Blind Lemon Jefferson
Lemon Henry "Blind Lemon" Jefferson (September 24, 1893 – December 19, 1929) was an American blues and gospel singer-songwriter and musician. He was one of the most popular and successful blues singers of the 1920s and has been called the "Father of the Texas Blues". Due mainly to his high-pitched voice and the originality of his guitar playing, Jefferson's performances were distinctive. His recordings sold well, but he was not a strong influence on younger blues singers of his generation, who could not imitate him as easily as they could other commercially successful artists. Later blues and rock and roll musicians, however, did attempt to imitate both his songs and his musical style. Jefferson had an intricate and fast style of guitar playing and a particularly high-pitched voice. He was a founder of the Texas blues sound and an important influence on other blues singers and guitarists, including Lead Belly and Lightnin' Hopkins. He was the author of many songs covered by later musicians, including the classic "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean". Another of his songs, "Matchbox Blues", was recorded more than 30 years later by the Beatles, in a rockabilly version credited to Carl Perkins, who did not credit Jefferson on his 1955 recording. Fellow blues artist B.B. King credited Jefferson as one of his biggest musical influences, next to Lonnie Johnson, Louis Jordan and T-Bone Walker. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Wortham (town in Freestone County, Texas, United States) , Died December 12, 1929 (Chicago (city and county seat of Cook County, and largest city in State of Illinois, United States of America) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1927 - 1948
Roles Represented in DAHR: guitar, vocalist, composer, lyricist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 26 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | W143480 | 10-in. | 2/16/1927 | The black snake moan | Martha Copeland | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | composer, lyricist | |
| Columbia | W145348 | 10-in. | 12/9/1927 | Long lonesome blues | Rube Lacy | Male vocal solo ("blues singer"), with guitar | composer, lyricist | |
| OKeh | W80523 | 10-in. | 3/14/1927 | Black snake moan | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer, lyricist | |
| OKeh | W80524 | 10-in. | 3/14/1927 | Match box blues | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer, lyricist | |
| OKeh | W80525 | 10-in. | 3/14/1927 | 'Stillery blues | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| OKeh | W80526 | 10-in. | 3/14/1927 | Woman's labor man | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| OKeh | W80527 | 10-in. | 3/14/1927 | My easy rider | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| OKeh | W80528 | 10-in. | 3/14/1927 | Elder Green's in town | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| OKeh | W80529 | 10-in. | 3/14/1927 | English stop time | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| OKeh | W80536 | 10-in. | 3/15/1927 | Laboring man away from home | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Brunswick | DAL211 | 10-in. | 6/6/1937 | Match box blues | Roy Newman and his Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
| Brunswick | DAL663 | 10-in. | 12/1/1938 | Match box blues | Roy Newman and his Boys | Male vocal solo, with violin and 2 guitars | composer, lyricist | |
| SD | SD-107-A | 10-in. | 1948 | Hometown skiffle i | The Hokum Boys | instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| SD | SD-107-B | 10-in. | 1948 | Hometown skiffle ii | The Hokum Boys | instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Gennett | 15664 | 10-in. | 9/24/1929 | Bed spring blues | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Gennett | 15665 | 10-in. | 9/24/1929 | Yo yo blues | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Gennett | 15666 | 10-in. | 9/24/1929 | Mosquito moan | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Gennett | 15667 | 10-in. | 9/24/1929 | Southern woman blues | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Gennett | 15668 | 10-in. | 9/24/1929 | Bakershop blues | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Gennett | 15669 | 10-in. | 9/24/1929 | Pneumonia blues | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Gennett | 15670 | 10-in. | 9/24/1929 | Long distance moan | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Gennett | 15671 | 10-in. | 9/24/1929 | That crawlin' baby blues | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Gennett | 15672 | 10-in. | 9/24/1929 | Fence breakin' yellin' blues | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Gennett | 15673 | 10-in. | 9/24/1929 | Cat man blues | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Gennett | 15674 | 10-in. | 9/24/1929 | The cheaters spell | Blind Lemon Jefferson | Male vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Jefferson, Blind Lemon," accessed December 26, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104663.
Jefferson, Blind Lemon. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 26, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104663.
"Jefferson, Blind Lemon." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 26 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Blind Lemon Jefferson
Discogs: Blind Lemon Jefferson
Allmusic: Blind Lemon Jefferson
IMDb: Blind Lemon Jefferson
Britannica: Blind Lemon Jefferson
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Jefferson, Blind Lemon, 1897-1929 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n84143184
Wikidata: Blind Lemon Jefferson - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q45001
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/92145911072627061477
MusicBrainz: Blind Lemon Jefferson - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/9481010a-db23-469d-87df-b04118850efb
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/140293 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/140293
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.
