Skip James Vinyl Record Albums

Real Name: Nehemiah Curtis James Profile: Blues and gospel singer and songwriter, playing both guitar and piano. Known for his distinctive falsetto vocals and minor-key guitar sound, played in an open D-minor tuning. Born: June 21, 1902, in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Died: October 3, 1969, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Cancer) Raised on the Woodbine plantation just outside Betonia, Mississippi, James was drawn to music from an early age. As a child he was inspired to be a musician after he heard Henry Stuckey and Rich Griffin play a Saturday night dance party. He taught himself piano after watching a rural pianist, and developed his guitar style after Stuckey showed him how to tune his guitar to an open E minor chord.