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John Adam Estes, born in Tennessee in 1899, was a blues singer, guitarist and songwriter whose work influenced later artists from The Beatles and Bob Dylan to Led Zeppelin. Working as a field hand, he started performing at parties and picnics around the age of 19, often accompanied by harmonica player Hammie Nixon and guitarist, mandolin player James Rachell, who sometimes featured on his recordings. He recorded his first sessions for Victor in Memphis in 1929, followed by more Memphis sessions for Victor/Bluebird in 1930, then sessions for Decca in Chicago in 1935 and New York in 1937, 1938 and 1940, and back with Bluebird in Chicago in 1941. He then largely disappeared from the scene until being rediscovered in 1962, after which he performed and recorded during the folk/blues revival. This 50-track 2-CD collection comprises just about all his releases from those early sessions on which he performs as the lead vocalist, and includes most of the titles he recorded as a member of The Delta Boys towards the end of this era. It features performances with Hammie Nixon, Robert Lee McCoy, (harmonica), John Hardge, Jab Jones (piano), James Rachell (mandolin), Charlie Pickett (guitar), Ham Lewis (jug), Son Bonds (guitar, kazoo) and Raymond Thomas (bass). It naturally includes the songs for which he is best-known like “Milk Cow Blues”, “Some Day Baby Blues”, “Working Man Blues”, “Lawyer Clark Blues” and others. It’s an enlightening and substantial overview of the career and music of a notable and important bluesman.
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