The Mississippi Sheiks consisted mainly of the Chatmon family, who came from Bolton, Mississippi and were well known throughout the Mississippi Delta. The father of the family had been a "musicianer" (someone with good technical ability on his or her instrument adept at sight-reading written music) during slavery times, and his children carried on the musical spirit. Their most famous (although by no means permanent) member was Armenter Chatmon - better known as Bo Carter - who managed a successful solo career as well as playing with the Sheiks, which may have contributed to their success.
When the band first recorded in 1930, the line-up consisted of Carter with Lonnie and Sam Chatmon, and Walter Vinson. Charlie McCoy (not to be confused with Charlie McCoy, a later American musician) played later, when Bo Carter and Sam Chatmon ceased playing full time. It was Lonnie Chatmon and Vinson who formed the real center of the group.
Bo Carter's solo work is notable for being sexually suggestive in songs and this is carried on to an extent with the group. They primarily earned their income like Robert Johnson and Skip James. They toured throughout the Southern United States, but also reached as far north as Chicago and New York.
Their first and biggest success was "Sitting on Top of the World" (1930), later to be recorded by Bob Wills (numerous times), Howlin' Wolf, Nat King Cole, Bill Monroe, Harry Belafonte, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Cream, Grateful Dead, Jeff Healey, John Lee Hooker, Bill Frisell and Jack White, and re-done by Robert Johnson, as "Come On in My Kitchen". The song was also the theme to the film A Face in the Crowd (1957) produced by Elia Kazan and starring Andy Griffith. Throughout their five active years, the Mississippi Sheiks recorded over seventy songs for the Okeh, Paramount and Bluebird labels.
Their last recording session as the Mississippi Sheiks was in 1936. Bo made a few more sessions on his own, but by 1938 he too was dropped. When the band dissolved, the Chatmon brothers gave up music and returned to farming.
The Sheiks and related groups under other names, such as Mississippi Mud Steppers and Blacksnakes, recorded about a hundred sides in the first half of the 1930s, among them original compositions (probably by Vinson) like "The World is Going Wrong" and "I've Got Blood in My Eyes For You" (1931) - both recorded by Bob Dylan - or the topical "Sales Tax" (1934).
Sam Chatmon made more recordings in the 1960s and Walter Vinson contributed three selections (using the Mississippi Sheiks band name) to Riverside's 1961 series, Chicago: The Living Legends.
In 2004, they were inducted in the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame. Their 1930 blues single "Sitting on Top of the World" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008.
In 1978 Rory Gallagher recorded a tribute song "The Mississippi Sheiks" for his Photo Finish album.
In 2009, Black Hen Music released Things About Comin' My Way, a tribute album to the Mississippi Sheiks. The album's seventeen artists include Bruce Cockburn, Bill Frisell, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Geoff Muldaur, Kelly Joe Phelps and John Hammond.
In 2013 Jack White's Third Man Records teamed up with Document Records to reissue The Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order of Charley Patton, Blind Willie McTell and The Mississippi Sheiks.
Unhappy Blues
Mississippi Sheiks Lyrics
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I can't be content here, oh nowhere I be
No place I go to seem like home to me
Everybody seem welcome here in this place but me
Everybody seem welcome here in this place but me
Bad whiskey and women caused me can't see no peace
I have laid in jail with my face turned to the wall
It was doctors and lawyers said "Son, you's the cause of it all"
And the day is growing older, oh, and the night's growing near
And the day is growing older, oh, the night's growing near
And some got six months, oh, I've got a year
"Oh, step on it"
And those days have passed over that I wished I was dead and gone
And those days have passed over that I wished I was dead and gone
For I'm so unhappy out here on the county farm
The Mississippi Sheiks' song Unhappy Blues is a raw and emotional blues song that speaks to the feeling of displacement and discontent that the singer is experiencing in his life. The lyrics convey a feeling of isolation and disconnection, as the singer expresses his inability to find a place where he feels at home. The repetition of the phrase "I can't be content here, oh nowhere I be" emphasizes the singer's sense of unease and lack of peace.
The second verse highlights the root causes of the singer's unhappiness - bad whiskey and women. This suggests a tendency towards self-destructive behavior, which has further exacerbated his feelings of loneliness and despair. The reference to imprisonment adds to the melancholic tone of the song, as the singer reflects on how his actions have led to him being shunned by society.
The final lines of the song suggest a resignation to the singer's unhappy lot in life, as he reflects on the passing of time and the fact that he still has a long sentence to serve. The use of the phrase "county farm" suggests a bleak and desolate existence, where the singer is forced to work hard without any sense of purpose or joy.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't be content here, oh nowhere I be
I cannot find contentment anywhere that I go.
No place I go to seem like home to me
Every place I go to is unfamiliar to me and does not feel like home.
Everybody seem welcome here in this place but me
Everyone in this place appears to be welcome except for me.
Bad whiskey and women caused me can't see no peace
My inability to find peace is associated with the consumption of bad-quality whiskey and my relationships with women.
I have laid in jail with my face turned to the wall
I have been in jail, facing the wall and feeling guilty for my actions.
It was doctors and lawyers said "Son, you's the cause of it all"
Both medical practitioners and legal representatives have implied that I am responsible for my current situation.
And the day is growing older, oh, and the night's growing near
The daytime is coming to an end, night is approaching fast.
And some got six months, oh, I've got a year
I have received a longer sentence in comparison to some of my acquaintances.
"Oh, step on it"
An encouragement or a request to move forward at a faster pace.
And those days have passed over that I wished I was dead and gone
I no longer want to die or wish for the days when I did.
For I'm so unhappy out here on the county farm
I am not content living on a farm in the county.
Writer(s): bo carter
Contributed by Jack H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.