John Henry Barbee

John Henry Barbee (* November 14, 1905, † November 3, 1964 ) was an American blues singer and guitarist.

He was (probably) born in Henning, Tennessee when William George Tucker and grew up on his father's farm, where he taught himself to play the guitar. He first gained notoriety in his region as a street musician, and in pubs or at parties and eventually named after a folk ballad, which he often played in " John Henry" to. After he had played together in the 1920s and 1930s with some of the musicians, the company offered him Vocalion recordings and it was made in 1938 in Chicago, his first record on.

Because a white man had molested his wife, John Henry Barbee shot at him, but met him only in the leg. In the belief that he had killed the man, he fled and appeared under the name " Barbee " below. By 1963, he made ​​little music and had a job in a laundry until it was rediscovered by Willie Dixon's son as a singing ice cream vendor.

Dixon gave him a comeback and beat him in front of the American Folk Blues Festival 1964. During this visit to Europe more (of the Danish record label Storyville ) images were taken with him. Shortly after, he had to cancel the tour but because of severe pain and was admitted to a Chicago hospital. When he was released, she was diagnosed cancer and attributed to him little chance of survival, after which he bought from his salary a car and lack of driving experience and permit ran over a pedestrian. It then took him into custody and he died of a heart attack a day later.