
Frankie's man betrayed her
Dark was the night, cold was on the ground
The weather was dark and cold
Little last word I heard Frankie say "I'd done laid old Albert down
Frankie reminisced about killing her man
He's my man and he done me wrong."
Frankie's man betrayed her
I ain't gonna tell no story and I ain't gonna tell no lie
Frankie is being truthful
Well an hour past about an hour ago, the girl called out his pride
Someone insulted Frankie's man
He's your man and he done you wrong.
Frankie's man betrayed her
Writer(s): MICHAEL BLOOMFIELD
Contributed by Amelia G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
old bladder Horn
poor old Fran' ky she was only a school girl and Johnny was a man ( and a little simple) bragging he could get her anything even a diamond ring"?
she met him once maybe twice through a friend
she lived a very sheltered life at home with loving christian parents
$100 suite for clothes yeh maybe!!
Johnny was a small time hood and braggart.
who robbed a jewellery store on the high street.
shot and killed the store detective and wounded a police
constable while trying to make a getaway from his failed robbery
which he managed to do but was caught elsewhere
convicted and hung for murder.
little Fran' ny was innocent in every way
and was no gangsters moll
just a school girl
couldn't sing the blues about the truth though...🤔🙄🤔👁🗨see👁🎶
Aghia Sophia
Super-fingerpicking, sweet voice, great lyrics. Those guys of delta blues generation from '20 and '30 were incredibly brilliant and talented songwriters
J C
This is a traditional song, he didn't write it.
Doc Bowling
Sad song. Heartfelt rendition. Genius.
taurtue
Wonderful piece of music
Opinunate ted
This song has become a blues standard and there are a lot of versions. I read an underground comic that claimed to have the original version.
In it, Frankie was a prostitute and Johny was her pimp. She "worked so hard that she barely got out of bed." Se "gave him a lot of kail."
But then Frankie heard that Johnie was seen around with a (Slur for) black woman name Nellie Bly. She ran to the bar and found him "finger frigging Nellie Bly."
Then she ran home and "Got a bunch of cocaine and put it inside her head." Then she went to the bar and shot him.
I have no idea if this rough version full of sex, drugs, and violence is actually the original, but after some of the early blues I have heard, I would not be surprised. Anyway, I am still looking for that version.
Scotty Mull
Not many people know this song is about a true story
A-Bear in the Woods
Same about Stacker Lee.
Homefree On a Suzuki
Not many people know this song.
camionerodebasura
He kicks arse, words are hard to find.
Javier Rubino
Genial