Editing Skip James (section)

===1920s and 1930s===
For most of the 1920s, James worked a series of illicit jobs, such as bootlegging, [[gambling]], and [[Procuring (prostitution)|procuring]]. His lifestyle was reportedly so "unbridled", that when he returned to Bentonia from [[Dallas, Texas]], in 1929, he was met with local reports of his supposed "violent death". He was met with the same reports five years earlier when he returned from [[Arkansas]]. That same year, in 1929, he met a local musician named [[Johnny Temple (musician)|Johnny Temple]], who became his first protégé. The 23 year old Temple learned how to play in cross-note tuning, which was then unknown to musicians who were from the [[Jackson, Mississippi|Jackson]] area, and also attempted to copy James' high falsetto voice, until he advised Temple to sing in his natural voice.<ref name="I'd Rather Be the Devil: Skip James and the Blues">{{cite book |last1=Calt |first1=Stephen |title=I'd Rather Be the Devil: Skip James and the Blues |date=August 21, 1994 |publisher=Chicago Review Press |isbn=1569769982|page=122 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2C3lConF2NwC&q=murderous+music+cat |access-date=September 4, 2022}}</ref> James also operated a music school for would-be blues musicians in Jackson, giving lessons on guitar, piano, and even [[violin]].<ref name="I'd Rather Be the Devil: Skip James and the Blues 2">{{cite book |last1=Calt |first1=Stephen |title=I'd Rather Be the Devil: Skip James and the Blues |date=August 21, 1994 |publisher=Chicago Review Press |isbn=1569769982|page=124 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2C3lConF2NwC&q=murderous+music+cat |access-date=September 4, 2022}}</ref>

James continued working locally as a street singer. In early 1931, James auditioned for the record shop owner and talent scout [[H. C. Speir]] in Jackson, Mississippi. Speir placed blues performers with various record labels, including [[Paramount Records]].<ref name="russell">{{cite book
| first= Tony
| last= Russell
| year= 1997
| title= The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray
| publisher=Carlton Books
| location= Dubai
| page= 123
| isbn= 1-85868-255-X}}</ref> On the strength of this audition, James traveled to [[Grafton, Wisconsin]], to record for Paramount.<ref name="russell"/> His 1931 records are considered idiosyncratic among [[World War II|prewar]] blues recordings and formed the basis of his reputation as a musician.

As was typical of his era, James recorded various styles of music – blues, [[Spiritual (music)|spirituals]], cover versions, and original compositions – frequently blurring the lines between genres and sources. For example, "[[I'm So Glad]]" was derived from a 1927 song, "So Tired", by Art Sizemore and George A. Little, recorded in 1928 by [[Gene Austin]] and by [[Lonnie Johnson (musician)|Lonnie Johnson]] (Johnson's version was entitled "I'm So Tired of Livin' All Alone"). James's biographer [[Stephen Calt]], echoing the opinion of several [[music journalism|music critics]], considered the finished product totally original, "one of the most extraordinary examples of fingerpicking found in guitar music".<ref name="Calt" /> Several other recordings from the Grafton session, such as "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues", "Devil Got My Woman", "Jesus Is a Mighty Good Leader", and "22-20 Blues" (the basis of [[Robert Johnson (musician)|Robert Johnson]]'s better-known "[[32-20 Blues]]"),<ref>{{cite book|title=Deep Blues|author=Palmer, Robert|author-link=Robert Palmer (American writer)|isbn=978-0-14-006223-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/deepblues00palm/page/116 116]|date=1982|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/deepblues00palm/page/116}}</ref> have been similarly influential. Very few original copies of James's Paramount [[78 rpm record]]s have survived.

The Great Depression struck just as James's recordings were hitting the market. Sales were poor as a result, and he gave up performing the blues to become the choir director in his father's church.<ref name="russell"/> James was later an ordained minister in [[Baptist]] and [[Methodist]] churches, but the extent of his involvement in religious activities is unknown.<ref name="russell"/>