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Early years

Hurt was born in Teoc, Carroll County, Mississippi, and raised in Avalon, Mississippi. He taught himself to play guitar at the age of nine, stealthily playing the guitar of a friend of his mother's, who often stayed at the Hurt home while courting a woman who lived nearby. As a y

First recordings

When Narmour got a chance to record for Okeh Records as a prize for winning first place in a 1928 fiddle contest, he recommended Hurt to Okeh producer Tommy Rockwell. After auditioning "Monday Morning Blues" at his home, Hurt took part in two recording sessions, in Memphis and Ne

Rediscovery and death

Hurt's renditions of "Frankie" and "Spike Driver Blues" were included in The Anthology of American Folk Music in 1952 which generated considerable interest in locating him. When a copy of "Avalon Blues" was discovered in 1963, it led musicologist Dick Spottswood to locate Avalon

Hurt used a fast, syncopated fingerpicking style of guitar playing that he taught himself. He was influenced by few other musicians, among whom was an elderly, unrecorded blues singer from the area where he lived, Rufus Hanks, who played twelve-string guitar and harmonica. He also recalled listening to the country singer Jimmie Rodgers. On occasion, Hurt would use an open tuning and a slide, as he did in his arrangement of "The Ballad of Casey Jones". According to the music critic Robert Christg

There is a memorial to Hurt in Avalon, Mississippi. It is parallel to RR2, the rural road on which he grew up. The American singer-songwriter Tom Paxton, who met Hurt and played on the same bill with him at the Gaslight in Greenwich Village around 1963, wrote and recorded a song about him in 1977, "Did You Hear John Hurt?", which he still frequently plays in live performances. The first track of John Fahey's 1968 solo acoustic guitar album Requia is "Requiem for John Hurt". Fahey's posthumous li

Little is known about John Hurt's early life. Many of the records of his birth, early education and marriages were destroyed by Union soldiers near the conclusion of the American Civil War. Some genealogical records place his birth year as early as 1738. However, most historical accounts and genealogical records put his year of birth in 1752. This confusion is most likely derived from the Hurt family's reuse of given names over several generations. Some sources list James Hurt and Jane Bickley a

He began his service in the continental army on October 1, 1776. His experience as a minister qualified him to serve as chaplain to the Virginia 6th Infantry Regiment. George Washington desired that every regiment of continental soldiers be assigned a chaplain, but the continental congress at the time due to financial concerns did not authorize the commission of more chaplains. As a result, John Hurt became chaplain to the 4th and 5th Virginia infantry regiments as well. These units were later c

After the end of the Revolutionary War, the Continental Army was dissolved. Forming a peacetime government was the primary focus of American political leadership. Uprisings such as Shay's Rebellion and attacks on frontier outposts raised concerns among those of the new federal government in 1791. After a massive defeat given by the Miami Tribe congress was hard-pressed to increase the number of soldiers in its regular army. Accordingly, on March 3, 1791 an act of Congress permitted the formation

John Hurt has a few remaining historical connections to key American political figures during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Besides his letters to George Washington during the war, in peacetime, he wrote to both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison on personal matters. These matters, for the most part, involved horses. It is clear from his letter the horses were a passion of Hurt's. One of his letters to James Madison revolved mainly around the recommendation of a horse he thought Madiso

Hurt only served for three years as chaplain of the Army. He was succeeded by David Jones, a baptist from Pennsylvania. After the end of Jones' tenure as chaplain of the Army, the post was eliminated. Chaplaincy in the expanding United States Army would be organized in various forms over the rest of the 19th century. Finally, with the National Defense Act of 1920 the Army Chaplain Corp was formally organized into its current form. Although the structure is presently different from the time of Jo