Editing Elmore James

{{Short description|American blues musician (1918–1963)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Elmore James
| image             = Elmore James.gif
| caption           = 
| background        = solo_singer
| birth_name        = Elmore Brooks
| alias             = "King of the Slide Guitar"
| birth_date        = {{birth date|1918|1|27}}
| birth_place       = [[Richland, Holmes County, Mississippi]], U.S.
| death_date        = {{death date and age|1963|05|24|1918|1|27}}
| death_place       = [[Chicago|Chicago, Illinois]], U.S.
| instrument        = {{hlist|Guitar|vocals}}
| genre             = [[Blues]]
| occupation        = {{hlist|Musician|singer|songwriter}}
| years_active      = 1940s–1963
}}

'''Elmore James''' ({{né}} '''Brooks'''; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963)<ref name="auto">{{cite book|title=Deep Blues|author=Robert Palmer|year=1981|author-link=Robert Palmer (American writer)|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|pages=205–215|isbn=978-0-14-006223-6|url=https://archive.org/details/deepblues00palm/page/205}}</ref> was an American [[blues]] guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography">{{cite book|first=Martin C.|last=Strong|year=2000|title= The Great Rock Discography|edition=5th|publisher= Mojo Books|location=Edinburgh|pages=493–494|isbn=978-1-84195-017-4}}</ref> Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 1992.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/elmore-james|title=Elmore James|website=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame}}</ref> His [[slide guitar]] technique earned him the nickname "King of the Slide Guitar".

== Biography ==
Elmore James was born Elmore Brooks in [[Richland, Holmes County, Mississippi]], the son of 15-year-old Leola Brooks, a field hand.<ref name="AMG" /> His father was probably Joe Willie "Frost" James,<ref name="auto" /> who moved in with Leola, and Elmore took his surname. He began making music at the age of 12, using a simple one-string instrument ([[diddley bow]], or jitterbug) strung on a shack wall.<ref name="auto" /> As a teen he performed at dances under the names Cleanhead and Joe Willie James.<ref name="AMG" />

James was influenced by [[Robert Johnson]],<ref name="auto" /> [[Kokomo Arnold]] and [[Tampa Red]]. He recorded several of Tampa Red's songs. He also inherited from Tampa Red's band two musicians who joined his own backing band, the Broomdusters, [[Little Johnny Jones (pianist)|"Little" Johnny Jones]] (piano) and [[Odie Payne]] (drums).<ref name="AMG" /> In the late 1930s, James worked alongside [[Sonny Boy Williamson II]].<ref name="AMG" />

During [[World War II]], James joined the U.S. Navy, was promoted to [[coxswain]] and took part in the invasion of [[Guam]].<ref name="auto" /> Upon his discharge, he returned to central Mississippi and settled in the town of [[Canton, Mississippi|Canton]] with his adopted brother, Robert Holston.

He began recording with [[Trumpet Records]] in nearby Jackson in January 1951, first as a sideman again for Sonny Boy Williamson II and for their mutual friend [[Willie Love]] and possibly others.<ref name="auto" /> He made his debut as a session leader in August that year recording a Robert Johnson composition, "[[Dust My Broom]]", which was a surprise R&B hit in 1952.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" /> His backing musicians became known as the Broomdusters.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" />

James broke his contract with Trumpet Records to sign with the [[Bihari brothers]]<ref name="auto" /> through their scout [[Ike Turner]], who played guitar and piano on a couple of his early Bihari recordings. His "I Believe" was a hit a year later.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" /> During the 1950s he recorded for the Bihari brothers' [[Flair Records]], [[Meteor Records]], and [[Modern Records]]; he also recorded for [[Chess Records]] and [[Mel London]]'s [[Chief Records]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Top R&B Singles 1942–1988|publisher=Record Research|year=1988|page=[https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstop00whit/page/216 216]|isbn=978-0-89820-068-3|url=https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstop00whit/page/216}}</ref> He played lead guitar on [[Big Joe Turner]]'s 1954 top 10 R&B hit "TV Mama".<ref>Swyner, Alan (1998). Liner notes to ''The Very Best of Big Joe Turner''. Rhino CD 72968.</ref>

In 1959, he began recording for [[Bobby Robinson (record producer)|Bobby Robinson]]'s [[Fire Records]], which released "[[The Sky Is Crying (song)|The Sky Is Crying]]", "[[Bleeding Heart (song)|My Bleeding Heart]]", "Stranger Blues", "[[Look on Yonder Wall]]", "[[Done Somebody Wrong]]", and "[[Shake Your Moneymaker (song)|Shake Your Moneymaker]]", among others.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" />

James died of a [[heart attack]] in Chicago in 1963, at the age of 45,<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" /> as he was about to tour Europe with that year's [[American Folk Blues Festival]]. He was buried in the Newport Baptist Church Cemetery, in [[Ebenezer, Mississippi]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=http://msbluestrail.org/blues-trail-markers/elmore-james|title=Elmore James|website=Mississippi Blues Trail}}</ref> [[Phil Walden]] of [[Capricorn Records]] raised funds for a granite headstone for James's grave. The headstone which reads "King of the Slide Guitar", features a bronze [[relief]] of James playing guitar. It was revealed at a dedication ceremony sponsored by the [[Mount Zion Memorial Fund|Mt. Zion Memorial Fund]] in 1992.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.msbluestrail.org/featured_elmore_james|title=Featured Marker – Elmore James|website=Mississippi Blues Trail}}</ref>

