The YouTube binge continues. This is a great clip of Mississippi John Hurt singing ‘Spike Driver’s Blues’, one of 13 sides he cut for Okeh records in 1928. This clip is probably from Pete Seeger’s Rainbow Quest television show. His guitar skills had scarcely changed in the 35+ years since his first recordings. His playing still has the same gentle bounce and subtle melodicism of his best Okeh sides.

Note the three-finger fingerpicking style, markedly different from the two-finger (thumb and forefinger) picking style employed by most Mississippi guitarists of that era.

I learned ‘Make Me a Pallet on the Floor’ from Mississippi John Hurt’s 1928 recording. Tangleweed recorded it on our first record, Just a Spoolful, with Billy Oh singing some very nice harmony vocals.