Yank Rachell (born James A. Rachel; March 16, 1903 or 1910 – April 9, 1997) was an American country blues musician who has been called an "elder statesman of the blues". 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.
In 1958, during the
American folk music revival
The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Billie Holiday, Richard Dyer-B ...
, he moved to
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
Blue Goose Records
Blue Goose Records was an American independent record label set up in the early 1970s by Nick Perls.
While on Blue Goose's sister label, Yazoo Records, Perls compiled rare 78 rpm recordings from the 1920s by Charley Patton, Blind Willie McTell, M ...
. He was a capable guitarist and singer but was better known as a master of the
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...
mandolin
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of ...
. He bought his first mandolin at age eight, in a trade for a pig his family had given him to raise. He often performed with the guitarist and singer
Sleepy John Estes
John Adam Estes (January 25, 1899 or 1900June 5, 1977), known as Sleepy John Estes, was an Am ...
. "
She Caught the Katy "She Caught the Katy (And Left Me a Mule to Ride)" is a blues standard written by Taj Mahal and James Rachell. The song was first recorded for Taj Mahal's 1968 album '' The Natch'l Blues'', and is one of Mahal's most famous tunes. It has since been ...
," which he wrote with
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, ...
, is considered a
blues standard
Blues standards are blues songs that have attained a high level of recognition due to having been widely performed and recorded. They represent the best known and most interpreted blues songs that are seen as standing the test of time. Blues s ...
.
He appeared in the 1985 documentary film '' Louie Bluie'' (directed by
Terry Zwigoff
Terry Zwigoff (born May 18, 1949) is an American filmmaker whose work often deals with misfits, antiheroes, and themes of alienation. He first garnered attention for his work in documentary filmmaking with ''Louie Bluie'' (1985) and '' Crumb'' ( ...
John Sebastian
John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969J-Band in the film.Norris, Sharon. '' Haywood County Tennessee''. Black America Series. Arcadia Publishing, 2000, .
By the mid-1990s, Rachell and Henry Townsend were the only blues musicians still active whose careers started in the 1920s. Late in his life Rachell suffered from
arthritis
Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...
, which shortened his playing sessions, but he recorded an album just before his death, ''Too Hot for the Devil.''
Terry Zwigoff
Terry Zwigoff (born May 18, 1949) is an American filmmaker whose work often deals with misfits, antiheroes, and themes of alienation. He first garnered attention for his work in documentary filmmaking with ''Louie Bluie'' (1985) and '' Crumb'' ( ...