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Curtis Jones - the sad story of a forgotten bluesman

John Holmes

For many blues fans of my vintage (ie. over 70!) there are two seminal

albums that helped introduce us to the music - “Folk Festival of the Blues”,
and “Raw Blues” - both issued at affordable prices for those of us doing a

paper round or washing cars
after school to earn a few ‘bob’

to buy some records.

The album “Raw Blues” contains

gems from John Mayall, Otis
Spann, Peter Green and

Champion Jack Dupree. These
were names I was already

familiar with, but tucked in
amongst those tracks were two

by Curtis Jones, a name

unknown to me. I very much
liked the almost wistful delivery

of ‘You Got Good Business’ and
‘Roll Me Over’ by this piano

player from Texas.

He was a little known name then, but even lesser known now, some 54 years
after his death, which I think is a shame, as I believe his laid-back piano

playing, occasional guitar playing, and plaintive vocals deserve their place

alongside names better known in the UK, such as Otis Spann, Champion
Jack Dupree and Eddie Boyd.

The first visit to these shores by a US folk-blues musician was probably that
of Josh White, in 1950. Although considered by many to be a folk singer, he

recorded many fine blues songs prior to WW2. The following year saw the

arrival of Big Bill Broonzy, who was again categorised as a folk artiste, in
spite of being hugely influential to both folk and blues guitar players.

The late 1950s saw tours by Brother John Sellers, Sonny Terry and Brownie

McGhee, Louis Jordan and Little Brother Montgomery, amongst others. By
1960, having toured the previous year, Champion Jack Dupree came to