Son House

Son House

Son House is the stage name of Eddie James House, Jr., an American blues singer and guitarist born in Lyon, United States, in 1902 and active in delta blues and acoustic blues. He is associated with country blues and classic blues, and his work becomes one of the defining strands of early Mississippi blues.

Early life and preaching

House is born in Riverton, Mississippi, near Clarksdale, and grows up as the middle of three brothers. After his parents separate, his mother takes him to Tallulah, Louisiana, when he is about seven or eight. He wants to become a Baptist preacher and begins preaching at fifteen. Despite the church’s opposition to blues, he later teaches himself guitar in his mid-twenties, inspired by Willie Wilson.

Early blues work in Mississippi

He plays alongside Charley Patton, Willie Brown, Robert Johnson, Fiddlin' Joe Martin, Leroy Williams, and Howlin' Wolf in the Robinsonville, Mississippi area and north to Memphis, Tennessee, until 1942. His playing is marked by strong, repetitive rhythms, frequent bottleneck guitar, and singing shaped by chain-gang hollers. Although not regarded as a conventional virtuoso, he develops a powerful and highly individual style suited to barrelhouse and dance-hall settings.

Prison, recordings, and disappearance

House spends time on Parchman Farm in 1928 and 1929 after killing a man, reportedly in self-defence. He records for Paramount Records in 1930 and for Alan Lomax of the Library of Congress in 1941 and 1942. After these sessions he fades from public view and retires from the music business for years.

Rediscovery and later career

He lives in Rochester, New York, from 1943 and works for the New York Central Railroad. In 1964 he is rediscovered there during the country blues revival after a search in the Mississippi Delta by Nick Perls, Dick Waterman and Phil Spero. He then tours widely in the United States and Europe and records for CBS Records.

Festivals, tours, and later recordings

House appears at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964 and the New York Folk Festival in 1965. He also takes part in the October 1967 European tour of the American Folk Festival with Skip James and Bukka White. In 1970 he tours Europe again, including Montreux, and a recording of his London concerts is released by Liberty Records.

Influence and legacy

House is an important influence on Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson, and he helps spread the story that Johnson sold his soul to the Devil for musical power. His songs are later taken up by rock groups such as the White Stripes, who record “Death Letter” on De Stijl and perform it at the 2004 Grammy Awards. In his later years he moves to Detroit, Michigan, retires again in 1974, and dies there in 1988 from cancer of the larynx. He is buried at Mt. Hazel Cemetery, where the Detroit Blues Society helps raise money for a monument on his grave.