Considered to be the dean of St. Louis bluesmen, Henry James Townsend was the reigning Patriarch of the blues. With the passing of Son House, Fred McDowell, Bukka White, and Mississippi John Hurt, Townsend is one of the few living pre-war acoustic delta blues artists still performing. Born in Shelby, Mississippi in 1909, Townsend moved to St. Louis in 1921.
Henry took to the streets playing street corners, house parties and speakeasies to hone his craft. In 1928, he began accompanying a number of blues pianists, including Roosevelt Sykes, Peetie Wheatstraw, Henry Brown, and Walter Davis. In 1929, an audition was arranged by a music store owner named Sam Woolf resulting in recordings for Paramount and Columbia. In 1931, he also recorded with Walter Davis for Paramount and Victor.
Henry traveled to Chicago in 1932 with a group that featured Sykes, Davis, Teddy Darby and Tommy Webb to record sides for Victor's subsidiary Bluebird under the name of Henry Thomas. Three years later he brought Big Joe Williams back to Chicago for his debut recording with Victor's race label, Decca, which led to the classic duet "Somebody Been Borrowing That Stuff," as well as the first-ever recording of the blues standard "Baby Please Don't Go." By 1935, Townsend had contributed to over 35 recordings.
In 1937 Big Joe Williams, Robert Nighthawk and Sonny Boy Williamson traveled to Aurora, Illinois with Henry and other St. Louisans to record one of the most influential sessions of the Pre-war period. Townsend spent most of 1939 playing with Sonny Boy and Nighthawk in St. Louis at Earnest Walker's Tavern where all three met Robert Johnson. Townsend ended up dueting extensively with Johnson before returning to Chicago.
He celebrated his 90th Birthday with two movie premieres -- That's the Way I Do It-- The Life and Times of Henry Townsend and Hellhounds on My Trail -- The Afterlife of Robert Johnson, as well as an autobiography - Henry Townsend - A Blues Life. Since then, the now-95-year-old Townsend has been musically active, recording for Adelphi, Nighthawk, Swingmaster, and Wolf. Henry continues to record once a year in St. Louis. His latest release is My Story, which makes Henry the longest and oldest recording musician in American History!
The following pages are The Blue Shoe Project's tribute
America's First Rapper
America's First Rapper: That's Right
There is another aspect of Henry’s life and music that also goes largely unreported. Henry was probably the first known rapper in American music.
“I wrote songs on paper but didn't do me know good because it takes something out of my thinking. …I find myself doing a lot of ad lib poetry. The foundation that I needed I didn't have it.”
Henry preferred to compile a song as he went along. He had an unlimited catalogue of verses he kept in his head like a disc drive, retrieving them at will as needed to complete a song. Anyone who knows Henry well knows you will never hear the same song twice, exactly the same way when it comes to the lyrics. He was a master of lyrical composition improvisation. He would choose a theme for a song, like “She’s a blind girl” and would go from there. In this case his inspiration may have come from a dozen women he knew in his life, or from a single experience, and would pull the appropriate phrases to complete the song and the message he was trying to convey. Read more...
Dalai Lama of the Blues
Aside from his most notable accomplishments outlined above, in the many articles that have been written about Henry, and a catalogue of music that spanned eight decades, focus is rarely made on the wisdom Henry shared with those he came in contact with. Henry could very well be considered the “Dalai Lama of the Blues”.
As with many whom others seek wisdom, Henry was an incredibly humble person. He would bring focus on his own shortcomings before shedding light on that of others. However, a two minute conversation with Henry could reap more guidance on life than one could gain in a decade from others.
The wisdom he shared with anyone who came to know him was powerful and thought provoking. Even more profound was his innate ability to put complex challenges of life in simple terms that anyone could understand. You would walk away feeling as though you had just met with the Dalai Lama. Read more...
The Blue Shoe Release: Henry
Dallas – 96 Year-old blues legend Henry Townsend joined the ultimate all-star blues band in the sky on Sunday, September 24th near Grafton, Wi. The legend was honored as one of forty-four “stars” of the Paramount recording company to be immortalized in a Paramount “walk of fame”. Henry was one of only five artists still living that represent the last remaining link to the beginning of blues as a genre. Amazingly, those that remain, like Henry, are still on the road performing. they include Homesick James - 96, Joe Willie “Pinetop” Perkins - 93, Robert Lockwood, jr. - 91, and David “Honeyboy” Edwards - 91.
Henry had many accolades to his credit. he was the only American to record in every decade since the 1920’s. his last recording, “The Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen – Live in Dallas” was made in 2004 where he is featured with his friends Robert Lockwood, Jr., Honeyboy Edwards and Pinetop Perkins. He was a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship award, the highest honor our country bestows on a performer in the traditional arts and stood as a beacon of the St. Louis style of blues that earned him the title “The Dean of St. Louis Blues”. Read more...
Useful links with more information about Henry:
The Blue Shoe Times news blog archives:
http://blueshoetimes.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html
http://blueshoetimes.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html
The Blue Shoe Project photo album of Henry:
http://flickr.com/photos/theblueshoeproject/sets/72157594300212365/
STL Blues.net Biography:
http://www.stlblues.net/TownsendBio.htm
Illustrated Henry Townsend Discography page:
http://www.wirz.de/music/townsfrm.htm
More Henry information on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Townsend_(musician)
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