Yank Rachell
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2006) |
James "Yank" Rachell | |
|---|---|
| Rachell performing in Hamburg, Germany, February 1978 Rachell performing in Hamburg, Germany, February 1978 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | James A. Rachel[1] |
| Born | March 16, 1903 or 1910 Near Brownsville, Tennessee, United States |
| Died | April 9, 1997 (aged 87–94) Indianapolis, Indiana, United States[2] |
| Genres | Country blues,[3] blues |
| Instrument(s) | Mandolin, guitar |
| Years active | 1929–1997 |
James "Yank" Rachell (March 16, 1903[1] or 1910 – April 9, 1997) was an American country blues musician who has been called an "elder statesman of the blues."[3][4] His career as a performer spanned nearly seventy years, from the late 1920s to the 1990s.
Career
Rachell grew up in Brownsville, Tennessee. There is uncertainty over his birth year; although his gravestone shows 1910, researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc conclude, on the basis of a 1920 census entry, that he was probably born in 1903.[1]
In 1958, during the American folk music revival, he moved to Indianapolis. He recorded for Delmark Records and Blue Goose Records. He was a capable guitarist and singer but was better known as a master of the blues mandolin. He bought his first mandolin at age 8, in a trade for a pig his family had given him to raise.[4] He often performed with the guitarist and singer Sleepy John Estes. "She Caught the Katy," which he wrote with Taj Mahal, is considered a blues standard.[4]
He appeared in the 1985 documentary film Louie Bluie (directed by Terry Zwigoff), about the musician Howard Armstrong. Rachell performed with John Sebastian and the J-Band in the film.[5]
By the mid-1990s, Rachell and Henry Townsend were the only blues musicians still active whose careers started in the 1920s.[6] Late in his life Rachell suffered from arthritis, which shortened his playing sessions, but he recorded an album just before his death, Too Hot for the Devil.[4]
Film
- Louie Bluie (1985), directed by Terry Zwigoff
See also
References
- ^ a b c Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues – A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara: Praeger Publishers. pp. 240–241. ISBN 978-0313344237.
- ^ Doc Rock. "The Dead Rock Stars Club 1996–1997". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ a b Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music. Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 181. ISBN 1-904041-96-5.
- ^ a b c d Ratliff, Ben (April 20, 1997). "Yank Rachell, 87, Mandolinist and Elder Statesman of the Blues". The New York Times. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
- ^ Norris, Sharon. Haywood County Tennessee. Black America Series. Arcadia Publishing.
- ^ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. pp. 177–178. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
External links
- 1910 births
- 1997 deaths
- People from Brownsville, Tennessee
- Country blues musicians
- American blues singers
- American blues guitarists
- American male guitarists
- Piedmont blues musicians
- Delmark Records artists
- Jug band musicians
- African-American musicians
- 20th-century American singers
- American blues mandolinists
- 20th-century American guitarists