Elmore James (born Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues musician who played guitar, sang, wrote songs, and led a band. He was known for using loud amplification and having a powerful voice. In 1992, he was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His unique way of playing slide guitar earned him the nickname "King of the Slide Guitar."

Biography

Elmore James was born Elmore Brooks in Richland, Holmes County, Mississippi. He was the son of 15-year-old Leola Brooks, who worked in the fields. His father was likely Joe Willie "Frost" James, who lived with Leola, and Elmore later used his father's surname. At 12 years old, he began making music using a simple one-string instrument called a diddley bow or jitterbug, which was strung on a shack wall. As a teenager, he performed at dances under the names "Cleanhead" and "Joe Willie James."

James was influenced by musicians such as Robert Johnson, Kokomo Arnold, and Tampa Red. He recorded several of Tampa Red's songs. He also inherited two musicians from Tampa Red's band, "Little" Johnny Jones (piano) and Odie Payne (drums), who joined James's own backing band, the Broomdusters. In the late 1930s, James worked with Sonny Boy Williamson II.

During World War II, James joined the U.S. Navy and was promoted to coxswain. He participated in the invasion of Guam. After leaving the Navy, he returned to central Mississippi and settled in Canton with his adopted brother, Robert Holston. In January 1951, he began recording with Trumpet Records in Jackson, first as a sideman for Sonny Boy Williamson II and Willie Love. In August 1951, he made his debut as a session leader by recording a song written by Robert Johnson called "Dust My Broom," which became a hit in 1952. His backing musicians were known as the Broomdusters.

James ended his contract with Trumpet Records to sign with the Bihari brothers through their scout, Ike Turner. Ike played guitar and piano on some of James's early recordings for the Bihari brothers. His song "I Believe" became a hit the following year. During the 1950s, he recorded for the Bihari brothers' labels, including Flair Records, Meteor Records, and Modern Records. He also recorded for Chess Records and Mel London's Chief Records. James played lead guitar on Big Joe Turner's 1954 R&B hit "TV Mama."

In 1959, James began recording for Bobby Robinson's Fire Records. Some of his songs released on this label included "The Sky Is Crying," "My Bleeding Heart," "Stranger Blues," "Look on Yonder Wall," "Done Somebody Wrong," and "Shake Your Moneymaker."

James died of a heart attack at the home of his cousin and fellow musician, Homesick James, in Chicago in 1963 at the age of 45. He was about to tour Europe with the American Folk Blues Festival that year. He was buried in the Newport Baptist Church Cemetery in Ebenezer, Mississippi. Phil Walden of Capricorn Records raised money for a granite headstone for James's grave. The headstone, which reads "King of the Slide Guitar," includes a bronze relief of James playing guitar. It was unveiled at a ceremony sponsored by the Mount Zion Memorial Fund in 1992.

James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 as an "Early Influence" inductee. He was also inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980. In 2012, a marker honoring him was placed on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Ebenezer.

Influence

Elmore James influenced many slide guitarists, including blues musicians such as Homesick James, Hound Dog Taylor, and J. B. Hutto. His style of playing a single string guitar also influenced B.B. King and Chuck Berry. Rock guitarists like Jimi Hendrix, Duane Allman, Jerry Garcia, Brian Jones, Jeremy Spencer, and Frank Zappa, as well as Swedish pop musicians Benny Andersson and Janne Schaffer, have acknowledged his influence. In the Beatles' song "For You Blue," John Lennon played a slide solo on a Höfner lap steel guitar. George Harrison encouraged him by saying, "Go, Johnny, go… Elmore James got nothin' on this, baby." Eric Burdon dedicated the song "No More Elmore" to Elmore James. The song appeared on Burdon's album Comeback and was often played during his concerts in the 1980s and 1990s.

Discography

• "Dust My Broom" (1951 and 1965)
• "I Believe" (1953)
• "Standing at the Crossroads" (1954 and 1965)
• "Dust My Blues" (1955)
• "It Hurts Me Too" (1957 and 1965)
• "The Sky Is Crying" (1960)
• "I Can't Hold Out" (1960)
• "Rollin' and Tumblin'" (1960)
• "Shake Your Moneymaker" (1961)
• "Look on Yonder Wall" (1961)
• "Bleeding Heart" (1965)
• "One Way Out" (1965)
• "Every Day I Have the Blues" (1965)
• "Madison Blues" (1968)

• Blues After Hours (Crown, 1960)
• The Sky Is Crying (Sphere Sound, 1965)
• I Need You (Sphere Sound, 1966)
• Whose Muddy Shoes (Chess, 1969) (split album with John Brim)
• Street Talkin' (Muse, 1975) (split album with Eddie Taylor)
• Shake Your Money Maker (Charly R&B, 1986)
• Golden Classics (Collectables, 1988)
• King of the Slide Guitar (Capricorn, 1992)
• The Classic Early Recordings: 1951–1956 (Virgin/Flair, 1993)
• The Sky Is Crying: The History of Elmore James (Rhino, 1993)
• Rollin' and Tumblin' (Recall/Snapper, 1999)