Yank Rachell (born James A. Rachel; March 16, 1910 – April 9, 1997) was an American

country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...

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 Brownsville is a city in and the county seat of Haywood County, Tennessee, United States. Its population as of the 2020 census was 9,788. The city is named after General Jacob Jennings Brown, an American officer of the War of 1812. History Brow ...

. His gravestone marks his birth year as 1920. However, researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc conclude, on the basis of a

1920 census The 1920 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau during one month from January 5, 1920, determined the resident population of the United States to be 106,021,537, an increase of 15.0 percent over the 92,228,496 persons enumerated d ...

entry, that Rachell 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. Early folk music performers include Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, Ewan MacColl (UK), Richard Dyer-Bennet, Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie ...

, he moved to

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. He recorded for

Delmark Records Delmark Records is an independent, American jazz and blues independent record label. It was founded in 1958 as Delmar Records and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when then owner, and founder, ...

and

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, ...

. 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 that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

. 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 A ...

. "

She Caught the Katy "She Caught the Katy (And Left Me a Mule to Ride)" is an upbeat blues written by Taj Mahal and James Rachell. It was first released on Taj Mahal's 1968 album '' The Natch'l Blues'', and it is one of Mahal's most famous compositions. The song has ...

," which he wrote with

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

, 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 Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong (March 4, 1909 – July 30, 2003) was an American string band and country blues musician, who played fiddle, mandolin, and guitar and sang. He was also a notable visual artist and raconteur. Early life William ...

'' (directed by

Terry Zwigoff Terry Zwigoff (born May 18, 1949) is an American film director 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' ...

), about the musician Howard Armstrong. Rachell performed with

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who founded the rock band the Lovin' Spoonful in 1964 with Zal Yanovsky. During his time in the Lovin Spoonful, Sebastian wrote and sang some of the ban ...

and the J-Band in the film.Norris, Sharon. '' Haywood County Tennessee''. Black America Series. Arcadia Publishing, 2000, . By the mid-1990s, Rachell and

Henry Townsend Henry Townsend may refer to: * Henry Townsend (Norwich) (1626–1695), early American colonist born in Norwich, Norfolk, England * Henry Townsend (Oyster Bay) (1649–1703), American colonist born in Oyster Bay * Henry Townsend (missionary) (1815� ...

were the only blues musicians still active whose careers started in the 1920s. Late in his life Rachell suffered from

arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...

, which shortened his playing sessions, but he recorded an album just before his death, ''Too Hot for the Devil.''

Film

*''

'' (1985), directed by

References

External links

Yank Rachell page from Blues World site
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rachell, Yank 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 guitarists American blues mandolinists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers African-American mandolinists

Career

Film

See also

References

External links