Home » Jazz Musicians » Josh White

Josh White

Josh White overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles in the course of his lifetime. He experienced almost Dickensian privation as a child musician on the open road. Yet before he was twenty this child prodigy significantly influenced the Piedmont musical scene.

When the Great Depression crippled the mainstream recording industry, White's early "race" recordings nevertheless sold briskly. Then, at the peak of his powers, he injured his hand and had to completely reinvent his style of guitar picking.

Despite this, he went on to become an actor, radio, and cabaret star, a ground-breaking performer of powerful protest songs, and an intimate of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Countless performers covered signature versions (including guitar arrangements) of his repertoire such as "The House of the Rising Sun," "Saint James Infirmary," and "Careless Love." On stage White pioneered a casual, intimate, yet serious persona, wearing attire that resolved the dichotomy between the tuxedo-clad night-club act and the overalls of the "country" singer.

Harry Belafonte, among other acolytes, copied White's trademark casual slacks and a shirt with its top buttons opened. The red scare of the 1950s marginalized folk music from mainstream broadcasting and drove a wedge between him and many of his former fans, seriously hurting his career (though he continued to star in Europe). But White doubtless could also have overcome this in the following decade had not bad health, perhaps a legacy of childhood hardships, intervened. Sadly, he died in 1969 before he could re-establish his rapport with audiences. Still undeservedly neglected, Josh White is increasingly acknowledged as an innovative and influential major artist.

His importance as a civil rights activist in song has yet to be recognized.

Source: Ellen Harold and Peter Stone

Tags

7
Play This!

Josh White: You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To

Read "Josh White: You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Josh White could probably have made a career just as a singer, but for his wonderful guitar playing. Good job he refused doctors' advice to have his left hand amputated after a bar fight when he was just 22. An influence on everyone from Peter Seeger to Elvis Presley and Harry Belafonte, and from John Fahey and Ry Cooder to John Renbourn. This clip from 1962 finds him in spellbinding form. According to Village Vanguard owner Max Gordon, “The greatest ...

6
Album Review

Josh White: Josh At Midnight

Read "Josh At Midnight" reviewed by James Nadal


The pioneering music of singer/guitarist Josh White is a reflection of American history throughout the 20th century; his songs depicting racial, social, and political situations during his turbulent lifetime. With a career spanning five decades, White hit the road at age eight as a guide for blind blues musicians. In 1928, age fourteen, he signed with Paramount Records, by the 1930's he was a major blues star, and prominent developer of the Piedmont guitar style. Evolving into an outspoken critic ...

Read more articles

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Josh At Midnight

Ramseur Records
2016

buy

Free And Equal Blues

Little Angel Records
1998

buy

Josh White

Little Angel Records
1969

buy

Empty Bed Blues

Little Angel Records
1962

buy

At Town Hall

Little Angel Records
1962

buy

The Story Of John...

Little Angel Records
1955

buy

Similar

Big Bill Broonzy
guitar, acoustic
Lead Belly
guitar and vocals
Sleepy John Estes
guitar, acoustic
Mississippi Sheiks
band / ensemble / orchestra
Odetta
guitar, acoustic
Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee
band / ensemble / orchestra
Tampa Red
guitar, slide
Blind Boy Fuller
guitar, acoustic

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.