James Lee Strother (March 1883 – died after 1942?), was an American folk musician active in the 1930s and 1940s. He was born in

Madison, Virginia Madison is a town in and the county seat of Madison County, Virginia, United States. The population was 205 at the 2020 census. History The Hebron Lutheran Church, The Homeplace, James City Historic District, Madison County Courthouse (Virginia), ...

. He performed in

medicine show Medicine shows were touring acts (traveling by truck, horse, or wagon teams) that peddled "miracle cure" patent medicines and other products between various entertainments. They developed from European Charlatan, mountebank shows and were common ...

s, and, after being blinded in a mine explosion, made a living as a musician, singing and playing guitar and

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

. In 1910, he lived in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, and in 1918 was in

Culpeper, Virginia Culpeper (formerly Culpeper Courthouse, earlier Fairfax) is an incorporated town in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat and part of the Washington–Baltimore–Arlington, DC–MD–VA–WV–PA Combined Statistical ...

Alan Lomax Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music during the 20th century. He was a musician, folklorist, archivist, writer, scholar, political activ ...

recorded several performances by Strothers through his documentation of American music for the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. Strothers made his recordings of thirteen songs in June 1936, while imprisoned at the Virginia State Farm for killing his wife, Blanche Green. He was released from prison in 1939. In 1942, he is thought to have been living in Achsar, Madison County, Virginia; there are no records of his death. Strothers' recordings, some performed with fellow inmate Joe Lee, included both secular songs (including the bawdy "Poontang Little, Poontang Small") and versions of hymns. Biography by Steve Leggett, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 27 October 2016 Influential recordings by Strothers include his versions of "Cripple Creek" and "Good Shepherd", the latter entitled "The Blood-Strained Banders" on the Lomax recording.Wade, Stephen. ''The Beautiful Music All Around Us: Field Recordings and the American Experience.'' University of Illinois Press. Strothers's version of "Good Shepherd" was the basis for the Jefferson Airplane's recording on their album ''Volunteers''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strothers, Jimmie American folk musicians 1883 births Year of death unknown People from Madison, Virginia Musicians from Virginia Blind musicians