The Fingerpicking Blues of Mississippi John Hurt

No traditional musician is better loved than Mississippi John Hurt. He has influenced innumerable musicians through the years and, four decades after his death, his songs and instrumentals continue to be played throughout the world by novice guitarists and professionals alike.

This lesson is filled with the songs, licks, sounds and techniques that make Mississippi John Hurt’s music so popular. John Sebastian and Happy Traum, whose friendship goes back to the sixties, had the privilege of knowing John Hurt and hearing him play first hand. With their enthusiasm and love of his music, they take apart eleven of his classic songs, bringing fresh insights into the picking styles of this treasured artist.

Songs: “Spike Driver’s Blues,” “Got The Blues (Can’’t Be Satisfied),” “Coffee Blues,” “Richland Woman Blues,” “My Creole Belle,” “Monday Morning Blues,” “I’m Satisfied,” “Stack O’’Lee,” “Candy Man,” “Avalon Blues” and “Make Me A Pallet on Your Floor.”

Bonus section: Sam Hood, owner of the Gaslight Café, the Greenwich Village coffee house that was “home” to John Hurt when he played in New York City in the ’60s, shares memories, insights, anecdotes and some laughs with Happy and John about Mississippi John and other members of the folk and blues community.