Jazz Articles about Josh White

About Josh White

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Josh White: You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To

by Ian Patterson
February 11, 2024

Josh White could probably have made a career just as a singer, but for his wonderful guitar playing. Good job he refused doctors' advice to have his left hand amputated after a bar fight when he was just 22. An influence on everyone from Peter Seeger to Elvis Presley and Harry Belafonte, and from John Fahey and Ry Cooder to John Renbourn. This clip from 1962 finds him in spellbinding form. According to Village Vanguard owner Max Gordon, “The greatest ...

Album Review

Josh White: Josh At Midnight

Read "Josh At Midnight" reviewed by James Nadal

by James Nadal
July 19, 2016

The pioneering music of singer/guitarist Josh White is a reflection of American history throughout the 20th century; his songs depicting racial, social, and political situations during his turbulent lifetime. With a career spanning five decades, White hit the road at age eight as a guide for blind blues musicians. In 1928, age fourteen, he signed with Paramount Records, by the 1930's he was a major blues star, and prominent developer of the Piedmont guitar style. Evolving into an outspoken critic ...