Jelly Jaw Short

J.D. Short Port Gibson Mississippi February 26 1902 – St. Louis Missouri October 21 1962 Was An American Delta Blues Singer Guitarist And Harmonicist. He Was A Multi-Instrumentalist And Possessed A Distinctive Vibrato Laden Singing Voice. Early In His Career Short Recorded Under A Number Of Pseudonyms Including Jelly Jaw Short. His More Noteworthy Works Included "Lonesome Swamp Rattlesnake" And "You're Tempting Me." Born In Port Gibson Mississippi Short Learned To Play Both The Piano And Guitar At A Young Age. He Later Mastered The Harmonica Saxophone Clarinet And Drums. Short Performed Locally In The Mississippi Delta At House Parties But Relocated In 1923 To St. Louis Missouri. Short Went On To Play Along With The Neckbones Henry Spaulding David "Honeyboy" Edwards Douglas Williams And Big Joe Williams. 6 In The 1930s Short Recorded For The Vocalion Label. Henry Townsend In His Autobiography A Blue Life Told Of Incidents In St. Louis That Affected Both His And Short's Lives. Seemingly Due To Jealousy Of His Musical Standing Short Attacked And Twice Stabbed Townsend. Later By Way Of Revenge Townsend Shot Short In His Genitals Which Resulted In Short Losing Both Of His Testicles. The Account Was Also Mentioned In Townsend's Obituary In The Guardian. Short Continued Performing In St. Louis After World War II Often As A One-Man Band And Sometimes With His Cousin Big Joe Williams. Nevertheless Short Effectively Disappeared From The Music Industry For Over Two Decades Before Re-Emerging At The Start Of The Blues Revival Period. He Achieved Belated National Recognition And Went On To Record Further Tracks For Delmark And Folkways. Some Of His Recordings Were Later Released On Sonet. Short Was Featured In The 1963 Documentary Film The Blues Singing "Slidin' Delta". However He Had Already Died In October 1962 Of A Heart Attack In St. Louis At The Age Of 60. Edit Compilation AlbumsStavin' Chain Blues With Big Joe Williams 1961 - Delmark Blues From The Mississippi Delta With Son House 1963 - Folkways read less