Peg Leg Howell
Joshua Barnes Howell, known as Peg Leg Howell (March 5, 1888 – August 11, 1966), was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist, who connected early country blues and the later 12-bar style. He was one of the first recorded artists of the Atlanta blues scene during the pre-war period, and he was also one of the first blues musicians to ever make a race record. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Eatonton (county seat of Putnam County, Georgia, United States), Died August 11, 1966 (Atlanta (capital city of Georgia, United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1926 - 1929
Roles Represented in DAHR: guitar, vocalist, leader, speaker
Notes: Original name: Joshua Barnes Howell.
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 32 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | W143116 | 10-in. | 11/8/1926 | Coal man blues | Peg Leg Howell | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W143117 | 10-in. | 11/8/1926 | Tishamingo blues | Peg Leg Howell | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W143118 | 10-in. | 11/8/1926 | New prison blues | Peg Leg Howell | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W143119 | 10-in. | 11/8/1926 | Fo' day blues | Peg Leg Howell | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W143941 | 10-in. | 4/8/1927 | New Jelly Roll blues | Peg Leg Howell and his Gang | Male vocal solo ("blues singer") and male vocal duet, with fiddle (violin) and 2 guitars | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W143942 | 10-in. | 4/8/1927 | Beaver slide rag | Peg Leg Howell and his Gang | Violin and 2 guitars, with talk | instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W143943 | 10-in. | 4/8/1927 | Moanin' and groanin' blues | Peg Leg Howell and his Gang | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with fiddle (violin) and 2 guitars | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W143944 | 10-in. | 4/8/1927 | Papa Stobb blues | Peg Leg Howell and his Gang | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with fiddle (violin) and 2 guitars | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W143945 | 10-in. | 4/8/1927 | Sadie Lee blues | Peg Leg Howell | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W143946 | 10-in. | 4/8/1927 | New jailhouse blues | Peg Leg Howell | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W145062 | 10-in. | 11/1/1927 | Too tight blues | Peg Leg Howell and his Gang | Male vocal solo ("blues singer") and male vocal trio, with fiddle (violin) and 2 guitars | leader, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W145063 | 10-in. | 11/1/1927 | Moanin' and groanin' blues | Peg Leg Howell and his Gang | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with fiddle (violin) and 2 guitars | leader, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W145064 | 10-in. | 11/1/1927 | Hobo blues | Peg Leg Howell and his Gang | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with fiddle (violin) and 2 guitars | leader, instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |
| Columbia | W145065 | 10-in. | 11/1/1927 | Peg Leg stomp | Peg Leg Howell and his Gang | Violin and 2 guitars, with male vocal solo ("blues singer") | leader, instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |
| Columbia | W145184 | 10-in. | 11/9/1927 | Doin' wrong | Peg Leg Howell | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W145185 | 10-in. | 11/9/1927 | Skin game blues | Peg Leg Howell | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W146159 | 10-in. | 4/20/1928 | Please ma'am | Peg Leg Howell | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W146160 | 10-in. | 4/20/1928 | Rock and gravel blues | Peg Leg Howell | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W146161 | 10-in. | 4/20/1928 | Low-down rounder blues | Peg Leg Howell | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W146162 | 10-in. | 4/20/1928 | Fairy blues | Peg Leg Howell | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W147322 | 10-in. | 10/27/1928 | Banjo blues | Eddie Anthony ; Peg Leg Howell | Male vocal duet ("blues singers"), with fiddle (violin) and guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W147343 | 10-in. | 10/30/1928 | Turkey buzzard blues | Eddie Anthony ; Peg Leg Howell | Male vocal duet ("blues singer[s]"), with fiddle (violin) and guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W147344 | 10-in. | 10/30/1928 | Turtle dove blues | Peg Leg Howell | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W147345 | 10-in. | 10/30/1928 | Walkin' blues | Peg Leg Howell | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | W148236 | 10-in. | 4/10/1929 | Broke and hungry blues | Peg Leg Howell | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with fiddle (violin) and guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Howell, Peg Leg," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104119.
Howell, Peg Leg. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104119.
"Howell, Peg Leg." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Howell, Peg Leg, 1888-1966 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n83021425
Wikidata: Peg Leg Howell - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q329138
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/22330128
MusicBrainz: Peg Leg Howell - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/ac8d34b4-2c89-4bd7-95f4-deaacb680b28
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.