Mississippi Fred McDowell: Delta Blues (1964)
Black History Month 2026 has begun, so I'll do my best to sprinkle in a few African American icons amongst my regular blogging line-up of extreme metal and obscure hard rock, beginning with the legendary yet still underrated Delta bluesman Mississippi Fred McDowell.
While many country blues pioneers (Charley Patton, Son House, Blind Lemon Jefferson, etc.) were recorded in the 1920s and '30s, McDowell remained "undiscovered" until 1959, when folklorists Alan Lomax and Shirley Collins first recorded him on his front porch.
Five years later (February 13, 1964, to be precise), Arhoolie label founder Chris Strachwitz tracked McDowell down to his farm in Como, Mississippi and recorded the Delta Blues LP (*) with a single Capps Condenser microphone.
Born in Rossville, TN, on January 12, 1904, Fred McDowell lost both his parents at a young age and was playing the guitar for tips by age 14; later moving to Memphis to process cotton into oil at the Buckeye Feed Mill before settling down and farming in Como around 1940.
And, as recordings like "Louise," "61 Revisited" (**), and "Black Minnie" show, McDowell was one of the Delta blues' most powerful and expressive vocalists, as well as a master slide guitar player, whether using a pocket knife, a polished beef rib bone, or a glass bottleneck. (***)
When allied to Fred's intensely rhythmic strumming (often described as his "stomp and groove" style), mesmerizing numbers like "Write Me a Few Lines," "I Heard Somebody Call," and "Shake 'em Down" can literally put a listener into a trance.
But McDowell could also dial things back for performances like "Fred's Worried Life Blues" and the haunting "You Gonna Be Sorry," before enlisting Mrs. McDowell to flex her stunning gospel voice on the closing "When I Lay My Burden Down." (****)
Finally, check out Fred's version of the oft-recorded blues standard "Kokomo Blues" to better understand how that most famous of Delta bluesmen, Robert Johnson, bridged the country and city blues when he reworked it as "Sweet Home Chicago."
Another parallel with Johnson is that McDowell's late discovery ironically turned him into a central figure in the 1960s' blues revival, and kept him busy with frequent recordings, festival appearances -- and farming, of course -- until the end of his life.
And yet, despite his undeniable influence on scores of rock musicians (*****), McDowell was defiant in stating "I do not play no rock and roll," and even slapped that phrase onto his Grammy-nominated 1969 LP.
Fred McDowell passed away from cancer on July 3, 1972 at the age of 68, and, as a Freemason, was buried in Masonic regalia at the Hammond Hill Baptist Church, located between Como and Senatobia, MS.
* Curiously, there's still some debate as to whether this album was credited simply to Fred McDowell and called "Mississippi Delta Blues" instead of Delta Blues and it was the layout that confused the public into calling him "Mississippi Fred McDowell."
** Known as the "Blues Highway," U.S. Route 61 traces the Mississippi River for 1,400 miles, from Minnesota to New Orleans.
*** He allegedly coached a young Bonnie Raitt on her slide guitar technique.
**** For another, later example, listen to Fred's stunning 1962 recording of "On the Frisco Line."
***** The Rolling Stones later covered McDowell's version of "You Gotta Move" for 1971's Sticky Fingers album.
More Blues: Big Bill Broonzy, Albert Collins, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Son House, Howlin’ Wolf, Elmore James, Etta James, Skip James, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lonnie Johnson, Robert Johnson, Tommy Johnson, Albert King, B.B. King, Mance Lipscomb, Muddy Waters, Charley Patton, Bessie Smith, Taj Mahal, Peetie Wheatstraw.
