William Harris (probably c. 1900 - possibly 1930s) 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 ...

guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He recorded sixteen songs between 1927 and 1928, of which fourteen were released on record.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

noted that Harris was "a fine second-level blues and folksong performer". His best known works are " Kansas City Blues," "Early Mornin' Blues," and "Hot Time Blues." Details of Harris's life outside of his brief recording career are minimal.

Life and career

Harris's date and place of birth are unknown, but there is a general consensus among blues historians that he probably originated in the

Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yazo ...

area. He was one of the earliest "discoveries" made by the

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

businessman

H. C. Speir Henry Columbus Speir (October 6, 1895 – April 22, 1972) was an American "talent broker" and record store owner from Jackson, Mississippi. He was responsible for launching the recording careers of most of the greatest Mississippi blues musici ...

, who ran a music and mercantile store on Farish Street, in a

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

neighborhood of

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

. It is thought that around this time, Harris was a performer with a traveling

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 ...

, probably with

F. S. Wolcott Fred Swift Wolcott (May 2, 1882 – July 27, 1967) was an American entertainment businessman and cotton planter who was the owner and manager of the Original Rabbit's Foot Company from 1912 to 1950. He bought the business after the death of its f ...

Rabbit Foot Minstrels The Rabbit's Foot Company, also known as the Rabbit('s) Foot Minstrels and colloquially as "The Foots", was a long-running minstrel and variety troupe that toured as a tent show in the American South between 1900 and the late 1950s. It was establ ...

. The lyrical content of some of his recorded work suggests that Harris spent some of his formative years in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. What is known is that he recorded sixteen tracks in two separate sessions in 1927 and 1928 for

Gennett Records Gennett Records () was an American record company and label in Richmond, Indiana, United States, which flourished in the 1920s and produced the Gennett, Starr, Champion, Superior, and Van Speaking labels. The company also produced some Supertone, ...

. His first recording session took place in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, on July 18, 1927. His second and final session occurred over three days in October 1928, in

Richmond, Indiana Richmond () is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana, United States. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 35,720. It is the principal c ...

, in which he recorded a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of Jim Jackson's big-selling track " Kansas City Blues". Jackson was also a singer in a medicine show, and it is presumed that the two men knew each other from that time. Another of Harris's recordings, "Hot Time Blues", was based on an earlier song, "Take Me Back", which had been recorded by two other regulars on the medicine circuit, Frank Stokes and

Papa Charlie Jackson William Henry "Papa Charlie" Jackson (November 10, 1887 – May 7, 1938) was an early African American bluesman and songster who accompanied himself with a banjo guitar, a guitar, or a ukulele. His recording career began in 1924. Much of his l ...

. Harris accompanied himself on guitar, which he mainly treated as a rhythm instrument, unlike those who followed him in the

Delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...

tradition. To add to the confusion, some of the Gennett recordings were later reissued on the subsidiary labels

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

, Supertone, and Conqueror, with the tracks "Electric Chair Blues" and "Kansas City Blues" credited to Alonso Boone, and two other 10-inch

78-rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, ...

shellac Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female Kerria lacca, lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. Chemically, it is mainly composed of aleuritic acid, jalaric acid, shellolic acid, and other natural waxes. It is processed and s ...

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

were credited to Bud Johnson. Nothing is known of Harris's life after his recording career ended. Most of Harris's known work has been compiled on an album released by

Document Records Document Records is an independent record label, founded in Austria and now based in Scotland, that specializes in reissuing vintage blues and jazz. The company has been recognised by The Blues Foundation, being honoured with a Keeping the Bl ...

, which also contains tracks recorded by Buddy Boy Hawkins.

Songs

*"Bad Treated Blues" *"Bullfrog Blues" *"Early Mornin' Blues" *"Electric Chair Blues (Jefferson County Blues)" *"Gonna Get Me a Woman That I Calls My Own" *"Hot Time Blues" *"I'm a Roving Gambler" *"I'm Leaving Town" *"I Was Born in the Country, Raised in Town" *" Kansas City Blues" *"Keep Your Man Out of Birmingham" *"Kitchen Range Blues" *"Leavin' Here Blues" *"Police & High Sheriff Come"

Selected compilation album

References

External links

Blog concerning Harris's work
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, William Year of birth missing Year of death missing African-American guitarists African-American male singers American male singers African-American songwriters American male songwriters Country blues musicians American blues guitarists American blues singers Gennett Records artists American male guitarists

Life and career

Songs

Selected compilation album

See also

References

External links