Virginia Historical Marker near the entrance to the former Virginia State Prison Farm (present-day James River Work Center) describing recordings of performances by Strothers and other inmates of the facility.

James Lee Strother (March 1883 – died after 1942?),[1] was an American folk musician active in the 1930s and 1940s.

He was born in Madison, Virginia. He performed in medicine shows, and, after being blinded in a mine explosion, made a living as a musician, singing and playing guitar and banjo. In 1910, he lived in Baltimore, Maryland, and in 1918 was in Culpeper, Virginia.[1] Alan Lomax recorded several performances by Strothers through his documentation of American music for the Library of Congress. Strothers made his recordings of thirteen songs in June 1936,[2] while imprisoned at the Virginia State Farm for killing his wife, Blanche Green. He was released from prison in 1939.[3] In 1942, he is thought to have been living in Achsar, Madison County, Virginia; there are no records of his death.[1]

Strothers' recordings, some performed with fellow inmate Joe Lee, included both secular songs (including the bawdy "Poontang Little, Poontang Small") and versions of hymns.[2] Influential recordings by Strothers include his versions of "Cripple Creek"[4] and "Good Shepherd", the latter entitled "The Blood-Strained Banders" on the Lomax recording.[5] Strothers's version of "Good Shepherd" was the basis for the Jefferson Airplane's recording on their album Volunteers.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues - A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara: Praeger Publishers. p. 266. ISBN 978-0313344237.
  2. 1 2 Biography by Steve Leggett, Allmusic.com. Retrieved 27 October 2016
  3. ↑ "Mug Shot Monday: James 'Jimmie' Strother, No. 33927." Virginia State Library.
  4. ↑ "An American Revivalist: Dom Flemons and the Return of the African-American String Band", The Brooklyn Rail
  5. ↑ Wade, Stephen. The Beautiful Music All Around Us: Field Recordings and the American Experience. University of Illinois Press.
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