Blind Lemon Jefferson

Often heralded as one of the most influential bluesmen of all time, “Blind” Lemon Jefferson got his start playing in Wortham, Texas, playing his guitar on the streets of downtown, at picnics and at garden parties. In the early 1920s, Jefferson traveled to Dallas, where he met Huddie “Leadbelly” Leadbetter and established the blues scene in Dallas’ Deep Ellum district.

Between the years of 1925 and 1929, Jefferson made over 80 recordings for Paramount Records and became the first commercially successful male black artist. Some of his most notable recordings are “Black Snake Moan,” “Boll Weevil Blues,” “Matchbox Blues,” and the song that would become his trademark, “See That My Grave is Kept Clean.”

Jefferson died from mysterious circumstances on the streets of Chicago during the winter of 1929, and is buried in the Wortham Black Cemetery. A state historical marker that was dedicated in 1967 was the only marker for his gravesite until 1997, when a group of blues enthusiasts known as Blues - L, or Blues - Legends, began a campaign to purchase a headstone for Jefferson’s grave -- a fitting tribute to the man who sang “...Lord, there’s just one favor I ask of you, see that my grave is kept clean.” Mr. Jefferson now has a headstone at his gravesite in Wortham, eighty miles south of Dallas.

Rest in Peace Blind Lemon.

Aaron Burton - Blind Lemon