Jim Jackson

Jim Jackson (June 1876 – December 18, 1933) was an American blues and hokum singer, songster, and guitarist whose recordings in the late 1920s were popular and influential on later musicians.

Biography Jackson was born in Hernando, Mississippi. The researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc date his birth as 1876, which became a best-seller. Its melody and lyrics can be traced in many later blues and rock and roll songs, including "Rock Around the Clock" and "Kansas City". Following this hit Jackson recorded a series of "Kansas City" follow-ups and soundalikes. and reworked it (as Charlie Patton did, changing it to "Gonna Move to Alabama"). Jackson moved to Memphis in 1928 and made a series of further recordings, including the comic medicine show song "I Heard the Voice of a Pork Chop". He also appeared in King Vidor's all-black 1929 film Hallelujah!, though it is unclear what role he played. Shortly afterwards, in February 1930, Jackson recorded his last session. He later moved back to Hernando and continued to perform until his death in 1933. In 2023 a tombstone was installed at Jackson's previously unmarked grave.

Legacy Janis Joplin later recorded a version of "Kansas City Blues", inserting the lyrics "Babe, I'm leavin', yeah I'm a-leavin' this mornin' / Goin' to Kansas City to bring Jim Jackson home".

Jackson was a major influence on the Chicago bluesman J. B. Lenoir. Jackson's "Kansas City Blues" was a regular fixture of Robert Nighthawk's concert set list. was recorded by Mark Spoelstra in 1963 as "She's Gone".

The Youngbloods recorded the song as "Grizzly Bear" in 1966.