Happy Birthday Blind Lemon Jefferson!

On this day in 1897…or maybe it was 1893, or even 1889…and it might have been September rather than July, or possibly December…Blind Lemon Jefferson was born in Couchman, Texas. Like so many bluesmen from the late-1800s and early-1900s, records are spotty at best in providing the exact details of many poor people's birth, and the differences in census records and draft registration records put Jefferson's actual birth date in question.

It doesn't really matter, because any day that we can celebrate the life and music of Blind Lemon Jefferson is a good day! Considered by many to be the "Father of the Texas Blues," Jefferson was born blind to a sharecropper's family. After teaching himself to play the guitar, he became a familiar figure in Central Texas, playing parties and picnics as early as 1912; five years later he made the move to Dallas and could often be heard playing on street corners for tips.

During the 1920s, Jefferson was signed to the Paramount Records label, where he recorded over 100 songs in just three years, including blues standards like "Matchbox Blues" and "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean." At the peak of his popularity, Jefferson was one of the label's best-selling artists, his sales rivaling (or exceeding) those of contemporaries like Blind Blake and Ma Rainey. So, won't you join us in wishing Blind Lemon Jefferson a happy birthday…whenever it might be!

Related Content: Blind Lemon Jefferson Profile

Photo courtesy Price Grabber