Abner Jay

Abner Wingate Jay (July 15, 1921 – November 4, 1993) was an American multi-instrumentalist from Georgia, best known for performing eccentric, blues infused folk music as a one man band. His idiosyncratic lyrics and style have led some to consider his work outsider music; he considered himself to be "the last working Southern black minstrel".

Reviewer Jon Dale has described his recordings as "one of the most individual takes on traditional song form to have risen from the 20th century". Releasing his recordings on his own label, Jay has also been described as a pioneer independent recording artist. Composer Anthony Braxton called Jay an "American Master".

Biography Jay was born in Fitzgerald, Georgia. His grandfather was a slave in Washington County, Georgia. His grandfather was also a banjo player and imparted a vast repertoire of old-time and folk songs to Abner. Abner Jay began playing guitar and later banjo in medicine shows at the age of 5, and also performed for white plantation owners. Jay went on to lead the WMAZ Minstrels on Macon radio from 1946 to 1956. He spent many years traveling the South and playing concerts of "bittersweet but heartfelt comic blues" from his "converted mobile home that opened up into a portable stage, complete with amplification and home furnishings". These concerts, as evidenced in his recordings, were often equal parts spoken word (crude humor,

Jay also worked as a booking agent for Little Richard and James Brown, and briefly led his own rock and roll band, Big Abner Jay. In the early 1960s, he tried to start a career as a singer on Broadway in New York, but after that failed to materialize - and having some 16 children to support - he instead established himself as a live performer in clubs in and around Atlanta. From 1974, he established himself as an attraction on the college circuit and the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in White Springs, Florida. In 1982, Jay was interviewed over seven hours by writer Jas Obrecht. The interview was published in Guitar Player magazine that year, drawing wider attention to Jay. through his own record label, Brandie Records (so-named for his daughter). He released eight albums himself. Later in 2021 Mississippi Records again released another compilation titled I Dont Have Time To Lie To You.

Discography Albums Terrible Comedy Blues (Poison Apple Records, 1968) True Story Of Dixie (Brandie Records, 1974) Swaunee Water And Cocaine Blues (Brandie Records, 1976) The Backbone Of America Is A Mule And Cotton (Brandie Records, 1976) Live From Stephen Foster Center Kitchen (Brandie Records, N.D.) Sings And Plays Stephen Fosters Favorites (Plantation Records, N.D.)

EPs Last Ole Minstrel Man ( Mississippi Records, 2011) Hambone And Rattle The Bones (Brandie Records/Social Music Records, 2012)

Singles "My Mule"/"Don't Mess With Me Baby" (Peacock Records, 1961) "Cleo"/"The Thresher" (London Records, 1963) "Depression"/"I'm So Depressed" (Mississippi Records, 2009) "I Trust In God" (Delden Records, N.D.) "I Wanna Job" (Wing Gate Records, N.D.)

Compilation albums One Man Band (compilation, Subliminal Sounds 2003) True Story Of Abner Jay (Mississippi Records, 2009) Folk Song Stylist (Mississippi Records, 2010) Man Walked on the Moon (Mississippi Records, 2019) I Don't Have Time To Lie To You (Mississippi Records, 2021)