Jessie Mae Hemphill was an American electric guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist.
Hemphill was born in 1923, in Mississippi. Her great-grandfather, Dock Hemphill, was a fiddler who was born a slave, and her grandfather, Sid Hemphill, a leading musician in the area, played fiddle, guitar, banjo, drums, fife, mandolin, and organ.
She learned how to play guitar as a child by watching her relatives perform. Throughout the ’60s and ’70s, she sang with various Mississippi bar bands. In the early ’80s, she decided to pursue a solo career. She toured the U.S. and Europe, recorded several albums, and won several W. C. Handy Awards for traditional blues.
In 1981, Hemphill released her debut album, She-Wolf, on the European record label, Vogue. In 1987, her first American record, Feelin’ Good, was released. In 1987 and 1988, she won the W.C. Handy Award for best tradtional female blues artist.
In 1993, Hemphill suffered a stroke, and was unable to play with both hands. She died in 2006.
Source:
https://msbluestrail.org/blues-trail-markers/jessie-mae-hemphill
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jessie-mae-hemphill-mn0000287418/biography
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