Blind Lemon Jefferson was another brief candle on the stage. His first recording was in early 1926 and he died from an apparent heart attack in December 1929. He lived large while the royalties were coming in, dressing nice, having his own car and chauffeur, and he was said to be a ladies man (a woman, claiming to be his wife, cleaned out his bank account after his death). His exact birth date is not known, and could have been as early as the 1880s. He came from the Texas cotton belt south of Dallas, and is generally said to have been born near Wortham, a small whistlestop town on the railroad, 16 stops south of Dallas. His early playing was confined to the small towns in that cotton belt. Like most early bluesmen, he was self-trained, and had his own style. A merchant from Dallas took him to Chicago to introduce him to Paramount records in 1925, and his first recording, "Long Lonesome Blues," was released in May 1926 and was an immediate success.His playing style is said to be hard to duplicate. His first recording is said to be a startling work - to quote from the booklet in the jewel case, "its elongated phrases produce a 16 1/2 bar opening stanza; its speed and sheer number of riffs come close to setting a blues record." About his voice, "He had a huge voice for a tenor, and he used the full extent of his resources, traveling some two octaves (Bb-c2) on his 89 recordings" A would be imitator, Tom Shaw, said that Blind Lemon Jefferson told him, "Get the sound in your head first, so that sound'll stay with you, day and night. Then you learn to do somethin'. Until you get that sound in your head, you ain't gonna do nothin'." He changed the nature of the music recording business, playing his own music rather than using house writers.The recording quality of the late 1920s was not good. Richard Nevins and Yazoo should be commended for the remastering of the 23 songs in this collection from the original 78s, eliminating recording noise while keeping the instrumental guitar music and the vocals (which were sometimes weak in the originals).The 23 tracks on this CD are:Match Box BluesThat Crawlin' Baby BluesHot DogsCorinna BluesRambler BluesRabbit Foot BluesDry Southern Blues'Lectric Chair BluesOne Dime BluesGot the BluesSee That My Grave's Kept CleanHe Arose From the DeadBlack Horse BluesPrison Cell BluesBooster BluesBed Spring BluesJack O'Diamond BluesBeggin BackWartime BluesEasy Rider BluesHow Long How LongLong Lonesome BluesI Want to be Like Jesus in My HeartBlind Lemon Jefferson was a contempory of Blind Blake Best Of Blind Blake who was recording in Chicago at the same time. For further information on Blind Lemon Jefferson seeBlind Lemon Jefferson: His Life, His Death, and His Legacy (although available copies seem to be quite expensive).