Searching for Jimmy Strother : a tale of music, murder, and memory / Gregg D. Kimball.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kimball, Gregg D., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Strothers, Jimmie.

Folk singers--Biography.

Folk singers.

Blind musicians--Biography.

Blind musicians.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvi, 288 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Charlottesville, Virginia : Rivanna Books, [2025]

Summary:

The incredible true story of a blind musician, a brutal crime, and the making of an American folk legend In June 1936 James Lee Strother performed thirteen songs at the Virginia State Prison Farm for famed folklorist John Lomax and the Library of Congress. Rooted in the rich soil of the Piedmont region, Strother's repertoire epitomized the Black songsters who defy easy classification. Blinded in a steel mill explosion, which only intensified his drive to connect to the world through song, Strother drew on old spirituals and country breakdowns as readily as he explored emerging genres like blues and ragtime. Biographer Gregg Kimball revives this elusive but singular talent and the creative and historical worlds in which his dramatic life unfolded. Myths surround Strother but, as Kimball reveals, the facts of Strother's life are just as compelling as the fanciful embellishments proffered by early folklorists. Musician, murderer, and beloved family member-Strother somehow played each of these roles, and more. And while the songster's comedic ditties, spirituals, and blues tunes reached a wide range of listeners (and were later covered by musicians like Pete Seeger and Jefferson Airplane), they carried a dark undercurrent that spoke directly to the experiences of Black Americans: sundown towns, Jim Crow segregation, and labor exploitation. As Kimball shows, Strother's powerful songs and remarkable, tumultuous life continue to influence and remain deeply relevant to American culture to this day.

Contents:

Introduction

The World of Culpeper. Family ; String Music ; Spiritual Songs ; Land and Labor ; The Wharf

Baltimore. Sparrows Point ; The Biddle Alley District ; Rock Steady, Children ; The Medicine Show ; The Street ; The Politics of Race and Disability

Virginia Bound. Blanche Greene ; Murder on Barbour Alley ; The Virginia State Prison Farm ; Recording the Folk ; The Pardon

Legacies. Do Lord, Remember Me ; The Folk Process ; Songs of Protest ; The Songster Tradition ; Mount Auburn

Appendix A. James Lee Strother and Relativ.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780813952321

0813952328