Henry "Son" Sims

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Henry "Son" Sims
Birth name Henry Sims
Born (1890-08-22)August 22, 1890
Anguilla, Mississippi, United States
Died December 23, 1958(1958-12-23) (aged 68)
Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Genres Delta blues[1]
Occupations Fiddler, songwriter
Instruments Fiddle, guitar, piano, mandolin[2]
Years active 1920s–1950s
Labels Paramount
Associated acts Charlie Patton, Muddy Waters

Henry "Son" Sims (August 22, 1890 – December 23, 1958)[1] was an American delta blues fiddler and songwriter. He is best known for his accompanist role to both Charlie Patton and a young Muddy Waters.

Life and career

Sims was born in Anguilla, Mississippi, United States,[1] the only son of five children. He learned to play the fiddle from his grandfather.[1] Sims saw active service in France during World War I, whilst serving in the US Army.

Sims went on to be the leader of the Mississippi Corn Shuckers, a rural based string ensemble and played with them for a number of years. His profile was extended by joining his childhood friend, Charlie Patton, on a recording session for Paramount Records, which took place in Grafton, Wisconsin in June 1929.[1][3][4][5] Sims both accompanied Patton on fiddle on thirteen tracks,[4] including "Elder Greene Blues", "Going to Move to Alabama" and "Devil Sent the Rain Blues";[3] as well as recording four tunes of his own. These included "Tell Me Man Blues", his best known composition, and "Farrell Blues".[1] Sims played alongside Patton at times until the latter's death in 1934,[5] when Sims returned to working on a plantation.[3] Sims had by then extended his playing repertoire to include the mandolin, guitar and piano.[1]

On August 28, 1941, Sims accompanied Muddy Waters on a recording session.[1][6] This took place under the direction of Alan Lomax, as part of his recordings for the Library of Congress.[3] In the 1940s, Sims also accompanied Robert Nighthawk on several joint appearances, and continued a solo career in to the 1950s.[5]

Sims died following renal surgery in December 1958 in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 68.[2] He was buried in an unmarked grave in Bell Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, Clarksdale, Coahoma County, Mississippi.[5]

Recordings

Year Title Appears on
1929 "Tell Me Man Blues" Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton; Violin, Sing the Blues for Me: African-American Fiddlers 1926-1949
1929 "Farrell Blues" Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton; The Great Race Record Labels, Vol. 1
1929 "Be True, Be True Blues" Mississippi Blues 1927-1941
1929 "Come Back Corrina" Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton
[7][8]

See also

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Layne, Joslyn. "Henry "Son" Sims". Allmusic. Retrieved March 18, 2012. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Thedeadrockstarsclub.com - accessed March 18, 2012
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Gioia, Ted (2008). Delta Blues (1st ed.). New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-393-06258-8. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dicaire, David (1999). Blues singers: biographies of 50 legendary artists of the early 20th century (1st ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 7. ISBN 0-7864-0606-2. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Henry "Son" Sims". Findagrave.com. Retrieved March 18, 2012. 
  6. ↑ "McKinley Morganfield "Muddy Waters" - Delta School". Cr.nps.gov. Retrieved March 18, 2012. 
  7. ↑ "Henry "Son" Sims > Songs > All Songs". Allmusic. Retrieved March 18, 2012. 
  8. ↑ "Mississippi Blues 1927-1941 (Yazoo, 1968)". Record-fiend.blogspot.co.uk. June 7, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2012. 
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