Little Hat Jones | |
---|---|
Birth name | George Jones |
Born | October 5, 1899 Bowie County, Texas, United States |
Died | March 7, 1981 Naples, Texas, United States |
(aged 81)
Genres | Texas blues[1] |
Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
Labels | Okeh Records |
George "Little Hat" Jones (October 5, 1899 – March 7, 1981)[2] was an American Texas blues musician.
Jones, born in Bowie County, Texas, was a street busker in the 1920s in San Antonio, and he recorded one 78rpm for Okeh Records on June 15, 1929.[1] That same day, he played guitar on nine tracks by Alger "Texas" Alexander in the Okeh studio. On June 21, Okeh had Jones record four additional songs, and on June 14, 1930, Jones recorded six more. These three sessions represent the entirety of Jones's recorded output: ten songs of his own and nine with Texas Alexander.[1] Jones never recorded another song,[3] and died at the age of 81 in 1981, in Naples, Texas.[2]
Jones's style is marked by his tendency to start off songs quickly and then slow down once he began to sing.[1] Once a forgotten obscurity, Jones became better known later in the 20th century as historians began to explore the Okeh Records catalog, and his posthumous fame was boosted by the appearance of his song "Bye Bye Baby Blues" in the movie, Ghost World, in 2001.[1]