Editing Skip James (section)

=== Rediscovery and legacy ===

For the next thirty-three years, James made no known recordings and performed sporadically. He was virtually unknown to the general public until about 1960. Blues singer and guitarist [[Big Joe Williams]] believed that James had already passed, having been murdered in Mississippi.<ref name="I'd Rather Be the Devil: Skip James and the Blues 3">{{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=12 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2C3lConF2NwC&q=murdered+in+mississippi |access-date=September 4, 2022}}</ref> In 1964, blues enthusiasts [[John Fahey (musician)|John Fahey]], [[Bill Barth]], and [[Henry Vestine]] found him in a hospital in [[Tunica, Mississippi]].<ref name="LarkinBlues">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Who's Who of Blues]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1995|edition=Second|isbn=0-85112-673-1|page=197/9}}</ref> According to Calt, the "rediscovery" of both James and [[Son House]] at virtually the same time was the start of the [[blues revival]] in the United States.<ref name="Calt">{{cite book| last = Calt | first = Stephen | title = I'd Rather Be the Devil: Skip James and the Blues| url = https://archive.org/details/idratherbedevils00calt | url-access = limited | publisher = [[Da Capo Press]]| year = 1994| page =[https://archive.org/details/idratherbedevils00calt/page/88 88]| isbn = 978-0-306-80579-0}}</ref>

In July 1964, James and other rediscovered musicians appeared at the [[Newport Folk Festival]].<ref name="russell"/> Several photographs by the blues promoter [[Dick Waterman]] captured this performance, James's first in over 30 years. James subsequently recorded for [[Takoma Records]], [[Melodeon Records]], and [[Vanguard Records]] and performed at various engagements until his death from cancer on October 3, 1969, in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], at the age of 67.<ref name="russell"/><ref>{{cite web | title=Nehemiah Skip James: Mississippi Blues Musician | website=Mississippi Writers, Musicians, Actors, and Artists | date=1902-06-09 | url=https://www.mswritersandmusicians.com/mississippi-musicians/skip-james | access-date=2019-09-10}}</ref>

More of James's recordings have been available since his death than were available during his lifetime. His 1931 recordings and several of his recordings and concerts from the 1960s have been reissued on numerous compact discs, in and out of print. His songs were not initially recorded as frequently as those of other rediscovered blues musicians.  However, the British rock band [[Cream (band)|Cream]] recorded "I'm So Glad",<ref name=latimes/> providing James with $10,000 in royalties, the only windfall of his career.<ref name="AMG"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608002248/Skip-James.html |title=Skip James Biography |author=<!--Not stated--> |access-date=10 September 2019 }}</ref> Subsequently, Cream's adaptation was recorded by other groups.  James' "22-20" inspired the name of the English group [[22-20s]]. The British post-rock band [[Hope of the States]] released a song partially about the life of James, entitled "Nehemiah", which reached number 30 on the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= British Hit Singles & Albums
| edition= 19th
| publisher= Guinness World Records
| location= London
| page= 259
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5}}</ref>  Only 15 copies of James' original shellac 78 recordings are still in existence, and have become extremely sought after by collectors such as John Tefteller.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/arts/music/12petr.html |title=They've Got Those Old, Hard-to-Find Blues |first=Amanda |last=Petrusich |date=July 8, 2009 |website=NY Times |access-date=October 14, 2020}}</ref>

In 2004, [[Wim Wenders]] directed the film ''[[The Soul of a Man]]'' (the second part of ''[[The Blues (film)|The Blues]]'', a series produced by [[Martin Scorsese]]), focusing on the music of [[Blind Willie Johnson]], [[J.B. Lenoir]] and James.<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4075488/year/2003.html |title=Festival de Cannes: The Soul of a Man |access-date= March 20, 2015|website=Festival-cannes.com}}</ref> Because James had not been filmed before the 1960s, Keith B. Brown played the part of the young James in the documentary.  James' song "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" was featured in the 2000 film ''[[O Brother, Where Art Thou?]]'' and included on the [[O Brother, Where Art Thou? (soundtrack)|soundtrack album]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/o-brother-where-art-thou-original-soundtrack-mw0000106868|title=''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' [Original Soundtrack] – Various Artists|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=June 7, 2019|last=Cater|first=Evan}}</ref>

James was the inspiration for [[Dion DiMucci|Dion]]'s 2007 blues album, ''[[Son of Skip James]]'', which peaked at No. 4.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/dion/|title=Dion|website=Billboard.com|access-date=August 14, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17680145|title = 'The Wanderer' Has Got the Blues|newspaper=NPR.org|date=December 29, 2007}}</ref>

James was honored with a marker on the [[Mississippi Blues Trail]] in [[Bentonia, Mississippi|Bentonia]], his hometown.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://msbluestrail.org/blues-trail-markers/skip-james|title=Skip James|website=Mississippi Blues Trail}}</ref>

In 2020, James' song "Devil Got My Woman" was added to the [[Grammy Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Blistein |first=Jon |date=2020-01-21 |title= Elton John, Public Enemy, Joni Mitchell Recordings Added to Grammy Hall of Fame|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/elton-john-public-enemy-joni-mitchell-recordings-grammy-hall-of-fame-2020-induction-937561/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=2020-08-17 }}</ref>