James Brewer (October 3, 1920 – June 3, 1988), also known as Blind Jim Brewer (although Brewer did not like this additive: "''My mother didn't name me "Blind", she named me "Jim"''), was an American blues singer and guitarist. Born in

Brookhaven, Mississippi Brookhaven is a city in Lincoln County, Mississippi, United States, south of the state capital of Jackson. The population was 11,674 people at the 2020 U.S. Census. It is the county seat of Lincoln County. It was named after the town of Brook ...

, United States, he moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, in the 1940s, spending the latter part of his life

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuity, gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performa ...

and performing both

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 ...

and religious songs at

and

folk festivals A folk festival celebrates traditional folk crafts and folk music. This list includes folk festivals worldwide, except those with only a partial focus on folk music or arts. Folk festivals may also feature folk dance or ethnic foods. Handicra ...

, on Chicago's

Maxwell Street Maxwell Street is an east–west street in Chicago, Illinois, that intersects with Halsted Street just south of Roosevelt Road. It runs at 1330 South in the numbering system running from 500 West to 1126 West.Hayner, Don and Tom McNamee (1988). ...

and other venues. In Chicago, he often performed with

Arvella Gray Blind Arvella Gray (January 28, 1906 - September 7, 1980) was an American blues, folk and gospel singer and guitarist. Gray was born James Dixon, in Somerville, Texas. He spent the latter part of his life performing and busking folk, blues and ...

. In the 'boom' time during the 1960s blues revival period, Brewer worked on the college circuit and appeared on television. During that time, he had recordings issued on

Heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...

, Flyright and Testament Records.

Studio albums

*''Jim Brewer'' (

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; ; ; ), also called , was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. The only event in Philo's life that can be decisively dated is his representation of the Alexandrian J ...

, 1974) *''Tough Luck'' (

Earwig Earwigs make up the insect order (biology), order Dermaptera. With about 2,000 species in 12 families, they are one of the smaller insect orders. Earwigs have characteristic cercus, cerci, a pair of forceps-like pincer (biology), pincers on ...

, 1983)

References

1920 births 1988 deaths People from Brookhaven, Mississippi 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers African-American songwriters American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers American street performers Blues musicians from Mississippi Chicago blues musicians 20th-century American guitarists Songwriters from Illinois Songwriters from Mississippi Guitarists from Illinois Guitarists from Mississippi Earwig Music artists African-American guitarists American male songwriters 20th-century American songwriters {{Chicago-stub