James was posthumously inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 1992 as an "Early Influence" inductee.<ref name=":0" /> He had been inducted in the [[Blues Hall of Fame]] within its initial list of inductions in 1980.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mojohand.com/elmore-james-everything-you-need-to-know-about-blues-music/|title=Elmore James &#124; Everything you need to know about Blues Music|first=Grego|last=Anderson|website=Mojohand.com|date=March 22, 2023}}</ref> In 2012, he was honored with a marker on the [[Mississippi Blues Trail]] in Ebenezer.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

== Influence ==
James influenced many slide players, such as blues guitarists [[Homesick James]], [[Hound Dog Taylor]], and [[J. B. Hutto]].<ref name="AMG">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/elmore-james-mn0000176936/biography|title=Elmore James – Biography & History|first=Cub |last=Koda|author-link=Cub Koda|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=February 1, 2019}}</ref> His single string playing also influenced [[B.B. King]] and [[Chuck Berry]].<ref name="AMG" /> Rock guitarists [[Jimi Hendrix]], [[Duane Allman]],  [[Brian Jones]], [[Jeremy Spencer]], and [[Frank Zappa]] have acknowledged his influence.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia| last = Larkin| first = Colin| author-link = Colin Larkin| year = 2007| title = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music| chapter = James, Elmore| location = London| publisher = [[Omnibus Press]]| isbn = 978-0-85712-595-8| pages = 1974–1975}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://home.online.no/~corneliu/gp83.htm |last=Mulhern |first=Tom |title="I'm Different" or "Not Exactly Duane Allman" |magazine=[[Guitar Player]] |via=Home.online.no |date=February 1983 |access-date=December 30, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223154857/http://home.online.no/~corneliu/gp83.htm |archive-date=February 23, 2012}}</ref> In the [[The Beatles|Beatles]]' song "[[For You Blue]]", [[John Lennon]] plays a slide solo on a [[Höfner]] [[lap steel guitar]];<ref name="Babiuk">{{Cite book|last=Babiuk|first=A|year=2002|title=Beatles Gear|publisher=[[Hal Leonard]]|page=239|isbn=978-0-87930-662-5}}</ref> [[George Harrison]] encourages him with "Go, Johnny, go{{nbsp}}... Elmore James got nothin' on this, baby".<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Alan|last=Smith|title=New LP Shows They Couldn't Care Less|magazine=[[NME]]|date=May 9, 1970|page=2}}</ref>

== Discography ==
{{Main|Elmore James discography}}
=== Selected singles ===
* "[[Dust My Broom]]" (1951 and 1965)
* "[[Dust My Blues|I Believe]]" (1953)
* "[[Cross Road Blues#Elmore James versions|Standing at the Crossroads]]" (1954 and 1965)
* "[[Dust My Blues]]" (1955)
* "[[It Hurts Me Too#Elmore James versions|It Hurts Me Too]]" (1957 and 1965)
* "[[The Sky Is Crying (song)|The Sky Is Crying]]" (1960)
* "[[I Can't Hold Out]]" (1960)
* "[[Rollin' and Tumblin']]" (1960)
* "[[Shake Your Moneymaker (song)|Shake Your Moneymaker]]" (1961)
* "[[Look on Yonder Wall#Elmore James version|Look on Yonder Wall]]" (1961)
* "[[Bleeding Heart (song)|Bleeding Heart]]" (1965)
* "[[One Way Out (song)|One Way Out]]" (1965)
* "[[Every Day I Have the Blues]]" (1965)
* "[[Madison Blues]]" (1968)

=== Selected compilation albums ===
* ''Blues After Hours'' (Crown, 1960)
* ''The Sky Is Crying'' (Sphere Sound, 1965)
* ''I Need You'' (Sphere Sound, 1966)
* ''Whose Muddy Shoes'' (Chess, 1969) (split album with [[John Brim]])
* ''Street Talkin' '' (Muse, 1975) (split album with [[Eddie Taylor]])
* ''Shake Your Money Maker'' (Charly R&B, 1986)
* ''Golden Classics'' (Collectables, 1988)
* ''King of the Slide Guitar'' (Capricorn, 1992)
* ''The Classic Early Recordings: 1951–1956'' (Virgin/Flair, 1993)
* ''The Sky Is Crying: The History of Elmore James'' (Rhino, 1993)
* ''Rollin' and Tumblin' '' (Recall/Snapper, 1999)

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Elmore James Blues Trail Marker.jpg|Blues Trail Marker
File:Elmore James Headstone.jpg|Gravesite located at Newport Missionary Baptist Church
</gallery>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.wirz.de/music/jameselm.htm Illustrated Elmore James discography]
*[http://mtzionmemorialfund.org/site/memorials/elmore-james/ Elmore James | Mount Zion Memorial Fund]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070305080004/http://www.blues.org/halloffame/inductees.php4?YearId=25 1980 Blues Foundation Hall of Fame Inductee]
{{Elmore James}}
{{1992 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Elmore}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
[[Category:1963 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Holmes County, Mississippi]]
[[Category:American blues singers]]
[[Category:Trumpet Records artists]]
[[Category:Flair Records artists]]
[[Category:Meteor Records artists]]
[[Category:USA Records artists]]
[[Category:Checker Records artists]]
[[Category:Modern Records artists]]
[[Category:Chess Records artists]]
[[Category:Crown Records artists]]
[[Category:Blues musicians from Mississippi]]
[[Category:American blues guitarists]]
[[Category:American male guitarists]]
[[Category:American slide guitarists]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Mississippi]]
[[Category:Mississippi Blues Trail]]
[[Category:African-American guitarists]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American male singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American male singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:People from Canton, Mississippi]]