and the music he may have been
listening to at the time.
“I wanted to go further because
the sound was so amazing that I
thought it would be limiting to just
do a John Hurt tribute record in a
different way,” continued Oates.
“So I started looking at songs that
were contemporary with his early
recording career from 1926-1929.
Looking into it a little deeper, I
realized he was a fan of Jimmie
Rodgers, which I was unaware of,
so I did a Jimmie Rodgers song. I
started looking at what the songs
might have been on the jukebox
in Mississippi in those days. I
realized that ragtime was a big
influence on him and his guitar
playing style. So I began to do
some Blind Blake and a song by
a guy named Emmett Miller who
had one of the earliest #1 records
to sell over a million copies. The
album took on this expansive
snapshot of an era in music that
defined and started American
popular music.”
These are the songs he’s playing
on tour and will perform at the
John Oates Performs Mississippi John Hurt & Blind Blake songs
NJ STAGE - ISSUE 54
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